and .................. its the middle of the night ............. and you need a "P "
,,,,,,,,open the tent door all wet on you and get back and more wet !
nice hotel with warm bathroom ?

A few years ago i used to camp all the time , but as you get a wee bit older it does not have the same appeal !

anyway a hotel in Morocco is about £10 so why even think about the camp thing !!

Things got that bad have they. I suppose it gets us all in the end

You're probably right and the reality (my observation of it anyway) seems to be that fewer and fewer people are tent camping. Festivals and special occasions, yes there's loads of people camping at those but during our recent trip it wasn't unusual to find that we were the only people in tents in the entire campsite. In the US we've been refused access to sites because we wanted to use a tent - 'camping' being something done in an RV, not under canvas (or nylon or whatever the fabric is).

It's not all wonderful in cheap hotels (or expensive ones come to that) though. I reckon I can't sleep in the bed in one hotel in three (roughly) as the bed is too soft and I end up with back pain in the morning. It's a little depressing to have to sleep on my camping mat in the hotel room while the bed I'm paying for is unused.

That's what a piss bottle is for, no need to go outside in the rain and if the lid seals well you have a hot water bottle for 20 mins or so...!!!!

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Never used one of those - I tend to just undo the zip ...

Brung up in a barn before anyone says it

Then kneel in it in the morning getting out of the tent...

One-litre plastic milk bottle works a treat, if you need more than that you've got a problem

I enjoy camping (seldomly). I enjoy biking. I Just don't enjoy the combo.

Riding long days, day after day, camping doesn't give me the restitution I need. There is also a price to pay in terms of the opportunity to explore at your destination.

Setting and tearing camp, shopping groceries, cooking, doing dishes, personal hygene, laundry, drying out gear, regulating temperature, sleeping poorly, being cramped out, charging electronics... It all saps energy and time.

At my destination, I'm uneasy about leaving my gear behind - unlocked and unattended - so most often I stay put.

I only bring camping gear if there is a probability that I may be without any other options. In fact, I will rather ride several hours longer than planned to avoid pitching a tent. I do brin ag tent and sleeping gear on some trips, but for emergencies only, or for the odd chance where I really want to camp. I don't bring cooking gear food services are usually hard not to find on a long days ride. Even then, cold meals are ok sometimes also.

There are trips where camping is key to the experience - for me it is usually a shorter trip with two day camping in the same location - never a new camp every day. On these I bring all the creature comforts.

I get that people are on a budget - fortunately for me, my budget allows me other forms of accomodation as well as dining services. I respect tgat people enjoy camping as much as possible - it's just not for me when on motorcycle journeys.

I enjoy not having all that extra weight and clutter that camping gear involves - so I leave it at home and plan accordingly.

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That about sums camping up !
You a dead right ................ after a long ride . who wants to start pitching a tent and all the faff that goes with it ............. give me a nice double bed with clean white sheets anytime

and .............. the next day you spend an hour trying to pack all of it away !

( tent icon ^^ )

Hello

Camping allows you travelling in areas with no people and no hotels around for free.

Camping allows you travelling in areas with high prices for accomodation, usually there are campgrounds for $10-30, while hotels are in the 3 digits level.
Backpackers are good when you are young, but sharing a room with kids (18-30years) gets more difficult with age.

With good camping equipement that works for you, bad weather is less of a problem.

Areas with hotels for $10-30, have rarely nice campgrounds, so you really have to like camping to still do it.

In areas with hotels in the 3 digits level, camping is a no brainer, but if one doesn't like camping at all, take out the wallet.

4 weeks in Norway will have a different price tag than 4 weeks in Marocco, doing both the same way with hotels and restaurants.
But, you can do camping in Norway or hotels in Marocco for the same amount of money overall.


sushi

P.S.
With your own tent you don't have to worry about bed bugs and such...
More than once I put up my inner tent on a cheap hotelbed...

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As a biker I would really look into ultra-lightweigt.

Small pack size, small weight

Unfortunately that is the most expensiv gear.

But all the basic gear, tent, mat, sleeping bag, cooker, pan, dishes would easily fit in a standard side bag - if cash $$$ isnt the point. On the other side you can easily stay 14 days in a 5 star hotel for that - but just once.

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