Living off-grid has become a trend these past years. The possibility of doomsday and global warfare has prompted several people to reinvent their kind of living. Some of them chose this just for fun, while others have embraced off-the-grid living for good. Preppers, environmentalists, and anyone tired of electricity and high technology-packed up and lived their off-the-grid dreams. Some of them started to build homesteads away from the comfort of their cities. They start survival gardens and raised small farm animals for redundant food security.
On the other hand, not all survivalists chose to live in a fixed location. Many of them opted for a nomadic lifestyle—transferring from one place to another. Most of them move and live in their bug-out vehicles. Some chose to travel on their bikes. If you’re curious what off-grid living on a bike is, you’ll probably want to know what is necessary for it to work. In this article, we’ll jump into the survival tips for off-grid living on a bike that you should know.
1. Keep A Bug-Out Food Kit
Most survivalists have the time and space to store food in their pantries. Typically, they stash rice, rolled oats, pasta, canned goods, and other shelf-stable food items. However, off-grid bikers have limited space for food keeping. So, it’s always a good idea to have food on a bug-out food kit. In choosing which food to buy, consider the following tips:
- Choose non-perishable items (or those that have a long shelf life).
- Opt for easy to keep and easy to prepare meals
- Choose nutritious, calorie-rich, and allergen-free foods
- Your food kit needs to have variety
While there is a vast array of options in the market, you can typically choose canned and dehydrated meat, protein bars and drinks, drink mixes, oils, pancake mixes, cereals, potato flour/flakes, canned fruits or veggies, and ready-to-eat meals. These food items are highly suggested because they are easy to prepare and eat. You may also try to bring food products that you can cook during your stops in convenient locations. If you’re planning to cook meals, you must also bring along utensils or at least learn how to start a fire using wood, sticks, or stones.
2. Keep Your Bike’s Necessities
There are lots of goings-on on the road. For instance, if you’re traveling in the Mid-Atlantic region, you may meet a motorcycle accident in New Jersey that may need your help. Or your motorcycle may suffer from tire puncture or any engine problems that could delay your movement. You’ll definitely need repair kits to provide initial solutions while waiting for better assistance in these cases. Apart from this, having these kits somehow gives a feeling of security, especially if you’re in a middle of a road with your next stop hours away from you.
For this purpose, here are the kits that you may include in your packs:
- Tire Repair Kit: This contains a pump tool, a spare tire, patch, and plugger or rubber cement for tubeless tires. For easy carry and storage, you may keep the kit in a zippered bag.
- Mini Toolbox: You may consider buying a multi-tool that has a set of screwdrivers and wrenches. Or you could just build your own toolset that contains various types of screwdrivers, wrenches, pliers, and pocket knives.
3. Always Bring A Portable Power Or Electricity Source
- Brand-Oriented & Outdoor Charger Pro: With over ten years of experience in solar power banks, BLAVOR has already gained the favor and trust of millions of global users. BLAVOR only uses the highest-grade materials, to provide the most reliable and safe products to customers.
- Leading USB C Input&Output Tech and Qi Wireless: 5V 2.4A output, 50% faster-charging speed, and zero damage to your devices. Support charging 3 devices simultaneously, multiple output/input methods, freeing your worries of a power outage. Compatible with almost all smart devices, such as iPhone, ipad, Samsung, etc.
- Premium Battery & Smallest Solar Charger: BLAVOR uses the safer Lithium-cobalt battery, which is 50% more cycling times than a normal Li-polymer battery. The smallest and lightest portable charger on the market, real-rated 10,000mAh. When fully charged, it can charge the iPhone8 3.6 times, iPhone14pro 2.2 times, and the iPad Air once.
- Safe Material and Comfortable Design: The outer case is made of flame-retardant ABS+PC materials. The waterproof silicone better protects the internal structure of the charger. Rubber skin-feel oil coating process to form a protective film on the surface, comfortable touch, and exquisite appearance.
- Multi-Purpose Outdoor Power Bank: BLAVOR portable solar charger is made to be IPX5 waterproof, dustproof and shockproof. The built-in dual super bright flashlights and the included compass carabiner can further ensure your safety when traveling outdoors, making it an ideal companion for outdoor enthusiasts.
You’ll need a power source to keep the lights on for your nightly stops and for charging your phone and other devices. While your motorbike may also serve as a power source, it’s still better to have spare sources. Samples of these are high-capacity batteries and mini solar panel kits.
Batteries vary in size and type. More likely, larger batteries can generate more electricity. However, you may also consider battery weight as large batteries are too heavy and may affect your balance during driving.
If you want a more portable option, you could try mini solar panel kits. These can generate electricity for your lights and devices. Their downside, however, is that they’re only charging during the daytime. So, it is a must that you’ll have a chosen location that you’d charge the solar panels or the devices through them. There are solar panels that you can attach to the back of your backpack or motorcycle for better choices. These could continue charging while you’re on the road towards your next stop.
- MADE FOR SOLAR GENERATORS - Compatible with most solar generator/portable power station on the market. Includes different size of connectors( 5.5* 2.1mm DC Adapter for ROCKPALS 250W/300W/350W/500W/Flashfish/MARBERO Portable Power Station, 8mm DC Adapter for Jackery/BALDR Portable Power Station, 3.5*1.35mm DC Adapter for Omorc/Elecaenta Portable Generator), and 5V USB devices, including smartphones and tablets(iPhone, iPad, Samsung Galaxy), GPS, digital cameras, etc
- 3-USB SMART CHARGING TECHNOLOGY - The build-in smart IC chip intelligently identifies your device, and maximizes its charging speed while protects your devices from over charging and overloading. The charging current of USB ports (up to 2.4A max 5V DC per port, 6A max overall) is monitored and automatically adjusted according to the sunlight level
- HIGH CONVERSION EFFICIENCY - Constructed of high-efficiency solar arrays,convert up to 21.5-23.5% of solar power into free energy
- WATER-RESISTANT & DURABLE - Made from durable Oxford cloth. The solar panel is water resistant to endure all weather conditions, ideal for outdoor activities such as camping, climbing, hiking, picnic. Please NOTE: The junction box is not waterproof and please keep it dry
- FORDABLE & PORTABLE - Foldable design, convenient to carry it wherever you go. Folded dimensions: 13.78 * 13.39 * 2.36 inches.
4. Listen To The Weather Forecast
The weather could affect your travel as rain and snow may make the road difficult for you. To be prepared for whatever type of weather there’ll be, you may watch news that can tell you weather forecasts and road conditions. This way, you’ll be able to decide on which stops you will take and how long you will stay on the road.
5. Bring Appropriate Gear
While off-grid living may be fun for most people, it still requires gear for outdoor movement, cooking, and sleeping. You may bring a foldable fleece and waterproof jacket, minimalist shoes, trail-running sandals, and headcovers. You could get small camping cookware, including a camp stove, skillet, Dutch oven, and a knife.
For your sleeping gear, you may choose between a tent and a tarp. If you prefer to rest among trees, you could also bring a hammock. In case of unexpected weather changes, it’s best to pack up a small umbrella and raincoat as well. Above all, you should consider portability and usefulness when choosing your gear.
6. Identify Locations For Water Collection
Water is essential. Aside from drinking, you’ll need it for washing and cleaning. Aside from bringing bottles or a container of clean water, you could use running water in the places where you’ll stop. For this purpose, you could identify the locations where rivers and streams are situated. In addition, you may also list the stores where you can buy drinking water.
For seasoned off-grid bikers, they’ve already built or at least know where to find rain catchments or solar pumps in which they could regularly fetch water. Most bikers prefer to bring their own water, collect directly to a natural water source, or stop by established off-grid homesteads.
7. Prepare Emergency And Survival Kits
You’ll need emergency and survival kits for wound treatment and emergency communications as part of your off-grid living essentials.
Your survival kits should also contain the following:
- A battery-powered or hand-crank radio, as much as possible, with tone alert
- A first aid manual
- Sterilized gauze pads in different sizes
- Band-aids
- Antiseptic wipes
- Alcohol
- Elastic bandages
- Extra batteries
- Antiseptic and antibiotic ointments
- Painkillers
- Bug spray and itch relief
- Flashlight
- Whistle
- Compass and map
- Travel lantern
- Sunscreen
- Waterproof matches
8. Ties And Bags
Living on your bike will need a lot of tying and wrapping. To be able to do these, you could use ROK straps for tying big and heavy packs. Zip ties are alternatives for this. For bags, you should bring dry bags and saddlebags that you can tie at the back of your motorcycle. Also, you could place your clothes and other essentials in your backpack and the gears in the saddle and dry bags. As much as possible, use multi-purpose backpacks and bags.
As suggestions, you may try water bladders as these are the backpacks that can hold water and may also serve as bags for your other items. Hiking bags are also good options. However, suppose you prefer to drive without a lot of hassle in movement. In that case, you can use waist packs or water bladders as they are smaller and more portable.
9. Check Your Bike At Every Stop
Your bike can be used for many functions in your off-the-grid lifestyle. It may serve as a resting chair or sleeping pad at times. In addition, it could be a table or something where you can place your stuff during your stops. Above all, it’s your transport from one place to another. If you want to have an easy ride while traversing to your next stop, you should check your motorcycle entirely before you set off. You should also do a routine check during every stop. Here’s a list of motorcycle parts that you may check:
- Brakes
- Lights
- Oil
- Water
- Battery
- Air
- Gas
- Engine
- Tires
- Starter
On The Way
As the adage says, moving forward is the only way to survive. In the context of off-the-grid living on a bike, there are ways that a person could thrive on the road. This article has a list of tips and tricks that may help a prepper, survivalist, or anyone who’ll try off-the-grid living on the road.
In finalizing your own list, you may consider the item’s usefulness in choosing what to bring. You should also think of the portability of the tools and items as you have limited space during travel. In addition, you should keep yourself and your bike in their best conditions throughout your off-the-grid move. As preparation is always a helpful tool to any endeavor, these tips can provide you the necessary tools, items, and actions to be road-ready and survive what awaits your ride.