Congrats on your 'Golden Jubilee' there Colin!

Thank you. I now have a plan of carrying on for another 12 months, at which point my consecutive BAMs will equal my age.

ScotRoutes wrote: ↑Sat Jan 16, 2021 7:51 pm at which point my consecutive BAMs will equal my age

Nice little milestone that too. Gotta wait until March's for mine.

RIP wrote: ↑Sat Jan 16, 2021 8:23 pm

ScotRoutes wrote: ↑Sat Jan 16, 2021 7:51 pm at which point my consecutive BAMs will equal my age

Nice little milestone that too. Gotta wait until March's for mine.

Big month March then, you'll be on your 70th BAM and Ralph will finish his first year

ScotRoutes wrote: ↑Sat Jan 16, 2021 7:51 pm

Congrats on your 'Golden Jubilee' there Colin!

at which point my consecutive BAMs will equal my age.

I hadn’t realised, but my BAM count/age equivalence was last December. Hmm.. that can never happen again.

sean_iow wrote: ↑Sat Jan 16, 2021 9:59 pm 70th BAM

How very dare you! . I'm in my seventh decade I admit, and look about ninety, but not my seventieth year! "Tickety-boo" next birthday matey.

ScotRoutes wrote: ↑Sat Jan 16, 2021 1:00 pm Awake before dawn. Actual sunrise is very late in these parts - latitude and some mountains get in the way.



Sheltered site with the big old pine keeping the snow off the ground. This gets overgrown with nettles in the summer.



Packed and ready to roll back home



Some significant snow higher up but the lower paths and tracks are now hella icy.



That's January done then. I suspect February will be in the garden, probably March too.
50th consecutive month and somewhere between 75 and 80 of the last 97 months (I must go back through some old photos).

Looks like a great night

Love the haggis and after eight combo, and the fairy lights

Colin, where do you pack your Scarp 1? And just lobbed into the dry bag on its own or with other stuff?

I’ve only taken mine in a rucksack so far. It’s a bit bulky with the end support struts, guessing its in your front harness? It’s where I would carry mine if it wasn’t in a rucksack I guess

My front bag had the Scarp, Exped mat, some overnight clothes and food. It all fits easily enough. I know what you mean about the pack size though. The end poles do impose a bit of thought.

Weakening Mojo attacked earlier in the month, then resurrected, then rain and too warm stopped me...

Bike been packed for several days, stopped me going out on it. A good excuse !
Realised that as an elite athlete , all this no training is sending me downhill fast... (errm.... it's the uphills that's the problem )

Last night was the night though !
It was about 2 degrees all night, but 1.5 degrees at 7:24am... how do I know this ?
I bought one of those temperature loggers !
(it did not set up properly, so if you get one contact me on how to download the software... it's a PITA . Before I cracked it I phoned them on 2 separate numbers, neither of which were answered.)

I'll attach this picture though, just to give some idea, just to give the atmosphere of being out, with not another human within spitting distance...
It doesn't mean that's where I slept. It doesn't means that's where I didn't sleep either...

It doesn't mean almost anything....

Untitled by Eric Robinson, on Flickr

That socially distanced thing is a good idea !!
In daylight hours there are so many people about... surely something must be done about this... how's about banning people going out during daylight hours ?

But when it's dark, you're on your own

Here's THE RULES... some of em
You cannot leave your home or the place where you are living for holidays or overnight stays unless you have a reasonable excuse for doing so. This means that holidays in the UK and abroad are not allowed.

You are allowed to stay overnight away from your home if you:
are unable to return to your main residence
are homeless, seeking asylum, a vulnerable person seeking refuge, or if escaping harm (including domestic abuse)
are an elite athlete or their support staff or parent, if the athlete is under 18 and it is necessary to be outside of the home for training or competition

All set up for a garden bivvy tonight. I had hoped, and still hope, to do something "out out" for my January BAM, but this will be my just in case.... don't want to start the new year off with abject failure do I...

Have fairy lights an all, does make it look more inviting I'll be honest....

Anyone else out?

Have a good one!

Not out tonight but tomorrow's tempting - supposedly snow here and -4c.

BAM 1/12 In the paddock, at home.

A token BAM due to the restrictions. It's not the same, but needs must when the devil drives.
These, the first I've seen this year, made todays' ride a Cheery Friday ride.


Of course, once I'd seen these, I saw loads more.

This (short) bivvy ride took me through Erddig Park, where I've bivvied a few times before. Not this time though. Here's Erddig hall through the back gate.


I have mixed feelings when I look at these grand country houses. On the one hand, I'm glad that they are there for us to enjoy nowadays. On the other, I remember that they were never intended for our pleasure, and actually built by the exploitation of us "poor" people. At least Erddig doesn't have a dirty great wall all around to keep us out, like a lot of them do.

In the gallops. Very pretty in the afternoon sunshine.


Almost home. A bacon and egg bap with a cup of sweet tea.


The bivvy...


I had permission from the landowner (me) to have a camp fire. I cooked my meal on it. My usual pasta/polish sausage/Dolmio combo and for afters, a christmas pudding and custard.



Washed down with a beer and some vodka to go to bed on.


In the morning, loaded up the camping gear and did another token ride to complete the bivvy.

So there you are, another BAM year started. Eleven to go.

January BAM 21 - under emergency rules.

After my morning ride, a long break for family time.

Set myself up in the garden just before it was completely dark, with a crappy attempt at fairy lights, and an even crappier photo of them, but it made the place look really cozy and the thought of spending the night outside just that little bit extra appealing.
IMG_20210123_174108 by Verena Zimmer, on Flickr
Back inside for more family and TV time, then I retired to my bivvy, equipped with multiple layers, my new sleep socks, and an extra furry fleece blanket on top just in case (which kept slipping off of course) - I was toasty!
The tent was frozen inside and out from the start, which was quite nice as it meant it wasn't wet. At some point in the morning, much to my delight, when moving about a bit by fingers touched something crunchy -snow !
It had come in a bit round the edges at my feet and my head, not helped by me having been lazy and not put up the guy ropes as it was a still night, and forgetting about the weight of the snow, wich was forecast after all
IMG_20210124_054928 by Verena Zimmer, on Flickr
This next photo is not actually a snow drift inside, but a bit of snow coming right up to my pillow, which deserves a mention: I recently saw at my local "essential retailer" (yeah right) some fleece duvet sets. Which I thought was quite ridiculous, still do, except that for use "outdoors" it is quite a nice thought, as unlike cotton it doesn't go all cold and clammy - so I tried it and it was lovely, well until it got wet with snow....IMG_20210124_054919 by Verena Zimmer, on Flickr
For a touch of added authenticity, I had asked the family to lock my out in the garden, to stop me being tempted to sneak in in the middle of the night (it is now just after eight, I've been up since six, and there' s still no sign of either of them... ). But I do have access to my garage home office, where I had a "proper" instant coffee, sorry, made with a kettle not outdoors...
IMG_20210124_061829 by Verena Zimmer, on Flickr
I then headed out for a little token bike ride, just round town first one out on my road, it was gorgeous
IMG_20210124_065801 by Verena Zimmer, on Flickr
Unfortunately they hadn't started cooking hot food yet, but it still put a smile on my face to have a petrol station forecourt breakfast, even if it was just a cappuccino and a bottle of sprite
IMG_20210124_072659 by Verena Zimmer, on Flickr
And back home for another photo of the snowy garden, now a bit of light at least
IMG_20210124_073731 by Verena Zimmer, on Flickr

According to met office, it went down to -6 here last night.... not sure about that though, didn't feel that cold....

Great garden bivvy. I'm taking notes for February. We have a 24 hr M&S at the filling station so I might have to pay them a visit. Not sure where that sits on the "essential journeys" scale

How were the Sleep Socks and which ones did you buy?

I’m up for BAM this year. I did 10 of 12 months last time but struggled with Jan and Feb (I started in March). It’s my busiest time of year at work and just find it hard to get the balance. But I’m working from home at the moment so hoping that’ll help.

Bivvied out yesterday night. Bivvy bag only, no tarp. Was a clear night and pretty cold. Binned it twice on the ride last night - hit black ice, twice! Even struggled to walk the bike at one point, was so slippery. Couldn’t drink anything this morning, had turned my bottle upside down in the cage thinking the water might go crispy or the top part would freeze, in reality the whole thing was completely solid. Nevermind.

Then spent most of the day today playing in the snow with the kids and the puppy. Has been aces!

There's some really top rank BaMs going on this month! Going to the limit of actually being locked out is fantastic. And specifically popping in at a garage for breakfast too even though you didn't 'have' to. Ben your bivvy bag only setup is pretty pro. Bad luck with the prangs. I think it's much harder to try and replicate a 'proper' bivvy at home than suffer a similar desperate one out in the sticks somewhere.

Fancy it tonight but the snow is turning to slush in the garden. The shed seems a bit of a copout though.

ericrobo wrote: ↑Fri Jan 22, 2021 5:39 pm ... as an elite athlete...

Here's THE RULES...

You are allowed to stay overnight away from your home if you:
are an elite athlete or their support staff or parent, if the athlete is under 18 and it is necessary to be outside of the home for training or competition

Eric, you're a genius .

All we need to do is enter the "elite" category of the BaM competition and we're home and dry (more suitable metaphors may be available ).

So the answer was staring us in the face all the time; it was simply our humility that stopped us accepting it .

ScotRoutes wrote: ↑Sun Jan 24, 2021 10:07 am We have a 24 hr M&S at the filling station so I might have to pay them a visit. Not sure where that sits on the "essential journeys" scale

If a bacon bap at the filling station isn't essential then I don't know what is? When I was last there* the police were more concerned that Bob and myself were looking at our phones than the group of lads on the way home from the pub all stood together.

* This makes it sound like I go there all the time bit in reality it's currently once every 50 years which works out as one visit

After our snowy ride I'm afraid I can't match the corkers above but may as well post mine up now in case I freeze to death overnight. Earlier on it forecast -5 for tonight.

This time last year I remember stepping out of the pub into a deluge with BDS and Frog, with nowhere to go. Swap for it? You betcha .

1/1, 1/12, 60/60

Hope you had a good night Reg?

sean_iow wrote: ↑Sun Jan 24, 2021 6:23 pm
If a bacon bap at the filling station isn't essential then I don't know what is?

Absolutely!

I hardly ever go there either , but it's the principle!!

By the way I went back to my petrol station yesterday afternoon to finally get that hot roll I have been craving for weeks now...missed the cooking lady AGAIN, but there were some turkey stuffing and gravy rolls left in the keep warm cabinet.
Thoroughly underwhelmed.
But this will see me through another year or five....

benp1 wrote: ↑Sun Jan 24, 2021 3:08 pm
Bivvied out yesterday night. Bivvy bag only, no tarp. Was a clear night and pretty cold.


Then spent most of the day today playing in the snow with the kids and the puppy. Has been aces!

That's hardcore, impressed!

We got the sledges put as well, it's been ages! So knackering though!

Verena wrote: ↑Mon Jan 25, 2021 8:00 am Hope you had a good night Reg?

Certainly 'interesting' thank you. Rather bracing. This morning the tyvek had frozen to the ground and my mat had frozen to the tyvek. I'm not sure I would have relished taking that lot down and packing away in a field somewhere. Took a max/min out there and it was indeed -5 at some point. Used to have a tiny max/min to take on trips but it broke a while ago.

principles

Indeed

Mate of mine just told me we're all mad. I replied that in my view the sign outside the asylum is the wrong way round............