Faced with a long weekend and no plan (and the wife and kids still away for 3 more weeks), I loaded up the Giant Loop Coyote luggage and set out with no destination in mind. Just see where I end up. I hopped on a main highway for about 15 minutes just to get out of Berlin, then it was onto secondary roads through the countryside heading southwest of the city. I did find some nice sandy/grassy double-track roads and managed to ride some 40 Kms or so of exquisite trails in the late morning and early afternoon.
Since the move last year, it seems my new tent has gone missing. Having reluctantly accepted the fact that it's not to be found and I'm out ~ 200 smackers, I went online in search of a bargain. I ended up with this: Mountain Warehouse Backpacker 2 tent
For the €59 price tag, it's not a bad deal. Aluminium poles (much lighter than fiberglass) and quite weatherproof, and packs up small and light. However, I failed to notice the reviews that mentioned how this tent is really made for short people. Not that I'm particularly tall, but if you're taller than the average 10 year old, then it's probably going to be a tight squeeze. Looks like my kids will get a new tent, and I'm shopping again for something more suitable. One other comment I would make about this tent is that it's not well ventilated: specifically, the mosquito netting material doesn't really pass much air. It's a very tight mesh polyester, and I felt like I was suffocating, even with the rain fly zippers and flaps opened up all the way. Bottom line, this tent is hardly practical. Lesson learned.
The Giant Loop Coyote is sitting a little higher and further back than
normal. That's because I have it strapped to Wolfman side racks.
Lovely 2-track roads -- probably not allowed to be on them. With the stealthy
exhaust system, I rode quietly and slowly so as not to attract any attention.
Picked up a couple of ice cold wobbly pops at the gas station.