ok, here goes (sorry, it's a little long):
You know a trip has gone a little awry when it's 01:30 in the morning and you're sat up a tree in your pants, armed with only a headtorch and leatherman watching a wild boar attempt to eat your bike!
So.....what happened?
The plan was simple enough: Head out for my April overnighter somewhere lower in altitude than here (to save my still recovering spine) and do a nice little ride, sleep somewhere purdy, ride some more and then head home - what could go wrong?
The first days riding was fairly straight forward - the terrain was nice if not massively challenging and the views were pretty without being breathtaking - all good.
I was trying out a few bits of new kit as well as honing my weight/kit distribution for my upcoming 'big trip' and everything was working out perfectly.
The tubeless 29er was riding better than anticipated (it's first bikepacking venture), the tubeless set-up is still performing as advertised and trouble free, the recently serviced rear brake is still working great and so all was well.
Here are a few shots taken during day 01.....
Near the start (trying the Thermarest mounted on the bars with my dry-bag which didn't work as it rubbed):
Cherry blossom - proof that Spring is actually coming:
A dainty little ford became a proper tricksy bugger with an extra foot of snow melt to negotiate (proper COLD, I tell thee!):
I did a few little climbs (not as small as the route had claimed actually!) and enjoyed some pleasant late evening views:
and.....
I came across this burnt-out wind turbine which didn't inspire confidence as I rode under the other 20!
As nightfall approached I found a lovely little spot on a grassy patch with some surrounding foliage to protect from the wind - perfect.
Here's the tent and bike just before I retired for the night:
and the inside - am loving my double sleeping mat combo (light at 650g for the pair and with an R rating of 3.8):
I was warm, comfortable and very happy in my little home for the night and, after an hour spent reading and doing some light back stretches, I dropped off to sleep at around 23:00.
At just after 01:00 I heard an almighty noise which I immediately recognised as being pig-based in origin (having kept pigs for the last few years) which meant that I'd either accidentally camped next to a top-secret hidden pig farm (you never know?) or that there were some feisty wild boar roaming the area.
It's always a possibility that you'll cross paths with some boar when you camp in France but it never actually happens. We've been living here for 5 years and I've only (very briefly) glimpsed one once in all of that time - they're very reclusive animals.
So.....I popped out, did a big circular wee around the tent, popped one of my headtorches on blinking red setting (so that they knew I was there - obviously) and went back to bed.
I laid there for half an hour without hearing a thing and eventually starting dropping off to sleep when.....
The unmistakable and very VERY close grunting of a boar sounded right next to the tent - bugger!
I was up and out in seconds which resulted in some frantic running around, grunting and confusion from all involved before we all regained our bearings and calmed down.
Boar will run from humans 99.9% of the time but, especially during breeding season (now-ish), if you are within a certain distance of a boar when it realises that you're there it'll charge and that can be pretty damn nasty!
One individual decided to do just this coming hurtling through the bushes and sounding a lot bigger than it actually was which prompted me to make a hasty (yet dignified) retreat up a near-by oak tree.
And so I came to find myself up a tree in my pants, in the middle of the night, armed with only a headtorch and leatherman watching as one of the braver boar explored my gear and even gave an exploratory nibble to my bike before they got bored and wandered off.
I came down and was thinking that as soon as they'd moved off I'd head back to bed but they just kept getting closer and then further away again without actually leaving the area and so eventually I began (whilst keeping a very keen eye on my surrounding) packing up and decided to begin the second days riding a little earlier than planned.
I was packed-up and away within half an hour and took a road route (as I didn't have my good off-road lights with me just a couple of headtorches) directly back to the car.
Below you can see the bike all packed up (this time with the sleeping bag mounted under the seat which I think I quite like!):
Once back at the car I managed to get another couple of hours of very uncomfortable semi-sleep in the passengers seat (not ideal for my back or newly cricked neck!) before sorting my crap out when it got light and setting off home.
Not the most successful of trips ever and especially annoying as I think that the second half of the ride would've yielded some great trails but it certainly was a sniff more of an adventure than I'd initially planned!
Right, I'm off to bed.....
)
