Next years installment of 'something 'n back' will take place on Jan 11th/12th and as usual will involve tea, toast, goodies, bikes, wintery weather, maybe a pub, a night out, tea, some prizes, cake and more tea. There's also the added bonus of flushing toilets and heating at the start / finish

Interested parties should point their mouse over here> http://www.bearbonesbikepacking.co.uk/p ... nBack.html

Ta.

I'm keen but have yet to do a proper winter bivy. What's the minimum I'll get away with for a sleeping bag? I've been using a Karrimor synthetic "3-season" bag which packs reasonably small but isn't that warm. I can supplement it with a v warm Mountain Equipment down jacket. Is that likely to be OK or do I need to spend some pounds?

I've been using a Karrimor synthetic "3-season" bag which packs reasonably small but isn't that warm. I can supplement it with a v warm Mountain Equipment down jacket. Is that likely to be OK or do I need to spend some pounds?

It's been pretty chilly for the last couple of years, down to about -5 I recall. However, if you're clever in picking your spot then there's no reason why you wouldn't be okay. It's surprising how much warmer it is hidden amongst the trees on a carpet of needles

Sea to summit do a sleep bag liner that costs about £45 and will roughly add 8^C of warmth and it's about the size of a tin of beans. Might be worth looking into.

It's my anniversary around that weekend and my Mums 60th, so no permission to attend :(

Thanks for the tip re the liner. I'll take a look at that.

I'm interested in this, however, I'm just a little worried I wouldn't make it 'there'. Though I guess I could just crash anywhere!

voodoo_simon wrote:Sea to summit do a sleep bag liner that costs about £45 and will roughly add 8^C of warmth and it's about the size of a tin of beans

I have one. 8C is a bit optimistic, a couple of degrees at best.
As Stu says picking a good spot is key and as long as you're set up to get down to zero you should be fine.

I'm interested in this, however, I'm just a little worried I wouldn't make it 'there'. Though I guess I could just crash anywhere!

I doubt you'll be spending the night 'there' in all honesty (although I'm sure you could if you wanted) ... if you didn't make it 'there', it wouldn't matter one bit.

Cheers Chew, I haven't used one, but did think the rating was optimistic for its pack size. In that case, they do a 15C version too, so that may be an option on the safe side :D

Damn! I missed both the WRT & BB200 due to other commitments on those weekends. Now I'm only going to go and miss the TnB as well due to an unguarded offer to lend my services to the village pantomine which runs on the 10/11&12th Jan

Now looking to pencil the April gravel race in my diary. (Actually, not pencil but scrawl in a big font with an indelible ink marker!)

We should be there Stu, hopefully a bit earlier this time

Im in Stu, and ive paid as i made sure i got the leave for this one next yr so lets hope its not cancelled

Oh just signed up for it and super excited!
Question time. Has anyone been using a meth burner throughout the winter periods, how did you get on or not? I have an abundance of stoves (as do we all) with jetboil sol, msr reactor, micro rocket etc but I am hating gas these days.

Has anyone been using a meth burner throughout the winter periods, how did you get on or not?

I use meths all year. Usually the cold isn't really an issue with general performance but actual lighting and bloom time can suffer a bit in the cold ... the following help:

Try to keep your stove and fuel somewhere warm or pop them in your pocket for a few minutes before using them.

Pour a LITTLE meths on the outside of your stove and light it. It'll reduce bloom time by quite a lot.

Stand your stove on foil, it'll help insulate it from the ground.

Thank you very much stu for the swift reply. One foil base now added to the kit list. I just got the evernew tit' stove and ti pocket stove. Was thinking along the lines of using the pocket stove as a semi decent windshield for the meth burner and for a wee personal fire in the evening.

evernew tit' stove

Ooh that must be new, I've only seen the Ti one before

The Evernew Ti stove is nice but can be a bit fierce. You can calm it down by not using a seperate pot stand and simply place your pot on top of the stove, which blocks the top set of jets. This also turns it from a semi-pressurised stove into a pressurised stove ... which can aid fuel consumption.

JS Jnr is due to make an appearance in December so I think that buggering off for a weekend in Jan is probably not on the cards.

This'll be the first weekend of my new job, so I dunno how well that will pan out.

I was also holding out to find out when my exam dates for my MSc come out.

Excuses excuses, I'll see what happens

No going back now... I've paid me money! :)

Hi Chaps, new to this forum.... just paid my entry fee so i guess i'm in will give me something to look forward to love camping out in the wilds

Now to find a rack to fit my 29er

Paid up for my second go at this, so I must have enjoyed it.
I'm about as likely to get "there" as I was to get to "El" last time.
Actually I'm just coming for the tea and cake.

First time bikepacking for me :) I've done a couple of overnight bothy rides and I've spent a few nights in bivvys - I've just got to put the 2 together. How hard can that be? :?

Can't wait! :)

bollops

A cant-get-out-of 40th (not mine!) means I'm out. gutted!

Right, it's still not 100% that we'll be able to be in the UK for this (we're waiting for a passport for the newest member of the family) but I won't know until after the entry closing date and so have entered.

Maybe this time I'll finally make it to a Bear Bones event!!!

Am off out tomorrow night for a snowy bike/bivi trip and so it should give me a good idea of what kit to use for a warm January in Wales.

Cheers, Gairy.

P.s. Stuart, it seems that I somehow pressed 'pay after delivery' via paypal (didn't even know such a thing existed) and so it looks like it's not going to release payment for 14 days????? If this is a hassle then let me know and I'll look into doing something about it - sorry!

P.s. Stuart, it seems that I somehow pressed 'pay after delivery' via paypal (didn't even know such a thing existed) and so it looks like it's not going to release payment for 14 days????? If this is a hassle then let me know and I'll look into doing something about it - sorry!

The paperwork just looks like the usual, no mention of 'pay after delivery' or anything unusual.

Hopefully we'll see you in Jan