Bivvy a month 2022

[RIP]

dried frog pills

I always take those don't worry - about 1g and 1cc of space in my luggage so not a major overhead.

[Shewie]

"Whaddya got?"

Front bar roll - tarp, bivvy, tyvek sheet, sleeping bag, pillow
Front pouch - dehydrated food packets
Seatpack - sleep mat, insulated pants, warm jacket, w'proof socks, w'proof jacket
Frame bag - bike bits in bottom (tubolito/c02/tubeless repair, multitool) meths, in top - cookset, mug, wash kit, FAK, pegs, poles, brew kit, 2l bladder, filter
Top tube bag - phone, power brick, headtorch, charge cables, sun glasses, GPS
Stem bag 1 - snacks
Stem bag 2 - water bottle

Rucksack - 2 beers, fleece gloves, fleece hat, w'proof shorts (could've fitted in seatpack though)

I could've left the rucksack but I couldn't find anywhere to stash two beers, they were just to keep me company until my mates arrived

Used everything apart from the FAK, the power brick and cables and the GPS

EDIT: forgot the 2l bottle and filter

[RIP]

"Whaddya got?"

Front bar roll - tarp, bivvy, tyvek sheet, sleeping bag, pillow
Front pouch - dehydrated food packets
Seatpack - sleep mat, insulated pants, warm jacket, w'proof socks, w'proof jacket
Frame bag - bike bits in bottom (tubolito/c02/tubeless repair, multitool) meths, in top - cookset, mug, wash kit, FAK, pegs, poles, brew kit
Top tube bag - phone, power brick, headtorch, charge cables, sun glasses, GPS
Stem bag 1 - snacks
Stem bag 2 - water bottle

Rucksack - 2 beers, fleece gloves, fleece hat, w'proof shorts (could've fitted in seatpack though)

I could've left the rucksack but I couldn't find anywhere to stash two beers, they were just to keep me company until my mates arrived

Used everything apart from the FAK, the power brick and cables and the GPS

Can't see any howlers there personally, but expect a super-weenie will be along soon to help out .

Needed the bivvy bag if not raining? I've never taken one.

Needed all the clothes? Tempting just to wear them all start to finish too. Except maybe a down/whatever jacket for idle drinking time. On Winter Event I took one set of clothes for three and a half days and wore all of them all the time except down jacket for evening. It pissed with rain some of that time. Similarly did three days of torrential rain a few years ago with only the clothes I stood up in (with one mitigating circumstance) - looked like a giant walnut afterwards, but still...

Replace mug with old yoghurt pot inside cookpot? I'm fiddling at the edges now .

Beers definitely first things to pack - I was joking earlier of course.

So clobber may be an area to look at? Obviously they'll weigh the same whether worn or stashed but worn saves storage. Especially if it's only a single-nighter.

I've pointed out before that many people tot up the weight/storage of their luggage and gear but never mention the clothes they wear - boots 1kg+? helmet 300g? etc etc.

[Bearbonesnorm]

Used everything

Sunglasses?

[RIP]

indeed

[Bearlegged]

Obviously they'll weigh the same whether worn or stashed but worn saves storage.

Less storage required may equate to fewer bags required, thus lower weight.

[Shewie]

I think I just need to learn to live with it now, it's about as dialed in as I'm going to get it, I suppose it's like SUL backpacking, you have to experience the discomforts to realise your own threshold and find a happy medium.

A half frame bag would make me feel better about things I think

[Shewie]

Used everything

Sunglasses?

Just to keep the rain and mud out of my eyes

[RIP]

A half frame bag would make me feel better about things I think

It's nice to feel good about things .

'New' Wildcat one is excellent and would match your seat harness . Birthday?

Mine takes kitchen, FAK, workshop, tube, bathroom, powerbank/plug, food, empty 2L platy, u/l backpack for temp shopping. (Tarp, lines, pole(s), pegs, tyvek, mat, pillow in bar bag; sleeping bag, down jacket/hat in seatpack; water in stemcell; pump, lock, water purifier, snacks in stemcell; odds/sods in gastank).

[Shewie]

A half frame bag would make me feel better about things I think

It's nice to feel good about things .

'New' Wildcat one is excellent and would match your seat harness . Birthday?

Mine takes kitchen, FAK, workshop, tube, bathroom, powerbank/plug, food, empty 2L platy, u/l backpack for temp shopping. (Tarp, lines, pole(s), pegs, tyvek, mat, pillow in bar bag; sleeping bag, down jacket/hat in seatpack; water in stemcell; pump, lock, water purifier, snacks in stemcell; odds/sods in gastank).

The depth of the XL and length/nose of the L would be perfect, that would take my Evernew 600ml pot nicely

[RIP]

There you go then

[edwellz]

First post on here so hope it works, never used a forum before! Was hoping to get my January bivi in earlier in the month but was awaiting the arrival of a pair of Salsa HD anything cages to give me the extra capacity to take a tent rather than a bivi (I'd had a particularly unpleasant experience bivi-ing out in the Black Mountains in December!). Postie finally dropped them off in yesterday morning so I packed up and hit the road mid afternoon. Followed the Taff Trail for a short while then route 47 through the woods between the Rhondda and Cynon valleys, eventually dropping down the Rhigos mountain to a small secluded lake. The tent was up quickly and a much more comfortable night followed! Woke to a misty lake and an empty gas canister, so shoved a Snickers down my neck and hit the road early to find the nearest Greggs!

[benp1]

I'm planning to start my BAM attempt again this year

I'm going to count the Winter Event for Jan. Technically the accommodation meant it's not allowed but it was my first ride in over 4 months having smashed my knee up and I went straight in at the deep end with a loaded ride in the glorious Welsh hills in Winter - I'm taking that, was pleased to have made it around OK

[sean_iow]

I wasn't sure I wanted to commit to another year of BAMs but I've started again so I guess I'll have to now. Left it late in the month and as I'm busy at the weekend it would have to be another school night bivi. To make it more interesting I decided to go somewhere new. Left home after 8:30pm and headed to Newport for a planned bivi in Parkhurst Forest. I'd always discounted it as it's a popular dog walking area and close to town but when riding through recently I noticed the firs were quite dense so I guessed I would be able to hide away.

Found a feint path off the main track and followed that to see where it went. Came to a small flat clearing, would have been ideal apart from the previous occupants had left their beer cans and empty condom wrappers... and if the wrappers are there then somewhere under the pine needless will be the.. well you get the picture

Back on the main track I soon found my way back into the thick of the undergrowth, after I thought I'd gone far enough for my lights to be hidden I got my kit out and off and I was in my bag by 10:30 and had a really good nights sleep, as I always tend to. Heard a woman with a raised voice walking through the woods at 5am? I assume she was a dog walker and on her phone. Alarm went off at 6am and up just afterwards to head to work. The getting up in the morning is the worst bit. The thermometer said it had dropped to just under 6 degrees overnight, being tucked in under a fir with low branches makes a big difference to the temperature.



Packed up and away just after half 6:30 I headed out the other side of the woods past the jumps the kids built. Decided not to attempt the doubles on the loaded bike. Did get a picture of the sun coming up over Newport.



The orange lights left of centre are the prisons, the field used to be the prison farm but that's long since closed as they shut down Camphill Prison and the remaining 2 don't have the sort of inmates you'd trust not to do a runner. I also noticed the frost on the grass so the tress had made what could have been a cold night into a pleasant one. As I left the woods the temperature dropped further and I peddled smugly past people de-icing their windscreens on their drives, no de-icing required with the bike. Once down by the river the cold was noticeable, but for anyone not as sensitive the Council have provided a handy indicator.



This is just before you go over a bridge on the cycle path. It does have a grippy surface but I think that it's not quite drained well enough so might be prone to icy patches. As it at a tributary into the river there is also no vegetation at the sides to help shelter it. I had thought about biving off the cycle path but seeing it first thing I made the right choice, it looked freezing, more of a summer venue I think.



All that was left was to call in at Screfix to buy a new stanly knife (can't find mine) and then across town to work, the smell of cooking bacon wafting though the misty air of the industrial estate from the burger vans getting ready for the first customers, although sadly not open yet.

1/1 this year, 23 in a row (Sean) and 22 in a row (Ralph)

[boxelder]

A quick dusk til dawn, at the foot of Melbreak. Not much to report beyond a very hooty owl.
1/1 - gotta start somewhere.....

[whitestone]

First of the year for Cath and myself and actually the first for a few months now.

Cath had yesterday off work but is in today so the bivy needed to be close to home. Headed off after lunch for a steady ride up on to the tops above Malham. Dropped into Malham just as it was going dark and had tea in the Lister's Arms. Then rode back towards home to a bivy spot I'd seen a year or so ago which is in the middle of a small MTB loop built by one of the local estates (the head honcho is into cycling and the estate host regular cyclocross races). Unfortunately I hadn't realised that the spot was also used for outdoor barbies/sitting round a camp fire so they'd put loads of hard core down Pitching the tarps took a bit of ingenuity.

Had a good sleep, up at seven then just the climb up and over the hill to get home in time for Cath to fire up her computer.

1/1 and a run of, err, 1

[Andiphim]

I decided I am going to give this another go this year, so I better get started.
Due to work I have had limited time and last night was the last opportunity I would get this month.
After picking the boy from his Friday night club I changed clothes and headed out on the bike to a spot about 7 miles from home.
I got set up in the tent and was soon off to sleep.
It was a noisy night, just animal noises but enough to wake me a couple of times.
I was up at 6 to ride home, change and get off to work by 7.30.

1/1

[ScotRoutes]

Nice I assume you are "down south" as it definitely wasn't a night for being outdoors near me. 150 mph gusts on the summit of Cairngorm this morning and flying debris aplenty lower down.

[whitestone]

Nice I assume you are "down south" as it definitely wasn't a night for being outdoors near me. 150 mph gusts on the summit of Cairngorm this morning and flying debris aplenty lower down.

Definitely been "lively" here overnight, glad we were out on Thursday night instead.

[RIP]

150! Astounding. Looking at getting out Mon/Tues/Weds in Welsh Borders. Some predictions of 50mph, so a good opportunity to test my new bike sail I think.

[Andiphim]

Nice I assume you are "down south" as it definitely wasn't a night for being outdoors near me. 150 mph gusts on the summit of Cairngorm this morning and flying debris aplenty lower down.

I am in Suffolk, it was I bit breezy but that kept the frost away I think.
The weather is getting worse down here over the next couple of days I belive, hopefully not 150mph winds though.

[JoseMcTavish]

Looks like my habit of leaving things till the end of the month has finally caught up with me. Positive COVID test yesterday means I'm trapped at home for the next few days. Looks like my run is stopping at 48 months - pretty gutted

[Dave Barter]

Looks like my habit of leaving things till the end of the month has finally caught up with me. Positive COVID test yesterday means I'm trapped at home for the next few days. Looks like my run is stopping at 48 months - pretty gutted

Stu can we have an emergency back garden clause for covidists

[Bearbonesnorm]

Stu can we have an emergency back garden clause for covidists

That sounds quite reasonable.

[JoseMcTavish]

Thanks chaps, I'll hopefully be well enough for a few laps of the garden and a night out in time then!