Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/125638
Wind In The Willows, Pistons In The Pines .f By Bill Harmer In the warm summer months when the lowland beat and smog become oppressive, do you recall tile happy carefree days of your cb1ldbood when you were shipped off to the mountains for two weeks or a montll? Do you long to relive those days of camping, sleeping on the ground, scampering Into your tent to escape a sudden summer sbower and cooking over an outdoor ttre? Remember bow big the moon looked through the pines and how near the stars seemed? Remember the sounds of the nlgbtasyou lay snug In your sleeping bag trying to tlgure what creature made eacb noise? Then remember the tresh pine scent as you awoke at dawn, unable to stay In bed for a moment longer and you walked sllentlY through the torest discovering the wonders of nature greeting another day? Then you remember the truck load of gear that the Camp Director bad to baul to provide tor a few Idds for a couple of days of camping out, and you SUddenly return to the present with the reallzation that you, as a motorcycle hobbyist, are l1mited by the size of your bike as to what you can carryon a camping triP. If you are Inclined to "FORGET THE WHOLE THING;' don'tlll If you and your wife are stul young enough at beart to want to camp out and too much In love witll that motorcycle to leave It bome (aren't we allO, go ahead, takE! it camping. . Need a stovel Get one thlt uses I... ded ~IS Ind you will IlwlYs have fuel. Lit a dis. con..cted ps line trickle Into the res.volr, fire It up Iftd you can boll two cups of Wit. In about fIve minutes. (Don't forpt to reconnect the glS line). In order to see It it Is possible to pack enough on a bike for a comfortable camPing trip and put It to use, we decided to go to the mountains tor a week end and camp out In one of the publ1c campgrounds. We rolled out 7' X 7' llgbtwelght nylon tent and aluminum poles 1ns1de our double sleeping bag and lashed it across our fairing above the headl1ght. We made a platform ot 3/8" plywood and fastened it to the BMW foJdtng luggage rack with 1/2" conduit clamps. We made it large enough to carry a styrofoam ice chest, two deflated air mattresses, two aluminum messldts, a ttrst' aid chest, and an airline sboulder !lag full of towels, pajamas etc. We also packed a collapsable 2-1/2 gallon plastic jug on the platform. We carried eggs, butter, canteloupe, bologna, bacon,and a few slices of bread in the lee chest with the idea that we could buy anytb1ng else that we mlgbt BRIDGES10NE Sales-Semee BarneyTillman'sSPORT CENTeR 6027 Wbi Uier Blvd., E. Los Angele,. (213) 7~3523 need at the village store.Sbouldyouwtsb to carry them, debydrated d1Dners are available In the sporting goods stores. In the saddle !lags along with our spare plugs and tlre patching Idt, we packed sweaters, nyloo jackets, shaving gear, a small camp axe for driving tent stakes, and a new purchase that I bad just made - a little Swedish made brass gasoline stove that was no longer than a mediuin sized vegetable can. I had seen a stove l1ke it a year or so previously In the possession· of an Australlan youth who was traveling around tile world by motorcycle. I bad never seen one for sale untu JUSt the week before OlD' planned camp-out. It uses leaded gas wbtcb eliminates tile necessity at an extra fuel can. All you bave to do to fill it Is disconnect the motorcycle fuel line and let the gasoline trickle Into the reservoir. It needs no pumPIn8 and will boll two cups of water In about five minutes. It will operate for 45 minutes on one ftlllng. We eacb carried a two cell tlasbllgbt tor nigbt time illumination. We left for the mountains after work on Friday, and arrived at the campground just at dusk. Atter tlndtng a suitable space, we bad to pltcb our tent In tile dark. The tlashl1gbts were tnval uable wh1le driving stakes, even thougb a friendly nelgbbor camper brougbt bts Coleman Lantern over to 11ght up the area. We bad stopped on the road for a sandwicb so bad no need to prepare an evening meal, but as an excuse to tryout the little stove, we prepared a couple of cups of Instant coffee. The stove exceeded all el(llectations. and I climbed Into tile sleeping bag anticipating the morning when I could cook breakfast over tile btssing blue flame. IGHT NOISES As we lay In the tent with the vent tlap open, the moon and stars looked just as we bad remembered them but the night noises were usually other campers playIng loud tapes on their auto stereos, sboutlng, or starting a mint-bike with unmuttled ptpes. I eventually got to sleep and awakened as the ttrst streaks of sunl1gbt touched OlD' tent. My wife was st1U obl1vious to the new day, sleeping l1ke a baby on her air mattress. In order nottodtsturbher, I crept out of the tent l1ke a mlddleaged Indian. She expended a couple of muttled grlJIlts to let me know that I wasn't successful, but soon rega1nesl ber former state of unconsciousness as I t1nally overcame the double z1pper on tile mosquito-net front tent tlaps. The compact stove worked perfectlY and I soon bad a bot cup of coffee. Witll the other cup of bot water, I dampened a cloth and washed the sleepiness out of my eyes, cleaned my hands and setabout preparing my breakfast. A couple of slices of bacon were soon s1ZZl1ng In the mess Idt lid wbtch bad a long handle secured by a wing nut. It was beavier than the pan, making it necessary to bold it at all times to keep it from toppling over. I got along tine with the bacon and " ~ . \) ~: ..' \ I ~~ 't, ,{ I' • ,I Improvisation Is the key to easy camping. An upended log becomes a table for a cook stove. soon bad enough grease to fry a couple of eggs. They were cooking beautltully and as I l1ke them over easy I began looking for something to flip them with. I let loose of the handle for a moment to look In a box on the Plywood platform on the luggage rack (it doubles as a small table) and the handle over-balanced the pan and the eggs, grease and all,tl1pped themselves over, breaking on the front of my trousers and running down the legs. Lucidly, we bad brought some extra eggs, but Ibis time I scrambled them. The commotion that I made when tile eggs flipPed bad awakened my wife, and although I offered to fry her bacon and eggs, she preferred to prepare her own breakfast. The eggs stuck to the aluminum mess Idt, bowever, and sbe bad to use it as her plate. I made a mental note to somehow carry a cast iron sldllet next time. It would be worth tile extra weight. K.P. Wasbtng disbes with only two cups of hot water presents its problems, but as tresb cold water was plentttul, we managed to get thtngs in fairly good shape before our next meal. As tile morning wore on, the day warmed considerably and the tly1ng insects concentrated on our necks and arms. We endured tbe1r attacJcs, as we bad neglected to pack any insect repelIant, untu I Inquired of the friendly neighbor. He gave us some repellant and the bugs disappeared. We remembered the Joys of b1klng through the forest, but aI 6,000 teet altitude, the bike to the rest room was about all we could handle. It was too warm In the tent to get any rest . so I pulled the air mattresses out into the sbade of a tree and we relaxed and napped, cbanging locations as the sun moved the sbade around. Thunder clouds formed in the afternoon and It felt l1ke it might rain wbtch would bave been welcome as it would bave settled the dust that was filtering Into everytbtng including us. I t never materlallzed, bowever, and we were secretly wishing for a shower and a change of clothes. We left camp for awb1le and rode the bike to the V1llage store where we bought fixings for our evening meal. The Forestry Service bad provided a barbecue grill at each = p and we roasted the bot dogs over the glowing coals. They were del1cious. We are going camping again and we're going on the motorcycle. Thereareafew more tblngs that we will bave to t1nd room for, but with a l1ttle more plann1ng, It can be done. In spite ot our little inconveniences, we bad a good time. It is human nature to forget unpleasant happenings and to retain the happter moments. We real1ze once again that it Is absolutely impossible to recapture the past. Conditions change and we grow older. The happy cbtldhoood bikes througb the higb forests have to remain In our memory only. BesIdes, It you stop and really tblnk about" it, they weren't So happy - It you recall the pOlson oak, bee stings, sunburn,and thorns in the bare feet. Isn't the working of the hmnan braJn a wonttQrful thing? ITS HERE See It Today - This is the HOT One BAJA 100 DESERT SCRAMBLER 100cc of Wi Id Mustang Spirit Add gas - oil and - it's RACING to Go 11 inch clearance - 5 speed - Ceriani forks - 21front wheel - tuned expansion chamber Neatest Trophy Ticket You'll find at any Price SEE IT - RIDE IT "'" and ORDER YOURS TODAY ONLy ...- - - - -. . . imichrome $hines SUddenly 51 ml chrome is a honey CleanS quick as I bunny OMPETITION Tube SSt CHEMICALS Can $2.9 e 704 Wa~hlngton A¥e., Iowa Falls Iowa - Yes it's at THE BIG STORE HARLEY • .DAVIDSON LOS ANGEL.ES 2531 So. Main at Adams(213) RI 9-6235