Just for Taylor & Chew who seem to be at stalemate:

2015 Rules:

No bothies!

Seeing as they slept in Nant Syddion the other weekend, does that mean they're both out?

Nope, plenty of Jan left to get a Bivi in

New rules? Luckily iv got my jan one in then.

Fantasticmrmatt wrote:Just for Taylor & Chew who seem to be at stalemate:

2015 Rules:

No bothies!

There are rules

Cheeky Monkey wrote:There are rules

Not unusual at the top of the sport. Two highly trained athletes at the top of their game, often what is needed is to add in new rules to test their capabilities for adaptation. Take the Tour, for example, each year a new course with emphasis on team or individual time trials, sprints or climbs seeking to downplay an advantage of a particular team, individual or type of rider. F1 is another example, where each year closely matched teams are forced to meet changes to regulations, yet still remain competitive.



But the main clue is in the title

More than 3 walls and it doesn't count.

First of the year ticked off with a very chilly mid-weeker on the Surrey hills. Forecast was for -5 and it felt every bit of that on the ride home this morning.

Charliecres wrote:First of the year ticked off with a very chilly mid-weeker on the Surrey hills. Forecast was for -5 and it felt every bit of that on the ride home this morning.

Nice work Charlie. If you want any company on future bivvys give me a shout.

1/1. Last monday

My wife thought/thinks I was/am mad, but on Monday I started my attempt at BAM 2015. I cycled up to my chosen bivvy spot near (but not in) Llandegla forest, thinking she may actually be right. (Actually, she's always right, but that's true of all wives). This is not my first cycle camping trip, having ridden Sustrans C2C last May, towing a trailer with loads of stuff in it and a much lighter one-nighter last October when I'd bought a new bike and some bike luggage.

Weather was calm and dry, but very cold with snow on the ground. A test of resolve and no mistake. I hadn't tried setting up in the dark before either, so didn't know how things would pan out. In the event, it went very well. I have camped at this spot before, (walked in with my son and three grandchildren) so knew where to set up. I soon had my hammock and tarp up and a kettle of water for a brew and a quick snack.

I know these pictures are rubbish, but they'll give you an idea:-





It was an interesting night. Firstly, I had to go to bed too early, there being nothing to do and no-one to talk to and no camp fire to poke and it was too cold to stand around. This meant that I'd had enough sleep by 3am and was able to concentrate on my frozen feet. They shouldn't have been cold, what with 3 pairs of socks on, but they were. I was toasty warm myself, but all the same, it was a long wait for morning, dozing on and off. I found in the morning, that my thermarest had turned and the bit that should have been under my feet was actually poking out of the side of the hammock keeping the surrounding air warm.

Here is the view from my hammock in the morning.



I got up in the morning to find the water for my morning cuppa was frozen in my camelback. The drinking tube was frozen solid and the filling cap was frozen shut. I had to light my stove to thaw the ice on the cap to allow me to unscrew it to get water to brew up. My breakfast milk was frozen slush. This I melted by dipping the bottle in the surplus hot water from my tea.

So, 1 of 12 done. My wife says she can't see the attraction but I say, "I've had an adventure (allbeit a very small one), while you've sat in a chair and watched rubbish on telly" Bargain!

Roll on no. 2

Lu

Hey Dan, I'm determined to do 12/12 this year and there's bound to be a few local ones among them. I'll PM you next time

Charliecres wrote:Hey Dan, I'm determined to do 12/12 this year and there's bound to be a few local ones among them. I'll PM you next time

Sounds good.

As a newbie to this I've got a question... does a bivvy on the last night of the month count towards the month you start in?

Just realised that if I want to fit one in in Jan it's tonight or next Sat...

As a newbie to this I've got a question... does a bivvy on the last night of the month count towards the month you start in?

Just realised that if I want to fit one in in Jan it's tonight or next Sat...

Yes, if you go out next Sat, that will count as January.

Dr Nick wrote:As a newbie to this I've got a question... does a bivvy on the last night of the month count towards the month you start in?

Just realised that if I want to fit one in in Jan it's tonight or next Sat...

I think it's whatever you want it to be. The idea is to encourage people to get out at least once a month.

Dr Nick - next Saturday will count for January but cannot count as February as well!

Subzero bivvy on top of Long Mynd last night with Composite...still a bit of snow and a lot of ice up on the southern end. Not sure what the temp. dropped to in the end, but it was pretty close to as low as I dare go with my ultra-waif bag. First non-bothy run of the year down. 11 to go :)

Greetz

S.

Month #1 done!

Left home at about 9.30pm after supper and tucking my youngest daughter in. Rode all of 1 mile to where a local bridleway meets a footpath. Bivvi 'pitched' and in my sleeping bag by about 10.30 pm.

My synthetic two-three season bag wasn't going to be enough warm enough, so I wore thermals, silk socks and thick walking socks (the latter doubled over my feet). a wool beanie - and for extra warmth I used my massive down filled Arctic scientist parka - that was a charity shop find last summer - as a blanket.

Slept very snugly to be woken by at 6.50am by a dog barking madly at this strange thing 'growing' on the route of his morning walk. After a "sorry" and a "Are you OK" from the dog walker and a "yes I'm fine thanks" reply - through the closed bivvy - I got up, packed up and was home by half seven having a cup of tea....

Water in my drinks bottle inside the bivvy was nicely frozen...

Much fun...

About to leave:


Fist time bike packing on this bike - so I improvised carrying the less than compact (£11 Tesco) sleep mat.

Pitched - ready for bed:


Leave no trace - except for the lack of frost:

As a BAM Virgin, I was determined to keep the faith in 2015, which commenced with a glorious day on Dartmoor - Calm, Sunny, and not even too chilly. Following Aidan's EWE Route was hard, and whilst I managed 4 river crossings, 3 in the dark, The hop across Dartmeet in cycling slippers carrying a bike was just too dodgy, so the pushing detour started there. Then the bad trails followed - what would have been challenging in daylight on a dry day, was a long slog for me...

After a pub lunch, with confidence in the route now low, I abandoned the trails for slippy, steep back lanes that where a little less dodgy, ending up near Gidleigh Tor for my tarp bivi by 2130. The new neoprene socks I had been trying had performed OK, given the saturated conditions, but my feet where proper cold now (rubbish circulation), despite the temperature probably still being the warmer side of zero. The dry merino socks where not cutting it inside my 2/3 season bag, so I took off my now warm down jacket and wrapped it round my feet, which sorted out that painful problem within 30 mins. Hunger directed that the morning ride was a direct route to Princetown and the wonderful Fox Tor Cafe for a fab brunch, before a fun descent to Burator resevoir, which was heaving with Sunday walkers, joggers etc, tempering my speed.

Cracking weekend, but the route will need some revision before attempted as a South to North Devon C2C. Northwave Boots will be deployed next time, along with bivi-boots for a less painful night. And if it's proper cold, I may well bivi in a bothy!

For me these fall into the "stupidly expensive" category but might be something to bear in mind if your feet seriously bother you. Being down they'll pack well / small / light

I should add, I've never used such items.

Those Tesco mats are a pain in the arse to carry. Currently mine ends up rolled up inside the tent and then strapped to the bars, but it's bulky as owt.

As Scott already mentioned we had an chilly one up on the long mynd. My new lamina 0 bag rocks in the cold, I was lovely and warm. My knees held up as well so on the whole it was a good trip. Full report here: http://www.composite-projects.co.uk/201 ... 15-bivi-1/

Here's a few pics.

Haven't managed to get out this month... Tonight is my last opportunity.

However, I'm going to a rave on the other side of London. If I cycle there and then sleep in a park/on a bench/ in a bus shelter on my way home, does that count?

*I'm probably not going to do this, but it had crossed my mind...

However, I'm going to a rave on the other side of London. If I cycle there and then sleep in a park/on a bench/ in a bus shelter on my way home, does that count?

I think that counts, you could get breakfast at the soup kitchen too