At Club^H^H^H^HTent Hubba Hubba

I’ve got no military connections so normally I wouldn’t be allowed on base. Fortunately for me a friend of mine is a retired navy officer (actually I know a few) so when the call went out for a camping party I was on board. I hadn’t purchased my Hubba Hubba specifically for this exercise, but it sure was worth having.

Let me say this about Bellows. It’s beautiful. Because it’s a military base it is really quite spic and span. Everything is groomed, trimmed, cleaned, and tip top all the way around. But that’s not really the appeal. Sure it’s great to have a super campsite, but I’m sure camping sites in war zones are tidied up too. No, what makes it really super is that here’s the great camp site right smack dab in my back yard, assuming, of course, that Waimanalo can be considered my back yard. In some ways it can as it is right over the mountains from where I live.

It’s a good twenty-five mile ride from home, but a nice one, especially if you leave in the morning while it’s cool. I didn’t see this one the way in as it was later in the day, but to get an idea of the backdrop, here’s what it looked like just after sunrise as I rode out on Sunday.

Ko'olau Sunrise

As for my tent, it’s roomy for one person which is a big plus. Remember the Hubba Hubba is marketed as a two person tent, and it could be done if you have no fear of intimacy. Still I followed the advice I was given and went for a double. I was able to fit all my gear inside and organized well enough to access it all and still had plenty of room to stretch out.

When I arrived at the site a couple of friends where there already. They’d hauled my gear out in their car so I was free to ride unencumbered. Thanks guys! They asked if wanted help setting up my tent but I declined; I wanted to go solo. One of the guys actually time me putting it up, this being only the second time I’d done it. It took seven minutes from start to finish and I was chatting with them the whole time. In other words it’s darn easy. I expect if I were really going for it, say to beat a rain shower, it could be done very quickly.

Ventilation in the tent was really good. I staked out one side of each vestibule for privacy and rolled up the other side. That gave me the privacy I desired but still allowed for ventilation through each door (one for each side). I slept well, not too hot, not too cold, just right.

Finally, and this is important, the netted interior did a great job keeping out the creepy-crawlies. Bellows, being fairly dry and planted with ironwood trees as a small, okay big, centipede population. There are also some fire ants around, but those are easy to avoid provided you don’t set up camp right on top of them. The centipedes though are another matter. They are quite prehistoric looking, quite large, and quite capable of inflicting a painful sting. My Hubba Hubba did the job right and none got through. I have, of course, no proof that one even tried. I shudder when I think of them getting in, but the tent was great. I slept unscathed.

I got my Hubba Hubba through Amazon, but they are available at a number of places online. I don’t know if they are sold in any local shops. I ordered the footprint as well. I might suggest that they really ought to packaged together for one price but I’m not going to quibble. The tent is perfect for my purposes and I can’t wait to use it again, and again, and…

I have a sister who lives in Portland with her family and my Bike Friday is, after all, from Eugene so I got thinking…

1. Fly into Portland
2. Ride to Eugene
   Have my BF overhauled (it’ll be four next year)
3. Do the Adventure Tours Coastal Odyssey ride
4. Ride back to Portland and fly home

It’s more than a year away but it does sound like a fun plan. Of course I could just fly in and out of Eugene, but I like the idea of the extra miles and perhaps an overnight in Salem or Corvalis. Hmmm…

Aloha!

• Therm-a-Rest Trail Pro Sleeping Pad
• Therm-a-Rest Compressible Pillow
• Therm-a-Rest Trekker Lounge Chair
• Therm-a-Rest Fast And Light Repair Kit
• Marmot Mavericks 50 Semi Rec Sleeping Bag

You’ll note there’s sort of a theme going on there. The reason is that Therm-A-Rest comes recommended. Not by me of course, I have no clue. But here’s what the Porkers say:

Thermarest Pads
Rather than an air mattress, we strongly recommend that you bring a Thermarest pad. You’ve been there. First you’re in heaven, stretched out on your air mattress, and then your butt slowly eases onto the ground. Then your shoulder blades touch, then your whole back, and pretty soon the dang thing is flat. Not so with the Thermarest pad. It’s more compact than an air mattress, more durable, and it puts three cushy inches between you and the ground. By Tuesday of RAGBRAI, we start finding air mattresses stuffed into trash barrels. Save them to use on plush carpet for your houseguests. For the rigors of RAGBRAI, you need a Thermarest pad.

In truth it’s all sort of a gamble. I’m not a big camping guy, though I have enjoyed my time out at Malaekahana with my Hennessey Hammock, as when I rode the JBK Haleiwa Metric Century last year. It’s coming up again in April but sadly (or not depending on your perspective, I’ll be on Kauai).

I don’t have to worry about the tent or the towel as Pork Belly Ventures is taking care of that end of things. I’ll bring a towel anyway because…well you know why.

What’s left is to buy a duffel to put this all in along with some clothes. Clothing will be fairly minimal as well as it is, after all, July in Iowa. There shouldn’t be more than one or two snowstorms, though hail and tornadoes are always possible. Basically a couple of pairs of shorts, a few things for under that, a long sleeve shirt, a couple of short sleeve shirts, a pair of sandals, and a sweat shirt of the odd cool evening. All in all, not much. Actually the bulkiest stuff will probably be whatever I wear on the plane.

I’m thinking of getting a few things from RailRiders. I’ve already got a couple of their Eco-Mesh shirts, bought on sale I might add, not at their regularly scheduled price. The things a really are great. Their clothes aren’t natural fiber, but they do have the advantage of being quite indestructible, drying very quickly, being comfortable, and folding up into tiny little bundles. Perfect for this I should think.

Anyway, that’s where I am on the RAGBRAI planning.

Oh yeah, I guess I could add that Amazon wouldn’t ship a Therm-A-Rest bed pad to me here in Hawaii. They didn’t really give a reason save to say it could either be a security risk to ship “overseas” or it was just too big. I’m sort of hoping they really think I’ll use a bed bad to compromise security, but I suspect they measured it all laid out and decided it was too big. Of course if you fold it up, as one would carry it, it’s quite a bit smaller. Go figure.

Aloha!

I’ll be using Pork Belly Ventures. It seems they are friends of friends. They’ll be toting my stuff and putting up the tent they’re renting me, but I still need a couple of things….

A sleeping bag, a pad, and a pillow, and a duffel bag to put it all in. Luckily I can get all this stuff. Unfortunately I’ve no real clue what I need. So…I’ll be writing the PBV folks and, yes, asking.

I’m thinking of some sort of Thermarest pad, a 40+ sleeping bag (hey, I live in Hawaii and really don’t use bags), and some soft of collapsible pillow because I deserve a decent pillow.

Well that’s it for the moment. I’ve got some shopping to do!

Aloha

On Friday, 4/23/2010, I left my apartment around 7am on my Rivendell Quickbeam loaded up with enough camping gear for three nights at Malaekahana. My previous experience camping at Sand Island and Malaekahana gave me pretty good idea of what to take, or more correctly, what not to take. While I still had more stuff than I needed, I’m getting better at whittling things down. A basic list of what I took included:

• Hennessy Hammock
• Fleece blanket bag
• Tiny pillow (so worth it)
• Auto windshield reflector (underpad)
• Trangia stove set and fuel
• Video camera to interview a friend
• Camera (didn’t use with video camera along
• Extra Clothing
• Dry undershorts (2)
• Windbreaker
• Socks (for sleeping actually)
• Extra riding shirt
• Camp shirt
• Instant coffee, oatmeal, and Clif Bars (bought rest of food while there)
• Toiletries
• Basic bike tools (come with everywhere anyway)

Everything fit into my Rivendell Sackville SaddleSack (Large) in the back and my Sackville SlickerSack up front. I did have to strap my hammock onto the top of the SlickerSack, but it worked fine. I could still pick up the bike with one arm so I figured it wasn’t too heavy.

The Quickbeam has gears, just no derailleurs, so I kept to high (40×16) most of the way till I got to the dread Kapaa Gulch. This is a lovely drop followed by an even lovelier climb, at least headed out. Just before I attempted it this time I decided to take a break and change ratios. I went as low as I could, 32×19, and found it easy enough to ride that I kept that in place through Kaneohe. Once I was back at sea level back up I went, but I am really grateful for that bit of relief. Last time I did this ride I didn’t change gears and I definitely paid a price.

Then it was off to Malaekahana.

Here’s my bike all packed up…

I arrived early enough to set up camp, easy enough with a hammock, and head back to Laie a couple of miles to do some shopping. By the time I got back it was time to eat, shower (yes, I had the luxury of hot water at Friends of Malaekahana’s campsite), and hit the rack for a bit of reading on my Kindle.

The next morning I got up, cooked some eggs and coffee, and got ready for an easy day of exploring the North Shore. My plan was simple, ride to Haleiwa and back, about a 36 mile round trip; easy after the 60 of the day before loaded down.

The weather was perfect.

When I got to Laniakea I stopped and did a video interview with a friend who watches over our honu (sea turtles) when they rest up on the beach there. I’d planned on doing this on my way back from Haleiwa, but as there was a turtle there already it seemed an appropriate time. As it turned out, my timing was good. When I passed by later that day on my return no honu were to be seen.

After a day out exploring I took another nice hot shower, cooked dinner, read a bit, and made ready for the morrow.

Sunday was my big day. I had to ride the 18 miles to Haleiwa, then ride in the JBK Haleiwa Metric Century, then ride back to Malaekahana. All in all it’s about 100 miles, the most I’d ever ridden in recent years and never back to back with 60 mile rides.

I left in the dark to give myself plenty of time to make it Haleiwa without tiring and was treated to a beautiful sunrise as I rode through North Communities and long open stretches through farm land and along our very famous beaches. There was almost no traffic at that time of the morning, so it was simply wonderful.

Folks had already started gathering at Kaiaka Beach Park in Haleiwa when I arrived. All in all I’m told there were over 800 of us. At 7:30am, after a few obligatory words from politicians and safety types, we were off, led and chased by motorcycle officers of the HPD (who did a great job patrolling the route I might add).

The racing types took off as soon as we were out of Haleiwa and I started noticing them heading back almost before we got to the 25km turnaround, well that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but not by much.

I had, as far as I could tell, the only Riv.

The ride was a very good time once things settled down. Most everyone was very polite with only a few minor exceptions:

1. Not enough folks called out “on your left” before they passed. It generally wasn’t the amateurs forgetting, it was the wannabes.
2. getting passed on a bridge with traffic wasn’t any fun. I had about six inches and if there’d been something I needed to avoid…well it wouldn’t have pretty.
3. One fellow drafted me for miles never taking the lead then took off without so much as an acknowledgement.

Idiots aside, and there’s no guarantee I wasn’t seen as a jerk by some, the ride was great.

I stopped at all the rest stops and ate a lot of fruit and drank a lot of sports drink (HEED? – tasted..um..well it was free). I managed to avoid dehydration or bonking over the entire course, so I guess I did okay.

At the 100K turnaround I ran into John Climaldi who I know a bit about because of my Bike Friday and through the HBL. He had his lovely Rob English racing bike prototype out there while he worked the rest stop. The bike weighed about as much as the energy bars I was carrying. Mind you, I’m not into counting grams on my bike…with racks, and luggage, and me it’s not really worth it. If I need a lighter ride I can lose five pounds.

Anyway, here’s John’s bike:

Once I made it back to the starting point it was time to turn around and go back to Malaekahana.

I stopped a the Haleiwa Farmer’s Market and picked up some fruit so I could have something nice when I got to my campsite. The market was almost done for the day so I got an excellent price on items the vendors didn’t want to carry home. Of course planning to show up at the end of market is a bit hit or miss, so just show up early and get what you like.

I was pretty beat at this point but the ride was going well. I stopped for fresh pineapple juice along the way which was a real godsend. I also stopped for some Kahuku shrimp as a late lunch at one of the roadside stops. I topped it off with some shaved ice to boot.

My final stop was at the market where I picked up a couple of things for dinner and road the last mile home.

I was done in. I didn’t hurt anywhere, but I was exhausted. I showered, cooked a bit of dinner, then hit the hay.

I expected I’d been in pretty sad shape Monday morning but I wasn’t. I felt great. I was even up earlier than I expected. After coffee and oatmeal I packed up the campsite and headed out. While I wasn’t a speed demon, I made it home in good time, stopping several times along the way to eat a piece of fruit or a sandwich.

All in all I rode about 250 miles or 400K and never once felt I was coming apart at the seams. Tired? Yes. Exhausted? Not really. In pain? Never.

All good.

In fact I think I’m going to start riding to Haleiwa regularly. Of course I think I’ll take the bus back when I do so that I can make the whole thing a one day ride, but hey, it’s lovely out there.

Aloha!