It was Easter 2014 and I was on my first overnight cycling adventure, destination Balaklava north of Adelaide. I was pumped, excited and very (overly I was to discover) confident that I had planned for everything and this would be a great three days away.

This was the beginning of my real preparation for a longer bucket list ride down the River Murray (see Snowfields to Sandhills) and I was looking forward to camping out for the first time in about forty years. I did a lot before I got married but that and kids changed my perspective for many years.

Anyways, I digress.

This camp was at the end of a very long day with very few kilometres covered but a lot of lessons learned. It turned out that I hadn’t packed the right snacks to keep my energy up and I didn’t consider that  country shops would be closed over the holiday period. Mental note made.

By the end of the day I had covered about 90 kilometres, I was tired, suffering low blood sugar and reeling from the discovery that I was not as well prepared as I had thought. Even though it was only late afternoon, my priority now was to find a camp site, eat and get some sleep!

Decision made and in semi-desperation, about 15 kilometres short of Balaklava with only 90 kilometres ridden today, I turned down a quiet dirt track and selected the first clearing I found, some 500 metres from the main road and tucked up next to a paddock fence.

The tent went up without any fuss and by 5pm I was set up with nothing much to do until dark. I had not packed a book or folding camp stool on which to sit and without a stump or log nearby, I had to sit on the ground. Not at all comfortable and having thought about, and then dismissed both these items when packing back home, I was more than a little annoyed with myself.

Another lesson learned. This trip was going to provide a lot of material to consider later.

By 6.30, I had cooked up some noodles and vegetables, eaten them, tidied up my gear, covered my bike and gear with a tarpaulin and was left with nothing to do but go to bed. Boy, this was early, even for me. But I did go to sleep reasonable easily, and by the morning, was feeling refreshed and ready to ride again.

Even though yesterday had been tough, I had confirmed I loved the cycling and that camping out like this was good for my soul. I knew I would be doing a lot more. Both cycling and camping out, in one form or another.