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Gear Interlude - Inside The Bikers Tent with James Lipton

David

You've seen the outside tens of times, and everyone is clamoring to know: what's inside the tent? Your answers lie within this special Gear Interlude - Tent Edition.

We always setup the tent and sleeping stuff first thing when we arrive at camp, so it's done and we can relax. In general, we've slept ok on this trip. Our gear is comfy, but campsites can be loud.

Enjoy the tour of our tent life!

Behold: The Zpacks Duplex Zip with Freestanding Pole Kit.
Fits in Sarah's "tent stuff" pannier nice and easy. Everything is very light but kinda bulky.
There are two zippered vestibules on each side that you can stake out. It's so hot at night, we usually roll up both doors though. Or just use one for visual privacy. There's a semicircle screen door on each side that is kind of annoying to zip since the zipper is the top of the arc, so there's no tension and you need both hands. Which can be annoying if you need a midnight pee. And can be extra stressful when you try to close it quickly before any bugs sneak in.
Inside we have our two backpacking sleeping pads: Sarah has a Therm-a-Rest NeoAir and David an Exped Ultra 6.5R. I brought a little Exped air pump to fill my pad; it is nice but also very annoying sounding, so I don't use it if we arrive late. Sarah continues her lung workout. If we're feeling cozy we also have pad coupler straps that you loop in a figure eight to keep the pads next to each other. This is comfy, but we don't need it most nights.
An inflatable pillow each: Sarah has a Nemo Fillo Elite, David has a Exped Mega Pillow. I do not like the felt fabric on my pillow, so I use a bandana as a cooler pillowcase that can be washed.
We both brought sleep masks and ear plugs. Many of the campsites have been near resorts that have late concerts or there are French boys yelling late into the night. Also almost all campsites have street lights, so eye masks really help. I have some cheap foam ear plugs but I keep losing and finding them again. Before we put on our eye masks we always do a thorough bug check. Nobody wants to go to sleep with a mosquito.
Our "sleeping bags" are just silk bag liners since it's so hot. Sarah has a Cocoon, David has a Western Mountaineering silk bag liner. A typical _low_ on this trip has been 75 F or 23 C. I mostly like it as a washable sheet over the pad fabric.
As the one "low temp" backup, we have an old single lightweight summer sleeping bag we use as a duvet over both of us. It's a rectangular bag that you can unzip into a big square. It's light fleece on the inside. We've used this three nights thus far, and every one of those nights someone ends up stealing all the covers.
Sometimes in the morning condensation form on the underside of the tent or ground sheet, so we flop it on its side to dry out. I also try to give the tent a good shake out with one door open before we roll it up. I am not a "tent stuffer"; close all the zippers, fold it in fourths hotdog-style, then roll it from one end and it goes right in the stuff sack.

Day 31 - All train stations in Croatia seem abandoned - Prosika, Croatia to Split, Croatia

David

July 21, 2026 - biked 56 km (35 mi), train'd 70 km (44 mi) - biked 1287 km (800 mi) total

Our goal today is to bike into Šibenik, then take the train to Split to skip ahead and not have to do the very busy roads into Split, then have a rest day tomorrow!

Woke up with a huge ass spider on my bike.
GPS looking out behind us today as we are to ride the D8.
First evidence Split is real.
I again foolishly decided to take a gravel shortcut. Has a nice town view, though.
After walking our bikes again up a steep rocky road, it vanishes into the sea. We will have to find another way.
We routed around through a walking path in an olive grove and would have come out here. Then a man literally rode his bike out of the sea to greet us and said the rest of the way was shallow and we should bike in the water. We walked our bikes on the seagrass on the shore instead.
Starting to see some roadside fruit stands. Lubenice continues to be our favorite fruit.
Continuing the great fight against the scourge of swimwear.
Water stop in Vodice was at a market! We got grapes.
Also starting to see more roadside shrines.
Another gravel road. This was the official EuroVelo 8 so was possible.
A last little section on the hated D8 over this bridge.
But it had a great view!
Sarah just went for it. I was too scared after being run off the road twice yesterday, and walked on the utility sidewalk.
Sometimes you get to ride in the gutter. The alternative is worse.
Šibenik is cute hill town!
This station is abandoned. No trains, people, or any building not converted in graffiti or abandoned construction scaffolding.
We aren't allowed to wheel our bikes on the train, so we have to bag them. Mine is so big I have to take my front fork out and strap it to the side.
But somehow a train appears! We rush to load our bags.
Then rush to load our bikes.
Then negotiate with the conductor to let our bagged bikes on as "oversize luggage" and we're off. In the future, if you're taking the train from Šhibenik to Perković, you'll have to bag your bike, and even then you'll need to argue about it.
Turns out there was one guy in the abandoned station.
This guy is cranking the crossing gates by hand.
Back drivers cab.
Turns out it has a little kitchen!
We have one transfer.
New train is nicer.
Split in the distance. Epic hill views on the way. Second most beautiful train we've taken. Definitely slowest.
The train station in Split, the second biggest city in Croatia, also looks abandoned.
In Split, sidewalks are just for parking.
We get to a cute rental apartment.
In Europe, you do not need stair guards.
With a balcony view!
We finally opened our Istrian wine and made a pasta dinner.
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