first solo bike camp

======

**The Prep**

The forecast was for temperatures from 25-45, with a little rain/snow Saturday, stopping around 8pm or so. I'd decided to head up a canyon that had a campground which I figured wouldn't see heavy use this time of the year. The one way trip distance is ~15 miles, though I had a (dinner) Christmas party to attend a few miles away from the destination.

One pannier had a down sleeping bag (25 degree), a tarp (protecting the sleeping bag from the elements), and a lightweight cot, while the other had 2L of water, food, a book, a flashlight, spare gloves and spare clothes (wool base layer). My bike is equipped with lights and pogies.

I wore synthetic long johns with some lightweight synthetic pants. As a top I wore 2 layers of merino wool (1 long-sleeve, 1 short), with a windstopper jacket over the top. I also had a synthetic headband, light gloves and thick wool socks under waterproofed leather shoes.

====

**The Departure**

I left while it was still light, and there was no rain/snow. I traveled quite slowly as I was carrying a somewhat heavy white elephant gift to the party. It began lightly raining shortly after I left, which was fine.

About halfway there it began snowing, which was ok until I had some navigation issues - I'd mounted my phone to the bike as usual, but was unable to operate the touch screen due to the cold - my fingers weren't registering well. After ~3 minutes attempting to operate the phone, I placed it in my pocket and continued as I needed to generate more body heat.

Up until this point I had been fairly comfortable, but I began to have issues - my hands were ok, but my feet felt somewhat cold (though it was manageable). The biggest issue was my penis; with only 2 layers, the legs were plenty warm, but the pants did little to stop the breeze. I pulled my jacket down as much as I could, which helped just enough. I decided that if I experienced the same issue on the return I'd stuff my hat down my pants.

I continued and arrived at the party, which was a welcome stop - I got rid of a 10lb gift, ate a good meal and used the restroom.

I left the party at about 9:30, headed for the canyon. At this point there was just a little snow coming down and I had dried off so I wasn't as cold as before, even when stopped.

The road to the canyon was closed, but there was a path for pedestrians and cyclists to go around. The road was fairly steep at this point (15% grade), and after I stopped to investigate a potential campsite (discarded due to proximity to a trail with somewhat fresh bike/footprints) I continued on foot for a bit.

====

**The Night**

I found a nice flat location above a drainage some 20 feet from the road; there was a fence I didn't bother taking my bike around as I knew there wouldn't be traffic due to the closed gate. As I set up camp, I felt somewhat like Luke Skywalker in Episode V, hauling equipment from my ride to camp.

The tarp wrapped around both the sleeping bag and cot, and I put my equipment near my head, sleeping over my water to keep it from freezing. I got in the bag shortly after setting up camp, not wanting to let my temperature drop too much. I removed my gloves and shoes and added a wool hat. I used one of my shoes as a head rest; the other was tucked under the cot.

As I wasn't using a sleeping pad, I had to sleep on my sides to minimize the compression of my insulation. This worked all right, and I alternated sides, waking up every hour or so. At one point I was very thirsty, but I'd placed the water on the wrong side and so it was inaccessible without getting up and out of the sleeping bag.

This was a larger problem than it might have been, for two reasons: it snowed through the entire night, and condensation formed on the tarp above me. When I moved much, my face touched a cold, wet surface.

All in all I've had worse nights of sleep. I didn't feel cold, but the inability to move much, coupled with having to flip over every hour or so wasn't pleasant. A few times during the night I thought "I should get an air pad."

====

**The Return**

At about 5:45, I woke and decided that it was time to leave. I brushed snow off of my nearest bag, pulled on my extra shirt and got up. The sleeping bag had lost a fair amount of loft - mostly around my head, and was somewhat damp.

I finished packing up at about 6:20 and started walking down the snow-covered hill until it leveled off. As I pedaled, I realized I'd forgotten something: a balaclava. Oh well.

I stopped for a bite to eat at about 20 and 40 minutes, eating a bit of ham sandwich.

I passed another cyclist who was bundled up with a few panniers, taking an eating break on the roadside. I nodded and continued on. Maybe I should have given him what food I didn't use.

I seemed to be traveling slowly, but didn't think about it much - and I didn't really want to get off my bike and diagnose the issue. As I got within a mile of home, I realized that my front tire was getting more and more sluggish. As I arrived, I slowly biked over the 1 inch bump separating the driveway from the street. I didn't feel a thing.

I walked in, unpacked my wet sleeping bag, ate the rest of my ham sandwich and slept for 3 hours.

=======

**TLDR**

It went *okay*.

The ride was fine, though a little cold at times. I was warm enough while active (and while in the sleeping bag), but I should get an air pad and solve the issue of condensation forming on my sleeping bag before I do any multi-day trips (vapor barrier liner?). I got a flat, but didn't really notice it until the very end, when it was *really* low. I didn't bottom out, so that's good.