Talk about M/C camping

Not sure about TX, but here in the southeast, campgrounds are fairly spendy. You won't touch a state park for under $30 and private campgrounds tend be even more expensive. In some parts of FL, GA and NC, it's cheaper to get a motel room. I have had great luck with wild camping and only been asked to leave land twice. Once by a cop and the other, by a farmer. My fault as I wasn't stealth enough.

The cop was none too friendly. His only response to my attempt at talking to him was to tell me to "Get your shit and get out of here.". The farmer asked what I was doing on his property. I apologized for trespassing , proceeded to tell him about my trip and then showed him pictures. I offered him the little cash I had on me if he'd let me stay, as I'd already setup camp. He told me to keep the money but be gone with the sun in the a.m. The following morning I was up before daybreak and began to breakdown camp. Guess who rolled up at sunrise ? He thanked me for keeping my word and invited me to his home for breakfast.

In my experience, most land owners aren't assholes that want to be violent towards travelers.

We live in a world where just wanting something is enough to make it a “right” for a lot of people.

I’m a Golden Rule guy... I’ll never park in your driveway or pitch a tent on your lawn without asking. This whole line of discussion confuses me, frankly. Property rights and the freedom to pursue owning it are at the heart of the American idea.

I just checked https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/ for a few of the parks close by. $10 for primitive site up to $25 for a RV site. The prices do change depending on the park and how popular it is.
No body wants to be an asshole. If you ask I will give till it hurts, if you take I will resist with everything I have and if I have to I will burn that bitch down. It’s more about respecting other people’s Pinche cosas than about being Da Man.

Anyway, camping on the bike is a lot of fun and a lot different then in the truck. I do have a tendency to plan shit out, camping brings a slower day for me. Lot more relaxing to a point.

Understand that I would never camp upon marked or fenced private land.

The heart of American ideology is freedom and the right to enjoy it. Being free in a natural environment, without the constant worry that we aren't allowed to use it or enjoy it unless we have express permission, is a core freedom.

Anyway, here's a picture from my tent , "stealth" camping by a lake at the back of some farmland. Owner of the farm brought me coffee in the a.m. rather than pointing a gun at me or running me over with farm equipment.



Wanted to add that I've had great experiences asking permission in places where land is obviously private yet unmarked. I've also found that small churches are usually pretty welcoming when traveling, and have camped on church properties many times. Once I even helped setup for a Sunday service when a pastor found me loading my bike after a night of camping.

Respectfully, that definition of freedom is a simplification propogated by Hollywood. The framers were not concerned with unfettered freedom, they were concerned with freedoms to... which included owning land and having dominion over it, and to accordingly be represented in government. The subject is dealt with in two clauses of your Constitution (the fifth and fourteenth), and although they deal with the government's rights over private land, the underlying principle is that dominion. Since then, property rights have also come to underpin the economy by being a key driver of productivity and consumption. The sovereignty of an individual over his property is a pillar of the concept of American democracy.

What confuses people I think is the concept of right-of-way, especially as practiced in England. Two things about that... one, it comes from a culture in which almost all the privately owned land was held by titled gentry (amazingly, that's still true in the UK, something like two thirds, I think), and two, that it was necessary to traverse land to get from one place to another. The key word here being traverse... "right of way" was meant to ensure mobility. There aren't many places left in North America where you have to cross private land to get somewhere, and where that situation exists, I doubt you've have a problem. But pitching a tent is more fraught, since it's sort of the first step toward adverse possession.

There's just no case for presuming the right to pitch a tent on private land. It would be a courtesy granted by your host, or it would be theft, however victimless. I think it's awesome that people can travel this way, and I love the idea that we could all be so civil and generous. My sole issue is with the aggressive entitlement.

We will have to agree to disagree on this subject, especially equating such things to theft or entitlement. Thus far, most of my hosts have agreed with me.

Having friends with you helps split costs of pay campgrounds. Being able to have a fire and take a shower are nice perks.

And yet I have the sense from your posts that you wouldn't be the kind of person I'd have to worry about anyway.

Anyway, despite my bloviating, it really boils down to asking versus presuming. The former is civil, and the latter risks not being civil. I'll choose civil every time, even if I don't have to.

I'd like to hope not. I'm not the type to start trouble with a land owner or trash land whether it be public or private. I also completely understand the displeasure of finding trespassers on marked property. I've had to remove such people in the past, less for the trespassing than for tossing trash on the ground. Litter bugs are the lowest form of human.

As I stated previously, if land is marked with signage or fencing, I wouldn't attempt crossing property, let alone posting up for the night. Likewise, I always ask permission when doing so is possible and should I encounter a pissed off land owner in a situation where permission wasn't granted, I apologize , pack up and beat feet.

The world operates best when we have reasonable and mutual respect for one another. My experience tells me that in doing so, most folks just want to get along and go about their day. Seldom have I encountered true assholes.

This weekend, my wife and I will be celebrating our anniversary, and were discussing what we'd like to do. Since this has been a year of absolute screaming dumpster fire, we haven't been able to use our soon-to-expire national park pass. She said she wanted to go to Joshua Tree, which is a few hours away, and the weather will be cool enough to enjoy it.

Thinking about this thread, I suggested that we dig out our old camping gear and dust off her seldom-used helmet. She gave me the blank stare of "You realize that anniversaries aren't about what the guy wants, right?"

The discussion evolved into "Maybe we rent a motorhome". The pricing of which led us to "Who do we know who would lend us a motorhome?" Which resulted in "Hell no, you can't borrow my motorhome."

We landed on "Nice hotel in Palm Springs, and let's go to Joshua Tree the next morning".

Oh well, I tried.

Ginger, you are at least making an attempt to get permission and avoiding posted and fenced land. It's the "Imma do what I waunt!" crowd that I have issue with.
For you to have dealings with my farm implements, you have to cross a barbwire fence and make nice with a Jack that I can't turn my back to. Now say the Jack was at the other end of the pasture, and someone pitches a tent and proceeds to cook their beanny weenies for dinner and the Jack shows up all pissed off that someone is messing around in his pasture. Then get bit and stomped and I get sued. Or they kick over the jet boil and set the pasture on fire and kill my critters.
In the past, I have bush hogged a site and provide electricity and water only to have to go out and clean up trash and finish putting out smoldering embers.
I am not like this because I just woke up in a pissy mood, as usual a few have screwed it up for the many.

I enjoy camping when I’m not trying to cover too many miles. You definitely get to meet more people when at a campground vs a hotel.

For some that have been considering buying new gear, I would strongly suggest getting a 2-person tent vs 1-person. Pack size is comparable and you have enough room for a little bit of gear. Plus, I’ve fount people ratings for tents to generally be off by 1.

As someone who likes to get an early jump, I do hate packing everything up in the morning. No matter how good I have gotten, it’s like 1.5hr process, minimum. This is where a hotel really shines, especially if they have breakfast included. Time is money.

That said, I recently did a two night trip around central and western PA. On this trip I also brought all of my own food. One thing I learned - freeze dried meals are pretty damn good, not to mention super-easy.

For me its a mixed bag. Having grown up in scouts and worked trail crew for several summers there have been many years of my life where more that 1/4 to 1/3 of my night were spent out doors.

Now backpacking remains one of my favorite hobbies. I enjoy getting away from it all and if I go a month without spending a weekend backpacking I start going through withdrawls.

With the bike I find I like to connect long trips to stay at friends houses who I dont get a chance to see often or to go to new places, where often the only camping available is a KOA or similar , which to me is like camping in a walmart parking lot. Times like that I find myself traveling light with maybe a small liner bag for the sketchier hotels.

When I do camp off the bike it is usually for more local shorter trips and I find my backpacking gear translates well.
A hammock, sleeping bag and bivvy and I am set

I do need to tweak my setup slightly for the new bike. But here is my minimalist camp from the last time out on the last bike.
5 minutes setup and take down.

Allow me to hijack an already hijacked thread, but I find this topic we’re on and the varied opinions always interesting. Maybe we need a new thread on trespass camping?

So I understand the dilemma of the property owner given the lack of respect people show to our environment. I enjoy using an unsigned large parcel of wooded land near my home that is land locked and unbuildable due to wetlands. From what I can gather it’s use is just for logging every half century or so. The ownership is an estate (probably several family members). Anyhoo, I hike through it and sometimes make a campfire during winter, always leaving no trace except the stone fire ring I made. For over two decades, I’ve never had any issue other than stumbling on the occasional hunter up in a tree stand who is trespassing as well. Due to Covid providing the availability of time and stimulus money, my private sanctuary has been discovered by a bunch of inconsiderate asshats. Below is a photo of how they have been using the property. There is just as much garbage beyond the tarps as well. I’m prepared to clean it up after they abandon their party spot but who knows when that’ll be. I see this type of behavior a lot in the “woods” or at primitive campsites where people just do not clean up after themselves. Makes me sad...

I know nuance isn't very fashionable these days, but you don't strike me as part of the "problem" at all. I see a difference between the kind of land you're talking about (and your carefulness) and land that's owner-occupied or cultivated. Where I live is a designated Unesco Biosphere Reserve. There is a lot of land around here that's been set aside for conservation by public and private entities, not to mention the Bruce Trail. My sense is people expect that hikers will pass through and do their thing, and it's fine regardless of the legal technicalities. It's always just worked out, and serious hikers are generally of the "leave no trace" persuasion.

But since COVID, we've been inundated with people from the city who seem to think this is all an Instagram backdrop and that we employ a janitorial service for them. Lots pitch tents and are belligerent about it. Lots use machines on walking trails and tear up the land, and then party defiantly into the night. What I wish, candidly, is that the good land users would put pressure on the bad ones, since they're the ones who are otherwise going to pay the price of losing access. The people for whom this will be ruined should be the front line, not the landowners who didn't ask for any of it and are feeling punished for being hospitable. It's a tough situation, made so by people who want what they want and don't care about the effect they might have.

It is pretty bad how crowded it is out there. Lots of people not used to be outside. Absolutely no "leave no trace" happening.

Random dirt roads I use to get away from it all now have campers / RV's every couple hundred yards. I can count on one hand how many campers I have seen in the same area in the last few years.

Here's one that's been up and running for some time. You've posted in it, twice.

There's others, but they tend to discuss specific locales.

Late spring I’m working on a search for a bunch of abandoned coal mine towns from the early 1900’s. I can’t seem to make it to all in a day so I tell the wife I’m camping and finish finding them all. Many of the camp ground options are closed due to COVID but I have a few options. I get set up at a small county campground with another couple near by. The seem nice and are very affectionate cuddling near the fire in a pair of chairs. I go to sleep around 11:00 and about a hour later all heck breaks out. I hear the zipper to the tent open, car door open shut and lock. Next I hear him beating on the car with a lawn chair yelling. Next that chair gets thrown into the fire. Plastic lawn chairs make a big flame. Another camper comes out of his camper and asks the car beater what’s going on. He’s told to mind his business. Next another lawn chair meets it’s demise followed by the arrival of 2 sheriff cars, one highway patrol, local cop and DNR gal. The chair abuser is cuffed and allowed to spend the night in the local jail.
The next morning I see something written on back window of the car

Surveying the damage and DNR gal has a few questions




the DNR has a few questions then the husband? Shows back up and off they go. The DNR gal apologizes for the last nights events. I told her it got my 12 bucks worth.

Well that’s entertaining