Fred rode up in front of Ernie’s garage and shut off the engine. Ernie was tying an army surplus duffel bag across the back of his bike with a length of nylon rope. A pair of leather saddle bags were strapped across the back of the seat, and a sleeping bag was lashed to a rack on the rear fender. Fred swung his leg over the rubberized "dry bags" containing his clothes, strapped to the seat, as he got off.

"Hey, Freddie, my man! Ready to go?" Ernie grinned as he walked over to Fred’s bike looking over the gear. "Yo: what’s these?" he said, looking at the dry bags… "Zip Lock baggies? Hey, you ready to go, or what?"

Fred had been looking forward to this initiation into motorcycle camping. Ernie had teased him at work with stories of rallies and weekends on the bike until his head was spinning, and this Saturday’s club ride up to the state park would be ideal to start. Fred had gone to the big camping store out by the mall and spent nearly two hours talking to sunburned clerks in sturdy cleated-sole shoes that looked like people from the pages of "Out of Africa." He’d scanned a dozen books on camping and scoped aisles crammed with lighter-than-air-pots, complete meals that came in a bag (just add water and heat), tiny stoves to heat them with, and gadgets that filtered water. He crawled into tents that nearly set themselves up on command and snuggled into sleeping bags fit for Antarctica. At the end of the visit, he had a basket full of books on camping and a dozen food bars with different names and flavors ranging from "Mountain Berries" to "Gorp" and a lot to think about.

After Fred soaked up the basic ideas he went back. The clerks listened carefully to his needs, envious that he wouldn’t be lugging the stuff around on his back, and when he got his new gear home he set it up in the backyard to try out. He first tried out the bag and pad in the tent, greatly amusing his busybody neighbors. His dog woke him up nosing the mosquito netting and whining. Then he figured out how to pack it all so it would fit on the bike and wouldn’t fall off. He rode around the block to check it, and when he got to Ernie’s house and shut off the engine Saturday morning, he was as ready as he was going to get.

Ernie finally got all his gear tied on and they took off. The ride up was pleasant, a nice wind-down to the week at work, save for having to stop to collect Ernie’s sleeping bag from the road shoulder. When they reached the campground, Ernie pulled in to the first empty space and began to unload. One of Fred’s books had mentioned that a level site without rocks or roots made for an easier setup, but Ernie was already unloading. Fred began to unpack and spread his tent when he noticed that there was a large depression in the middle of the spot and moved his tent a few feet to get on ground with a little "crown" so that if there was rain it wouldn’t collect under him. He also positioned the tent door so that it was in the "lee" of the wind. Ernie was complaining about all the sites near the stream at the edge of the meadow being taken, but Fred had read that the cold night air collected in the hollows, and figured it would be warmer up here on the rise. He carefully positioned the tent so his sleeping bag would be mostly level, with his head up slightly higher than his feet, and "swept" the area of sticks and rocks. That was when he noticed the ant hill right behind Ernie's tent.

Ernie was puffing red-faced into an inflatable air mattress as Fred went up to the campground tap to fill his packable water bag. He came back and unpacked the tiny stove, got it going, and in a few minutes was heating prepackaged Noodles Casino. Shortly, Ernie came over with a can of his favorite beverage in hand and remarked; "Hey, I got some Vienna sausage if you get hungry later." Fred just shook his head: he’d tried out the ready-to-make meals for himself at home and was looking forward to it. As the sun went down, Fred set up the tent vestibule that gave him a place to store wet boots or gear and made sure that his flashlight was where he could find it when the sun went down. Shortly after Fred finished eating, Ernie returned from the camp store with an armload of firewood and proceeded to build a fire in the ready-made pit provided. The smoke drifted downwind and promptly filled Ernie’s tent, but he didn’t seem to notice. As the sun went down over the tall pines, they talked avidly about bikes and camping and stuff like that with the other club members until it was time for bed. Fred could hear Ernie coughing and fumbling in the tent as he zipped up his sleeping bag.

Near morning, he was roused by the sound of rain hitting the tent and was glad he’d taken a second to cover his bike before retiring. He quickly went back to sleep and awoke just as the rain ended. As he opened the tent door and rain fly flap, he saw Ernie standing forlornly looking at the small lake surrounding his tent.

"Morning, Ernie. How’d you sleep?" he asked.

"Pretty bad, man," he replied, scratching at the ant bites. "The air mattress wouldn’t stay up, I kept sliding down in the corner of the tent, and everything’s wet," Ernie said in a low voice.

"Bummer," Fred said.

Some homework and his willingness to listen to the voice of experience made for a trouble-free first outing for Fred. His equipment had kept the rain off and allowed him to rest and rise refreshed, and his site selection and consideration of all the elements that made up the campsite had allowed for avoidance of some common mistakes:

• a rough, inclined tent surface that might be uncomfortable or pest-infested
• low areas in which rainfall may collect
• prevailing wind that may carry smoke or insects into one’s tent
• a site in a "hollow" in which cold night air can collect and chill
• gear that can fail at an inopportune time, or be non-repairable
• awkward or hard-to-transport gear, or unnecessarily-complicated gear

The many tips and tricks available through knowledgeable camping stores, experienced campers, or growing Internet sources make it possible to learn from the experience of thousands of campers to the best effect. With just a little homework, one can become knowledgeable very quickly and have a great, trouble-free motorcycle camping experience.

See ya at the campground!