Anyone have any thoughts by the way on these stoves?

Quite like mine when I am doing a social leisurely ride and dont mind spending the time using one , they work for boiling and make a mess( soot) of your pan. Suspect it'd a pain if you have to start with wet/ damp fuel. Mine is a " castle" square and packs flat so easy to carry..

I blame Mr Shrubsole. I was re-reading "Who Owns England?" again and decided I needed to get out and annoy the land-"owning" Norman-descendants once more. MuddyPete foolishly, as ever, agreed to come along and protect the public from me.

The nearest big chunk of aristo-owned land is Mentmore Towers, built in the 1850s by Baron Rothschild and you can't get much more aristo than that. Well it was actually built by Joseph Paxton who was also responsible for Crystal Palace (nooo-o-o-o not the football team, the glass house) . Time to go and reclaim our freedom to rest by the wayside.

I explained to Pete that there were three potential routes to the pub in Mentmore, the long way up and down the hill, the long way along the canal, or the direct route across the railway.

A short while later we, ahem, crossed the railway and arrived at the pub, doing a bit of trainspotting at "Great Train Robbery" junction on the way



The pub is community owned and has a special "bike hub" with tools, pumps, racks and even some nice fairy lights which pleased Pete no end



Even the pub had fairy lights. Nice bivvy spot down there by the look of it. Next time.



Couple of nice ales, the left one named after us - dapper bikepackers.



I didn't know I was related to Baron Rothschild but here was a portrait of someone who was obviously an ancestor of mine



It seems Pete was related as well, although to the side of the family it's best not talked about



We wobbled off along the bridleway bordering the Towers, and here I am just off it pitched up on the Baron's front lawn. Our very own BB Towers is far more impressive I reckon. Trekkertent DCF 9'x7'. I apologise unreservedly for the limp erection. I have trouble getting it up at my age and it's the best I could manage before I needed a sit-down.



Luckily we were away before he flung back his curtains after partaking of his morning kippers and kedgeree. Not quite sure what's going on here at 05.30am I must admit.



Pete skulking in the undergrowth



Spot of breakfast next to the Baron's side gate



Then away home via the railway again, just in time to spot the Caledonian Sleeper roll past, whose residents no doubt had a pleasanter night than we did. On other hand, Pete reckoned it was the best night he's had for forty years - what a memory - and I admit the lawn was indeed softly plush.




We have to confess that in fact Baron Rothschild flogged the place off to some Syrian oligarch a few years ago. I think he was called Sheikh Italla'bout, although Pete claims it was Sheikh Y'Booti. I looked him up - it was neither, it was Sheikh n'Vac.

8/8, 8/12, 92/92

aha brilliant write-up, made me smile

Brilliant.

So shall this be a new BAM challenge then, bivvy on someone's posh bit of land?

I'll have a look...

Think I may already have done a few, Glanusk Estate on SWWB wasn't it chaps?

And my fave local spots are all on Dinas Estate land...

Ta folks. Had a bit of a bad moment there when I thought Pete's BB jersey said "no wrong turds" on the back. It appears I was mistaken.

No wrong-un's here, mate
Although that could be the next Boner t-shirt slogan. Reg, you're a genie-arse .

Sheik ya bootie I think you'll find. (all praise the mighty Zappa)
Well done, and nice to see Pete doing some grassland Quadrat assessment.

"Drunk? with my reputation????" etc.

fatbikephil wrote: ↑Fri Aug 18, 2023 9:50 pm
Sheik ya bootie I think you'll find. (all praise the mighty Zappa)

Thanks Phil, corrected

fatbikephil wrote: ↑Fri Aug 18, 2023 9:50 pm...nice to see Pete doing some grassland Quadrat assessment.

Cheers Phil. According to the University of North Arizona:

"...With slow moving or non-moving organisms, the quadrat survey technique can be effective..."

Sounds eminently suitable for a survey of "slumbering bikepackers per metre squared"

RIP wrote: ↑Fri Aug 18, 2023 6:24 pm Ta folks. Had a bit of a bad moment there when I thought Pete's BB jersey said "no wrong turds" on the back. It appears I was mistaken.

Following a General anethetic last week, it later havoc with my constition. I now know what a wrong turd is . PM me for the write up

ledburner wrote: ↑Sun Aug 20, 2023 11:03 pm Following a General anethetic last week, it later havoc with my constition. I now know what a wrong turd is . PM me for the write up

Commiserations with the GA. PM? Nah you're amongst friends here, let's have the gory details

August 8/12 done, South Coast to North Coast.
Something I've wanted to tick of the bucket list for a while now, a trip up to the source of the River Tamar. For those who aren't aware the River Tamar for the most part is the boundary between Cornwall and England.
As it was a mostly on road trip I took the Ridgeback and panniers although it was still definitely a bike and bivvy! Headed up across country through familiar territory until the A30.....which is defined not a road anyone wants to cycle on, fortunately at Five Lanes there is an underpass which allows more sensible passage across it! From here it becomes Increasingly noticeable that you are in borderlands, it's hard to distinguish if you are in Cornwall or England most of the time! In fact historically the border has changed a lot over the centuries and this is evident on the ground with place names in particular. Eventually hit Bude, queued for what seemed like for ever in the Coop with throngs of tourists just for a couple of big bottles of water before heading off in fading light to Wooley Moor and the source of the Tamar. Eventually found it, complete with fancy marker stone although to be honest it was just a wet boggy area that was hardly photogenic! On the plus side I managed to find probably my best bivvy spot of the year in a small pine plantation that was well hidden, sheltered from the wind and flat.
Visited a few other places on my bucket list on the way back today, oh and did I remember to mention the hills! Reynolds steel framed Ridgeback rides lovely, but with panniers and other bit's and bobs like dyno hub it's no lightweight and boy did I feel it!

Usual school-night bivi. Decided to ride further as the evenings are so nice, not too far or I'd be off the other side of the Island and into the sea. Kept to the south-ish side but my destination was on the north coast. On the Island unless you go through Newport all trips going south>north or vice versa will entail a climb over the downs which run the full length of the Island from east>west. I headed past Brighstone and then Mottistone* and didn't turn north until Hulvestone so picked one of the less steep places up.

When I arrived at the main Yarmouth road from a little side road I couldn't remember if it was left or right to my destination, chose left but quickly realised it was right Kept going for mile of so to the viewpoint car park before turning back so anyone looking at my strava will think it was deliberate and not a navigation error

Once at the woods I soon worked out there had been quite a bit of growth since I was here last year and the little path into the clearing took quite a bit of finding, even Sherlock Holmes** would have struggled looking for clues. I did eventually locate it and has a peaceful nights sleep. Woken at first light by the red squirrels running about in the trees above me. This then stepped up a level as two decided to chase eash other around the trunk of a tree about 20 feet away. As well as the sound of tiny feet on the bark they were also quite vocal. Not sure if it was an argument or the opposite they did eventually head off but by then it was nearly time to get up anyway.

Tried out a new mat, a Vango Aotrom. Unisulated and 3/4 length. Only 290g and seems quite durable, certainly more durable than a Thermarest Uberlight It was comfy enough for me and given it didn't drop below 12 degrees I was warm enough. I only paid about £35 so a bit if a bargain and in the summer I can save my more expensive mats for best.



Having ridden 21 miles to my bivi the ride work would be shorter, but still longer than the normal commute. As it was only just after 6:30 the roads were pretty quite, passed by a couple of scooters with their own bike luggage, must have come over on the first ferry for the weekends rally.

Saw a new post box topper when I got to Newport.



Took me a second to work out what the theme was. Smurfs!



I did ask Ralph if he wanted his picture taken with them but he wasn't keen. He thought it looked the aftermath of a drink and drug fueled orgy! Looking at the other details he might be right



That's 8/12 and 42 in a row (41 for Ralph)

* Famous as this is where Benedict Cumberbatch got married.
** See above

Just over a week ago I drove down to South Wales for the weekend to see my grown-up kids. Over the years, I’ve often broken the long road journey by overnighting in the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, either camping out or kipping in my van. I lived not too far from here for 17 years and this huge forest was my regular mountain biking playground. Since I headed back north of the border 21 years ago, I’ve seen the mountain biking scene there undergo some significant changes e.g. the network of trails heading out from the Pedal A Bike Away cycling hub is now much more comprehensively signposted and has been upgraded in places to at least partially address the frequent mudfest conditions that I remember well from back in the day. As many on here will know, there are also plenty of gravel tracks meandering throughout the rest of the forest as well as countless unmarked ‘off-piste’ singletrack mountain bike trails, if you know where to look. Anyway, on this occasion I decided to kill two birds with one stone and get August’s BAM done at the same time.

I parked in the quiet village of Parkend on the edge of the forest and rode in for about 30 minutes before setting up camp whilst I still had daylight available. Once set up, I went for a spin around some of the local singletrack and gravel tracks before heading back to my bivvy spot for beer and Pringles. Simple pleasures!

Untitled by Jimmy G, on Flickr

Untitled by Jimmy G, on Flickr

Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before marauding mosquitoes decided to make their presence felt. Once I’d noticed them I covered up any exposed skin as best I could but by then I’d evidently been bitten several times on my bare legs. To compound the issue, I’d forgotten to bring my midge net or any insect repellent (rookie errors! ) and by morning time I’d been bitten several more times. Itched like hell and stayed like that for a couple of days. 'Self-inflicted' though so mustn’t grumble!

In other wildlife-related matters – as locals will know, there are many wild boar roaming freely in the Forest of Dean and over the years I’ve seen them fairly often, both by day and night. While I was setting up camp I noticed large sections of disturbed ground where they’d obviously been foraging for food. Their presence plus the many deer that also inhabit the forest, led me to believe that there was a very real likelihood of a tick or three hitching a ride on me. See below under ‘tick count’.

Wet start to the day by Jimmy G, on Flickr

The forecast heavy rain duly arrived next morning so I hung about under my shelter until it finally relented enough for me to pack up and go.

Cannop Ponds, Forest of Dean by Jimmy G, on Flickr

Cannop Ponds, Forest of Dean by Jimmy G, on Flickr

The caff at the Pedal-A-Bikeaway bike centre was only a fairly short ride away and once fed and watered, I rode round a pleasant circuit on familiar gravel trails before heading back to the mother ship.

Untitled by Jimmy G, on Flickr

Untitled by Jimmy G, on Flickr

Tick count: Surprisingly... only one this time! Very small and not discovered until the day after my bivvy ended.

That’s 8 from 8 in ‘23, making 68 consecutive BAMs.

Looks good! Will be there next weekend (assuming my train gets that far) with certain other illustrious denizens of this forum. Peter, can you sort the mozzies and ticks out beforehand please?

As mentioned elsewhere last week I visited PBP and got two bivvies in for my August challenge.
I set off from St Malo riding along the coast firstly on the road and then along a track and minor roads Mont St Michel. It was pretty busy so I didn't go across, another time hopefully.
I headed SW to Tinteniac to find the PBP control and had some food there before following the route to Fougeres. Lots of people cheering from the sidelines and offering food and drink, must have been marvellous to be one of the riders.
My planning, and confidence, were not great. I had hoped to leave at midday giving myself 23 hours and 200km to Cherbourg. It turns out my less than direct route would be 250km reducing yo 210km with a short cut.
In the end I decided not to stay over in Fougeres as planned but leave around 7pm and get in 40-50km reducing the following days distance. The route proved hilly and frustratingly a stone cycle track ran parallel for most of it, I didn't know where it was going.
In the end I stopped under a bridge on an old railway line around 10pm. In the next half hour I was passed by a runn, a woman on a bike with dog and a cyclist all seeing me behind a bench.
Up at first light I cycled to Avranches before finding an open patisserie and stuffed my face. I had hoped for a quiet run up the coast passing little seaside towns but ended up on a busy D road for some miles which I was not enjoying with the constant hills. I got off it when I could but soon ended up on it again.
Eventually north of Les Pieux I found a little track leading into an empty field which I popped into and set up my tarp before a bit of rain passed over.
Next morning I was up early back onto the busy road to the port for a final 20km.

[url]https://www.instagram.com/p/CwaLMYrs3Da ... FlZA==[url]

8/12 and 20 consecutive months.

RIP wrote: ↑Sat Aug 26, 2023 1:52 pm Looks good! Will be there next weekend (assuming my train gets that far) with certain other illustrious denizens of this forum. Peter, can you sort the mozzies and ticks out beforehand please?

Weather and insects permitting, I'm sure you'll have fun Reg. As always, I'll look forward to reading your report!

Some friends are building a cabin/hut in a bit of woodland south of Polmont so I headed out along the canal to give them a hand.

Walked the canal from Falkirk to Edinburgh in a day last year which is an experience I'll not be repeating. At least it's flat. Managed to pick up a thorn puncture going each way this time though so might be time to go tubeless.
The build is coming on well. This is after three weeks. After they'd gone home I made myself comfortable and knocked up a temporary set of steps before bed.

Slept well on the porch to the sound of rain dripping off the trees all around. It cleared up a bit overnight but was raining again when I left this morning after canned coffee and stroopwaffels and back along the canal.


8/12, two thirds done, pondering where the rest might be and whether to continue next year.

August done!
I've been hanging on for this one, wanting to head up to the Cairngorms but only if the weather was good. In the event the forecast was rubbish up there but after many changes looking pretty good here so Fife it is then. In a bid to avoid yet another local woodland bivvy I got moving early (well 12) and headed east. First up the Lomond hills by various trails then the Pilgrims way.



Looking east over the Fair Kingdom, Lomonds ahead.

It had been sunny to this point but then the big black clouds came rolling in. However it looked much sunnier along the coast so (with a sense of inevitability) headed down to Leven, trying not to look at the new rail line. So east along the coastal path, narrowly missing the rain and thanks to being early evening by now, it was pretty quiet.



A fab piece of sandy singletrack behind the beach. Why aren't I on my fatbike?? That said, when the wretched rail line to Leven opens up I will be able to train it pretty much onto the beach
I noted the huge windfarm going up out to sea some 10 years since it was first mooted.

I got moaned at twice in Anstruther - once for cycling on a footpath (which was 4m wide, also a vehicle access and a core path so I was in the right) and once for going the wrong way up a one way street which was also a core path so I was also in the right. Every chippy in Anstruther was queued out the door so onwards to Crail. I still had to wait for half an hour but the chips were fab and I had a beer with them, breaking another rule as there is an alcohol ban in the village public spaces.

Dusk was a'falling as I headed away from the coast on an old railway line. I'd vaguely thought of bivvying in Tentsmuir forest but this would have needed lights. Instead I headed for a spot I'd scoped out, right on the coast. And why not - it was mild, little wind and although quite cloudy, dry.

I stood drinking more beer and watching the last of the sunset, noting the light from the lonely Bell Rock lighthouse which looks like it's goin to have some company with all these turbines going up. Then I was startled out of my daze by a hail from behind. Cursing myself for choosing a spot close to civilisation on a bank holiday I turned to see a guy with a rucksack approaching. In the event he was cheery and also after a fly bivvy by the sea albeit on foot. We chatted for a bit about bikes, bivvying and the weather before retiring to our separate shelters.



The Buddo Rock.

I'd a good nights kip although rain came through a few times, including at first light when I heard my neighbour packing up. For me it was the usual leisurely breakfast before departing into the sun. An easy route home followed with more Lomonds trails thrown in at the last minute for a bit of variety.



Not been down here for a while - this is the 'Bunnet Stane' which readers of 'Further Adventures in Rough Stuff' may recognise. I'd finally been rained on at this point and another shower came through before drying up for the last miles home.

Very nice... this is obviously naughty August for us... being shouted at twice there.... illicit public boozing... kipping on aristocrats lawns.... whatever next

fatbikephil wrote: ↑Wed Aug 09, 2023 9:44 pm I think the summer months can be harder to get out in than winter as that's when you have loads of other stuff on to distract you from a bivvy ride

I'll second that so much tougher to get out, August for me has been packed up from the beginning of the year and I'm running out of time I have Thursday this coming week which is literally leaving it to the death so to speak. Wonder if the rules would allow me to ride to work and bring bivvy bag and have a kip for an hour or two on the floor does say as long as its with a bike and its not in your own garden

The world mtb champs at Glentress was a must see event for me,the last and only one I attended was in France 1992(I think)
I'd booked the full week off and decided on doing the Capital Trail but with a Selkirk start/finish so I could easily then go check out the racing. Got rolling about 1pm after the drive up Monday morning. Think it was about 33 miles before getting to Glentress and finding the Trail centre section closed for the championships..oh well, i was ready for food so ended up crashing in the volunteers camping field, conveniently right on route.
Day 2 was a corker both weather wise and route wise. I've never done a two nighter trip before,so that was the main aim. Kept tapping away and camped in some woods directly off a quiet road, leaving forty odd miles for the Wednesday.
Made a real effort not to be riding ridiculously early as usual, 9am felt lazy but I had all day and no deadlines for once,so really enjoyed the remaining trail,stopping at a few cafes and taking plenty photos. 8/12 and even better I've hit double figures on the nights out including my December kit test bivvy. BaM really has made me pull my finger out

Same spot as a previous bivvy?
Same kit as a previous bivvy?
Same excellent pitch, that's easy to get in and out of as a previous bivvy?
'Sakes.

Not a lot else to report on this one, besides losing my toothbrush so I couldn't clean my teeth at bedtime, then finding out I'd been sleeping on it all right when I rolled up my bivvy.

2023 BAM 8/12
2023 total bivvies 10
Current streak (months) 57

decided on doing the Capital Trail but with a Selkirk start/finish

Any tips doing same latish september but over a weekend so up friday, kip in van then ride.
Planned to go big day one as a bb200 test .
Where did you park. ?