Bivvy a month 2020.

[JimmyG]

December Done, Bam 2020 done Roll on 2021!

Nice one Phil. I reckon I need to tick off (pun intended ) some BAMs over your side of the river next year, travel restrictions permitting.

[fatbikephil]

Aye that would be good Jimmy, I think Seanny D is also up for some 'social' bivvies too so roll on no restrictions

[JimmyG]

Sounds good to me!

[TrepidExplorer]

Solstice called for a longer ride, though I faffed too much and eventually left home at 2pm.

Got the most colourful part of the day before the sun started to make its way down behind the hill.




Topical


Gratuitous nightime reservoir post for SeanIoW


In a random act of Perfect Timing I met my dedicated exercise buddy at the top of the crag and headed into some woodlands for a spot of shelter from the biting westerly breeze.

A good spot by L in the summer on a family walk, we turned up expecting to do some litter-cleaning but it seems my Runners against Rubbish friends had been there first and cleared the area for us. We stalled ourselves eating porridge, brewing coffee and putting the world to rights, extolling the virtues of tents in such conditions and generally delaying a return to work.


Eventually we had to up and return home through the clag.


24/24; 12/12 for 2020 with two backyard bivis (novelty but not to be repeated in a hurry)
More commentary: https://trepidexplorer.blogspot.com/202 ... -2020.html

[JoseMcTavish]

Here we are at the end of the year and here I am posting pictures from my September bivy. It was a straightforward one - head out in the middle of the night and come home before everyone gets up.

There was some urban singletrack


A bit of night time photography in the mild temperatures


Tyrebagger Hill trig and the Tappie Tower




Got up handy for sunrise


Swung in the trees just off the summit


Still loving the frame bag


Gravelled my way home to get the kids off to school/nursery.




Slightly more detail here:

https://highlanddrifter.com/bam-2020-september

That was me on 9/9 for the year, but obviously I've not quit so will try and get my other posts up before the final reckoning for once!

[Verena]

Very nice!

[RIP]

Ooer. Gerrin' a bit nervous here. 3 days left. I'm sure something'll turn up. Er.

[Raggedstone]

12/12 for 2020
The weather forecast said it could possibly snow around 5am so seemed like the perfect night to get December done ,that was thinking around lunchtime by 5 o'clock the car was frozen up and my resolve was wavering . I loaded the bike convinced myself it wasn't that cold and I have bought all this kit so get on with it . Having previously made the mistake of just riding to a local bivvy spot and going to bed cold and being cold all night on a warmer night than last night I went for a cracking moonlit ride for a couple of hours . I had found a good spot when I was out on Christmas day but decided it was a bit open on the of chance the forecast might be right ! I knew of a very big yew tree just off one of the cheeky trails so went and had a look it was perfect massive canopy and flat so up with the tarp and off to bed .
IMG_20201228_082036021 by Kevin Hawker, on Flickr
Slept ok until something tried to move into my ear lots of flapping and a minor concussion later whatever it was wasn't there anymore It seemed like the perfect time to break out the emergency ear plugs to keep them out , or in !
Got up for a wee about 6 to find a bit of snow on the tarp but outside of my sanctuary it looked very white almost packed up and went home but thought it would be nice to ride home in the light so slept until 8 woke again to a black and white world stunning .
IMG_20201228_081918246 by Kevin Hawker, on Flickr
IMG_20201228_085949651 by Kevin Hawker, on Flickr
Loaded up and went to see what was what . Glad I had changed my mind about Bivvy spot the wet snow on the branches had brought them down to almost ground level where I would have been . It was beautiful and where the tracks weren't rivers it was nice riding in the snow for a change .
IMG_20201228_090759316 by Kevin Hawker, on Flickr

[RIP]

You lucky chap Kev, lovely that. Did you find the ear invader? One of those Wrath Of Khan slug things maybe?

This T4 business is getting me down a bit to be honest, watching you T3 mob kipping in interesting places. Not sure how much longer I can hold out before going cheeky. Have had a few stonking ones this year so should just be grateful for those really I suppose.

[RIP]

Oh and a question for the Rules Committee. I know we've covered things like 'which days count for which months' ad nauseam, but when do we think a specific BaM starts?

Is it:
a/ the moment you start packing.
b/ closing the house (other dwellings are available) door.
c/ getting on the bike.
d/ arriving at a bivvy spot.
e/ setting your shelter up.
f/ getting into your pit.
g/ going to sleep.
h/ something else.

Maybe more than one of those can count - different depending on the circumstances.

Ralph's not allowed to answer because you know what he's like.

Ta.

[sean_iow]

Ralph's not allowed to answer because you know what he's like.

Harsh He says (c) when you start riding the bike. So provided you start riding before midnight* on the last day of the month then it counts for 2020.

* Unless you plan on seeing in the New Year with Mrs Perin first in which case it's when you start packing.

[RIP]

Yeah he's a good lad really . Please thank him for lending his legal skills. I hope he felt the huge weight of responsibility sitting on his shoulders. It's a serious matter to be treated with appropriate gravity.

'Getting on the bike'. I'm leaning towards that yes. Although previously I've thought it might be 'getting on the train' (between b/ and c/) because that frequently feels like the start of the adventure.

But Ralph says possibly also 'starting packing'? It doesn't seem unreasonable if you think about it. Although 'packing' obviously takes longer than 'getting on the bike' (ok, usually ). Then again 'riding' takes longer than 'erecting shelter' (again, usually ) so that's no measure of it.

[Raggedstone]

Thinking back on it I did feel a bit of something going on in the other ear shortly after so I think it went straight through
I personally think that night follows day so for instance if I was hoping to bivvy on the 1st of the month it would be the night after the day of the 1st . Mind you the new year celebrations suggest a different viewpoint may be generally held .

[RIP]

bivvy on the 1st of the month it would be the night after the day of the 1st

Aye I think that one's definitely the case - the Committee adjudicated that a while ago.

Thinking further, never mind what has to happen before midnight, what actually is midnight? If you have a watch it may be when the second hand hits twelve. If you only have a digital clock your accuracy is down to blocks of sixty seconds - is 23:59 one second after 23:59 or is it one second before midnight? Also, if you have a radio you get the pips to choose from, and if you're within range of Big Ben or a similar chiming timepiece is it the first or last bong or any of the ones in between?

[ScotRoutes]

My "rule" is generally that I have to be in my bag before midnight and I have to have slept for a while before striking camp.

I've broken that on at least a couple of occasions;

* Searching for a decent camp spot on the Moray Way after delays put us behind schedule. I think it was 1 am I finally hit the sack.

* On the Cairngorms Loop where I was out for 40 hours and "playing it by ear" regarding stopping. Again, I think it was around 1 am I actually stopped and slid into my bivvy bag.

I think the latest I've left the house to claim a BAM is 22:00 on 30th Nov, with about a 1 hour ride.

Oh - and it's the first bong!

On the old 123 (time) phone service it was the last pip (actually it went pip, pip, pip, peeeep).

[RIP]

Thanks Colin, lot of food for thought there.

I've just heard ten bongs from our longcase, so it's past my bedtime so I shall sleep on it .

[Charliecres]

December ticked off with a few days to go. The day after Storm Bella swept through the forecast was cold but dry from the afternoon on, so I decided to make a break for it.

A shortish ride through plenty of winter slop brought me to a favourite spot with firm ground and a good view. It was a beautiful night but rain blew in shortly after getting the tarp up. I awoke to frost beyond the trees and a slowly lifting mist. After porridge and coffee, the ride home took me out of the frost zone and back into dank mist but luckily I was back in the warm before it started to rain properly.



That’s 10/10 for me (March start).

[Verena]

Have people seen the #goodnight2020campout by the Racing Collective? Still a few nights left and a chance to win something if anyone needs a final push of motivation to spend a night out....

[frogatthefarriers]

I've already posted a BAM for December, but this is a better one, so you can have it too.

My son had borrowd my fat-bike to be my minder on the WRT in August. We went to have our Christmas dinner with him and his family and while I was there I brought my fatbike home. How lucky was that, given that the snow has come?

This was still more of a dash-'n-crash bivvy, only 15 miles from home, but well, you know, there was snow on the hills...

Anyway, left home in the dark and pedalled up to Llandegla forest. Set up the hammock, cooked my dinner and went to bed. Now when I was setting up, there was not a breath of wind, but at some time in the night a slight breeze started. Unfortunately blowing straight under my tarp. Not a problem - until the snow started. I woke up to turn over and felt something wet on my face.

You don't get that in a tent....






I wasn't cold or wet in my cocoon but the snow was melting, hence the cold drip on my face. It was still dark - 6:30 or so - but there was no point in staying in bed to get my stuff wetter, so I dragged myself out of bed to find my boots had filled with snow. Cold wet feet. Lovely.

After porridge and eccles cake for breakfast it was time to push out for home. There was a lot more snow (but still not a huge amount) on the forestry tracks but enough to make it a bit of a slog going uphill. Sooo pretty though...




The good thing about riding to Llandegla is that it's nearly all downhill to get home. I was home for lunchtime. Big smile on my face.

[JoseMcTavish]

Love that - I'm expecting a good batch of snowy bivy write-ups to appear. As a contrast here's my October effort!

This was a simple night out from Nethy Bridge where we stay at least once a year, quarantine dependent. I was feeling rough in a non-COVID way all week so I had to manage my ambitions and had a nice night's kip by an Lochan Uaine rather than my planned Cairn Gorm summit bivy

It was comfy but soggy - bivy bag did its job well though.


Caringorms were situated in those clouds somewhere


Thoughtful hand gel placement at Pityoulish


Admiring puddle avoidance engineering at Tulloch


Loads of this on the doorstep in Nethy Bridge


That was me at 10/10 for the year, can I possibly pull off a third year in a row? Spoiler alert, yes

Slightly more writing here:
https://highlanddrifter.com/bam-2020-october

[Verena]

This looks a bit wow!!

[ledburner]

This looks a bit wow!!

Wow indeed,
I hope that was,l a planned, uneventful & perfectly executed dismount

[Borderer]

The boy and I went out 'practicing' last night. Beautiful clear night with a full moon and snow up high. Not a breath of wind, it was one of those magical nights to be out on the bike.



Alemoor loch was frozen over and the landscape all twinkly in our headlights.



On our second attempt we managed to find an old farmstead that has been calling my name from the map for a while. Very close to home but trees have been planted all over the access track so it's tricky to find, but worth it - a lovely spot by the stream.

We put up the tent under a big farm-era tree and stayed sheltered when it snowed again later.



We had fun in the snow in the morning, then an easy ride mostly downhill back home.



Bullseye! This shot knocked the phone right out of my hand....





The boy and I have now done July to Dec this year.

[RIP]

JUST setting off, at literally the last minute

[MuddyPete]

Happy New Year, Reg

Although by now I expect you've had some kip, breakfasted and pedalled back up the garden for a proper sleep in the warm .