After weeks of reading (thanks for the advice) , sorting and buying my gear I'm ready (I think) .

I'm gonna start local and do a couple of quick over nighters .

What are the common mistakes I'm gonna make (and learn from them) ?

Common mistakes, too much kit, too little kit, poorly put up shelter. The mistakes are part of the fun (when you are not freezing cold or soaked through).

Best of luck, enjoy it.

Pitch too near a road, pub, people.

Worried if you snore you will attract attention.

Don't make your first trip an "epic" keep it short and simple

What are the common mistakes I'm gonna make (and learn from them)

Carrying too much kit ... won't matter if you're not going too far.
Not taking the time to find a good pitch ... sheltered / dry as possible.
Allowing your sleeping bag to get wet.
Not getting warm before getting into said sleeping bag.
Pitching up next to a lake, pond, etc.
Pitching in a valley bottom.
Sleeping with head inside bivvy bag.
Thinking a 'flappy' tarp will be fine ... until 3am, when it starts raining.
Not giving yourself time to actually savour and enjoy the experience.
Believing me when I describe the route ahead as 'undulating'

Prepare for the worst, but hope for the best.

s8tannorm wrote:

Believing me when I describe the route ahead as 'undulating'

Like I've ever believed that quote.

I did a test run on my kitchen floor last weekend (in bivi bag with thermarest and sleeping bag) apart from my dog not understanding and jumping on me repeatedly through the night all went well ...
Why not next to a lake ?

It'll be cold

... and the air will contain lots of moisture making condensation more likely.

And your more likely to get midges near standing water

Hope it goes well.

and watch out for things that go bump in the night

My main mistake in the past was carrying too much water. Sure, on a day ride, carrying 2-3 litres is ok but on overnight trips when you're carrying other kit too l, it gets heavy and tiring quickly

its all very well having all your kit on the floor in your lounge and packing it in a nice warm/dry environment

practice packing and unpacking in the garden were you can get used to doing it when kneeling on damp ground or in the rain.

One bit of "advice" I was told when I was a newbie was "the most important thing to pack is space", sounds daft but kinda makes sense when you're not struggling to jam stuff into your dry bags/backpacks

Edit:wrong thread

Double check you have packed your tarp pegs and a lighter.

I've tried to pack things in order of use I.e tarp/pegs/lines to hand 1st , bag stuffed in bivi in 13L airlok on bars . But practice makes perfect I hope ...

bag stuffed in bivi in 13L airlok on bars

That's fine when you set off but can cause problems on multi day rides ... as your bivvy bag is often damp / wet, you'll want to be keeping it away from your sleeping bag until you get chance to dry it out.

That's fine when you set off but can cause problems on multi day rides ... as your bivvy bag is often damp / wet, you'll want to be keeping it away from your sleeping bag until you get chance to dry it out.

This!

First thing I did on returning from my first trip was to order some more drybags to keep wet tarp/bivy bag inside of and away from everything else.