Soup it up
Motorcyclists' tent sports a 'garage'
Larry Edsall / Special to The Detroit News
Kevin Muggleton is a former British army officer who has traveled much of the world by motorcycle for the past 20 years.
There was a three-month trip across the Sahara, a month riding across the Andes and a two-month journey to Patagonia.
"There's fatigue from long days of riding a motorcycle," Muggleton said. "You're so exhausted, you really need a good night's sleep."
People camping while traveling by motorcycle often don't get the sleep they need because they have to "sleep with one eye open" for fear someone will steal their bike, or parts from it, he noted.
"Traditionally, motorcyclists buy the smallest tent and suffer," Muggleton added. "When I'm riding for weeks at a time, I want my gear and bike securely out of sight."
He also wants "to stand up to change my clothes," but "no tent out there offered me those advantages, so I built my own."
After going through what he said is now a "basementful" of tents, Muggleton created his own and has founded the Denver-based Nomad Tent Co., which launches its first product, the Tenere ExpeditionTent, this week.
Tenere is the name for a region of the south-central Sahara and is Muggleton's son's middle name.
Though born in London, Muggleton grew up in Hong Kong, and later his family moved to the Netherlands.
After his military service, he ended up in Zimbabwe, working with a river rafting company.
"People wanted videos and photos of their trips," he said, so he learned to do video and photography from a kayak.
That led to work as a photojournalist and to commercial photography, which gave him time to pursue his interest in painting. Painting is now his primary source of income.
Muggleton came to the United States 10 years ago. Muggleton's Tenere Expedition Tent not only has space for two people to sleep, but also a "garage bay" for the motorcycle that can be enclosed overnight.
The tent weighs only 13 pounds but covers a motorcycle in a compartment tall enough for someone 6 feet 4 inches to stand up next to the bike. An adjacent compartment is large enough for a queen-size mattress.
The tent is priced at $399 and is structured so it can be set up around a parked bike. There's an optional "footprint" that can be used to provide a floor beneath the bike vestibule, as well as storage pockets and hang loops to keep gear off the ground.
Though designed for the motorcycle rider, the tent can be used for bicycle camping.
For information, visit www.nomadtent.com or call (720) 213-8287.
From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20100429/AUTO03/4290379/1148/AUTO01/Motorcyclists--tent-sports-a--garage-#ixzz0mV4SSa00