Camping on Velodromedary

Yosemite Valley by transit & bike

Tue, 02 Jun 2026 02:30:27 +0000

For many years I’ve been curious to try the transit (train and bus) method of getting to Yosemite Valley, and potentially bring my bike along… and I finally did it:

Read on for some logistics notes, though exact train and bus timetables and web links change year to year and season to season, so you’ll want to look up schedules yourself…

DC -> Pittsburgh on car-free trails, 2022 (C&O/GAP)

Thu, 22 Sep 2022 21:46:52 +0000

For years I’ve daydreamed about biking from DC to Pittsburgh on mostly car-free dirt trails, on a ~330 mile winding route that combines the C&O Canal Trail (a dirt trail formerly used by mules to pull cargo barges along the C&O canal in the 1800s, a transportation method that eventually lost to the railroad, and was nearly converted to roads before being preserved as a park in the 1970s) and the Great Allegheny Passage (a combination of rail trails integrated and completed in 2013).

Hayduke Option - MTB Touring in Southern Utah

Thu, 14 Oct 2021 01:35:00 +0000

(retroactively writing up a quick summary, months later…)

I’ve dreamed about doing some sort of week+ off-road bike tour somewhere in the world. While I enjoy solo DIY exploration and have many great memories of going somewhere and figuring it out on the fly, my gravel touring experience is limited and I’ve never even really been mountain biking (at least, farther than a few miles), so perhaps it would be easier and more fun to join an organized tour…

Montana gravel bike camping + GDMBR (5 days)

Sat, 14 Aug 2021 07:31:00 +0000

I never really got into “mountain biking”, because for years I associated it with going fast on rough terrain and dodging obstacles, while I like to ramble and mosey and stop a lot. I also like rides where I can walk out my door (or hop off a train or plane) and get on the bike without having to drive somewhere.

I realize my impressions were a narrow caricature of what mountain biking can be, though, and I’ve always enjoyed the bits of off-roading that sneak into rides– the last mile of dirt getting to a camp site from the road, strange muddy paths I find myself on when trying to bypass roads, or detours through parks to avoid main roads, and even when “road biking” I generally run 32mm+ tires to give myself more comfort and flexibility for unexpected detours.

3-day Bike Camping, Guerneville -> SF

Thu, 20 May 2021 06:01:00 +0000

A few friends had been interested in doing a multi-night bike camping trip in the Bay Area before one of them moved out of town. I happened to be up in Guerneville for a few days, so we schemed to meet up there with camping gear and ride back to SF (a friend with a van who was heading up North for the weekend dropped them off in Guerneville to meet me).

Monday morning just after sunrise, heading straight from overnight camping in Marin to work = magic...

Mon, 15 Apr 2019 07:00:00 +0000

Monday morning just after sunrise, heading straight from overnight camping in Marin to work = magic…

s24o bike camping @ Kirby Cove

Sun, 14 Apr 2019 07:00:00 +0000

After a few years of trying, I finally snagged the coveted Campsite #1 at Kirby Cove, and gathered a group of friends + kids for a Sunday afternoon ride there… the weather was perfect and clear, the company was good, and the vibe was relaxed.

We could practically see the campsite from the bridge…

And down we go along the gravel road…

s24o bike camping from Munich

Tue, 26 Jun 2018 01:15:00 +0000

I had to travel to Munich for a few days for work, right before the summer solstice, a weekend when Swift Industries cheers people on to go bike camping anywhere (#swiftcampout).

So why not? I packed a single small pannier with only essential camping gear and stuffed it and a bivy sack in my suitcase with my work clothes and laptop.

When the work week wrapped up, I asked the hotel to hold my suitcase for a day, rented a basic city bike with a rack, and set out into the woods…

Finally posting some photos from BikeMaine, September 2017. Smooth pavement, early-morning mist, just enough hills and distance...

Thu, 08 Feb 2018 17:28:50 +0000

Weeknight bike camping on Mt Diablo (the lower Live Oak campground) via dirt trails. Waking up at 5:30 to make coffee...

Sat, 22 Jul 2017 15:43:38 +0000

In September I biked about 400 miles in Downeast Maine (the “Bold Coast”) as part of the organized Bikemaine tour-- here are a...

Sat, 05 Nov 2016 15:07:25 +0000

Bike camping in Kirby Cove: For years I’d wanted to camp here (and use it as an easy introductory S24O ride for some friends...

Fri, 04 Nov 2016 06:00:18 +0000

Bike camping in Kirby Cove: For years I’d wanted to camp here (and use it as an easy introductory S24O ride for some friends interested in trying out bike camping who didn’t want to ride 40 miles each way to Samuel P Taylor or Point Reyes), but the reservations fill up three months ahead within minutes of being posted online.

Biking SF -> the Russian River

Mon, 09 May 2016 03:34:23 +0000

Something I’ve always wanted to do– ride from SF up to the Healdsburg / Russian River / wine country area (88.8 miles via the scenic route a friend and I took this weekend).

Lush green hills, a few hours of rain and wet socks (hey, at least it wasn’t 103-108 degrees like a few summers ago), two cheese tastings (Nicasio Valley Cheese Company and Marin French Cheese Company), wildflowers, a stop for a burger and salty snacks at Lagunitas Brewing, coffee and cocoa in Santa Rosa to fight the chill, and then expanding my personal biking map (Santa Rosa having been my previous farthest-North-from-SF ride) and plugging along the final 20-odd miles to a campground in Alexander Valley.

Bike Camping, Lake Chabot

Sat, 04 Jul 2015 07:44:42 +0000

An excellent one-night bike camping trip to the Oakland hills, S24O-style.

Knocking wild plums out of a tree after a long, swooping descent down Pinehurst:

Camping among the eucalyptus in Anthony Chabot park.

Bike touring Iowa + Wisconsin

Mon, 04 Aug 2014 06:30:00 +0000

I’m back from a euphoria-inducing 8-day, 600-mile bike camping tour across Iowa and Wisconsin.

The ride combined RAGBRAI (a 15,000-person group ride across Iowa with pork chops, pie, live music, and beer in tiny towns along the way) and a solo ride across beautiful, rural Southwest Wisconsin.

The mix of mostly good weather, wildlife (fireflies, startled rabbits, and red-winged blackbirds), friendly strangers, no email, the ability to improvise and change plans on the spot (the flexibility of carrying a tent…), and plenty of time to ride alone and drift between states of present observation and introspection are why I always come back to bike touring…

Nearby Bike Camping / Biketoberfest

Tue, 29 Oct 2013 14:46:00 +0000

I’ve been on long bike tours and three-day-weekend bike camping trips, but I wanted to do something quick involving minimal preparation, in the spirit of the S24O (Sub-24 Hour Overnight):

Five of us riding through Marin, with luggage ranging from just a seat post rack to panniers to a clip-on cooler to a pull-behind trailer:

By lucky coincidence, we had to ride right through Fairfax on the day of Biketoberfest. So we stopped for a few hours for the classic bikes, the beer-dispensing cargo bikes, and the food.

Bike Camping, Point Reyes

Wed, 05 Sep 2012 05:47:28 +0000

My second year bike camping for a three-day weekend in Point Reyes: eight of us rode up lugging camping gear, braving the hilly Four Corners / Panoramic / Highway 1 route, and admiring the views.

The blackberries were out in full force. We filled up a whole container for breakfast the next morning:

Oyster break in Olema:

Point Reyes bike camping: Labor Day

Mon, 20 Aug 2012 06:56:48 +0000

Currently in the works: a two-night bike camping trip to Sky Camp in Point Reyes National Seashore (I made the reservations six months ago and am finally sorting out the details– I’ve talked to several people and it looks like we’ll have a good posse).

I’ll probably follow the same general route as this Point Reyes trip from last year, to keep it easy to plan…

Bike Camping on Angel Island

Mon, 30 Jul 2012 00:20:36 +0000

I had to make the reservation 6 months ago early on a Saturday morning (as the camp sites often fill up within hours of going on sale), but we lucked out on the weather, and seven of us camped on Angel Island (5 by bike).

The Long Haul Trucker handled well as usual, even loaded with two unconventional panniers:

the bike-mounted cooler I made rides again, this time carrying 2 lbs of marinated beef, tubs of pickles, and beer, to a camping...

Sun, 29 Jul 2012 00:11:00 +0000

The bike-mounted cooler I made rides again, this time carrying 2 lbs of marinated beef, tubs of pickles, and beer, to a camping trip…

SF -> Sonoma bike camping & barn dance

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 05:45:00 +0000

18 Reasons threw a Full Moon Barn Dance party at Circle JR Ranch in Sonoma recently. Eating, drinking (Linden St beer and Sodacraft soda), horseshoes, tours of a Bi-Rite garden, lasso lessons, dancing… I could have driven up with a friend, but I figured– why not bike?

The most direct route would have been through San Rafael and up on the 37 to the 121, but after looking at the excellent Marin Country Bike Coalition map’s warnings of missing shoulders and reading a few online posts about those road segments, I decided I was willing to add 9 extra miles and some hills to ride via Fairfax / Nicasio / Petaluma:

Circle JR Ranch, Sonoma

Sun, 14 Aug 2011 21:06:00 +0000

Circle JR Ranch, Sonoma

Three weeks of solo bike touring and camping, across 600+ miles of The Netherlands and Belgium. Riding over massive man-made...

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 02:47:00 +0000

Three weeks of solo bike touring and camping, across 600+ miles of The Netherlands and Belgium. Riding over massive man-made dikes, on paved bike paths cutting through dark forests and rural farm fields (where I might not see another person for hours), to Trappist breweries and old towns, along canals, on muddy back roads and unsigned border crossings, and to a bonfire with a band playing under a rusted crane.

Some animal nibbled at my panniers overnight (earlier in the trip)! After that, I moved all snacks to a suspended-above-ground...

Fri, 24 Jun 2011 19:27:07 +0000

Some animal nibbled at my panniers overnight (earlier in the trip)! After that, I moved all snacks to a suspended-above-ground bag and didn’t have further problems.

I may be becoming addicted to cycling

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 22:43:04 +0000

Yesterday I biked for about 13 hours (with breaks), maybe 200km (120 miles), twice as far as I’d planned. The weather was perfect, I had a tailwind, navigating was easy, and I was in a euphoric cycling state of mind. So when I reached my planned campground around 4, I kept going… and only when it started to get dark after 10 (solstice, moderately high latitude) did I think about stopping. I even found myself idly thinking about biking all night because I was in such a good mood– but fortunately common sense took over before I did something that crazy (I was out of food and water, only had a small light, canal ferries wouldn’t have been running). It’s a sickness, I tell you!

Laying on my back somewhere in The Netherlands, surrounded by vocal evening birds. Not a bad end to a Thursday.

Fri, 10 Jun 2011 15:24:00 +0000

Laying on my back somewhere in The Netherlands, surrounded by vocal evening birds. Not a bad end to a Thursday.

Bivy tent camping near Kijkduin by the ocean

Tue, 07 Jun 2011 12:20:04 +0000

Bivy tent camping near Kijkduin by the ocean

riding in holland right now! long-distance bike path LF1, dunes, a few hundred feet from the North Sea

Mon, 06 Jun 2011 22:12:06 +0000

riding in holland right now! long-distance bike path LF1, dunes, a few hundred feet from the North Sea

Point Reyes Bike Camping recap

Wed, 18 May 2011 03:54:00 +0000

A few weeks ago, I did something I’ve wanted to do for years– a bike camping trip to Point Reyes, self-supported (carrying everything, no car support).

I wanted to camp in Point Reyes National Seashore itself rather than nearby in Samuel P Taylor, to be somewhere more remote that wasn’t drive-in. I picked Sky Camp (based partly on this SFgate article), managed to get two nights reserved, and we ended up with a hardy group of 11 (friends, friends of friends, riders from last year’s SF RAGBRAI contingent).

Point Reyes bike camping: view from Sky Camp (a rare fog-free evening)

Tue, 26 Apr 2011 04:43:00 +0000

Point Reyes bike camping: view from Sky Camp (a rare fog-free evening)

Point Reyes bike camping: through the woods

Tue, 26 Apr 2011 04:41:07 +0000

Point Reyes bike camping: through the woods

In Bothe-Napa, after a day of riding and some wine tasting

Sun, 12 Sep 2010 02:08:35 +0000

In Bothe-Napa, after a day of riding and some wine tasting

Bike camping weekend of 9/11

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 06:21:06 +0000

I’m planning on going self-supported bike camping for the first time the weekend of 9/11. I’ve had about 5 people say they might be interested, so probably at least a few of us will end up doing it.

The rough plan is to take the ferry from SF to Vallejo Saturday morning, go on a 40ish mile ride through Napa Valley (Napa / Yountville / St Helena / Calistoga) at a steady but non-racing, no-one-left-behind pace (we’ll be carrying all our gear), stop periodically for wine tasting, and then camp in Bothe-Napa State Park.

SFgate article on bike camping

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 08:48:00 +0000

Just published today, how convenient:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/02/24/NSA51C37BO.DTL&type=printable