This is all good. I’ll plan some practice runs before we leave. I even have the perfect destination with the perfect mileage. I told my kid and those of you who have been 19 year old men can guess what came out of his mouth.
“We don’t need to prepare! The adventure is just going and DOING it, Mom.”
No. No, no, no. The adventure is when you know the things you have and planned for will WORK so you don’t ruin your trip worrying and/or working out kinks.
Here are two more questions:
1. How do you avoid ticks? I live in fear of Lyme.
2. What tools do you bring? I have tubeless and have a Dynaplug for that…
L Unfortunately, from what I've gathered, Ken was struck and killed by a drunk driver while riding near his home sometime in 2003. There is a Wikipedia page stating this.
To whoever is hosting his site and keeping it going, it is much appreciated as the articles provided me so much learning when I was new to cycling and more specifically touring.
M. Cook I haven't thought about Ken Kifer for years. Loved his site. Common sense (for the most part), informative, and fun to read. Wonder what happened to him?
Craig in Tucson
Leah,
May I make the seemingly the lamest recommendation? Hear me out. Years ago (in the early 2000's) I got into cycling as a hipster on a fixed gear. I had done quite a bit of backpacking and then stumbled upon the concept of bicycle touring. I was amazed that the two could be combined and that I hadn't thought of it already<---maybe similar to your son. Around that time I found a web page about bicycle touring by a man named Ken Kifer. His thoughts on touring were inspirational. He has since passed but his articles can be found here: He recommended that most tours should start and end from your home. Sounds sorta lame, but I have done this many times and am always amazed at what can be seen and experienced by just riding away from my house to a destination. I feel like I always find something new as well. So it might be logistically easier to just point to something a few days of riding away from your home and just go. Sometimes this is difficult if you are averse to stealth camping....in that case planning designated campgrounds might be in your best interest. I have toured with my wife on a few instances and on others with a few of my children. With them I always try to have something arranged for camping. But by myself or with 1-3 friends, stealth camping can be really fun. It really helps to tie places together. As someone who has always had wanderlust, I think there is way more adventure right out your door than you ever expect. Just going out and finding it takes a bit of perspective shift.
Also +1 to doing an overnighter. I recommend writing down everything you bring. Then when you get home, write down everything you don't use with possibly a rational on whether it should be used next time (weather differences or tools in case of a mechanical, etc.).
One last thing, expect that something will not go as planned. Plan all your gear. Plan your tools. Plan all your food. Plan your route. Something outside the plan will probably happen and it will be frustrating and also be the thing you reflect on the most and laugh at about the trip. Bicycle touring is often type 2 fun.
Hope some of this helps and lowers the stress levels.
Matt Cook Spanish Fort, AL
On Tuesday, June 10, 2025 at 3:32:29 PM UTC-5 Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! wrote:
I, Leah Peterson, have refused to camp my entire life. A lover of safety, cleanliness, hot showers and fresh coffee, I never saw the allure. Why should I pitch a tent and sleep in the ditch if I could sleep in a hotel bed?
Several of my bike world friends told me I was missing out. But I wasn’t missing out, because I was content in my hotels and unaware of the joys and sorrows of bike camping.
But, we have this son. This child is not a child, he stands at 6’2” tall and is heading into his sophomore year of college. He has his head in his books with no time for anything else, but oh, he has the wanderlust. I read that 90% of the time you’ll ever spend with your kid is spent by age 18. That was a year ago…I have less than 10% of my allotted time left with one of the most beloved, treasured people in my world. I could sob just typing it.
E discovered the term “bikepacking” at the Philly Bike Expo. And when he heard it he said, “Wait, say that again…” His eyes lit up and he was determined to try. Julian (from this list) sent him some bikepacking essentials he had, and that was the catalyst for getting E to hit the trails. I immediately decided that since it involved my son and biking, two of my great loves, I was going. All my friends said, Leah, you don’t camp. Leah, you’ve lost your mind.
I know, I said.
Then I went to the internet and to Pam Murray and I started to plan. And you guys, every brain cell in my head was being used and I decided I must be stupid because I could not figure out how to make the logistics all work. Choose a route. How do you get to the start? How do you get back again? How to use Amtrak? Why does their train station and schedule NEVER WORK for my purposes?! What do you mean there is no camping along most of the Hudson Valley Trail? Too much mileage between these two towns, not enough between those. I have scrapped 2 entire routes we planned because we just couldn’t get the logistics to work. I do not think it is supposed to be this hard, so I must be doing it wrong. (I’m going for a ride with The Lone Wolf tomorrow who will surely scoff and confirm that I am doing it wrong. But also, maybe he will give me some pointers.)
Finally, we settled on a route that takes us along Lake Erie. With Chat GPT’s help, I have a decent plan and two campsites picked out so far. One is first come, first serve, so say a prayer for us. Say 2 prayers, because my husband is going to get roped into dropping us off and picking us up at the start and finish, and he has no idea.
He also has no idea that I just spent $$$ on a tent, footprint, sleeping pad and sleeping quilt (ha! Have you ever heard of such a thing? What happened to sleeping bags?!). Like, really a lot. Big money. I got sucked down the gear rabbit hole and suddenly nothing but these ultralightweight things will do. It is shameful. I confessed to E who sent me this text:
MOM SPENDING 700 ON A TENT IS NOT RIGHT THAT DOESNT MEAN YOU LOVE ME TENTS DONT COST THAT MUCH YOU DONT NEED IT TO BE COMFORTABLE😭 😭 😭 😭 😭 😭 😭 😭 😭
So, that is what is happening over here. Be gentle in your rebukes. I am stressed out about this whole experiment on several levels!
But this kid. What would I not do for him? I thought I’d draw the line at sleeping in ditches, but no, not even that is off-limits. I’ll do anything, it seems, to stay involved and relevant. Luckily, my second son is quite comfortable in hotels, and will not make me work this hard to be in his orbit.
Leah
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