What do you do of a dark evening ...

[godivatrailrider]

Ok so you're out on the hills and you've set up your bivvy/tent/shelter ..... it's been proper dark since 7pm ... you've eaten... maybe had a wee tot of something ..... what on earth do you do until it's time to sleep. ? Ok you're fairly tired , having ridden, .... do you just go to sleep. I'd be awake at 3am with little chance of getting back off to sleep.

I guess with a couple of you you can chat but alone it must be tough.

[Ben98]

I go to sleep, its nice to get an early night

[ScotRoutes]

I go to sleep, its nice to get an early night

That

Or watch the stars

Take a camera and get some night shots? Especially if there's a chance of an aurora.

Listen to some music.

etc etc etc

[slarge]

Look at the map for today and tomorrow. Eat, have some whisky, then sleep. Wake up. Sleep. Wake up busting for a leak. Try to sleep, eventually brave it and work out how to get out with minimum cold / wet suffrage and make patterns in the frost (I bet most blokes do that, and maybe some talented girls!). Then sleep till the sun comes up.

[HaYWiRe]

If I have a hot meal I do so before dark, and before I actually set up camp, I then carry on riding till 8-9ish to find a place to camp.
Luckily my tent is pretty fool proof to set up in the dark. Have my bedtime injection bang on 9:30 and a cold snack, usually asleep shortly after.

I find its easy to get bored my setting up camp too early. unless its a social thing, if I'm entirely honest I actually find camping boring. But would rather see it as a means to an end, or to keep riding longer which is why I always setup late

Lucky for me I always camp with my partner and have conversation company. Although she's usually asleep the second she climbs in the bag most nights


If I am asleep too early and end up wide awake at 4-5am... Well like many racer types (not that I am one...far from) I see it as an excuse to get back in the bike and get back riding, i usually don't wake up fully till an hour of pedalling and a trailside breakfast

[TheBrownDog]

I make a second cup of tea, sit in my chair with my sleeping bag around me and watch the night.

[Joshvegas]

Tinder and Facebook

[godivatrailrider]

Good answers .... don't know why I didn't think of music.... I didn't take my ipod last time we went, never entered my head. Would make everything better for me :) that and looking at the map could keep me distracted for hours :)

[Bearbonesnorm]

I don't have a phone but i do have an ipod touch. It's got kindle books on, music, talking books, maps, etc, etc ... certainly enought to stop you getting bored. The thing I probably do more than anything else is think, it's surprising what you can come up with if you give yourself a chance.

[benp1]

If I'm with others they it's usually banter

If I'm on my own then it's usually weather dependent. If it's clear then I like doing things slowly and watching the world. Sometimes I'll take a kindle and read. I never take music as I like to enjoy the quiet. If it's raining then I'm in a shelter or under a tarp so depending on space things are a bit more limited.

I'm in walking then the dog is usually with me so he's usually chilling out or sniffinf around in the area too

[Charliecres]

I just listen out for cracking twigs and stare out into the dark, looking for those werewolf eyes I just know are out there watching me.

[whitestone]

Depends on the night really.

Did a bivvy in August specifically to watch the Perseid meteor shower http://bearbonesbikepacking.co.uk/phpBB ... =10&t=6003 so on nights like that it's a case of lying there and watching the wonders of the universe with the occasional turning round to partake of some Scotch.

After a long day in the saddle then it's more a case of snuggling down and getting some rest.

[jameso]

Watch the skies for a while if it's clear, let my mind wander, enjoy the peace, doze off. Maybe some music. Take a small book sometimes but hardly bother with reading in those situations. Awake at 3am? Make a coffee, get up and ride through the dawn, best bit of an overnighter I think. Not generally a fan of winter overnighters due to the number of hours of darkness but I tend to ride until 9-10pm in winter, then bivi. Bivis as a 'camping out' experience with time to relax in the evening are for the summer.

[gravitysucks]

Mostly I'll ride until stupid late anyway, I like night riding so happy to set up camp in the dark at 00:00-01:00 then just gaze at stars until the sleep monster comes..

I've tried reading an ebook before but within minutes I find stuff flying around my face chasing the light from the phone so tend to give up before the mothman gets me.
I do bivvy though, looking at getting a Helium or some such light weight tent so I'd imagine I'd change the routine a bit then.

[Single Speed George]

tend to just ride till im too tired to keep riding after dark anyway as quite like night riding. then normally brew up/ eate ( if i haven't already stoped somewere) sleep as much as i can ( not a verry heavy sleeper when biving ... then get up normally still dark and keep going ... im no good at comfort haha

[ootini]

I had this issue on Saturday night. I went on a little overnighter up a nearby mountain. I got to my favourite camping spot around 6, so the sun was beginning to set. Pitched up, gave the bread knife a quick bell to let her know I wasn't dead and cracked on with a brew and my dinner. After which I thought... What now? I could have become bored, but instead I went for a short walk over the other side of the summit and basically just sat there looking out over the sea to the North, Snowdonia to the West, Vale of Clwyd and Berwyns to South. It was brilliant, I basically just sat on the grass for hours looking out at the view. Next time I might take a book, I just hope I don't end up reading that and missing the view.

[whitestone]

That reminds me of a night in Scotland, not on a bikepacking trip but supporting a friend on the Charlie Ramsay Round (a 24hr fell running challenge if you haven't heard of it).

I'd got the train up to Corrour which arrived around 1500, got off and did the Trainspotting bit of going "What the ..." then headed along to Loch Eilde Mor, basically the route of the HT550 but in the opposite direction where, in the best John Buchan tradition I was to meet "Ian" with my friend's kit for the run along the Mamores. Now I'd never met Ian before With a bit of time to kill (it was now 1800 and he was due around 2300) I went for a walk up Sgurr Eilde Mor and back. It was now around 2000. I sat there for another 3 1/2hrs before they turned up, I hadn't seen anyone since leaving the station. With the provisions in hand I headed off to the point where I was to meet the contender.

After a while I got cold so went for a walk up Binnein Beag to tick another Munro off then sat waiting like a deserted gnome, getting colder until at 3:30 in the morning they appeared. By the time they got to me it was just about light and we set off on the last leg. I'd spent all night sat out in running kit plus a light jacket so was keen to get moving.

The two runners were successful and I got a shot that appears on the cover of the map for the round http://www.harveymaps.co.uk/acatalog/Ch ... HFRCR.html

[FLV]

Had a wee ride out very recently and ended up on the edge of a farmers field in the Midlands. Just didn't fancy the digs as normal.

No veiw. No big ride to reflect on, no route to plan tomorrow.

I just read for 20, then put an audio book on and breathed the fresh air of a free night under the stars

[ScotRoutes]

17 posts and no one has mention having a shuffle yet?

LOLs at the swear filter!

[danielgroves]

I don't leave without my book, headphones, and iPod. That right there, mixed with my Cranberry and Blood Orange tea, is all I need.

[godivatrailrider]

17 posts and no one has mention having a shuffle yet?

LOLs at the swear filter!

It's the midges .....

[Mart]

I have an app on my phone for identifying stars
Works great on a clear night