by Ethan Hipple

It was late at night in September 2014, probably past midnight, and my wife Sarah and I were in the garage, busy bolting square 5-gallon buckets onto the sides of our kids’ bikes. Together with a bike trailer, these “poor man’s panniers” would carry all of our food, clothing, camping gear and tools for a five day bike camping trip we were leaving on the next day. Piles of outdoor gear lay nearby, ready to get packed into our buckets. On the kitchen counter in the house lay five days worth of meals, divided into breakfast, lunch, and dinner piles. The kids slept soundly in their beds, getting good rest so that they could pedal 30 miles with loaded bikes.

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