Was thinking about my kit for the BB200, and to save weight and bulk considering not taking my alpkit wee airic and going completely without. Or maybe taking some bubblewrap.

what do people think?

Cold night i think.
Have you a thick foil blanket the kind people use a sun screens in car window or for picnics?
Just out of curiosity why are you not using a mat or pad?

Plenty of heather - makes a good sleep mat if she doesn't mind.

Check the weather forecast first - last year it was down at -5 and it would have been a miserable night without a mat (unless you ride through the night)

if you plan to sleep, id say take one.

if you plan to ride through and 'may need to survive the night' dont bother, just take a sleeping bag and foil blanket.

Maybe...

I slept out on Sunday night without one. I was only on some short grass but it was perfectly fine. It was pretty mild though.

I'v done it (accidentally - forgot to take the mat)

This was in June, it was still 18 degrees when i left the house at 5pm but the temperature dropped to 1 degree in the night! I left my garmin on and i still have the log of the whole ride, i can see that i was stopped for a total time of 4hours 21mins, which obviously includes setting up camp and packing up again. Dont think i slept at all.

You don't need a sleeping mat, just find a sofa like Alan did :D

It'll depend on where your comfort/hardship ratio is. It would be something I'd try ahead of the event to find out where on the scale you are. If your not planning to stop try without, but if you do stop bivi location will be key which may offset the benefit of going without.

I've tried without a rollmat a couple of times...I personlly haven't been able to hack it so far, or maybe I wasn't knackered enough

If you are normally a back-sleeper, try rolling over onto your front. You may find it helps.

ScotRoutes wrote:If you are normally a back-sleeper, try rolling over onto your front. You may find it helps.

Not meaning to be rude, but why?
That intrigues me much

A ballon bed or a heap of rapidly foraged bracken, like I had to use back in the spring when my air mattress had a leak. You could look for a flat, grassy playing field, but you might not end up near one when you're tired and it might be hammering down.

Ben98 wrote:

ScotRoutes wrote:If you are normally a back-sleeper, try rolling over onto your front. You may find it helps.

Not meaning to be rude, but why?
That intrigues me much

It can often be comfier is all. I find my stomach is less disturbed by pointy objects than my spine. Probably due to the extra padding :D

I tried going without pad last night. Didn't sleep. Not because of cold but comfort. I realised that while ideally you can make the bivi area up to add some form of natural cushioning, this material isn't always available. I had to bivy in the dark and at the end of a very long day. So I took the first bit of flat ground. I've learnt that on multi day trips sleeping well isn't a luxury but a necessity to being able to pedal well. I'll be looking out for a lightweight pad.

Can't get my head around why you wouldn't take a sleeping pad - 300g doesn't seem like much of a penalty for a decent nights sleep.

rudedog wrote:Can't get my head around why you wouldn't take a sleeping pad - 300g doesn't seem like much of a penalty for a decent nights sleep.

Not just weight, but also packed space.

I've not used a pad for the last couple of bivvies, and I've got on OK. Found a soft-ish grassy spot with a slight depression for my hips, and I've slept as well as any other time I've been out.

Here all my gear is on my bike - nothing on my back. It's about as light as I think I could have gone, but the forecast was good so I left my waterproofs and tarp behind. Had everything else I needed though, including stove.


Long Mynd Bivvy ride by ianbarrington, on Flickr

Ian wrote:Here all my gear is on my bike - nothing on my back. It's about as light as I think I could have gone, but the forecast was good so I left my waterproofs and tarp behind. Had everything else I needed though, including stove

I think a fair few of us would be very interested to know what you did/didnt take, and get down to such a minimal setup?

It's all listed here: http://www.geargrams.com/list?id=15129

Each to there own, I've only slept without a pad once (when it leaked)and the ground sucked all the heat from my body which resulted in a terrible nights sleep for me.