I’m beginning to feel a bit of deja vu here. But I just made reservations for the southwest-Michigan ride, which begins 10 days from now. I’ll be staying at Pokagon State Park in Indiana on the 10th, and VanBuren State Park in Michigan on the 11th.

I made pretty much the same reservations (different sites) last year, but had to cancel them when my tent disappeared. I didn’t actually make reservations for the ride I planned a few weeks ago, since it was before Memorial Day and the campgrounds were wide open. Neither campground is even close to being fully reserved at this point, but the selection of sites is certain to narrow between now and then. Also, I may be arriving fairly late in the day at each of them, which would probably limit my options even further.

So now I’m committed. The long-range weather forecast for the 10th through 12th is currently sunny and temps between 60F and 90F, which should be nice enough. But forecasts for nearly two weeks out are notoriously unreliable, so for all I know I’ll be riding in 45F rain.

I’ve set the date for a 3-day ride finishing up last year’s big ride. To be honest, I’ve actually already set a date and cancelled it. Now I’ve set a new one.

I originally planned to do this ride – down to the NE corner of Indiana, following the border west thru Amish country, then heading north to the Lakeshore and following it homeward – the weekend before Memorial Day. Two factors caused me to postpone. First, the weather was looking anywhere from miserable to simply unappealing in the days leading up to it. There’d be winds from the south for the whole ride south, and up to 90% chance of thundershowers and chilly with an inch of rain possible on the full day of riding. I wouldn’t mind this as part of a week-long ride. I even expect it. But not for most of a ride. Second, I just have too much work piled up at the day job, and with my coworker about to leave for his wedding and honeymoon, it’s only going to get worse. So I cancelled. Fortunately I had no campground reservations or anything else like that, so it was painless… financially. The weather turned out to be… meh-woulda-been-OK-I-guess. Still coulda used the days off, though.

But what’s done is done. I’ve rescheduled. Instead I’ll be taking the same trip three weeks later, after the coworker gets back, June 10-12. Because it’s after Memorial Day, I might have to make reservations… but I’m also specifically avoiding the weekend (just Sunday and Monday nights), so maybe not.

The big ride up to Tahquamenon Falls is still scheduled for July 18-25. Vacation time approved and campsites reserved, so even if there’s some inclement weather in there (and I expect there will be), it’s still on.

I have replaced my lost/stolen tent. To briefly recap for those who missed last year’s thrilling adventures: at the far end of last year’s big ride, I discovered my tent was missing. It had either fallen off the scooter, or been taken off the scooter, some time during the ride from Ann Arbor to Lake Erie, and I was forced to sleep at a Motel 6 and ride straight home the next day. 🙁

The thing is, I really liked that tent. It wasn’t perfect, but it was as close to perfect for my needs as one could reasonably expect without custom-making something. It was light (3lbs), it was easy to set up, it provided good rain protection, it packed up small… and did I mention that it was light? Great for scooter camping and perfect for backpacking. Although it was starting to show a little bit of wear here and there (and some bloodstains from mosquitoes I swatted too late), it was still perfectly serviceable.

Fortunately it was fairly easy to replace: I bought a new one just like it.

Well, not exactly like it. The exact same model isn’t still available a decade later, but Sierra Designs still makes something very similar, a direct descendent of my old tent. It’s called the Light Year 1. The use of the phrase “light year” makes me cringe a little, because it has nothing to do with interstellar distances, but I accept it as a play on words. It is, after all, a very light tent. But not a year-round tent. It’s officially a 3-season tent, and is clearly not designed for winter use. The "1" refers to its sleeping capacity: 1 person. Just barely.

The most obvious change is the color: the olive rain fly and floor are now mostly a dull steel blue. And the white roof… is black netting. The most unpleasant surprise I had after buying the previous tent was the discovery that it offered less protection from the outside air than I expected. The tents I’d used in years gone by had been designed to hold in warm air. But this tent had multiple netting panels that (if not for the rain fly) left you exposed to the open air. That first cold night in it was… unexpected. But it wouldn’t come as a surprise in this tent, which makes it quite clear that it’s not going to keep you warm, because aside from the floor and a bit around the sides, it’s all netting. If you want any privacy (like in a state park campground), you need to use the rain fly. Nice if you’re camping some place hot and dry, I suppose. But I rarely camp in those places. Not a problem, though. I’ve long since learned the lesson that it’s your sleeping bag that keeps you warm, not the tent. And I’m OK with the darker color scheme: it’s less conspicuous, and hopefully not too dark inside.

They also changed the way the tent is held up. The old model was simple: two collapsible aluminum poles that fit into four grommets, and the tent had hooks that attached to those poles to hold it up. Then several stakes held the rest of the points in place. Most of those simple hooks and grommets have been replaced by plastic devices that connect to each other, and a ball-and-socket holder for the poles. They’re probably sturdy enough, but if they fail they’ll be useless… unlike the old systems, which could be replaced or repaired with a little improvisation and stitching. The simple stakes have also been replaced with a new brand-name engineered design which I hope offers some improvement besides just looking cooler.

I haven’t set it up properly yet. (I’m a little self-conscious about setting up a tent in the front yard.) But I’ve put all the pieces together in the living room, without the stakes necessary for it to stand up. So at least I know the parts are all here, and they fit. According to online reviews of this new tent, it’s a little taller inside than the old one, which will be welcome if true. I trust that it’s as well-constructed as the old one. And I’m sure that after a few times putting it up and packing it away I’ll get over the differences in design.

By the way, I picked it up at Bill & Paul’s Sporthaus for $170. Since I already knew what I wanted, I could’ve saved a little money buying it online, but it’s so important to have actual brick-and-mortar stores with knowledgeable staff for camping equipment like this, and locally-owned ones are the best kind.