Bivvy a Month 2021

[RIP]

Nice one Tim. Not long now though, hold the line there . In fact those Welsh early-lockdowners will be out of prison next Saturday so no doubt there will be a huge flood of BaMs that night! Gonna be hard to restrain oneself watching all the fun from afar .

[MuddyPete]

The Chillerton Radio mast. Amongst the security measures is strobe lighting Presumably to keep out epileptics, it won't discourage the ravers?

... a bonus 70 plate Unimog

Excellent stuff Sean, I love the urbex theme to the ride. With strobes and smoke, Chillerton is just begging for a party .

Glad to see you support team are there to keep the supply of sports nutrition flowing . Would his assistance be allowed during an ITT? Is there a rule against it? I think it needs "A Committee" .

70-plate Unimog: now that's a proper toy. And with that MASSIVE crane on the back you'd have no problem loading your bicycle onto the back for the drive home .

Similar, but more affordable....
https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing ... d=11108906

[sean_iow]

That Pinzgaueur is a bargin. I've been in one, although not armored, a civi version, it was doing demo rides at a show. Weirdly it was at a Land Rover show It was pretty amazing off road, better than a Land Rover - and I say that begrudgingly as a Land Rover owner - maybe that's why they took it to the show

It should be noted that the sign says it may have one or more of the security devices fitted, so that will be none Keeping it vaguely on topic, I've bivied just down slope of the mast in the old chalk pit, only issue is if the wind is blowing in the wrong direction you can hear the hum of the fans from the I assume the cooling system for the transmitter, oh and you get your brain scrambled by radio waves and believe a stuffed monkey is a sentient being

[MuddyPete]

That Pinzgaueur is a bargin. I've been in one, although not armored, a civi version, it was doing demo rides at a show. Weirdly it was at a Land Rover show It was pretty amazing off road, better than a Land Rover - and I say that begrudgingly as a Land Rover owner - maybe that's why they took it to the show

Mmmm....I think the writing was on the wall for the Defender once the army realised it wasn't bomb-proof, leading to a huge loss of market and the inevitable demise of the civvie utility version.

Ironically: the upmarket replacement Defender left a gap in the utility small 4x4 market that was promptly filled by the latest Suzuki Jimny, which looks like a modern version of the original Land Rover Series 1 and seems pretty capable off-road.
https://www.autocar.co.uk/opinion/teste ... er-cant-be

Its the same trick Mazda pulled off in 1989 with the MX5 (inspired by the original Lotus Elan) to fill the gap for the small, nimble RWD sports cars Britain used to make. It was introduced in the same year as the "modern" FWD Lotus Elan (which was designed to drive like a FWD hatchback ) . The Elan was withdrawn in 1995; the MX5 is still going strong.

I'm not, by any means, a petrolhead/car nerd, but do find it interesting/exasperating how we seem to repeat the mistakes of our predecessors .

[fatbikephil]

Well this one was supposed to be another go at getting my winter event GR's This failed 20 miles down the road at the start of the climb to my first GR. A slight sinking sensation revealed itself as a sagging dropper post. I had nowt to bodge it with, annoyingly, so it was about face and head home. I didn't muck around, just swapped it for another post but I couldn't face trekking back out to get the first GR. So had lunch and in the end decided to just do a normal ride / bivvy / ride.

Up into the Ochills (again!) by a different route.....

looking east to the Lomonds and the Fife coast.

Much pushing later I reached the top of Innerdownie Hill (611m) and spent some time checking out the views. It was 5pm by this time so I had the place to myself. Then off down the long descent to Glendevon and straight up the ROW to Auchterarder.


I rode most of this!

Back up Corb Glen (actually past one of my GR's) to the Dunning road and up into the woods to my November '20 bivvy spot. The forecast was for no rain and I'd nearly gone with just the bivvy bag but as I lay eating, drinking and reading, a patter of drizzle came on so I felt very smug hidden under the tarp. I crashed out just after 10 and slept solidly until I was rudely awoken by the dawn chorus. It sounded like about a hundred birdies all giving it the full cheap, with occasional pigeons and the odd crow. Finally it settled down and I flaked out once more to be woken by the sun at 8.30. And its Spring! (hence all the cheaping no doubt). After a leisurely breakfast I headed east, bagging a moor link I'd been eyeing up for a while (more pushing plus some dubious nav to find a Perth and Kinross Council core path which turned out to be shut by a housing development!)

Then into the Lomonds and back by an oft used route, 40 miles done in five and a half hours.

[Boab]

I still haven't done anything about getting my gravel bike fixed and back on the road. Not wanting to break my BaM streak, I dug my son's Calibre SAW out of the shed, fixed the flat tyre, raised the seat post as far as it would go, switched the pedals to my Look X-Tracks, and headed out. Just a short loop, as the bike is far, far too small for me, not quite comedy knees around the chin, but it felt not far off.



I haven't been properly off road in a while, and I didn't think the bridleways and byways could be in a worse state for cycling than they were last winter, but they are. Hedge to hedge unrideable clag in places, which obviously wasn't helped by being on a bike that could never be described as light and nimble.



Once back at the house, it was posh take-away, then a Bond movie with my son, before retiring to spend the night in our newly constructed garden office. I would've put the tent up, but I couldn't be arsed. Roll on next month and being able to kip in the countryside again.



I wasn't exactly up at the crack of dawn this morning. After starting to fill out the census online, I finally dragged my arse into gear and headed out again. The clag was even worse than expected on the old Roman Road, and I detoured round one segment, as life is just too short.



I'd obviously left it too late in the morning, as the rest of the ride was marred by a multitude of other people out walking, running, cycling and litter picking. It was nice to be out though, even if my knees and thighs are now wrecked for the overly cramped position I was in. I think it's about time I actually put some effort in an found a new rear derailleur for my bike.



2021 BaM: 3/3
Streak: 15
Strava:
https://www.strava.com/activities/4980038503
https://www.strava.com/activities/4983316395

[shutuplegs]

Popped out into the Downs on Saturday night to test two things. Firstly my dynamo set up on the tourer, works great although the stand light function is a tad obvious when one is trying to be discreet. Second my new (to me, thanks ScotRoutes) Silwing tarp. I need to colour code the tie out points somehow but it eventually went up and was perfect. Held very well in the gusts that rolled over the ridge through the night.
Good job I had my sleeping kit as I accidentally fell asleep after testing out the above...
I certainly wasn’t the only one out and about, I saw two other people who I assume we’re running the SDW or similar at about 1am.
I was packed away very early doors so had time to fire up the BB stove and successfully brewed a coffee Enjoyed while watching dawn break over the Meon Valley.

March done, 3/3 for 2021.
If I can get next months done then that will be my first milestone target met.

[ScotRoutes]

Is there a tarp in that photo? It blends in so well

[sean_iow]

the stand light function is a tad obvious when one is trying to be discreet.

I take my revo off the bars and put it in my luggage for that very reason, otherwise it broadcasts your bivi position for hours

Looks nice up on the Downs, it's been ages since I got to ride on the South Downs, hopefully later in the year, fingers crossed.

[Alan63]

That's 3/3 for Fraser and I this year. Decided to move on from camping in the garden. On Friday night, we left the house after 11PM and cycled about 25mins past the local National Trust property to a nearby field. Along the edge of the field are fallen and cut down trees. We bivvied behind a large fallen trunk. Spent a quiet night in our bivvy then rode home at 7am the next morning. This was our 1st open air bivvy. Fraser said he preferred this to camping in the back garden.

[ScotRoutes]

Excellent. The young man is correct!

[shutuplegs]

Is there a tarp in that photo? It blends in so well

Indeed, hence the brightly coloured guy lines to help me find it.

the stand light function is a tad obvious when one is trying to be discreet.

I take my revo off the bars and put it in my luggage for that very reason, otherwise it broadcasts your bivi position for hours

Looks nice up on the Downs, it's been ages since I got to ride on the South Downs, hopefully later in the year, fingers crossed.

Mine are bolted on so not quick to remove, perhaps I need some drawcord ‘hoods’ to put over them when in stealth mode. I did find the stand light very useful for opening gates mind.

The Downs certainly were good at the weekend, fairly dry-ish at the moment (Jinxed it - it’ll rain now).

[Kumquat]

3/3 done
Overnighter on the top of the biggest hill in these parts. A staggering 300 and something metres.

IMG_20210328_132002_936.jpg (227.09 KiB) Viewed 2714 times

[Verena]

Now that people are making plans for the Easter weekend, I need some help please with decision making for my Friday bivvy: Creepy quarry, glorious ridge with trees and a view, or remote reservoir?

[Bearlegged]

Trees!

[RIP]

New game: crowdbivvying .

Quarry obviously .

[Charliecres]

Definitely the ridge.

Creepy Welsh quarries are inevitably overrun with Sontarans and Cybermen, who’ll keep you awake all night threatening to enslave the human race and atomise the Earth. Remote reservoir? You’ll almost certainly be disturbed by someone disposing of a body or an old DFS sofa.

[RIP]

"sofa" - well at least she'd have a nice comfy bivvy .

Probably wish you'd never asked now V....

[Bearlegged]

Thoughts for March:
*With a little care and a small flame, hot water for porridge can be boiled inside my tarp (and with me still in my sleeping bag).
*I remembered to let a little air out of my new pillow. Well done me.
*This month's beer recommendation is "Medusa's Gaze, from Neptune Brewery.
*Scotch egg for breakfast (in addition to the porridge course). Yum.



2021 BAM 3/12
2021 total bivvies 3
Current streak (months) 28

[RIP]

Thoughts for March:
*With a little care and a small flame, hot water for porridge can be boiled inside my tarp.

That's very impressive indeed, I like it. Your tarp doubling up as a cookpot! Gather a corner up, push it down to make the pot shape and away you go. Must be like that thing where you can use a plastic bag to boil water because the water conducts the heat away. Or something. Anyway, great experiment!

*I remembered to let a little air out of my new pillow. Well done me.

Amazing how much difference that makes innit? Same for mat really.

*This month's beer recommendation is "Medusa's Gaze, from Neptune Brewery.

Very nice.

*Scotch egg for breakfast (in addition to the porridge course). Yum.

Not quite so convinced

[Verena]

Definitely the ridge.

Creepy Welsh quarries are inevitably overrun with Sontarans and Cybermen, who’ll keep you awake all night threatening to enslave the human race and atomise the Earth. Remote reservoir? You’ll almost certainly be disturbed by someone disposing of a body or an old DFS sofa.

now when you put it like that....

[TrepidExplorer]

*This was my March BAM. April comin' up*
Took my boys out for a ride to the woods. Had a lie down in the trees after a dram of whisky before looping out to a new caf for a takeaway consumed sitting on the grass under yews which kept the breeze off nicely.

Not many more words https://trepidexplorer.blogspot.com/202 ... tomce.html

[Charliecres]

Sneaked my March bivy in last night, just in time. Highlights included some lovely bone-dry chalky North Downs singletrack, a close encounter with a family of deer and a rest atop a WWII pillbox with half a million wood lice for company.



That’s 13 in a row now.

[Andiphim]

Well that was close.
I managed to get my March camp in on Wednesday night.
Once again it was in the back garden, but that will be the last time.
I made the most of the nice weather and got a nice 40 mile ride in, stopping for a brew on the way.
Next month it will be a proper night out in the woods.
3 from 3 done.

[Raggedstone]

3/12 for this year .

Another one just in time on Wednesday night in the back garden following a very therapeutic ride up and down and around the Malvern's . Had to drop the van off for a timing belt change in the morning so had a brew and some porridge on the ride back home . Hopefully everything goes according to plan and we can get out and about next month the maps are out the English ones at the moment but the Welsh maps are close to hand .