Bivvy a month 2022

[Bearbonesnorm]

Hello and welcome to the 2022 edition of 'Bivvy a Month'. Hopefully it'll be a slightly less odd year than the previous two but I'm sure we'll muddle through no matter what.

There are no rules as such and you're free to do whatever you like. However, there are some guidelines which if adhered to make you eligible for a lovely BaM patch. They are ....

• At least one night out per calendar month for twelve consecutive months.

• Your own back garden does not count. That of your neighbours does.

* A single trip taking in both the last night of one month and the first of the next, will count as two months if you wish - but you still need 2 nights out, just that they'll be combined within a single trip.

* A bike must be involved - it's bikepacking, the clue's in the name ... 'Involved'? You really don't need me to spell it out do you?

* No paid for accommodation inc' campsites or hostels. Bothies are okay.

* Post each trip here in as much detail as you like, pictures are good. One post for each month please ... if you'd prefer not to post, that's fine. We'll take you at your word but people do like reading the trip reports.

Thank you as always to Kev C for the inspiration.

[Moder-dye]

Excellent, been waiting for this to pop up as I have a whole new home to explore with trees and things too! I might even use the hammock I got years back in something other than my back garden!

[redefined_cycles]

Hmmm... I didn't order the patch for my first ever BAM completion. So I guess I should put down my name for another 12 and see if I can get 24 Surely I'm not feeling well as I was happy and relieved to have finished the year of BAM already

[Shewie]

Hoping to have a bash this year, I usually get out once a month but I need to try and swap the backpack for a bike instead, I doubt the mrs will let me do both.

What I really need to do is find some local stealth camps so I can nip out on a school night, but being surrounded by A roads and motorways makes it a bit tricky round here

[summittoppler]

Seeing as I completed 2014 & 2018, it'll be non OCD compliant not to do 2022.

[Blackhound]

After my failure a couple of months ago going all out for 2022 , last time I completed was 2012.

[Verena]

I'll have a go again

[benconnolli]

After illness thwarted my 2020 attempt in November then carried on well into 2021, this is it.

Transitioned further towards the hobby side of the sport divide, and moved to a big city so all will be interesting. Gonna throw my hat into the ring. Hopefully once I've told some strangers and strange friends on the internet I'll hold myself more accountable to doing it. Chapeau folks

[Bearbonesnorm]

... this is me waving to say, as it's quite some time since I've had a full 12 month run, I'll have a shot this year. I may make some alteration to the 'rules' that allow dogs

[RIP]

[fatbikephil]

I'm in as usual, got a few areas of my bivvying style I need to work on and plenty of ideas for locations

[GregMay]

I'm in, I need to rekindle something that has lost its flame. There will be a 4 year old involved when it gets less.... winter like.

[Bearlegged]

There will be a 4 year old involved...

How old is Ralph?

[flyingpig]

I think I'll give this a go this year

[RIP]

There will be a 4 year old involved...

How old is Ralph?

Was he born on 27th April 2019? Must be the youngest BaMmer surely? Four is pretty blooming impressive though.

[sean_iow]

There will be a 4 year old involved...

How old is Ralph?

I can't remember how old he is, but he was about at my old house and I moved in 2016 so he's at least 6. He didn't start biving as early as Greg's little girl is going to. Greg's a better Dad than me.

Edit, scrolling back through Google photos he's in a picture taken Nov 2012 so he's at least 9. My pics don't go back any further. I've been with Jane for 14 years and he was a present from some of her friends so no older than 14.

[woodsmith]

Going to have a bash this year . I badly need a kick up the arse and am hoping this might help kickstart the process.

[fatbikephil]

If I could be presumptuous and offer a bit of advice to those who are thinking of giving this a go, its worth identifying every free weekend you have every month and then targeting the first one. If the weather is a shocker or somat else crops up you can then fall back on subsequent weekends. If you only ID one weekend, then really focus on it, scope out a route and a spot. It makes it easier to avoid cop outs if you've got it in the calendar. I guess it's easy for me being a sole occupier of my house but a bit of pre-planning is defo the key. Also have a few 'safe' spots in the bag (scope these in daylight hours) for those occasions when the weather is pish and your motivation is at a low ebb. Another top tip when you just CBA is to (without thinking about it) load up you bike and head out to a known spot, again without really thinking too much about it - "Oh, I've arrived at that bivvy spot I checked out the other week and I've got my bivvy gear with me, I'll just throw it up and get in my bag." Once you get there and start getting your bivvy up, all thoughts of jacking it disappear. Finally make sure you have a good book to read / good music to listen too / good food to eat / good drink to drink (or any combination of these) as this can become your focus - you are going out to get away from it all and have a good read / listen / eat / drink etc.

[JimmyG]

I'm in again this year. Big thanks to you Phil for taking the trouble to sift through and tally up last year's reports.

[Lazarus]

In this year as the shoulder is mended enough i can now sleep, terribly uncomfortably mind, on a thin airbed
only managed three last year but I did get one in december so prepared for the cold
My advice is go local if the weather is dire because at some point you are going to be out in dire weather so you may as well practice this when you have an easy baleout option as to when you are on a multi day ride and wet and cold
I always bivvy in the woods when this happens perhaps i should practice it somewhere more exposed this year ?

[RIP]

If I could be presumptuous and offer a bit of advice to those who are thinking of giving this a go, its worth identifying every free weekend you have every month and then targeting the first one. If the weather is a shocker or somat else crops up you can then fall back on subsequent weekends. If you only ID one weekend, then really focus on it, scope out a route and a spot. It makes it easier to avoid cop outs if you've got it in the calendar. I guess it's easy for me being a sole occupier of my house but a bit of pre-planning is defo the key. Also have a few 'safe' spots in the bag (scope these in daylight hours) for those occasions when the weather is pish and your motivation is at a low ebb. Another top tip when you just CBA is to (without thinking about it) load up you bike and head out to a known spot, again without really thinking too much about it - "Oh, I've arrived at that bivvy spot I checked out the other week and I've got my bivvy gear with me, I'll just throw it up and get in my bag." Once you get there and start getting your bivvy up, all thoughts of jacking it disappear. Finally make sure you have a good book to read / good music to listen too / good food to eat / good drink to drink (or any combination of these) as this can become your focus - you are going out to get away from it all and have a good read / listen / eat / drink etc.

Good points there. Yesterday I was going to post suggesting that one could choose a date fairly well in advance, and still go never mind the weather. Obviously if you can't get out for "life reasons" then fall back on another date, but the commitment to get out whatever the weather lends an interesting angle to proceedings. You get to find out how your gear performs in different situations, and challenging weather can result in some very rewarding experiences. For example, my fairly frequent use of trains to get to a BaM means I'll go anyway to not waste the ticket - concentrates the mind as it were.

[GregMay]

She won't be doing every month, though she's been sleeping in tents since she was 1... so who knows!

[Verena]

I may make some alteration to the 'rules' that allow dogs

Yay, dog packing, I'm in

[Dave Barter]

I’m in this year, part of a writing project. Not bringing the cat though.

[Verena]

OK then, I'll kick things off with my January BAM last night.

After a warm evening at home with TV and the heating on, I felt ready for some fresh air, and it was one of those crisp starry bright winter nights which are just gorgeous for being out in.

There was frost on the cars on the drive, and as I headed up towards the common, warming up nicely with the climbing, I started noticing some snow by the side of the road, then the sound of my wheels changed to crunchy. When I reached the top I went off road, and with the snow it was bright enough for me to make the rest of my way to my chosen spot without any lights.

I had previously chosen a lovely spot on a hillside, under one of those lovely short trees with low overhanging branches, just slightly above the path. (Does anyone else love bare winter trees silhouetted against the sky by the way? This one was stunning with a very clear starry night behind).

For once I had picked a good spot, a level slight ditch in a bit of a hollow, if that makes sense (probably doesn't), just the right shape for me to sleep in, be a bit sheltered, and actually stay put through the night.

I really like it when I can suspend my DD pyramid tent from a tree branch, so easy to pitch and take down, and no pole getting in the way inside.

I knew it was going to be a long, long night or probably little sleep, so this time I used the snacking strategy to pass the time...I had brought a packet of Carr's crackers, "warm chili melt" - they did the trick until I got sick of them.

My dreams of ample snow fall during the night and emerging in the morning to a magical winter wonderland were shattered when it turned milder in the night and rained instead. There was just a bit of a dusting, but enough to look pretty and be nice and crunchy to ride over in the morning.

I stayed reasonably warm, and used the down sleep socks I bought off Dee here for the first time, very nice

Work in the morning, so not enough time to linger for daylight to take some better photos, sorry.

Only bit of excitement was when I made a brew just slightly uphill, whilst kneeling inside the tent. Shortly after this photo was taken, the burning cooker tumbled down practically into my lap, in the process spilling most of my tea water

Lovely roll downhill and home, and so glad I managed to get out

IMG_20220105_064604 by Verena Zimmer, on Flickr

IMG_20220105_070339 by Verena Zimmer, on Flickr

IMG_20220105_072704 by Verena Zimmer, on Flickr