Just wanted to share a few of this week’s posts from blogs that I read. One is camping/cycling related and the other 2 are not directly camping/cycling related. However, witness how my biking brain can turn anything into a biking related post.
1. Simple Dollar – Emergencies and Irregular Expenses
I started using this technique for my personal budget about 5 years ago and it has been a life saver. In the past, those months where several irregular payments hit at the same time really caused issues (my wife can attest to this). With a savings account dedicated to irregular expenses, your budget has a constant dollar amount for these kinds of expenses. For my irregular expenditures, I put all of my bike races, maintenance, clothing, and gear into the bucket so there is always money available for bike stuff. There, I just made a budgeting post bike related.
2. Three New Leaves – Six Tricks to Help You Eat Less
I’m not into completely skipping breakfast, but the other 5 ideas are great. Plus it talks about drinking your coffee black which is the only way to have coffee if you ask me. Again, not bike related, but if you are looking to drop some weight on yourself and not your gear, Matt’s ideas might help. If you look at the total bikepacking weight being the rider, the bike, and the gear, most of us can drop five pounds of body weight much easier and cheaper than 5 pounds of gear weight.
3. Stick’s Blog – Smart. Light. Cheap
I have recently discovered Stick’s blog and I like what i have seen. This post talks about ways to save additional weight with the small items that you pack. In the “Introduction to Bikepacking” series, I have focused on the big weight savings like the sleep system and cooking system, but eventually these little weight savings can also add up to big reductions in total weight.
That’s it. Hopefully, the Introduction to Bikepacking – Part 3 post will be finished by next week. Stay tuned.
Andy
