Good morning-afternoon-evening! It's Chan-Mai!
Lately I've often found myself in conversations on the theme of “things I love,” and every day I ask my own heart, what is it that I love...
“Love,” hmm~..
I love riding bikes, I love campfires, I love radio, I love shisha, I love plants, I love books, I love musical instruments, I love old things, I love pudding.. all sorts of things come to mind, but I get the feeling I shouldn't say I “love” something unless I can properly talk about everything around it, its background and history, the people involved and so on, and I feel embarrassed about the days when I thought of myself as someone with lots of hobbies.
Getting ready for RIDEALIVE
Thinking of it that way, I'm not sure I'm allowed to say “love,” but the thing I can say out loud that I simply, instinctively “love” is camping, or rather, campfires.
With RIDEALIVE being held on Saturday, November 7 ~ Sunday, November 8 for the first time in seven years, the staff are really fired up, too. Even though there's plenty of other preparation left, every day I'm distracted by nothing but what route to take and what to bring.
“Let's just go camping already! It's a rehearsal!!” The dates we fixed in that burst of enthusiasm turned out, sure enough, to be rainy.
Rainy day Style
That said, RIDEALIVE goes ahead rain or shine, of course. It's important to think through your rainy-day kit, too.
For better or worse (no, for better!), I've been rained on the whole year. I've already experienced rain at every kind of event and ride. Here's what I, such as I am, chose to wear
Jacket: Yamatomichi All-Weather Jacket
Shorts: Patagonia Baggies Shorts
Footwear (riding): QUOC Weekend
Footwear (off the bike): BEDROCK SANDALS Cairn Evo
I already knew I'd get wet, so thinking about the time spent at the campsite and the moments of taking shoes on and off in the rain, for my feet I went with the BEDROCK SANDALS Cairn Evo. But since this route had some proper climbing, I chose the QUOC Weekend for while I was riding.
If the rain had looked like getting heavier I'd have layered on the MILESTONE Up-Swing Rain Pants, but partly because the air was gentle with the lingering feel of summer, this time they just stayed tucked in the frame bag.
Even when you really put the miles in, the All-Weather Jacket keeps the rain off while cleverly letting your body heat escape, and is supremely comfortable to wear, and the BEDROCK SANDAL Cairn series stays snugly on your feet however wet it gets. It was the best possible choice☝️
The must-brings
Basically, this is how I think about the bare minimum you need for a camp ride.
- Tent, tarp ・・・For beginners I recommend a freestanding type. It's easy to understand how to pitch, and intuitive to use. You can move it after the tent body is up, which saves you from “this wasn't a good spot🥹.” When choosing where to pitch your tent, watch out for stones, slopes and hollows!
- Mat, sleeping bag ・・・Sleeping bags come in down and synthetic, but for bikepacking I recommend lightweight, compact down. Something with around 300–500g of down is usable across a wide range of seasons and is what I'd recommend. If you want to use it in winter too, layering is one option◎Don't forget to air it in the sun after use.
- Light ・・・Campsites get darker than you'd think, so you need a headlamp or lantern. Especially when coming back from the toilet, you fall victim to the phenomenon of no longer knowing where your own tent is.
- Change of clothes
- Mobile battery ・・・There's no power supply at the individual pitches, so I recommend having a battery with you ready for the next day.
- Rainwear ・・・Mountain weather changes easily, and getting wet in the rain in November's climate is a sure way to catch a cold. Rainwear also serves as a warm layer when it comes to it.
That's it. It really is about that much.
I didn't list them because it goes without saying, but I always have a puncture repair kit, tools and a first aid kit tucked into my frame bag.
At this RIDEALIVE meals are provided, so of food, clothing and shelter, as long as you're properly equipped for “clothing” and “shelter,” you should have no problems!
Since it's being held in November, it looks as though you'll need to add a bit of cold-weather gear.
Glad I had them! All-purpose items
Things you don't want to get wet go into an ORTLIEB dry bag. Welding does away with seams and achieves more reliable waterproofing. It's soft nylon so it's easy to pack, and being able to vary the capacity to suit the amount of stuff makes it easy to use, too. It keeps things properly protected from the wet, and on rainy days I can't do without it.
Ziplocs are fine too, of course. The reason I deliberately use a dry bag is, after all, durability. It won't get holes or tear even if you treat it a bit roughly, so personally I prefer it because it lasts longer.
It's for protecting things from getting wet, of course, but it's also suited to the opposite use, “putting wet things in.” Packing gets squeezed together more tightly than you'd expect, so it's also important to have things in a state where there's no worry about anything seeping out.
This one was a huge help on this summer's Shiretoko tour as well. Once I tried it, it was so incredibly handy that I can't be without it.
First, it has lots of lighting modes. There are seven: High / Low (daylight white), High / Low (warm white), steady red, flashing red, and Max (daylight white + warm white), which pretty much covers every kind of light you want outdoors.
The reason I personally got hooked is that the clip on the back makes it easy to put on and take off. Clipped to the front bag when entering a tunnel, to the saddle bag when bikepacking, to my jacket in place of a headlamp when pitching the tent... and so on; it's an amazing thing that you can keep moving from one place of action to the next.
On top of that it's waterproof and dustproof to IP66 (good for driving rain and dust), so you can use it with peace of mind even on a day like this. Recently one with a speaker has appeared, too, to the great delight of me, who likes to sing while riding.
Chan-Mai’s bikepacking setup
Bikepacking originally means the style of attaching bags directly to the bike's frame itself, without using racks and the like. The good thing about bikepacking is that the weight is stable and it doesn't spoil the bike's natural ride feel.
This time, with the RAWLOW MOUNTAIN WORKS Bike’n Hike Post Bag Circles Original as the main piece, I fitted the OUTER SHELL Drawcord Handlebar Bag, the OUTER SHELL Half Framebag, and on the fork, SIMWORKS Cohiba Roll-Ups.
I kitted up in this style, but at RIDEALIVE any kind of packing is free◎Fit a rack, stow things in side bags, or, of course, put nothing on the bike at all and go backpack style; it's all OK!
Just as I thought, packing done~, I discovered I'd forgotten my mat, and decided to carry it on my back. The Yamatomichi UL Pad 15 / 100cm is a mere 75g, so light you forget you're carrying it. In place of a cord, I threaded a spare inner tube through it
and like this, I was all kitted up! Nice Tips☝️
Doppo Ronin
My partner this time was the Doppo Ronin, with which I've shared intense times again this year at OMM and on the Shiretoko tour.
The frame size is small (in fact a prototype XS) and many bags end up oversized on it, but I think this time's choices matched pretty well.
The tires are the SIMWORKS Super Yummy Tire 26″. They give a stable ride yet roll along lightly, so I could ride with confidence on wet roads and uphill alike.
Bring what you love
The first day was unfortunately rainy, but when we packed up there was blue sky with a feel of summer for the first time in a while. Camping is often more fun, if anything, when it's a little inconvenient.
The smoker, which for me personally is indispensable when camping, was the big winner this time. As for ingredients, cheese, bacon, cashew nuts and octopus are my first team.
It's a special occasion, so let's all bring the things we love. That time becomes so much more fun. Think about how you could bring it along, try it out, and bring it in.
I don't yet know the background, the history or the people of smoking food, but I do know how to smoke things deliciously. Because I love smoked food🤟
Well then, everyone, I'm looking forward to seeing you at RIDEALIVE! Let's have a good time together~ We're waiting for your entries!
