Bivvy a month for 2013

[pushbikemike]

Looks like a cold one restless. I remember the burn crossing well.
How is the new GPS working out? Looks like you have it mounted on the bike now.

[restlessshawn]

lucky it aint rained for a bit so the burn was low!

yeah its good, the cheapo maps work fine, chuffed with it
less chuffed with the slog home into the headwind!

excellent bothy init?

[pushbikemike]

Aye it is a cracking bothy in a great location. I got an etrex 20 and the cheap maps too. All works grand.
Cant remember how to post photos from my bivi out on Thursday night Off to try again.

[pushbikemike]

Got out for an overnighter on Thursday. Left home at 9pm. Local trails for a spot of night riding :) . In my sleeping bag by 11.30pm.
View in the morning.

Bivi bag view by pushbikemike, on Flickr

Set off in the morning and found some snow.

Still snowy by pushbikemike, on Flickr

All downhill from here.

Cheeky trail by pushbikemike, on Flickr


Tried some new, to me trails. Spot my old school thumbshifter.

Heading home by pushbikemike, on Flickr


Now i can post photos. Here was one from Jan overnighter. Cardrona forest trails.

Cardrona bivi by pushbikemike, on Flickr

Badly pitched tent.

[Chew]

Did someone say Wensleydale?

Bit of a late organised trip, but anoth excuse to get out. Bit of snow on the ground, but plenty more as we sat around the fire (full marks to Ione for getting it going), before heading to bed. Full dusting on top of the tarp.



Thought i'd try a different way to pitch the tarp with a few branches which worked very well and gave me a bit more headroom over the usual wheel set up.

[slugwash]

That's February ticked off then. No bikes were involved as we wanted to plot up in a gorge on Dartmoor that's not that easy to get to on bike. The unexpected fullish moon was a bonus, nicely illuminating the river and trees during most of the night. And a short sharp swim was taken by me shortly after breakfast in case the coffee failed to wake me up......

[restlessshawn]

Changed to an Inbred now then Mike, what happened to the GF?

Lots of snow and frost in everyones pics this month, hoping to get a warmer one in March!

[Ray Young]

Restless, I see your Gameshope bothy pic entitled rum, a candle and a good book has a great shot of the anti mouse shelf that Mike and I had to describe as we hadn't photographed it. Looks like a nice overnighter. How deep was the ford?

[gairym]

Some great looking trips have been had this month!

I'm planning on getting out on the night of the 27th and so leaving things nice and late this month but I've already got plans for an overnighter for early March and so maybe next month won't be quite so late.

Nice going folks.

[pushbikemike]

Changed to an Inbred now then Mike, what happened to the GF?

Always liked on one bikes. Had a 456 and still have a 26" wheeled inbred. The 29er slot drop out frame came up for sale and well er....couldnt resist.

Now have the Gary Fisher 29er frame, an uncle john frame and a surly 1x1 frame and forks in the loft. May need a clear out soon.

Restless, I see your Gameshope bothy pic entitled rum, a candle and a good book has a great shot of the anti mouse shelf that Mike and I had to describe as we hadn't photographed it.

Good spot Ray.

[pushbikemike]

Some great looking trips have been had this month!

I'm planning on getting out on the night of the 27th and so leaving things nice and late this month but I've already got plans for an overnighter for early March and so maybe next month won't be quite so late.

31st Jan for me last month.

[restlessshawn]

Restless, I see your Gameshope bothy pic entitled rum, a candle and a good book has a great shot of the anti mouse shelf that Mike and I had to describe as we hadn't photographed it. Looks like a nice overnighter. How deep was the ford?

Yeah I was impressed with the shelf!

Luckily the ford was very low, I managed to ride it on the way in and almost on the way out...then I hit a rock and got wet

[99percentchimp]

Another last minute one for me this month. Out at 3.30 yesterday afternoon.
Sea level last month in the gales but up at 594m this month in light winds (Sisyphus would have been proud of me!). I had hoped it would clear this morning for some nice views/photography but it stayed claggy all morning. Lots of rime ice on everything first thing.
A high summit camp did mean a well wrapped up 330m descent after brekkie :)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/99percentc ... 877028188/
[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/99per ... .jpg[/img]
Feb_Bivi-7 by 99percentchimp, on Flickr[/url]

[gairym]

DONE!

Will write more when I've had a chance to eat something, unpack and have a bath.....

Phew - that was close!

[gairym]

Ok, here's a little (sorry, it drags on a bit) write-up I did for my blog:

Yesterday I descended from the bright and sunny Alps in order to do two things:

1. Drop Nikki and Amelie off at the train station in Chambery for their week back in blighty.

2. To head out for a day/night/day in the hills to tick off my February Bivi trip (yes, I'd left it a little late!).

There's been a fair bit of snow this month (almost the whole of the month has been snow-covered with up to 40cm at the house) and so I planned to head south a bit and keep to low altitudes in order to give myself the best chance of actually being able to ride my bike instead of pushing the damn thing through deep snow (as has been the case for many of my rides this month).

Here's me a couple of days ago enjoying some proper powder:



So.....with that in mind I headed to Crest in the Drome department and planned a nice 60km ride in the hills.

Here's the hazy sunlight view from the first climb of the day:



The day was nice and warm and I was soon up into some nice little hillocks - you can see one of my favourite local hills (ok, mountains) in the background (it's one I've ridden a lot up near Saillans):



Once I got up above 500m I rediscovered my old friend SNOW and had some long slow miserable climbs to contend with as the evening wore on.....



I continued late into the evening (having passed up a perfect bivi spot as it was just too early and would've given me too much work to do this morning) and was rewarded by some lovely sunset views:



and.....



The light was fading fast and the trail was proving to be a bit of a dick (due, in part, to some moronic forresters who'd felled a whole section without leaving a clue as to where the path might have been - thanks a lot!) and it was a thoroughly knackered and dejected Gairy who found himself looking or a spot to lay his weary head.

In the end I chose somewhere that was relatively flat once the light had totally gone (though I had my nice lights and so lumination wasn't my problem.

It was a long and annoyingly cold night due to me taking/using my cheap Karrimor mat instead of my highly insulated (but heavier) Mammut mat (so SOOO warm and comfortable) but I survived (and even got quite a bit of sleep) and awoke this morning to this view:



It didn't rain but I'd packed my big (3m x 3m) tarp just-in-case and so I had plenty of cover during the night and, whilst I will persevere for now, I don't yet 'get' why people love the tarp/bivi set-up over a simpler (and lighter and warmer and dryer) tent (like the one I've got).

I've stated that I want to give the tarp/bivi approach a chance and so I'll be continuing to use this set-up over the coming months (though hopefully the smaller tarp which will at least mean that it's lighter than my tent) and we'll see how it goes but I remain to be convinced!

I packed up my gear and was on the go by 08:30 (an hour to pack everything away nicely) but my less-than-great nights sleep and a previously aching body (I hadn't really ridden my snowboard for years) meant that I wasn't in the best of places this morning and a section of descent that would have been a sniff too treacherous on an unladen bike had me walking the bike and cursing for the first half hour of the day (not ideal!).

But.....my morning was brightened by this stunning (and massive) bracket fungus I came across - lovely:



Once I'd walked most of the silly unridable bits (and warmed up a bit) I came to some extra-special single-track which turned my day/ride around.

It was absolutely stunning - there are no photos as they never do technical single-track justice and I was too busy hoofing-it down there to stop and take any!

At one point I took a bend and, glancing at the GPS, realised that I'd most likely taken a wrong-turn but I was enjoying the descent too much to care and so carried on happy that the trail was so good that it was worth the inevitable (as I had made a mistake) climb back up to rejoin the correct trail.

Once I'd descended fully into the Drome valley all I had to do was follow the river back to the car and I'd be done.

From the look of the map I worriedly thought that my trail crossed the river at this point:



.....but I soon realised my error and back-tracked to where there was a turning that lead to some brilliant trails along the riverside.

The trail reminded me of the trails I grew-up riding at home (some of the ones at Steetley Quarry near Doncaster for those who know it) - with trails that which appeared in a post-industrial area that's been left for nature to reclaim.

Here's a taster:



The longer I rode on the riverside trail the more I enjoyed it - I'd soon left behind the single-track and had crossed the river and was now riding on some nice (dry!) walking trails which weren't technically exciting but were great to blast along at full-pelt:



Just before arriving back at Crest I came across this nice little bend in the river which has given rise to some stunning moving sand/gravel banks on which hundreds of birds and ducks were resting/nesting (unfortunately most of them buggered off as my brakes squealed me to a halt) - I sat myself down and had a few minutes enjoying the scenery before finishing off the ride:



So.....highs, lows, great trails, non-existent trails, warmth and cold - this ride had it all!

Below you can see the profile for the two days:





I can't say it was an all time classic route but I did really enjoy it nonetheless.

Bring on March - who knows where the hell I'll end up for that bivi trip!

Cheers, Gairy.

[pushbikemike]

Another last minute one for me this month. Out at 3.30 yesterday afternoon.
Sea level last month in the gales but up at 594m this month in light winds (Sisyphus would have been proud of me!). I had hoped it would clear this morning for some nice views/photography but it stayed claggy all morning. Lots of rime ice on everything first thing.
A high summit camp did mean a well wrapped up 330m descent after brekkie :)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/99percentc ... 877028188/
[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/99per ... .jpg[/img]
Feb_Bivi-7 by 99percentchimp, on Flickr[/url]

Cracking photo. I like that a lot.

[Bearbonesnorm]

Couldn't have left Feb any later even if I'd tried


Sheltered spot in the trees ... although it was still very windy.


The obligitory shot of bike leaning against Portaloo in the middle of nowhere and I really do mean the middle of nowhere. I set off at 2.30 yesterday afternoon, got back around 10.00 this morning and the only person I've seen was driving a car as I neared home.


The lake was actually frozen ... as was every other lake I rode past. Still a touch chilly on the tops.

[99percentchimp]

pushbikemike on Fri Mar 01, 2013 12:44 am wrote
Cracking photo. I like that a lot.

Cheers Mike :)

s8tannorm on Fri Mar 01, 2013 11:57 am wrote
The lake was actually frozen ... as was every other lake I rode past. Still a touch chilly on the tops.

I was wondering what it was like down your way as I've a late date with my Elan back route. Maybe down in March?

obligitory shot of bike leaning against Portaloo

I thought you'd got yourself a new sidecar for minute!

[Bearbonesnorm]

I was wondering what it was like down your way as I've a late date with my Elan back route. Maybe down in March?

If the last few years are anything to go by March will be the month I recall that Flatfishy and myself were basking in 20 degree + temps in the middle of March last year.

BTW - call in as I've got something for you

[sillybigfella]

Is that Glaslyn?? Went for a swim there once, bloody freezing....

[99percentchimp]

s8tannorm on wrote:
If the last few years are anything to go by March will be the month I recall that Flatfishy and myself were basking in 20 degree + temps in the middle of March last year.
BTW - call in as I've got something for you

Cheers Stu - will let you know if I can get down in the next few weeks. Will be watching the weather like a hawk for the early summer!

[Bearbonesnorm]

Is that Glaslyn?? Went for a swim there once, bloody freezing....

It is ... trundled past on my way out yesterday afternoon.

[FLV]

2/2 - Managed to get a wee trip over to tenerife. Its a cracking place for a winter trip. We saw temps of 26 degrees, dry dusty trails and lovely roads.

We arrived ready to ride, upacked the bikes and stashed the bike bags in the bushes :D

We left the airport mid afternoon, did a bit of shopping, had a beer and rode up the hill for a while and set up.


In the morning, a nice off road climb and then brekkie, followed by another climb right up to somewhere around 2200m
Scenery is pretty impressive overall

[ianfitz]

I'm still 2/2 for this year. But only just.

I less than inspired or inspiring for that matter, very last minute, dash out the door on Thursday.

Just headed out to the ox stones and back again the next morning.

Need to think a bit more about marchs outing. Or hopefully outings!

I'm impressed by the quality of some of the write ups above. Good work!

[restlessshawn]

Is that a mytimug cookset/stove/windshield in field testing?