Rivendell is an awesome bike shop in California that subscribes to a wool/not spandex, platforms/not clipless, steel/not carbon sort of philosophy. You can read some entertaining ramblings on this philosophy at their website, www.rivbike.com. I also recommend perusing some of the beautiful frames they design.
Anyway- the folks at Rivendell also like to promote bicycle camping, and more specifically, S24O's. An S24O (Es-Two-Four-Oh) is a Sub-24 hour-Overnight. That means loading up your bike with whatever you need for the night: food, sleeping bag, a book and taking off Friday evening & returning Saturday morning. You don't need to go far. Is there a state park within a day's ride? Or maybe there's a secluded hilltop just out of town. You also don't need to bring much. If you forget something (say, dinner)- it's not such a terrible thing because you'll be home in the morning and you'll have a good story anyhow. And you don't need much time to do it. Leave with enough light to get to your destination and return home in the morning. The "I have to work" excuse just won't work.
To read the article from Adventure Cycling, "Bicycle Camping for the Time Challenged," written by the Rivendell founder, click here.
To read an article from the Rivendell website on what to pack for a S24O, click here.
Go camping!
