Bike Camping 101 at BICAS

I have been getting the itch lately to try my hand at bike camping a la Russ & Laura from pathlesspedaled.com.  Unfortunately injuries and extreme cold weather (for Tucsonans anyway) have prevented me from even commuting on the Brompton.  Plus I have to get some more gear before I can embark on my first trip.

However, I did come across an introductory class offered by BICAS, our local non-profit bike repair and recycling collective.

The class was very informal and had a lot of group participation.  This class was the first in a series of four that will be taught, and an organized S24O (Sub-24 hour overnight) will be happening through BICAS on May 18-19.  Unfortunately I will have to miss the next two classes and the S24O due to prior commitments.  I am truly bummed!

 
Part of this class went over what bikes were commonly used for touring and camping.  Of course Bromptons aren't on this list, but the consensus was that you can pretty much use anything that will carry your gear.  Steel is good because it is forgiving (compared to carbon or aluminum) and can be bent back into shape if in a wreck.

If you are using  full size bike, you should think about whether to run 26" or 700c wheels depending on tire availability during your travel.  Since the Bromptons have 16" wheels, we just have to carry our own or have someone on speed dial to ship them when we need them.  Don't expect shops in small town to carry tires and tubes in our size.

The internet resources are really great, particularly crazyguyonabike.com, which is a site where anyone can post up their tour experiences and pictures.  Searches can be done using keywords for location or route.  You can really spend weeks just browsing that site!

BICAS Build-A-Bike Workshop

Earlier this month I took a Build-A-Bike workshop at BICAS where you take a donated bicycle and re-condition it with new grease and parts and adjust everything for optimal operation.  The class was divided into 5 days that ran about 4 hours each day.  The following topics were covered:

Day 1: Fixing flats and re-conditioning hubs
Day 2. Headsets and bottom brackets
Day 3. Brakes & wheel truing
Day 4. Drivetrain: Chains & derailleurs.
Day 5. Final details and test drive.

Our instructors Ash & Kristen were very knowledgable and patient with us while we struggled with adjusting just so, which was the most difficult part.  The class was helpful in helping us learn what each part is called and also how to determine and use the appropriate tool for each job.

My "lab partner" Jan and I worked on a Trek Multi-Sport 720, and if I remember correctly it was 62 cm, which is WAY too tall for me.  The Trek was very abused, so we didn't have to make too many adjustments to it.  There were other very different bikes that the other people in the class were working on, which was nice since we could get exposure to all the nuances of different parts (i.e. sealed bottom brackets)

Overall, I really enjoyed the class and highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in gaining knowledge of the inner workings of bicycles and the tool required to work on them.  The class was $80, but you will receive $40 in shop credit that can be used toward shop time, used parts or bikes.

Entrance to BICAS

The class workshop

My lab specimen

Cross-section of a headset

Ash teaching us about headsets

My lab partner Jan

Lupe, one of the many mascots at BICAS

Ash demonstrating wheel truing.

Wheel truer, AKA field goal posts.

Learning about drivetrains.

Jan getting the most important finger stuck in the handlebar.

Jan putting the bike through its paces.

Graduation!