Bivvy a Month 2024

[Blackhound]

Yes Reg, very lucky. I still don’t fully understand what happened, why didn’t I just put it back in my usual pocket after taking my snap and taking one of the guys? It had been in a back pocket and I feared it had jumped out so my ride back was slow.
It is now on a’find me’ app with herself but it seems to need a signal and I usually ride with mobile data turned off. But, yes lucky this time.

[fatbikephil]

I managed to 'lose' my phone the other day - wandered into the Nethy Bridge shop, helped myself from the hot food counter, put my phone in it's case with my cash and card down next to the counter with my brain disengaged, wandered round the rest of the shop and went to pay, only to find...no phone. Spent 5 minutes running round trying to find it then saw it lying next to the hot food counter...

[gecko76]

August BaM done last night, will write it up in due course.

[JimmyG]

I left it late in the month but headed along the coast into East Lothian last Friday (30th). After a fairly busy day, I didn’t get going until 5 pm. Normally when I’m heading east I use mostly dirt tracks with the odd bit of road thrown in to connect things up. However, due to time constraints on this occasion, I reduced the off-road sections in order to get to my planned site well before last light. The site in question being on a grassy area just behind the dunes at the western end of Aberlady Beach.

Untitled by Jimmy G, on Flickr

Looking East by Jimmy G, on Flickr

Bivvy site amongst the bushes (left of centre of pic) by Jimmy G, on Flickr

I gave my Big Agnes Copper Spur an airing this time round. I have a trip down the west coast of France coming up shortly and figure this tent will be rather more discreet than my bright green Lunar Solo when wild camping.

Untitled by Jimmy G, on Flickr

There was nothing particularly exciting about this bivvy.... other than excellent weather for a change! Anyway, I had dinner overlooking the beach and watched the sun going down.

Untitled by Jimmy G, on Flickr

Next morning, after a very good night’s sleep, I watched the sun climb in the sky from the comfort of my sleeping bag.

Untitled by Jimmy G, on Flickr

As I was packing up I spotted a gang of caterpillars tucking into a leaf on a nearby bush. By the state of the bush, it’s obvious that they and their pals have a healthy appetite and have already devoured half of it.

Caterpillar Banquet by Jimmy G, on Flickr

Untitled by Jimmy G, on Flickr

Deserted by Jimmy G, on Flickr

Once packed I went on to the deserted beach to enjoy a leisurely breakfast. After soaking up the rays for a couple of hours (and seeing the beach gradually get busier with fellow sun worshippers), I headed homewards, sticking pretty much to my outbound route from the previous evening.

In summary, that’s 8 from 8 in ’24 and 80 consecutive BAMS.

[JudithG]

I'm afraid I'm out folks. A whole host of reasons, and August passed without a bivvy. Really happy with the seven bivvies I've done this year, with only one solo bivvy ever done before I started this challenge. Thank you for the opportunity to take on this solo journey to confident bivvying, supported by a community of fellow cycling/camping people who liven up the news I receive on my phone! I'll bivvy again though don't worry. Keep up the good stuff and I'll continue reading about your adventures and cheering you on

[gecko76]

I'm on the PC for a change and glad of it for that sunset pic Jimmy.

I made a return trip along the canal to where a couple of friends were building a hut last year.

https://bearbonesbikepacking.co.uk/phpB ... 54#p313054

They've only gone and finished it, with wood burning stove, solar panels, composting toilet, wifi and all.



I know what you're thinking; hardly bivvying now, is it? Fear not: they re-erected one of the hammocks just for me.



In which I slept, reasonably well, and was away early next morning with companion.



The bike is in commuter mode with guards, rack, double-sided pedals and suspension post, but it goes well enough. We headed on along the canal to Falkirk for a bit of megastructure joy before catching the train back to Edinburgh in order to get on with stuff that needed doing.

[fatbikephil]

More beach bivvies - they are worth pursuing if you have easy access to the sea!

Sorry to here your oot Judith, you can rejoin this month or next and just keep going if you want to keep the momentum going into next year

[RIP]

I'm afraid I'm out folks.

Aww sorry to hear that Judith. Have enjoyed your write-ups so hopefully we'll see you again soon .

[sean_iow]

I'm afraid I'm out folks. A whole host of reasons, and August passed without a bivvy.

No sleeps on the TCR marshaling you can count if you add a bit of rule bending?

My current run started in March 2020 so no need to start at the beginning of a year.

[javatime]

Late write up for August BAM
I was invited to "Club Week" (for just a night) by a friend who is a member of a sailing club down on the Severn. Sailing times are limited by the big tidal range so the rest of the days are filled with wholesome activities like local rambles, a treasure hunt or building a boat out of cardboard to take one person across the little creek (only one roll of gaffa tape allowed)

A short spin for me across the Severn Plain, passing Duckingham Palace in Olveston and the nice little manor house near Littleton where Aaron Banks' ex girlfriend used to live (but no pink sportscar on the drive today)

Tuesday night was Hog Roast and Sea Shanties, so a good evening to visit with the Littleton Cider Company oiling proceedings too.

I didn't pay for my camp, although someone else probably did, and to balance that out I made a donation to the Severn Area Rescue collection bucket. Feel I have had enough freezing nights in bird hides, half built houses in the woods and an unused car port over the years to be cut some slack on this one.

Looking forward to September - hopefully in the hills !

[Raggedstone]

August done last Thursday night what started out as a night on Bredon Hill turned into my long intended SAM BAM after a really nice ride to the foot of the hill i decided it was to nice a night and too early to so i carried on into Winchcombe where i inteded to get Fish and chips no luck as the shop is now a hairdressers but the co-op was next door i got some food and sat on a bench in town to eat it only to be out tramped by a chap who had definatley had a glass or two he made it to the neighbouring bench and collapsed on it muttering and swearing. The little lane past Sudley castle that becomes a track and takes you onto the Cotswolds had become extremely busy with tractors and trailers going backwards and forwards the combine harvesters were going flat out making the most of the dry weather. A nice little lane followed by a bit of track which got me close to my intended spot there was no sign of anyone around so i rode down the access track lifted the bike over the wall and had a look around no houses visible so i had a beer and set up camp.
PXL_20240830_044955554 by Kevin Hawker, on Flickr
I left the bike across the enterance so if anyone/thing came out the bike would fall over and act as an early warning It was a very still night and i could hear voices but there was no sign of anyone and i realised that the voices were coming from the town below mostly the pubs far to much merriment for a Thursday night !
I had a decent knap before the bells started i packed and loaded the bike and put it back the other side of the wall and returned for breakfast
PXL_20240830_052759616 by Kevin Hawker, on Flickr
PXL_20240830_052843298 by Kevin Hawker, on Flickr
PXL_20240830_052732020 by Kevin Hawker, on Flickr
A beautiful early morning ride over Cleeve hill avoiding golf balls took me to a track off Nottingham hill down to Prestcot home of the famous hill climb it has been a long time since i have done this and it was never good
PXL_20240830_074006584.MP by Kevin Hawker, on Flickr
A nice bridleway sign at the bottom
PXL_20240830_073815133 by Kevin Hawker, on Flickr
Before long i was back at the bottom of Bredon hill as it was my original intention to go up i thought i better do it fantastic views to enjoy some snacks with and this stone known as the elepahant stone i dont know why
PXL_20240830_085009046 by Kevin Hawker, on Flickr
After a very good second breakfast i decided i might as well go up the Malverns as well for a full house of the local hills
PXL_20240830_124836521 by Kevin Hawker, on Flickr
A short ride for the bivvy turned into 70 plus miles
8/12 for this year

[Tractionman]

excellent, was that a 'knap' at Belas Knap?!

[faustus]

Nice prehistoric bivvy spot!

[Fargoist]

I'm on the PC for a change and glad of it for that sunset pic Jimmy.

I made a return trip along the canal to where a couple of friends were building a hut last year.

https://bearbonesbikepacking.co.uk/phpB ... 54#p313054

They've only gone and finished it, with wood burning stove, solar panels, composting toilet, wifi and all.



I know what you're thinking; hardly bivvying now, is it? Fear not: they re-erected one of the hammocks just for me.



In which I slept, reasonably well, and was away early next morning with companion.



The bike is in commuter mode with guards, rack, double-sided pedals and suspension post, but it goes well enough. We headed on along the canal to Falkirk for a bit of megastructure joy before catching the train back to Edinburgh in order to get on with stuff that needed doing.

Nice work, do love a bit of cabin porn.

[gecko76]

I reckon the cabin would fit in the tunnel actually.

So, I'm on the train (an HST, naturally) heading for Aviemore for the weekend. I have bivi bag, tarp and sleeping bag and I'm planning to scrounge a bike. Having had the haar all day, the sun is currently golden on the cornfields and it's looking to be a good night to be out.

Can anyone recommend a suitably picturesque ditch to spend it in?

[fatbikephil]

Errrr - could head up to Carrbridge then do NCN7 north on the 'off road route' (dead end back road west out of Carrbridge) then down to Sluggan bridge which is a cracking spot.

[gecko76]

[fatbikephil]

[gecko76]

Thanks Phil, but a bit far from where I'm actually staying so that's one for another trip. If all goes well tonight I might wake up to a cloud inversion tomorrow though

[Boab]

Headed out this afternoon to get some miles in the legs and tick off the bivvy for the month. As I'm currently sat on my sofa drinking a beer and writing this, rather than being in a ditch, the bivvy bit of the ride was an abject failure. The problems started here:



Basically that's part of the Icknield Way, and the route to High Lodge. So a quick bit of mental planning later, we decided to head towards Sudbury and see what happened. I was sat on one of he benches outside Maglia Rosso eating a pasty, after filling up my water, when it started to spit. Given the yellow weather warning for thunderstorms in the early hours, I decided my head and heart weren't in it, and headed home. (I bet it doesn't even rain now)

I'm glad I did, as EVERYTHING HURTS. That's the longest ride I've done on the mountain bike (or any bike for that matter) since the WRT in April, so that fact that everything hurts isn't too surprising; I also did an hour and a half of ice skating this morning in an effort to tyre the legs out a bit before starting too. We'll see if the injuries from the crash the other week flair up in the morning or not; mostly worried about the haematoma on my right hip.

Edit: Got woken up at 02:30 by torrential rain

[gecko76]

Not quite a full inversion, but I slept well next to the Duke of Gordon's mighty erection and didn't wake up until gone 7 and might have missed it.

[summerwastin]

Looooonnnnnng time no post....

I managed a sneaky August BAM up near the top of Helvellyn after my gig in Glenridding. Started hiking well after 11pm, in "bed" by 1:30am on the ridge. Which to be honest meant that I got to bed earlier than if I'd driven home with the rest of the band. Then rode down Sticks Pass and Seldom Seen early doors. Felt pretty good about it. Weirdly busy on the ridge all night - loads of runners passing?! I guess everyone was trying the Bob Graham round on the bank holiday weekend when the weather was dry. Definitely going to try and do this more often! ps: hope the picture loaded directly - I haven't used Flickr for 10 years! are there any other ways to upload (more and better) pics without flickr?

[RIP]

Climbing 2000'+ at that time of night just to find a bivvy spot must be some sort of record for This Place

[frogatthefarriers]

BaM 2024 - September - Done.

Caught a train to Stafford (Avanti West Coast, with probably the worst designed bike space ever). Then pedalled to…



….to see the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance, that happens once a year on the first Monday after the second Sunday in September.

The horns…



They've been carbon dated to be over a thousand years old Would have made a better picture if they’d been facing the forward..


The Dance…



The story so far:-
The cycle.travel planner found me a nice route to Abbots Bromley, using a fair proportion of off-road - mostly canal towpath …..



This gave me a smile..


New job as a companion, anyone?


…….but a bit of bridleway as well. I got there at midday-ish and rewarded myself with a “Horn Dance Special” pork stuffing and apple sauce bap, then went next door to The Crown to wash it down. The dancers were still out on their round of the parish - nothing to see - nipped into The Goat, across the road for another. In the pub was a fiddle band sawing away but it was too crowded for me so I decamped to the back yard of the pub where there was a pop-up Cypriot/Greek/Turkish street food stall. I succumbed to the lure of a pork gyros - very tasty, but too big after my pork bap. It didn’t stop me though…

Now what? Someone said the dancers would be coming to The Baggot at around 3:30, so down there I went, to wait. With a couple of hundred others - and a pint. In the pub I got talking to a chap who was very interested in my plans. He said he bikepacks - just done the Highland 550 - but hadn’t heard of us boners.

Well the dancers came, I took some photos, then they left on their tour of the parish. Now, I’d got nothing to do until they got back, so I went to the…… cafe for a pot of tea and a nice piece of cake.

It’s still too early, they won’t be back to the Coach and Horses until 6 o’clock-ish but I scooted up there for a sit down (and another beer), but I soon got bored so went back to the village cross to watch the Morris Dancers. I bought a home-made sausage roll, just to support the local economy. And an ice cream. Back, then, to the Coach to get a last photo but they hadn’t got back. Another pint, it was.

They came, eventually, and I got my horn/bike photo and pedalled away around Rugeley to Cannock Chase to find a bivvy spot.


The bivvy. Next morning.



There’s more, sorry….

So I stayed in my bed until 8 o’clock, packed up and went looking for breakfast at the Marquis Drive visitor centre. Bu$$er, it was still closed and I had 45 minutes to wait. Time for tea and a breakfast bar and wait for opening time. I found a spot out of the wind in the lee of the Go Ape shop to brew up. There spotted a sign for “Forest Segway Experience”. Why not? I thought. I’d booked my return for around 4 o’clock, so had plenty of time to kill. But not before breakfast at the caff. They don’t do breakfast the lady told me but I could have a warm bacon roll (pre-packed). I had that and a granola yogurt and tea, of course, then trucked up to Go Ape for my Segway ride.

Have any of you tried a Segway? It was a hoot. A little scary to begin with, but we were soon zipping around the forest paths.



To get back to my train at Stafford, Cycle.Travel found me a mostly gravel route through the rain, to the station, where I managed to get an earlier train (than I’d booked) home.

So that’s 9/12 for ‘24.

[Bearlegged]

Good one Lu, with an excellent selection of food and drink!