Bivvy a month 2015

[Taylor]

A ride out from Rhayader with Scattamah, taking in a couple of new to us/me trails and wartime explosions around the Elan valley making our way to Lluest Cwm Bach bothy.
This bothy is the coldest bothy I've ever stayed in with the worst stove in the world. Eats fuel bloody fast and returns nothing but a nice picture on the bothy tv, no warmth whatsoever.
Went to bed around 10.30 as we'd used all the wood and coal we'd carted in.
At 1am I woke with a start as I thought Scott was trying to find something on the other side of the room. Looked across and Scott was still under his quilt!
Who the f**k was this?
Through squinted eyes(no glasses on and dim light) I made out a green shoulder of a BB shirt.
Now I'm a bit baffled until I worked out it was Wotsits. He'd decided to join us late that evening and drove down arriving at the dam at 12.30. I was impressed.
A slow start this morning with a hefty bit of pushing, trying to find another dry way out of the bothy we found with a fun descent down the golf course back into town.
Such a nice bothy with a terrible stove.
3/3

[Scattamah]

3/3 - Taylor has summed up that bothy well. Would have been warmer outside in the tent. Big thanks T for getting me gee'd up enough to ride on out and J for the ride back into civilsation today. Subway FTW.

As per normal I was cam-tarded...perhaps one of the others can provide pics.

J-time - it's real...I now believe. :)

Greetz

S.

[adjustablewench]

Imagine Wotsits turning up late anywhere - must have been a real shock

[ianfitz]

I had a starry night on Higgar Tor last night and a couple of hours riding home this morning. Missed February though

[Wotsits]

2/3 for me so far this year..
Enjoyed our overnight at Lluest Cwm Bach on Sunday, although it was technically Monday when i got there..
Wasn't going to bother but as the evening wore on i started beating myself up for not going. This eventually got the better of me & i ended up arriving at the bothy about 1ish.. Was hoping for at least a warm fire on arrival, but there was no such luck!

Half of the inside has had a lick of whitewash since i was last there & it definitely brightens things up a little..



We had a catch up in the morning over porridge & coffee then decided to try a different return route which involved a decent push up & over the tops, then it was all pretty much downhill back to the car..





Agree with Taylor that it's a great little bothy but you may as well have a TV with the 'Fire log Channel' on for the amount of heat that it provides the room.

Good to see Taylor & Scott, thanks for posting up & hopefully see you both again on the WRT

[Bearbonesnorm]

Mike and me had a sunny three days out. We only covered around 75 miles / 3000m but did discover lots of nice new trails and future over night spots on our travels.



First night in the nature hide after a very cold trip through the hills that included a circular detour to check out a previously unridden trail.



A breakfast at the highly recommended and newly refurbished Red Kite cafe at Ponterwyd set us up for a 20% tarmac climb in search of a 25% bridleway descent.



Which inturn lead us to what promises to be a great summer overnight spot ... skinny dipping anyone?



A big old push up from the valley floor made for surprisingly hot work ...



... so we popped into Devils Bridge for an ice cream.

The lure of Nant Rhys got the better of us last night though

[Mike]

Love that stu, I'll put some pics up tomorrow! Taylor, u need to take hux away with u he manages to get that fire really hot !! But I do think it needs a snug or false ceiling in there so that the sleeping space gets warm. Nant Rhys was roasting last night thanks to stu and some coal left over

[Taylor]

I thought all firemen looked like this,

[Bearbonesnorm]

Are those pics from your own 'private collection'?

[Ray Young]

I think they need to wear a bit more protection. Their upper bodies look a bit, well..............red and burnt .

[Mike]

that made me chuckle Taylor - unfortunatly im a real one

[Mike]

A few more pics from mine and Stu's short rde


Not a bad morning to wake up to especially as we were both looking forward to a massive breaky after only having a cold pie from the petrol stn to keep us going through the night.


A monster hill climb straight after breaky is just what you need, followed by an even better monster off road descent


I caught Stu practicing his casting techniques, we forgot the rodes though. A great spot to summer camp which is on the cards


No trip with Stu is without its quality hiker-bike sections. The one before and after this shot were impressive! Nice one Stu very enjoyable


At the top of another big climb heading for what became our next overnight spot


" what do you reckon stu to a quick stop at nant rhys for a brew up then carry on to find a bivy spot on a hill somewhere later "

1min later.....

" Yeah my thoughts exactly, lets bed down in here for the night and get the fire going"

[jay91]

A few more pics from mine and Stu's short rde


Not a bad morning to wake up to especially as we were both looking forward to a massive breaky after only having a cold pie from the petrol stn to keep us going through the night.


A monster hill climb straight after breaky is just what you need, followed by an even better monster off road descent


I caught Stu practicing his casting techniques, we forgot the rodes though. A great spot to summer camp which is on the cards


No trip with Stu is without its quality hiker-bike sections. The one before and after this shot were impressive! Nice one Stu very enjoyable


At the top of another big climb heading for what became our next overnight spot


" what do you reckon stu to a quick stop at nant rhys for a brew up then carry on to find a bivy spot on a hill somewhere later "

1min later.....

" Yeah my thoughts exactly, lets bed down in here for the night and get the fire going"

cool trip wish I could get out more!

[durhambiker]

Is that 25% descent from Ystumtuen down to the Rheidol? If so I've been up and down that in a Land Rover a few times and had to change my undies after, especially when trusting the handbrake to hold the Discovery in place when getting out to open/close the gate at the top. One of the local rallies uses it too...

[Bearbonesnorm]

Is that 25% descent from Ystumtuen down to the Rheidol?

That's the one

[ctznsmith]

Do the handles really stay cool on Ti mugs?

Also is that a home made 'cone' and is the mug resting against the far side of it to stop it dropping?

[durhambiker]

Is that 25% descent from Ystumtuen down to the Rheidol?

That's the one

Cool, thought it must have been. That road climb up there is tough. Must drag myself back to Ponterwyd sometime

[Bearbonesnorm]

Do the handles really stay cool on Ti mugs?

No, not really but they cool down within a few seconds.

Also is that a home made 'cone' and is the mug resting against the far side of it to stop it dropping?

It's a tapered windshield rather than a 'cone' and the mug's sat on top of the stove. In the pic, the windshield isn't properly in place, just loosly wrapped round ... we had walls, so not much in the way of wind.

[slugwash]

The sleeping bags are hanging vertically, but everything else is pissed. Perhaps there's some weird magnetic anomaly in that neck of the woods, or the curvature of the earth is different, or maybe you've taken up rural Avant-Garde photography? It should be a breeze but I can't quite get my head around it

[ctznsmith]

It's a tapered windshield rather than a 'cone' and the mug's sat on top of the stove. In the pic, the windshield isn't properly in place, just loosly wrapped round ... we had walls, so not much in the way of wind.

Thanks!

[Chew]

3/3

Havent been out on the bike for a while due to straining my ankles whilst climbing in Scotland.
Decided to take the train to work and later jump on the canal tow path up to Skipton in search of chips before retiring for the evening on Embsay moor.
Over to Malham in the morning to meet MidgeMagnet and some others for a day ride around the Dales before back to Malham for more chips and a night in the YHA.
Back home this morning and a total of 180k's in my legs

[Mike]

Slugwash. I'd not noticed that before you mentioned it

[Joshvegas]

done.

This month was a hammock job at battle the beach.

been ages since i have used a hammock was nice and warm except for my feet. Plenty of frost on the ground whe i woke up.

The bloody race was a dissaster though!

[Charliecres]

3/3 for me. Grabbed a quick local trip last night as it'll be my last chance for March.

[Dan_K]

Dorking way? Cold one last night.....