Deciding on a camp spot

[thedude]

Hello all,

How do you all go about deciding where to stop for the night,? still new to the this really and wondering if i'm just paranoid about being disturbed by angry land owners and doggers in the middle of the night.

-A spot away from civiliasation
-off a main track
-wait till its dark / up before its light
-do you need to be hidden?

how does everyone go about it?

[Bearbonesnorm]

Varies trip to trip and night to night. You're certainly on the right lines when you say;

A spot away from civiliasation
-off a main track
-wait till its dark / up before its light

Away from civiliasation can be difficult, so aim for 'out of direct view of a property' and you won't go far wrong - although try and limit the use of lights as they can obviously be seen for miles and in quiet areas, alert attention pretty quickly as seeing them on the hillside / in the woods is so unusual.

Other times the best spot is in full view ... pub beer garden, village green, etc. Obviously you need to ask but it's surprising how many folk happily agree.

Only using a bivvy bag and maybe small tarp rather than a tent can make a big difference too.

One last thing - you'll look like a nutter, so people will often give you a wide berth rather than confront you

[In Reverse]

Some dense bushes so I can enjoy my morning dump in peace.

[Bearbonesnorm]

Ooh the joy and satisfaction of a 'wild one' ... something to be savoured

[Teetosugars]

Last in first out always springs to mind..

Good thing about Google Maps etc is you can recce the area prior to going (Well, depending where, I guess) and scout out possible Bivi spots, so you kind know what to expect when you get there?

So even if its dark, you have a fair idea that you'll be out of harms way.

[ScotRoutes]

Also depends on conditions.

A bit of a breeze to keep off the midge.
A bit of shelter from a howling gale.
Near water so easy to get some for eating and drinking.
Away from water as the air around it is generally colder, especially on a still night.
Near trees as they can help break the wind.
Away from trees as they can creak when it's windy.
Somewhere not too rocky.
Somewhere not too sandy.
Somewhere not too damp.

Or sometimes I just chuck the bivvy bag down and crawl into it, hoping for the best. My most inventive location was in a doorway of the Glenshee ski centre. Theyve been built to take account of blown snow and are really well sheltered.

[RIP]

"best spot is in full view" - agree muchly. Surprisingly, "hidden in plain sight" can work really well sometimes; the bare-faced, sorry bear-faced, cheek can be a real ice-breaker (obv after the initial quick check with "a local") and I've found that most people are fascinated.

Pandas are good at it so that's all we need to know:

[Mariner]

Or sometimes I just chuck the bivvy bag down and crawl into it, hoping for the best.

^Always plan A .^

Close to civilisation my rule of thumb is can I see any lights – street, traffic or house? No then this will do.
Use head torch in red mode to set up as less light to carry.
Did this last year above Winchester at the start of the SDW. No sooner pitched up than spotted a very bright light heading my way. Landing lights, helicopter search light, farmer out lamping? No just a couple of mountain bikes with Exposure lights on full. ‘Evening’.
Woke up to two hounds about two feet away staring at me then a jogger passed by and called them on. ‘Morning’.
Sometimes you just can’t find remote.

[benp1]

My last 2 bivis have been inside the M25

August was in view of the M25, although relatively quiet and in a farmers field

September was the other side of a hedge from a farmers field, in a bit of green 'open space' as we call it. Was in view of houses if they'd looked very very closely. 10 min after I packed up and was enjoying my (still hot!) thermos of coffee a dog walker came through. It was still light enough at night to set up without needing a head torch, though I had an e+lite for red LED use. Bike lights had been turned off as I rolled into the place I thought I might be bivvying

Horrendous morning dew in both cases!

[metalheart]

My last two spots have been a sheep pen (trying to get some sheltered from the Atlantic winds) and a wee cove/beach (trying to get some shelter from the Atlantic winds...).

Neither were particularly successful (erected in the dark, taken down, hurridly, in the dark). Did I mention the winds at all? Also, the one in the wee cove, I wasn't sure how far up the tide would come (~10m as it turned out ). Necessity though. Both times I was too knackered to even eat...

But main points are spots that are relatively flat and dry. Preferrably with a light breeze. Living in the North, its not too hard to find somewhere a little ways from civilisation, sometimes it feels like a longs from civilisation!

A nearby source of (drinking) water is always nice.

[frogatthefarriers]

Ooh the joy and satisfaction of a 'wild one' ... something to be savoured

And a good handful of that lovely soft cool moss for after

[fatbikephil]

My approach:-
1. Find a likely spot
2. Talk yourself out of it due to a variety of spurious factors
3. Ride on getting more and more desparate as it gets dark / you get knackered
4. ID several other likely candidates but discount them due to a variety of spurious factors
5. Realise the first place was in fact ideal but you can't be arsed going back so throw Tent / bivi up where you are.
6. Wake up early and depart sharpish as you've camped in someones back garden / a building site / sewage works / farm yard.

[RIP]

. That's a perfectly distilled description right there HT!

[jameso]

My approach:-
1. Find a likely spot
2. Talk yourself out of it due to a variety of spurious factors
3. Ride on getting more and more desparate as it gets dark / you get knackered
4. ID several other likely candidates but discount them due to a variety of spurious factors
5. Realise the first place was in fact ideal but you can't be arsed going back so throw Tent / bivi up where you are.
6. Wake up early and depart sharpish as you've camped in someones back garden / a building site / sewage works / farm yard.

7. Ride 200 yards to a mile max the next morning before seeing a perfect spot

One bivi rule I tend to stick to - never ride past a decent enough spot when it's dark.

I'm not too fussy if I'm tired and have had enough for the day, I like a good view in the morning so will spend time getting a summer evening spot right but have used some fairly ropey 'urban bivi' spots also during longer faster rides. Audax hotels. Generally I try to be out of sight of roads, buildings and aim for places that have natural cover, tree-lined field edges or within hollows on hillsides ideally. Rarely get disturbed but have been woken up by landowner/farmers a couple of times (eh Reg!) - never any bother though. No litter and no fires means no hassle ime.

[ctznsmith]

The number of times that 7 happens!

[Mariner]

One bivi rule I tend to stick to - never ride past a decent enough spot when it's dark.

All bivvi spots look great in the dark its only in the cold light of day you wonder why you chose it.

[pistonbroke]

Can I add tip number 8?
Don't set off on a trip across one of the driest countries in Europe and proceed to set up a tarp on top of a sprinkler that goes off at 7 in the morning. Can't remember exactly who of the Spanish C2C group did this but it was very funny at the time.

[In Reverse]

That was me, and it wasn't funny from where I was sat (laid).