The things I did right and things I wish I did right

[Martiansky]

What worked....(partial list)
Beast bike with FAT tires and small knobbies on tires. Floated through dust and bumps. Only had trouble one with it and that's becasue I had just started going and didnt have enough speed to get the float going through some dust. Had to step off and walk to less dusty spot and then start again. Learned that lesson and didnt have any more problems. Oh, and I rode through a street right after the water truck came by and the tires got a thin coat of mud on them and then it dried and flew right off! YAY!

What didn't work quite as well as planned....trike with wide tires that were basically slicks.....when I cranked harder to get through a dusty spot I spun the tires in the powder. Im thinking about adding some dust chains to the rear tires now!

[jasonryan]

Oh, and I rode through a street right after the water truck came by and the tires got a thin coat of mud on them and then it dried and flew right off! YAY!

Ha, you just reminded me of the exact opposite situation that happened to my friend while we were riding. She had a pretty much brand new beach cruiser from Wal-Mart with all the little frills on it, such as a basket and fenders. Except those stupid fenders were VERY close to the tires, such that when they got caked up with mud they literally jammed against the fenders and I had to painstakingly remove it... the hard way. :-\

If you have fenders, ditch them bitches!

[jasonryan]

26x2.125 knobby tires are avalible for cruiser bikes, and are easy to find..... check your local bike shop.....

True dat, in fact the tires of which you speak are the same tires you find on a mountain bike (see my previous pics). Those are the "knobby" tires of which we all have so often read, but I was trying to let everyone know what the original equipment is likely to be on the various bike styles. If you go out and buy a beach cruiser at Wal-Mart or Target or get a used one from craigslist, it's *probably* gonna have "road" tires like you saw in the pics I posted. I did see one beach cruiser on craigslist that had mountain bike tires on it, but just one. It was the lone wolf in the pack.

Don't get me wrong, either tire is fine. I never "lost traction" on the playa, ya know. You'll do just fine as long as you don't ride behind a water truck.

[danwax]

Elliot,

I will be a virgin in 2014. I fly from Quebec and take a Burner Express bus to the playa.

As I cannot bring a lot of stuff, do you think I could borrow one of your bikes?

Dan

No. No Quebecois allowed.

THAT’S A JOKE!

Absolutely, most certainly, you will have a bicycle waiting for you. You will be joining several other fantastic folks from Quebec, such as Patsh and Delle on this forum.
I’m starting the 2014 bike reservation list now.

I keep hearing good things about Burner Express, so that is probably a good choice.

And welcome to ePlaya! Feel free to engage in all sorts of conversations here.

The Quebecois is happy !

I will bring a bike lock and cold beers

[Elliot]

...
I will bring a bike lock and cold beers

The birgin-to-be is doing it right already.

(...and lights)

[Ratty]

Danwax. Good thinking. The camp called, 'Pimp your bike', will help with easily removable decorations. Or you could bring some fur strips, a basket to zip-tie onto the front, Some cloth or ribbon to decorate with etc... I assume Elliot would want everything removed at the end of the week. Bring some little thing to attach so you'll be able to find your bike. You park at Center Camp. Come out on the opposite side and go looking.

Can't wait to fall down in a dune!!!

[Elliot]

Most of my loaners are distinctly painted, as in this picture -- two white frame tubes with red bands. That should help spot it. But of course, it may be an other loaner.

Here you also see the extra tall BMX handlebar.

[Eric]

*bump* for all the Birgins getting prepared!

[Zhust]

You know, when an employer receives your resume, it helps a lot to organize

tl;dr. Be more concise BBadger.

[Pie Snatcher]

Things I did right:
Had plenty of good experiences with my close friends
Rode a ton of MVs
Shared my resources with fellow burners
Food-Brought great nourishing things with low prep which included hard cheese, salami, zucchini bread, eggs, tortilla, pre cooked chicken, odwalla green monster, bacon, homemade chili, hummus, and some noodle bowls.
Picked a good camp
Bought the right amount booze
Clothing- Had plenty of changes of socks and the essentials, had fun costumes, great wear for warm and cold weather.
Took good care of the playa by leaving no trace
Helped set up the art cars at our camp- Such a great experience to help create art on the playa
Took time to enjoy the Temple and The Man- Really an amazing experience taking time at these two places. Especially the Temple, the amount of energy that is created there is palpable. My wife and I had a crazy experience while we were there, as many of you know people post remembrances of loved ones, lost or passed on. My wife and I were truly emotionally reading some of these posts, when one flew off the wall and landed right at her feet. She picked it up to put it back, turns out it was a post for a missing person, that she was friends with in high school. Although sad, the magic of that moment was not lost on us.

Things I did wrong
Rode too many MV- I didn't do nearly enough exploring by bike and foot, that is where your experiences usually happen. We had 4 art cars in our camp so it's pretty much how we got around all the time.
Did not connect with enough strangers- I guess I let my shy self get the best of me, this year I'm going to do it right and meet more random folks.
Did not connect with any of my friends outside my camp- I had a few friends scattered about BRC that I just couldn't seem to connect with. I went by there camp by just couldn't touch base.
Lost it on day 5- We had an early access pass because of the art cars in our camp, on day 5 the heat/dirt/depletion of various kinds got to me and I just couldn't really handle communication with my wife(who was my brand new g/f at the time) or anyone really. A hot meal, a shower, a nap, and some love from my friends got me back in my right mind.
Did not bring any playa gifts- I don't fault myself for this because it was my virgin burn, but it really was special to get things from people. Thing year I have gifts in line.

[Zhust]

Things I did wrong

Oh, my narcissistic "helpful" side just can't resist chiming in ...

Did not connect with enough strangers- I guess I let my shy self get the best of me, this year I'm going to do it right and meet more random folks.

My second year I made an art project that helped people connect. It was insanely ambitious. More recently I devised three games:

1. At night (although it'll work in day too), walk from wherever you are on the Esplanade directly toward the Man. If you cross paths with someone where you need to interact (like you'd actually collide with them) change your path and walk with them. Say hi and explain your game and ask where they're going. It's a way to create a semi-random experience that lets you meet someone you wouldn't ordinarily meet.
2. Think of a color or an object. Linger on the street until you find someone who matches that trait. Walk up and ask them for a random address in the city. Explain that you're going to go to that place. Then go do that. If you see something interesting on the way, stop and interact. Another way to make a semi-random experience.
3. I realized that the radial street positions matched numeric playing cards (2 through 10). I combined that with letter tiles from a board game so I could identify a circumferential street. The suits of the playing cards have Tarot meanings which I interpret loosely as:
   • hearts is the suit of the heart, or an internal issue
   • clubs is the suit of the body, or a physical issue
   • diamonds is the suit of the material world, or an object
   • spades is the suit of the soldier, indicating a challenge
   My playing cards have parrots on them so I called the game "parrot cards" — "pare-o" like "tarot" ("tare-o"). I can give myself or others "readings".

Lost it on day 5- We had an early access pass because of the art cars in our camp, on day 5 the heat/dirt/depletion of various kinds got to me and I just couldn't really handle communication with my wife(who was my brand new g/f at the time) or anyone really. A hot meal, a shower, a nap, and some love from my friends got me back in my right mind.

There is always one day that's the "lowest" or least energy. I have come to expect this each year and now plan for it. It's typically mid-week, so when I think it's time, I just take the day off. In 2013 all I did was write a few postcards that day and spent the rest of the time doing absolutely nothing at camp.

Did not bring any playa gifts- I don't fault myself for this because it was my virgin burn, but it really was special to get things from people. Thing year I have gifts in line.

I like to think of Playa gifts as a way to connect with people. And that happens really quite rarely for me, so I try to make only a few nice things to give to people I connect with. In 2013 my girlfriend came for her virgin Burn and she brought an Instax camera (like a small Polaroid, but Fuji — and still in business.) It was great to be able to "gift" people pictures of themselves. On the other hand, my first year I brought shitty blinky pens I got at Harmer Fright and tried to use them as an ice breaker, but the gifts were real shit and they didn't make me a different person. As such, I strongly recommend something personal.

[*Kat*]

Something we definitely did right in 2013 was our food packing system.

- We brought three big coleman ice chests. One for the first part of the week, one for the second part of the week, one for drinks.
- We repacked/refilled everything that need to be cooled in stainless steel canisters & bottles. We've observed even at home that stainless steel canisters extend the shelf life of foods considerably (even berries!). I think we had blueberries and raspberries all the way til Saturday.
- We packed one cooler primarily for the first half and one primarily for the second half of the week. Ideally, we'd not have had to open the second cooler (except to refill ice) til Thursday but not all the food for the first half fit.
- We took a lot of time to pack the food perfectly in the parking lot of a grocery store. We ended up taking hardly any packaging at all to the playa (not even one full bag of trash to be packed out at the end of the week).

Things that we will be improving this year:
- Bought clear lids for the stainless steel canisters. We will also have labels for the stainless steel bottles this year.
- Every cooler wil have a list with the contents inside taped on top.



If the rest of the camp plays along, we'll also be improving our recycling.
- one bag for aluminum cans (already done that last year)
- one burn box (already done that last year)
- one bag for metals
- one bag for plastics
- containers for glass & batteries



Something that did not work at all was the misting system we brought to get rid of ice chest water. It had a hand pump and four valves, but those got clogged after just one day and stubbornly resisted all attempts of reanimation. No idea yet what we'll do with cooler water this year - probably just pack it out again.

[Just_Joe]

can.jpg

No idea yet what we'll do with cooler water this year - probably just pack it out again.

[*Kat*]

Wish I could

[VultureChow]

You totally can if it's clean water.

I personally ziploc my ice and drink it as it melts, but if you keep everything well bagged, and there's no pieces of food or paper in the water, no reason you can't use it for dust control.

[*Kat*]

Well, my issue is this...

- Nobody else seems to do it, so it would make me feel like an ass.
- I don't want the playa restoration team to think somebody just dumped the leftovers of an evap pond. (Would that be the default assumption and lead them to have to dig it up?)

[VultureChow]

People totally do it. The answer is to sprinkle and not pour. Check out Number 6 in the officially sanctioned methods of greywater disposal.

http://www.burningman.com/preparation/e ... 2PYYKLftlc

I would put clean cooler melt smack dab in the approved sprinkle water camp. A really popular method I have seen is to use one of those water blasters for the pool or lake that lets you suck up water and then squirt it out at people. Just don't squirt it on people.

[Just_Joe]

Kat,
You can drink it.
MANY people open the drain on the cooler and roll/walk it along the street (perfectly acceptable).
You can use a watering can and "water" loose areas of your camp to help pack them down. That's what we do.
At the end of the event, you will see ponds/mud holes of fresh water that people have jettisoned. Not particularly pretty, and I don't know what BM/Playa Reso thinks of it, but if it's clean, I wouldn't think it should be a problem.

[LowePro]

Hi Kat, I like your staggered cooler idea and steel containers, smart.

For addressing melt water, have you tried solid ice jugs? You can refill a milk 1/2 gallon or juice jug w/ tap water, freeze the whole thing (with the cap OFF) and then cap it, then put the ice jugs in your coolers. It stays frozen way longer than ice cubes and when it melts, you have cold drinking water sealed in a jug. It will cut down on your need for more ice. For cocktails or loose ice, I like to cut the top third off an empty plastic gallon jug, drop the ice bag in the jug and set the jug in the cooler carefully. When the ice melts, it's contained in the jug and still clean enough for washing face, solar shower, brushing teeth.etc.

[*Kat*]

Thanks for all the info!

Last year I set up a misting station with something very similar to this:

It was a huge success on the first day, then it was clogged. I really cannot recommend those, though I can't testify to the durability of this particular brand.

I might do a misting station again and just have 2 or 3 spray bottles that I keep refilling.
And since dribbling is okay I might just go for that too.

[VultureChow]

I would agree that cooler water (provided it is kept clear of solid bits) is only barely grey water. I drink my ice melt, but I keep the ice bagged separately from the food and other items.

Regarding BLM, the trucks providing e coli laden hippie showers are more toxic than cooler water or properly sterilized grey water.

[unjonharley]

I would agree that cooler water (provided it is kept clear of solid bits) is only barely grey water. I drink my ice melt, but I keep the ice bagged separately from the food and other items.

Regarding BLM, the trucks providing e coli laden hippie showers are more toxic than cooler water or properly sterilized grey water.

In Portland OR they drained the entire reservoir of city water.. Just because someone "thought" they "might" have seen someone piss in it..

Same thing a year or so back. But a cop saw it and arrested the homeless dude.

All it take is one piss in millions of gallons

[VultureChow]

I will gladly drink their maybe piss water. At that concentration it's cleaner than drinking out of a public water fountain.

[*Kat*]

Another thing I did last year was that I brought replacement street signs. They looked pretty cool, like flags cut out from plywood.

Then... somebody stole the replacements one day after I had put them up.


I am yet undecided as to what I'll do this year. I'm toying with the idea to turn the street sign into a palm tree and putting up multiple signs. But then somebody might just cut down the whole thing...


So is this a thing done right now or a thing I wish I had done better?

[fernley1]

Sprinkled clean water around your camping area does help with dust control.
And great way to use extra clean, but unneeded water.

[sheilabug123]

this was extremely helpful as a first timer myself.....question? theme camp this year....I think im too late and now im quite nervous..any ideas on ones still taking members?

thanks!

[BBadger]

I am yet undecided as to what I'll do this year. I'm toying with the idea to turn the street sign into a palm tree and putting up multiple signs. But then somebody might just cut down the whole thing...

Best to not get attached to stuff like that. Think of it as gifting the sign to someone, or at least MOOP you don't have to haul back home.

this was extremely helpful as a first timer myself.....question? theme camp this year....I think im too late and now im quite nervous..any ideas on ones still taking members?

There are over 9000 threads across the board with people asking about joining theme camps. Try looking in the 2014 Event forum for those over 9000 answers that were already given.

Anyway, you have 100 more days, a little over a quarter of a year to figure it out or to prepare to camp alone or with just your friends. Not the end of the world.

[ScubaLibre]

All great advice. Anybody use stainless steel canisters/jugs to bring water to the playa? I'm looking but can't find any large enough. Any suggestions?

[jasonryan]

I actually use Aquatainers:

They hold 7 gallons. You can get them at Wal-Mart.

[ariellabella]

Thank you! This is really helpful. I just posted a blog article on Survival at burning man. I am going to add some of your tips!