Bivvy a month 2018.

[simon72]

1/12 done! It was a close call, last day of January, but I commuted to work on a fully loaded bike and then after work headed off a bivi less than a few miles from home.. I never would have gone out if it wasn't for BAM. A real motivator.

[BigdummySteve]

2/12 Wicken Woods with reg,pickers and muddypete. There were bikes involved, a large number of hours between setting off and bivving passed......I’m sure reg will provide an explanation

[Pickers]

2/12 with BDS as above.
Rode out to a pub near Silverstone from home, just shy of 60 miles. I found myself running a bit late after Garmin issues again, and some byways being on the unwalkable side of unrideable. Pushing on I was expecting to find my erstwhile colleagues waiting in the car park champing at the bit, even though it was 2 C and pissing down. Watch Dave Bs video from last week for an idea.
When I got there they they were not so champing at the bit as chomping on crisps and beer in the pub. That was 3:30ish.
We left the pub at ..... a bit later to ride(ish) to set up camp for the night.
Things went as expected if I’m honest.

[MuddyPete]

Reg and I drove the bikes to pub, where BDS was waiting. We nipped in, out of the rain, for a swift half to await Pickers.

When he arrived it was clear he'd had a traumatic journey and was in no fit state to go straight out, without sustenance.

Six-anna-half hours later, having drank a barrel of beer and burned all the pub's firewood, we bade farewell to the delightful, but bemused, bar staff and wobbled off down the remote lanes (past a car that seemed to be having 'demister and suspension' problems) to a suitably cold, damp wood.

This morning - cycled to the station and caught the train home.

The most entertaining 5 miles I've ridden in a long time.

Pickers very generously offered to share his mileage with us, so the team average was really rather more respectable.

[RIP]

Well I think that covers it yes chaps! Just finished counting what braincells I have left. On the fingers of one hand.

The idea originated from hearing about "newbie" Mr Rimmer of Towcester, Buckinghamshire (pronounced as per the popular bread-browning kitchen-based electrical appliance). While we're awaiting his solo experiences to be immortalised in This Place we thought we'd try the area out ourselves. Yes, Milton Keynes. Well we have form - we circumnavigated Stevenage last year and that turned out to be more fun than expected. And best to get February's BaM done asap before the weather improves too much .

Original intention was to train to Wolverton then ride to a start pub, but that went out the window as it was going to be shut. Knee-jerk reaction was to boringly motor it to a pub further round the route and start there instead. The weather had been looking playful, with 0degC forecast all evening and all night, and rain, so I installed my Swampthings for a rare outing:



As described above, Steve was there first having a coffee but no Pickers, so we admired his posh new OutDry thingy jacket. Steve claimed that "it's not as bad as it looks", and we thought that sounded like an excellent sales tagline for Bikepacking in general. Anyway, Pete and myself decided to have a, er, coffee as well while waiting. Just finishing our pints (oh, blast) when Rich arrives - having ridden all the way from Alcester, severely putting us to shame. We were about to commence the 25-mile planned route but it would have been cruel not to re-hydrate Pickers. Six hours 30 mins of hydration later.......

Oh dear.....



Everyone loves pud and cake...



During that time things got a bit hazy, and huge amounts of twaddle were spoken. I remember we discussed Stu's possibility of the pre-WRT doss in his field, and I thought it would be amusing to consider the results of 150 trowels in the morning.... Pete's beautiful imagery was: "150 mole hills". The pub had emptied out by 5.30 so we thought we really ought to get riding. Trouble was we now couldn't be arsed to get the bikes out of the motor - one suggestion being we could all use Pickers' bike, but whether that was in series or parallel I am unable to recall at this point. However the pub started filling up again so we thought they must be on to a good thing and stayed where we were next to the, er, nice, erm, warm, fire, at the, er, dry table. Oh dear. Our handpump had run dry by this time so we moved on to some food and very pleasant it was too. Another discussion I vaguely remember was about the perennial bikepacking subject of "racks", with Pete pronouncing that there's nothing like a nice rack, to which we had no answer. On that note it was time to go out into The Weather....

A number of woodlands were available nearby so we picked Wicked Woods (well, only one letter wrong there) and ploughed through the mud and murk and rain to get there; plenty of close-set little trees and lumpy bits to make sleeping amusing. The beers made themselves known by me laying my tarp out upside down which I only noticed in the middle of the night as some cords dangled on my nose. Quadrophonic snoring didn't help matters either.



Steve had escaped early for a prior engagement, while Pickers n Pete n myself poraged and brewed and departed a while later into a bright new day.....

[psling]

Well done for not bivvying in the pub garden....

So, did the OutDry thingy jacket actually go out in the rain and is it worthy of practically a whole thread to itself?!

[Blair512]

Aye good effort lads, I only made it to my mates back garden last month because I was so pissed! Got a nice bothy trip planned next week to make up for it though

[MuddyPete]

Well done for not bivvying in the pub garden....

We considered it, but the sofa wasn't big enough for four, the halogen heaters weren't working and the pub didn't serve breakfast.

If it had, Reg could have driven us home and we'd need never have taken the bikes out of the car.

[MuddyPete]

...huge amounts of twaddle were spoken...

Didn't we have the genius idea of having the 2018 SE Chilterns winter bivi in Aviemore, in July, in a hotel to avoid the midges?

[BigdummySteve]

I feel..... dirty....ashamed to be so easily led astray, pub packing, it’s the new golf

[RIP]

Just twigged what you're on about here Pete: "seemed to be having 'demister and suspension' problems"

"genius idea" - yeah the Aviemore/July/hotel SEWinter-Bivi plan needs a little refinement but it still looks completely sound to me.

But I don't think the nice bar lady actually would have fitted into my "wide" sleeping bag. At the same time as me I mean.

[JohnClimber]

2/2 from me, although I wasn't going to pressure myself in to BAM, but something new has come along.....


Last night was my first every hammock night out and I'm hooked.
Rain while setting up, clear skys followed, woken at 4am by the brightest moon and I watched it glide through the trees for a while, next thing I know it's 8am with a heavy frost and I'd been in the hammock for 10 hours, apart from my 4am pee (I'm getting old you know).
Can't wait until my next time using it.


Pre sleep relaxing


Frosty exit and home in time for the morning dog walk and breakfast

My 22nd BAM in a row

[MuddyPete]

But I don't think the nice bar lady actually would have fitted into my "wide" sleeping bag. At the same time as me I mean.

Reg: that is a disgracefully ungentlemanly comment that could not be further from the truth and should be struck from the internet.

In fact: I shall return to the pub immediately, if not sooner, to apologise to her on your behalf...

[RIP]

Oh gawd, now I'll have to do an InReverse-style clarification! The 'joke' is of course entirely dependent on the second sentence. The 'wide' bit was entirely irrelevant so I don't know why it sneaked in when I wasn't expecting - like the nice bar lady did. Look, I've gone and done it again now!

Time for bed said Zebedee.

[BigdummySteve]

Shhh... your only making it worse for yourself,
if stu gets to hear of this trip our B.B. membership will be revoked. The very attractive staff did make it hard to leave.... traditional pot noodles next time perhaps?

[RIP]

'Only making it worse for yourself' - cue reference to the stoning scene in Life Of Brian, 'how can it be any worse'...

'If Stu finds out'. Well I'm not going to tell him, so keep your head down and we'll be fine.

[summittoppler]

I was keen to get my February one in early and the weather gods were on my side for a debut ride up in Galloway national park. An early dart from work meant my 4.5 hour drive would see me start the ride following an old railway line from Mossdale heading west. A few miles in and the sun set as the temperatures also fell. Darkness set in as I followed a fireroad to my destination, the southern shore of Loch Grannoch.
20180203_073818 by Jeff Price, on Flickr

20180203_074534 by Jeff Price, on Flickr

A very clam evening with hardly a breeze.
For Saturday my destination was the White Laggan bothy which was 18 miles away. Again it was fireroads and with a fully loaded fatbike the going was steady. The views were pretty good though.
20180203_122240 by Jeff Price, on Flickr

20180203_101437 by Jeff Price, on Flickr

20180203_150952 by Jeff Price, on Flickr

20180204_081918 by Jeff Price, on Flickr

Sunday was a 21 miler through the scots pine forests and back to the van
20180204_085600 by Jeff Price, on Flickr

20180204_094202 by Jeff Price, on Flickr

All in all a great little trip and well worth the drive. Tis a nice part of Scotlandshire that is

[fatbikephil]

February.
Was determined not to cop out to a bothy or other shelter / shed this month so scoped out a few potential sites in various woodlands in the north of Fife / South Perthshire, packed the tarp and my hardly used winter sleeping bag and headed out. My work colleagues now all think I'm mad(er) they seem to understand my bike obsession but voluntarily sleeping out in February is a step to far....

Left the office about 5 and followed a meandering route north ish over the lomonds, bypassing my stop over at the Falkland 5 star bivvy spot, to Collessie via various trails and back roads. Lowering temps meant everything had firmed up nicely Then headed west through more woods and trails. Pitmedden forest was a first option to stop but it was too early and I needed food which would have involved a descent to Newburgh and back up the hill again. Instead I diverted away from the hills to Kinross, the co-op and the chippy. A further 45minutes of pedalling took me to another bit of woodland just off the wee road to Path of Condie. Got pitched in the trees, ate more food and turned in. This is the first time I've used the deschutes in anger (it got weather tested in an Isle of Man campsite last year) and it worked fairly well. Was getting some condensation inside the bivvy bag (Borah) and my -12 sleeping bag is far to warm so ended up with everything unzipped (!) despite it being -2....



Dry and cosy, dunno what my work colleagues are making such a fuss about

Woke up to the grim reality that I had passed another year, the slippery slope to 50 now in full swing. The weather reflected my mood with leaden skies and a steady fall of damp snow.



Season debut for the Jones

I had a few options for homeward bound but I'd forgotten loo roll so went for the direct route.



Fresh tracks in the slush!

Hopefully March bivvy will be a bit lighter and a bit warmer

[RIP]

Looks like a nice little outing HT. Bit of snow's always fun, but I guess you're used to it up there! Lovely little spot in the trees there too. "I had passed another year" - out on your birthday? Well that's dedication to the bikepacking cause . "forgotten loo roll" - oops, another good job there was snow around... .

[Dave Barter]

2/2 Ben Alder bothy on a stupendously ridiculous weekend with Chicken Legs and my hike-a-bike record broken by 5 miles

[whitestone]

2/2 Ben Alder bothy on a stupendously ridiculous weekend with Chicken Legs and my hike-a-bike record broken by 5 miles

Where on earth did you head in from to get that much hike-a-bike? We managed a couple of Km heading in from the south alongside Loch Ericht.

[middleagedmadness]

1/2 totally blew out in Jan all freedom passes were revoked , drove down to Scott's quick icy blast to the pub with Mike nearly loosing it on a bend just before the pub ,a few pints of Shropshire's finest and the a slow climb upto the camp ,with Scott loosing it on some ice .pitched upon brown clee about 1 ,woke at 230 with old man's bladder ,and then slept in till around 630 ,with Scott leaving us about 730 myself and Mike packed up by 9 and headed down to clebury for a monster of a breakfast ,left Mike to cycle home while I shot off up the lanes to collect the car ,1st bivy of the year and a bloody cold one

[Dave Barter]

2/2 Ben Alder bothy on a stupendously ridiculous weekend with Chicken Legs and my hike-a-bike record broken by 5 miles

Where on earth did you head in from to get that much hike-a-bike? We managed a couple of Km heading in from the south alongside Loch Ericht.

Heading out into 3 feet of snow tends to slow you down a bit

[psling]

But, did you stay warm at night Dave?

[Dave Barter]

But, did you stay warm at night Dave?

Yeah I got the top bunk so Andy’s farts kept the air below toasty