Warm Showers

I recently updated my listing on the Warm Showers List (WSL- www.warmshowers.org).  Although I had been a host for years, I forgot to change my information when I moved.  We only once had somebody contact us about staying with us.  It never happened as the cyclist’s route changed.

The concept is a good one.  Hosts, mostly cyclists I assume, offer space to touring cyclists.  It isn’t necessary to offer a bed or food.  Lawn space for camping, a spot on the floor for a sleeping bag or a place to take a shower are possible offerings.  Some hosts offer the full hospitality package – bed, food, shower, sag service, storage.  

We are back on the list again with our current coordinates.  I searched the list for possible hosts along the route.  There are a few possibilities that we need to investigate.  We are not planning on camping too frequently and it looks like the infrequent camping spots are at undeveloped sites having nothing more than pit toilets and a spot to set up a tent.  After a long day of cycling, that set-up is ideal. But, after several days with no showers, the situation isn’t quite as perfect, although much better than having nowhere to pitch a tent.

Our last camping adventures have been during our shakedown trips for our month long tours.  Some of the nights were perfect and as camping should be – quiet, peaceful, nice campfire, stars…..  Other nights were camping hell – RV’s with loud TV’s, drunken neighbors tossing beer cans at a tree the entire night, loud party types hooting and hollering all night.  I haven’t figured out how camping and TV’s go together.  On both of the loud, disruptive nights, we had cycled close to 80 miles.  Seems like we deserved a good night’s sleep.  Seems like a campground should have been the perfect spot for a nice, quiet and refreshing sleep.  What was I thinking?  On both occasions, the next day’s ride was equally long.  Taking a nap on the bike tempted me.  You do hear of drivers falling asleep at the wheel. I was ready to fall asleep at the handlebar.

Camping has changed since I was a kid.  Do I sound like my parents, or yours? Campgrounds were relatively quiet places, except for the noise that we made.  Nobody had TV’s blaring or radios tuned to football games.  We sat around the campfire, fought over who got to go down to the creek to fetch the water.  We accidentally spilled the water bucket several times so that we could go scoop some more out of the freezing creek.  Giardia?  No worries.  We were exposed to way more disgusting things in our house.  Giardia was as prevalent as those monster RV’s with home theaters, Hammond Sounder organs and dinghies for personal exploration.

We drank hot chocolate made from water and didn’t care.  It tasted nasty, but it was something we tolerate because that is what camping was about.  Hot chocolate with water, s’mores, oatmeal with white gas spilled in it……  We are a bit more picky now.  Is it worth carrying a sterno stove with us?  Probably not. We can survive with a cold dinner or sandwiches or something else.  We thought that we could have a big lunch, but full stomachs and pedaling don’t agree with us.  Space food doesn’t appeal either.  We may be in for many PB&J dinners.