- gatorfan wrote:
- Scotch >>
Bourbon >> 
Funny that I should read that while feting my nose and palate with a glass of Laphraoig in hand. BTW, the Oban I started with set the mood quite nicely.
I actually have a photo of a bottle of scotch cleverly tucked in with my camping gear (to somewhat stay on topic) somewhere; perhaps I should post it. But I do digress; anyways:
Bourbon is made by people who couldn't figure out how to make decent scotch. The Scots/Irish tried to show them how, but gave up when they kept starting out with a bunch of left over livestock feed - corn. And to make matters worse, were so impatient they insisted on using new barrels to age it in.
200 years later, they still haven't figured it out. It shows...
How the hell can you argue with anything that has a smokey flavour? I mean... who doesn't like BBQ?
A US special forces guy treated me to a drink of Pappy Van Winkle, Rip van Winkle, whatever, bourbon many years ago at Jump Bivouac. Hideously expensive, I was told. The ultimate bourbon, I was assured. I was less than impressed. But, being as he was about as deep as he was wide and high, I told him it was fantastic. You, I suspect, ain't that big.
Where are we meeting when you stumble out of the bush at Glacier, again? Forget about the Great Northern Bar and Grill you were talking about - look kitty corner across the street for the Great Northern Brewing Company. Nothing like a fine beer a few feet from where it was birthed...
Ahhhh... back on topic:
I think this is a question like "which is the best oil?" (quick, run away! run away!)
Depends on how you like to camp, where you are, etc. Somebody riding in the desert is going to have a very different list than somebody riding up here on the Continental Divide.
Example: you mention bringing an extra battery in case your phone dies. Around here, don't worry about it: once you lose sight of town, you're out of the coverage area anyways. Might as well leave the phone at home.
I think tire changing shyte is a no brainer must have. A basic tool kit. Zip ties, JB weld, and gun tape. A way to pack your shyte (I'm a Giant Loop type...) After that, it gets interesting. Example: some adventure rider types make no apologies for spending as many nights as possible in motels. Others, like me, can't be bothered with hotels, and most places I am at as the sun goes down there ain't a hotel/motel within 50 miles anyways. So the first bunch don't hardly care about the sleeping arrangements - me, I care a lot.
Want to break it down further? Too many years in the military, and I can practically sleep in a water filled ditch, as long as I have a ranger blanket and a bivvy bag. Travel light, freeze at night. Other guys have an amazingly crafted combination of shelters, sleeping pads, hammocks, whatever.
I don't know how to begin answering the question other than to advise anyone to figure it out for themselves. Sleeping on your lawn, a few feet away from the door of the house and the cuddly wife not much further beyond that is a great way to experiment. If you find your awesome new sleeping bag has you freezing your ass off while sleeping beside the wife's petunia's at 4000 feet on a June night, chances are you are going to find yourself freezing your ass off sleeping next to your bike in a borrow pit beside a forestry road 6000 feet ASL on another June night. Except, you won't be able to get up, mutter "shyte", stick your feet in your slippers, stomp into the house, and curl up next to the wifey for warmth...
Seriously, if you don't have other experience to lean on (i.e. backpacking), try the stuff out at home first, where bailing out just takes a few seconds. I still do that with new gear.
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