Fucking bummer. But it's no reason to not go. It's early enough that you might be able to get a lot of that replaced for free. Start checking out craig's list--the stuff for free section. They often have bikes, tents, couches, etc.
I am totally in agreement.
Koosh, I feel your pain. I really really really do. ALL my shit got burned up in my housefire the day after Christmas last December. Pardon my comparison, but isn't a theif just like a fire. It's gone. Poof. And it fucking sucks ass. I get so angry every now and then when I flashback on something that meant sooooo much to me. All my Burning Man stuff, camp gear, PICTURE ALBUMS, costumes, wigs, theme camp stuff, my poi, ice chests. Fuck the furniture and clothes. All I really cared about was my photos and my burner stuff. It's been 5 months and it is getting better mentally and emotionally, but I still get pissed. My mom got close to $75K for the house. She was generous enough to give me $1000 for my lost stuff and a bus ticket to California.
*cough, choke, gag, barf* TMI, I know. I'm pissed at the whole situation, but I'm OK. Hey, at least I'm alive. Thank gawd I was at a friend's house that night. I wasn't supposed to be. Thank you, Mother Universe. xoxoxoox
Is my loss gonna stop me, though? Will I allow it to?? Well, at first I felt it would. It all felt so fucking hopeless. But I wanna go to Burning Man sooooo bad this year. I wanna go HOME and be with my damn family again and friends. I've decided to not let
anything stop me. Where there's a will, there's a way. The universe knows my heart. It hears my desires. Answers
are being fulfilled. I believe that. I may not be able to see it yet, but I just have this knowingness and faith that it will all manifest.
Stuff is stuff. Gawd, I use to hate it when I'd hear people say that shit. But it's true. Stuff comes and goes. It's taken me 5 months to realize this. Some days are better than others. Some days I really get pissed, though!!! ....my drum, my poi, walking sticks, my didgeradoo (sp?), all the momentos that burner friends gave me!

It hurts. Yeah. It hurts a fucking lot.

I've already resolved myself to the might-be-fact that ~~ OK, I show up at BM with just a sleeping bag, some clothes, some water, a chest full of fruit and veggies and crackers. I don't need much! People will give me shelter when I need it. They'll spray me down if I get hot. They'll share their BACON!!!

(Well, maybe....)
So what if I don't have a tent. Maybe this is the desert's way of saying, "Embrace the fucking dust storms, and when it's calm? ...well, open your eyes at night and look up at the stars and be grateful for the little things. You are loved." (Oh. That was sooooo hippie.)
Friends all over have told me to just show up. It's humbling. I am grateful. They told me I could use their stoves. They have told me they would even feed me. They told me they would dress me up.

SWEEEEEEET!!!! Stuff is just stuff, hon. Yeah, it fucking bites. Over the past 5 months, though, I have just had to accept what life dealt me. Acceptance is not an easy thing for us sometimes. Isn't for me a lot of times. Obviously there is some reason I am going through this. And you too. And it's OK now. I'll be OK.
So will you.