Carry on camping…by bicycle

The preoccupation in Britain with cycling as a sport makes it easy to overlook other aspects of life on two wheels. For example, cycle touring is a pursuit as old as the bicycle itself.

Now reinvented as ‘bikepacking’ the business of setting off to ride and camp, taking with you only as much as you can carry, is as pure a cycling experience as you can have.

The excellent bikepacking.com describes ‘a synthesis of mountain biking and minimalist camping; it evokes the freedom of multi-day back-country hiking, with the range and thrill of riding a mountain bike. It’s about forging places less travelled, both near and afar, via single-track trails, gravel, and abandoned dirt roads, carrying only essential gear’.

Some of the bikepacking chronicles describe epic rides through the red deserts of the American west and beyond, but don’t let the lure of far flung destinations stop you starting with a short overnight route near home.

To help get you started, we have a Quechua three-person tent to give away.

The design of this tent uses two-tone dye on the entire outer lining to reduce its CO2 emissions by 20% and the company can repair it if it gets damaged to give it a second life. To be in with a chance of winning the tent, simply leave us a comment at the bottom of the page and let us know where you’d pitch it.

Ethical cycle insurance

On the face of it, one cycle insurance policy is much like another, but the devil is the detail. Check your small print for so-called ‘new-for-old’ replacement – many insurers use the term, but if your bicycle is more than a few years old, devalue it severely. This means you are left out of pocket when you come to replace it.

With ETA cycle insurance, however old the bike, if it’s stolen you get enough to buy a new model. Furthermore, every cycle insurance policy you buy from us helps support the work of the ETA Trust, our charity campaigning for a cleaner and safer transport future. Little wonder The Good Shopping Guide judges us to be Britain’s most ethical provider.

 

Comments

  1. John

    Reply

    Yes for me, please. This is exactly what I need for an upcoming long haul bike ride. 🙏🙏🙏🙏

  2. Stephen

    Reply

    I love my home and village, but I’d pitch this ANYWHERE else! It’s been a long period of working from home, social restrictions, etc. and I really need to get away please!

  3. Richard Scrase

    Reply

    Hello, I’d pitch this at our favourite seaside campsite – do I have to tell you where it is? I’m sure you are lovely but it isn’t usually at all crowded. All right then, its’s http://www.whitesands.co.uk just outside St David’s.

  4. Steve H

    Reply

    I’ve canvassed my friends and after some intense discussions and some tense stand-offs, we’re all in agreement that this tent is for us!

  5. Paul

    Reply

    I’d pitch it the next time I can go to a festival!

  6. Ben Young

    Reply

    This might convince my wife to go to some festivals such as Tribe of Doris with me.

  7. Bryn Gwyndaf Jones

    Reply

    Perfect & couldn’t be better for the bike.

  8. Vincent Procter

    Reply

    Great a two-tone tent that’ll match my two-tone summer cycling legs. It’s a yes from me.

  9. Paul Doe

    Reply

    Looks cool !

    Good weekends

    Paul

  10. Olly

    Reply

    Perfect for a trip across Dorset. I would pitch it on the beautiful Jurassic Coast

  11. Darryl Sunnick

    Reply

    Striding Edge…Lake District!

  12. Gary Moon

    Reply

    I’ve a friend who lives in the Highlands & plan to ride up there this would instantly sort out my accommodation for the trip to him

  13. Pege

    Reply

    That would be a great tent for our planned rides in the next year or two.

  14. molly daniel

    Reply

    Would love this! I’d take it to Cornwall and pitch up as close to St Loy as possible!

  15. Peter S

    Reply

    I would pitch the tent when wild camping all over Scotland and shortly in the Shetland Islands, the most Northerly part of Scotland.

  16. Paul Evans

    Reply

    This would be great for some fun activities with the kids over the summer hols.

  17. Helen Bowyer

    Reply

    Cycling to summer festivals

  18. Phil Gregg

    Reply

    Nice Tent. Compact. Light (1.1kg per person). Shared between three cyclists (or one and a half tandems) this would really make an economical way to to explore the UK.

  19. Jonathan Baldwin

    Reply

    I’d pitch it in the garden outside my friend’s house in Wales – I’ve not seen her and her kids since the pandemic started. We’d need to arrange a pulley system for tea though.

  20. Peer

    Reply

    I’m supposed to be doing the King Alfred Way in August but this rate a tarp isn’t going to cut it! Really need the rain to stop now, otherwise, I need to learn how to swim in my sleep!!

  21. a different john

    Reply

    would be a local pitch for us – Haystacks, Lake District – cycling their from home of course

  22. Fran

    Reply

    Oh, that looks a perfect partner for my new gravel bike and my upcoming trip to the Outer Hebrides. Yes please……!

  23. John A

    Reply

    This would be perfect for my son to take to the Peak District in September. He’s tried to repair his current tent, but with 2 broken poles and a leaking flysheet I think it might be time to replace it.

  24. Mick Leary

    Reply

    When we have friends to stay, their kids would love to sleep in this out in our garden, where they could listen to the Barn Owls, and watch the bats flying about as the sun goes down.

  25. Pat

    Reply

    I would pitch this where there are no flying ants. Unless, of course, the dye reduces ant-attraction as well as CO2 emissions. (It’s disconcerting when your tent becomes a writhing black blob!)

  26. Andrew Richardson

    Reply

    I would like to have a go at cycle camping. For starters, the Coast and Castles route with a great pitch on the Northumberland coast on night 1, then “wherever I lay my hat (helmet)”!

  27. Mark

    Reply

    not going anywhere this year so we’ll be pitching this in the garden, should get 3 of us and the cat inside

  28. Paul Andrews

    Reply

    Looks like just what I need for my next adventure to complete my END to End for September 2021, Lancaster to JoG. Travelling the first leg with a weighty hotel tent was in no ways fun.. It would be great to have some less KG’s to complete the journey and spare the fuel.

  29. Alex

    Reply

    I’d love to pitch this tent on a trip down the Portuguese coast!

  30. James

    Reply

    Looks a great addition to the cycle!

  31. Dave

    Reply

    I’d pitch it on a wild camping 🏕️ spot close to a beach only accessabilccessable by cycle and foot.

  32. Dave

    Reply

    I’d pitch it on a wild camping 🏕️ spot close to a beach only accessable by cycle and foot!

  33. David Gray

    Reply

    Very minimalist. Looks very small in the photo.

  34. Yousaf Mirza

    Reply

    Looks great. Count me in for the draw. 🙂

  35. Paul Soane

    Reply

    Overlooking the beach watching white horses. And playing White Horses by Jackie

  36. Jon PENNYCOOK

    Reply

    I’d pitch it at Windmill Campersite on the Isle of Wight (I’m going there next month, but unfortunately I won’t be staying in their converted helicopter!)

  37. Ewan Cushan

    Reply

    Somewhere with the right balance of wildness and facilities

  38. Pamela

    Reply

    I would love this for cycle touring. Minimalist camping with a bike. Great

  39. Alan

    Reply

    Interesting to learn that the dyeing is so carbon intensive. Would an undyed option have 40% lower emissions then?

  40. Henry

    Reply

    We’d cycle through the Forest of Bowland with our toddler on the back and pitch up at Edisford Bridge campsite ready for a quick paddle in the river and a ride on the miniature railway. And we’d be ever so grateful!

  41. Finn Blackmore

    Reply

    Finn (Aged 7) says:

    “My Dad promised to take me camping two years ago. We still haven’t been, and he hasn’t even bought a tent yet! Help him out, please…”

    All donations gratefully appreciated 😜

  42. Pam Jibson

    Reply

    Somewhere in the Peak District so that I can accompany my daughter on one of her climbs 🚲⛰⛺️

  43. Kerena

    Reply

    Have always wanted to try bike packing but our current tent barely fits in the car!! Would love to head up to Scotland and enjoy the freedom to camp wherever we end up!

  44. Kath McNulty

    Reply

    Kyrgyzstan! As soon as the overland route opens up, I’ll be off.

    Regards

    Kath

  45. Simon

    Reply

    France

  46. Michaelbicycle

    Reply

    Just the job for overnight breaks on longer bike rides around our beautiful countryside.

  47. Greg

    Reply

    Brilliant environmental tent. Yes please.

  48. inge

    Reply

    My bike and I would love to spend the night under that tent! Who cares about the other two people!

  49. Eric ludlow

    Reply

    Home is wherever I pitch it…

  50. Mike Croker

    Reply

    In the back garden first (never a good idea to first pitch a new tent in the wild), then the world’s my oyster!

  51. Douglas Coghlan

    Reply

    I’d be pitching this in The Cairngorms!

  52. Jim Woodlingfield

    Reply

    Definitely, we would go camping in Northumberland!

  53. james

    Reply

    Just perfect for my touring bike.
    I would go up to Cape Wrath in Scotland and camp next to the beach at Kearvaig.

  54. Nick Longson

    Reply

    I am off to play at the off the tracks festival

  55. Les Gunbie

    Reply

    I’d pitch it in a field in Sussex …

  56. Peter

    Reply

    I’d pitch it at one of the many music festivals I’m looking forward to getting back to

  57. Huw Thimas

    Reply

    Pitch at Pwll Deri, Pembs. Stunning views of the coastline, birds and dolphins. Excellent base for a cycling holiday around Pembrokeshire coast.

  58. Mark B

    Reply

    I need a tent to keep sleepovers out of the house! Yes please!!

  59. Jamie J

    Reply

    Does anything beat getting intense with a close friend or two…?

  60. Kate Platt

    Reply

    I’d pitch mine by the sea so I would sleep to the sound of the waves. Green. Powerful.Beautiful.

  61. robert peel

    Reply

    i would like to have this tent

  62. Rory

    Reply

    I don’t have a long haul bike trip coming up but would still love to win this tent!

  63. J Reid

    Reply

    How wonderful. I’d love to pitch it in a quiet spot and enjoy the stars.

  64. Karen

    Reply

    Quechua camping bug starts with a sleepover in the garden. Our 4 year old granddaughter will join 4 generations of

  65. Karen Beaumont

    Reply

    Fun and freedom starts with a sleepover with grandma in the garden with a Quechua stowed in Annabelle’s little bike basket. One day a gap year in Aus, French motorway Aires and Greek Island stopovers as well as Suffolk rambles await perhaps.

  66. Clive

    Reply

    I would pitch this somewhere in Scotland or Wales where the right to roam and wild camp still exists, unlike in England.

  67. Ly

    Reply

    How wonderful. Love the design. I’d be pitching this on Dartmoor, my favourite place to be.

  68. Beans

    Reply

    I’d pitch it somewhere on the letter ‘e’ as we spell ‘refugees welcome’ in GPS tracks to raise money via Thighs of Steel…and make a world record in GPS writing while we do it!

  69. Mark

    Reply

    Anywhere my bike takes me, now we have FREEDOM!

    🏝

  70. Gary

    Reply

    What a great way to get some much needed freedom and adventure. Wherever I pitch my tent, that’s my home !

  71. Abbi Gutierrez

    Reply

    I’m going bike packing this weekend for the first time. I’m taking a cheap little festival tent and really hoping it doesn’t rain or get too windy! I’d love a proper lightweight tent to take. Tonight we’re staying close to home in the Mendips near Bristol but I’d love to explore further such as the Brecon Beacons.

  72. Howard

    Reply

    But most of the CO2 will come from me …

  73. Dave single

    Reply

    Bike packing in wood wold or Weald
    In hill-country forest or field
    With a tent from the weather you’re sealed
    – and camping is better two-wheeled.

  74. Andy Dark

    Reply

    It certainly looks like great piece of kit. For me i would pitch it up on the grass area above the beach in Botany Bay at Margate. A great place to wake and look out on to a huge, huge expanse of morning sky.

  75. David Hunt

    Reply

    This would be great for any camping trip, be it by bike or on foot.

  76. Sarah

    Reply

    A tent with so much going for it. A brilliant way to enhance your cycling adventures.

  77. Andy Giddy

    Reply

    Looks great for a family off road adventure!

  78. Peter Soper

    Reply

    I lent my tent to a work colleague, got it back minus poles, have since lost touch – so this would be a great replacement.

  79. Bethan Greaves

    Reply

    Me and my partner would use this for our mini-moon in the Quantock Hills next spring!

  80. Charles May

    Reply

    The Adventure Travel Film Festival next month, where I’m volunteering while researching routes for my next “big trip”.

  81. Euan Thomson

    Reply

    “The design of this tent uses two-tone dye on the entire outer lining to reduce its CO2 emissions by 20%”
    What on earth does this mean? What is two-tone dye? Does it absorb CO2 and keep going on doing so over and over again whenever the tent is used? Or does using this dye result in a 20% reduction in the CO2 emissions during manufacture of the outer lining?

  82. Clive

    Reply

    I’d cycle 15 miles to Liverpool where my grandkids live and pitch tent on their back lawn to give them their first experience of camping and show that holidays don’t have to mean hotels abroad.

  83. Jen

    Reply

    This would be great

  84. N Harrison

    Reply

    I would love to pitch this tent in the middle of The Avebury Stone circle in Wiltshire during both the summer and winter solstice in order to capture the energy of the stones I would lie in the tent and just soak up good vibes and renew my energy before leaving there to return to day to day life.

  85. Ash Kotecha

    Reply

    Yes please. I would use it Music Festivals. I need one this coming week-end at Wickham Festival.

  86. Toity

    Reply

    Perfect now that my husband isn’t able to cycle and camp – no sharing the load any more! 🙁

  87. Shane

    Reply

    I’m in!
    Perfect for a weekend ride out into the Peak District.

  88. Del Pickup

    Reply

    This would be an ideal tent for me to pitch as I cycle the length of Hadrian’s Wall.

  89. James

    Reply

    That looks excellent – sign me up

  90. Steve Green

    Reply

    That would be ideal for the tour of Scotland later this year.

  91. Vicky French

    Reply

    Life begins at 62, bikepacking with a sustainable tent – my dream’s come true.

  92. Susan Lancaster

    Reply

    This would give us a bit more space (now that we’re in our mid-60s) than our current tiny 2-man tent. Looking forward to getting back in the saddle for a long-distance jaunt but maybe it will have to be nearer our home in Wales next time. Cycle touring with all your gear (in our case just two panniers each) is the most perfect form of freedom you can experience!

  93. Lesley Carol

    Reply

    Would pitch this tent on a hill with a fabulous view and watch the sun go down over my bike wheels.

  94. Frank

    Reply

    Last week I attempted to complete the coast to coast cycle ride but could not get accommodation in Consett so got the train home. We would have set up in Consett if we had had a tent😊

  95. Vanesssa

    Reply

    It would have to be Northumberland and Scotland for the first trip following the coast and castles route with friends.

  96. Helen

    Reply

    Perfect for my planned cycling adventure around Italy!!!

  97. PhilipT

    Reply

    I plan to do a coast to coast and LEJOG next year so I’d be pitching this tent the length and breadth of the country.

  98. Jim B

    Reply

    Hi. I’d go to Dartmoor with this tent.
    Cheers Jim

  99. Zizzie Moore

    Reply

    Having the peace of mind with a good insurance company I’d definitely take this on my first bike packing adventure and pitch up by lakes and streams and forget any worries

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