Ride to Camp tips from the Trippy Trip. =D =D

 This month I was able to get a lot of miles on my green machine.  I was blessed enough to be invited to some great places with some amazing people.  I've already touched Chicago, Louisville, Dayton and Cincinnati, just shy of LaCrosse, and next month Tennessee.  If you know me, you know that I'm not one of those tired, boring copy cat bikers who follows the SAME path every year, and takes the EXACT same photos in the EXACT same spot every time.. *YAWN* even though the faces change, the locations are already documented.. I like new adventures.. I'm into discovering new places and people.. I am a trail blazer, and get bored so easily with the mundane.  I couldn't be happier that I have my Trash Babies along for the trip!

My babes are amazing in every way to me,  I mean, we are wind sisters.. and we all come from different backgrounds. Somehow when we hang out, it is always a great time, in the most clandestine events, putting us in the right place at the right time, the atmosphere is always right, the food is great- it's just meant to be.  I was always supposed to be here with them.

This was our first camping trip.  This was our first group ride out of town... This was a lot of firsts.. and it prompted me to want to talk about them in a blog and maybe help women learn a few things, or maybe look at things differently when riding their motorcycles on group rides. 

  I was raised with men who camped, I was taught at a young age how to clean rabbits and deer, how to load a gun, pee in the woods and how to camp. Until I rode to Joshua Tree in 2016, I had never camped with all women before..  It was my very first cross country trip, solo trip over 5000 miles, and first camping event of all women.  Even though it was more of a festival, and not so much camp, as just having a tent in the dirt to sleep in.  It reminded me that everyone has to have firsts.  I remember all of my moto firsts.. and since then, I have had so many more.. and more.  You have to keep learning, trying, doing.. or what's the point?  KEEP HAVING FIRSTS! It's a sign of growth and seeking knowledge..  who cares if you try it for the first time, and end up NOT liking it.  Camping is a great example.  This trip, one of my girls insists that she hates camping, and will never do it again.  But- it isn't that bad.  It just wasn't done 'right'. 

Let me explain what camping done right looks like.  Would you have more fun if you were camping, and when it got dark, your twinkle lights lit up, illuminating your tent that has all of your personal items set up in it, all where you can find it, with your headlamp, or flashlight when it was time to stumble back when the campfire went out, your sleeping bag and pillow were waiting for you in a bug free environment.. OR would you rather stumble back from the campfire, not have your tent up- try to set it up in the dark with your friends holding their cell phones as flashlights- fail and not put your rain cover on, getting soaking wet in the middle of the night when it rains, and then not being able to find ANY of your personal belongings the next morning?  I'll take the prepared, done right option. EVERY TIME. and it is all about setting yourself up for success.. in everything ride and camp.  An ounce of preparation can make all of the difference between a good trip and a bad trip.. just like EATING those little psychedelic darlings. 

We took off down to Clifty Falls State Park one weekend last month.  We had dreams of a trippy trip, psychedelic darlings and all.  Packing up the bikes was the first lesson of the morning.  Bungees and Nets, ratchet straps and compression ties.. we got everyones bike strapped down.  The most important thing I explained was to make sure it is pulling forward and down.  Not back, and not to one side or the other too hard.  The vibrations from the ride WILL make your pack slip, and start to lean, and that's when getting anything in your rear tire is a possibility- and that is just bad.  So- tuck your straps, even pressure on both sides of your pack, and enough tie downs to immobilize it securely to your bikes tie down areas.  Only 2 of us has sissy bars.  So it was different for each of us- and we all made it work.  Tent, Hammock, blanket, pack. Perfect.

On the way down, one of the girls lead for the first time.  This was part of the reason we took the trip.  Preparing to ride with a group, especially if it is 'club style' riding (axel to axel) takes some practice, and some skill.  Mostly it's just paying attention and staying in pace with everyone else.  Watching for hand signals and anomalies in the formation, and signalling for others behind you.  This was going to be a safe space, with like minded women who encourage growth in riding skills, so we knew it wasn't all going to be perfect.  We don't leave anyone behind who may be struggling with the concept, and we can't get shitty.. we literally give constructive criticism as needed, and take it with open ears and minds.  THIS IS WHY I LOVE RIDING WITH WOMEN!  In the 30 years I have been on 2 wheels, I have never ever had a male riding partner that can do this, they always fuck up.  As we were sitting at Helen's little hole in the wall diner, eating the special of the day: Salisbury Steak.. we gave our leader a little constructive criticism, and I feel it could be useful to anyone reading this to hear: 

 When you are leading a group.. it's very important that you remember- YOU ARE LEADING A GROUP.  You can't really ride like you do when you are alone, dipping into traffic and zooming ahead to make lights.. unless the group with you is really experienced at keeping up and knows your riding style.  When you are in the lead, you have others behind you who are counting on you to make the decisions.  When to turn, and give ample warning- Danger ahead, and signal.  Changing lanes, with proper signals- slowing down and passing...you get the point.  Anything you do, is telegraphed to the riders behind you.  Why, seems obvious, but it is so the riders can adapt and follow you.  No one can read your mind- another concept men don't seem to understand.. so you telegraph. COMMUNICATE.  Be precise, be clear, be BIG- and be confident.  Everyone makes mistakes when leading, I even missed a turn and had to U turn the group at one point during my lead.. and it was OK. You want to pick a side of the lane, and stick with it.  Consistency can eliminate confusion for the riders behind you, and alert them if something is wrong.  Now get out there and lead babe!

Once we got to our destination, we decided it was a great time to set up camp.  It was a first come, first serve campsite, where you pick out the spot, and then mark it on the envelope where you drop your payment.  I feel like it is a huge honor system, mostly because the box where I put my money was FULL of other envelopes of money, right there.  They hadn't been collected in a minute, and I guess that is how parks make money.  So we added our money to the pile, honestly.. and took off.  It was HOT. stagnant and MUTHAFUGGIN HOT.. our goal was to get camp set up so we could go to the pool and cool off.  We succeeded in finding the PERFECT camp spot.  Not only was it tucked back in the trees, with 2 tables, and a fire ring that happened to have wood in it.. it was littered with at least 20 different kinds of mushrooms.  BIG ones, little ones, red, and yellow and orange.. polka dots.. Our atmosphere for Trippy Trip was set, and after a few tutorials on setting up a tent and where to put it for morning sun, twinkle lights strung, we had camp done and we were off to the pool.

One of my favorite camping hacks for the past several years has been solar powered twinkle or string lights.  It may sound silly, or look super fantastically fairy like.. but who DOESN'T want that?  The reason, mostly, that these are indispensable, is for seeing your tent after dark at the camp.  A lantern in the tent is one thing- but it seems to attract bugs like a.. well.. lantern.  And you have to turn it on, unless it is solar powered and automatically comes on at dusk.  The twinkle lights, especially when twinkling.. have a rare ability to NOT attract insects.  The only thing I know they don't scare away is spiders.  HUGE ASS DADDY LONG LEGGED spiders. They seemed to attract them at the trippy trip- so we had a ton of guests for the activities that followed our arrival back to camp after dusk.  

After swimming, we found a few trails to hike to see Clifty falls.  The views were just amazing, and the day was cooling off enough that Pizza sounded good.  On our way out, we met a couple who wrote articles for RIDER magazine on one of the trails- a cute couple who looked like they have met a FEW fantastic riders..  we told a few stories, they took our photo, and he said he was writing a book... we thanked them and made our way to the local pizza joint.

It was dark when we left the pizza palace.. we had added our extra personal dry toppings and were feeling pretty good about it.  One more stop for essentials, leftovers in hand, and we were off, back toward camp.  I was leading, and it was dark.  The roads opened up and let us in with such acceptance, the day of riding was bringing us together, and had made it pretty easy to find a formation by this time.  In the lead, I had no mirrors, but when I passed our turn, one of the girls called me and told me we were lost.  I almost believed her.. I panicked.. checking my map realizing, we had just went a mile too far, past a hidden turn, to camp.  The psychedelics were starting to settle in.  We rode an extra 2 miles past the turn, out of the state camp, and to the sign to MAKE sure we were in the right camp.  This was what we were going for.  the TRIP.  

The twinkle lights were dancing when we arrived back to camp indicating a safe haven, and that we were in the right place- since I was briefly convinced we had entered a different time or space, since we had gotten SO LOST only a mile from camp.  Getting our bikes parked and fire started was a matter of minutes.. the mosquitos disbursed, and we had our lantern hung in the tree.  A bluetooth speaker, and a deck of Tarot cards, and we were already well on our way to outer space.

The next morning, I awoke to sprinkles hitting my face.. rain, but just a light mist.. the air had cooled and the light was diffused by thick heavy clouds.. was it even light yet? Get up, get out of your tent.. go pick up the unprepared campers personal items from the camp so they don't get wet or ruined.. a bag, a shirt, a towel... back to the tent- fix the rain cover, and back to sleep to the sound of the downpour.

When it was finally time to get up, the sun was still hidden by a thick wet and hot barrier of mist.  The air was still stagnant, but cool.  Getting a move on was our only chance of cooling down.. so we packed up camp and headed to town to find food.  Packing up camp, in itself, is a practice of no trace left behind.  We pick up all plastic, all bottle caps, and wire ties, or tags from the new tents we used.  The site was untouched as before, and all that remained were embers of once logs that kept us alight the night before as we bonded and cried, and laughed and died. 

Bitter sweet, heading home.  Your body may ache from the ground- a nice pad or mat is always in my pack.  You're probably thirsty, because riding in the sun, swimming, alcohol, and sweating.. will cause the worst dehydration.  I added a thermos pocket to my pack specifically to have water on me every time I am out on the bike, or camping.  Hydrating will save you SO much pain.  The way you pack your bike up, matters.  Lesson 2 on packing bikes came about halfway home, when one of the girls had a pack slip, and we had to pull over.  The lead girl didn't notice and kept going, but was able to pull off and rejoin us as we approached, like nothing had happened.  I was so proud of my girls for learning SO MUCH about group riding, bike camping, navigating, state parks, and packing in ONE SHORT WEEKEND!  

Our next trip will be Labor Day weekend.. it's a bit farther, but still only one stop to camp at the destination.  We are working our way up as a group, to be able to go cross country, with multiple camping stops, together next year.   In~Cahoots Moto Co is a country wide group of women who ride, support, and love the wind!  What better place to ride our first cross country trip than In~Cahoots SouthWest Quest in 2023!?!?  Trash babies will be on scene to bring the party, and the sisterhood!