Bivvy a month 2014 thread.

Blackhound · Post by **Blackhound** » Tue Aug 05, 2014 6:41 pm

Summittoppler; nice video and scenery, a bit less sweary than others I have seen recently;-)

Do you like the Virb? I have been thinking of getting one for a while now and keep wavering.

summittoppler · Post by **summittoppler** » Tue Aug 05, 2014 6:57 pm

Blackhound wrote:Summittoppler; nice video and scenery, a bit less sweary than others I have seen recently;-)

Do you like the Virb? I have been thinking of getting one for a while now and keep wavering.

Cheers
Its the Virb Elite and imo it gives better quality footage compared to the Hero 2. It seems to handle the quick movement when its attached to the bike, its got a great super slow mo (120 fps) and is a tad better at low light than the Hero 2 as well. The only drawback is that you cannot alter the screen angle, as its permanently set in widescreen. It also uses the battery pretty quick so spare batteries are a must.
You can see the super slow mo in action on my Florida video at 2:30

Blackhound · Post by **Blackhound** » Wed Aug 06, 2014 6:26 pm

Thanks summittoppler.

Pickers · Post by **Pickers** » Thu Aug 07, 2014 11:28 am

This is a trip I did in May just before the HTR550, it's taken a while to get round to sorting out the pics and getting some notes down. It’s closer to lightish touring than proper bikepacking, but for 2 weeks I wanted a bit more comfort.

The train from Stratford upon Avon wasn't until 11:30 so a decent lie in was in order to start the day. The time dictated by a spectacularly cheap fare, I wasn't going to complain.
As I got near to Aviemore I spied a pair of lads with bikes and tents pitched on the riverbank - I smiled to myself, knowing that I'd be doing likewise during the next few nights.
An early start after a very full breakfast saw me heading out over the Kessock Bridge, aiming to follow NCN route 1 to start with towards Cromarty. I was hoping the ferry would be running but it was a little early yet.

P1030103 by pickers48, on Flickr

Heading North I was aiming for the estate road to Ullapool

P1030116 by pickers48, on Flickr

And a nice spot for a pitch

P1030125 by pickers48, on Flickr

The following day saw me back onto tarmac at Oykel Bridge towards Lairg so that I could carry on towards Durness via a bit more of the HTR550 route

P1030160 by pickers48, on Flickr

P1030177 by pickers48, on Flickr

And a nice spot with an ocean view

P1030185 by pickers48, on Flickr

After a wet start, the skies cleared at Cape Wrath

P1030227 by pickers48, on Flickr

Working my down the West coast past Kylesku

P1030284 by pickers48, on Flickr

P1030294 by pickers48, on Flickr

The weather broke between Garve and Skye, I was dry-ish inside my goretex jacket but by the end of the day (and 5 days camping without a shower) I headed for a B&B on Skye equipped with both showers and tumble driers!
I’ve seen most of Skye so I headed South from Broadford to pick up the ferry back to the mainland at Mallaig.
After another day of proper Scottish weather (it pi—ed it down), I was getting towards the Ardnamurchan peninsular, another good spot for a pitch

P1030361 by pickers48, on Flickr

And for breakfast the morning after

P1030365 by pickers48, on Flickr

I rode across to the lighthouse at Ardnamurchan, then back to Kilchoan and the ferry to Tobermory. Mull is just a fantastic place, even in late May the Bluebells were still out

P1030413 by pickers48, on Flickr

And another good spot for a pitch

P1030420 by pickers48, on Flickr

And (not very early…) the next morning

P1030417 by pickers48, on Flickr

2nd night on Mull, another pleasant spot

P1030448 by pickers48, on Flickr

Onto the ferry back to Oban, there was a visitor in the bay..

P1030450 by pickers48, on Flickr

At the ferry terminal I got talking to another tourer. His name was Matt, he’d been working in Ullapool and had decided to cycle home to see his folks. In Capetown, South Africa! We were booked on the same ferry to Islay, and once off the ferry we cycled across the island looking for a spot to camp

P1030494 by pickers48, on Flickr

I needed to carry on as I was booked on a train from Ardrossan in a couple of days time. We both cycled back and caught the ferry to Kintyre, which sported this sculpture made from old cassette sprockets

P1030508 by pickers48, on Flickr

We were hoping for another decent night weatherwise. Scotland did not oblige this time; it was pi—ing down again when we rode ashore onto Kintyre. Over the hill to Claonaig neither of us fancied pitching tents and getting even more soaked.
We headed for the ferry “terminal” to wait for the last ferry to Arran. And stayed there! A sort of transparent bothy!

P1030511 by pickers48, on Flickr

The next morning dawned with blue skies and sunshine. We caught the 1st ferry to Arran

P1030519 by pickers48, on Flickr

I had a train to catch so carried on to Brodick and home.

13 days, 575 miles, 3 B&Bs, 3 campsites and 6 wild camps. Not huge or fast, but enough to keep me happy for a bit.

FLV · Post by **FLV** » Thu Aug 07, 2014 4:58 pm

very nice looking trip indeed

Richpips · Post by **Richpips** » Thu Aug 07, 2014 5:08 pm

@pickers Some lovely pictures there.

Did you get one of the island hopper tickets?

Pickers · Post by **Pickers** » Thu Aug 07, 2014 5:26 pm

@Richpips - Thanks. IIRC I had 2 sets of Island Hoppers - 1 for the 3 crossings to get me Armadale to Oban Via Ardnamurchan and Mull, the 2nd for 4 crossings from Oban to Ardrossan. Definitely worth having if you've planned a route.

Alpinum · Post by **Alpinum** » Thu Aug 07, 2014 8:34 pm

Thanks Pickers. Stunning. Looking through your photos gives reason to my frequent visits to bonnie Scotland. You got to love it.

Pickers wrote:13 days, 575 miles, 3 B&Bs, 3 campsites and 6 wild camps. Not huge or fast, but enough to keep me happy for a bit.

Sounds like a very buoyant mix

Bearbonesnorm · Post by **Bearbonesnorm** » Mon Aug 11, 2014 5:18 pm

First August trip for me, although there's a good few left to come.

This one was an intro for Andy and his 14 year old son Ryan ... welcome to Wales.

Water sports and wide open spaces ... I could have helped but I was busy 'capturing the moment'.

Private accommodation in secluded rural settings.

Friendly locals. always happy to say hello and stop for a chat.

Ian · Post by **Ian** » Mon Aug 11, 2014 5:57 pm

Private accommodation in secluded rural settings.

Good choice.

Bearbonesnorm · Post by **Bearbonesnorm** » Mon Aug 11, 2014 6:05 pm

Good choice.

Weather was against us, so really wanted to put them under a roof. It was 7.00pm and they wouldn't have made it to a bothy ... it does look different since the tree's have been felled.

composite · Post by **composite** » Wed Aug 13, 2014 12:35 pm

August 8/8

Friday night I got the train out to Caersws and went north. I found a great bivi spot looking down the valley towards Llangadfan. It was clear and didn't bother with the tarp which meant I was able to lay in my bag watching the sun set and some owls hunting in the field. Amazing really.

The next day I rode down to Stu's to meet Chew, Midge Magnet and a group of first timers that they were bringing with them. We rode out to Nant-Y-Moch and then on to Nant Syddion bothy for the night. We got soaked but spirits were high and it really didn't matter.

Next day I left them at the bothy and gave it some back to Caersws to get the 12:30 train home.

Full ride report and gallery here: http://www.composite-projects.co.uk/201 ... contrasts/

Chew · Post by **Chew** » Wed Aug 13, 2014 1:39 pm

8/8

As above. Trip out to a damp mid Wales

MidgeMagnet · Post by **MidgeMagnet** » Wed Aug 13, 2014 3:06 pm

Hmm, I have inadvertently got a "bivvy-a-month" run of 2 thanks to joining chew and composite on the Tour De Yorkshire and Nant Syddion rides. I suspect this will change once the weather gets a bit nippier, however they have been two vaguely exciting weekends.

This was a great "my first bothy", big thanks to:
* Chew for planning the ride, and providing a truly sumptuous banquet (chicken & cous cous, followed by cheese, crackers and port).
* Stu and Dee for letting us use their place as a start/return base and the much needed cups of coffee.
* Neil/composite for waiting for us! (nice write up and pics btw

)

Summary of events...

P1060604 by Jaymoid, on Flickr

P1060658 by Jaymoid, on Flickr

DSC_0026 by Jaymoid, on Flickr

DSC_0018 by Jaymoid, on Flickr

P1060620 by Jaymoid, on Flickr

More pics here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jaymoid/s ... 942137598/

Bearbonesnorm · Post by **Bearbonesnorm** » Fri Aug 15, 2014 6:47 pm

Another 3 days / 2 nights out.

Some special death march sections ... as usual

There were some wet bits ... the heavy rain transformed a usual ankle deep ford into two waist deep crossings which proved interesting.

After a proper soaking, spent the second night in the 'Scooby Doo Shack'

It was much more comfortable than outside

Chew · Post by **Chew** » Fri Aug 15, 2014 7:44 pm

s8tannorm wrote:After a proper soaking, spent the second night in the 'Scooby Doo Shack'

Were you out solving mysteries

Is this one of the new bothies or have you been finding more?

Bearbonesnorm · Post by **Bearbonesnorm** » Fri Aug 15, 2014 8:43 pm

Is this one of the new bothies or have you been finding more?

Nowt to do with me ... it was stumbled across on this years WRT. Involves either a stiff climb or a death march or if you followed me - both

Bearbonesnorm · Post by **Bearbonesnorm** » Sun Aug 17, 2014 12:54 pm

Another one ... this time with Barney. A very pleasant night in the hills, plenty of overnight rain and high winds and not a single metre of death march which I'd like to apologise for.

bicycle 3.5 V Siltarp1

Sorry ... early morning after the night before. Proof that you are the scariest thing out there.

Breakfast of champions ... homemade nutty flapjack and a brew.

barney · Post by **barney** » Mon Aug 18, 2014 8:39 pm

s8tannorm wrote:Another one ... this time with Barney. A very pleasant night in the hills, plenty of overnight rain and high winds and not a single metre of death march which I'd like to apologise for.

8/8 for me, a cracking trip with Stu, no need to apologise for the lack of hike-a-bike

Weather gods were smiling on us but as Stu said my god did it rain in the night !

shonky camera phone really doesn’t do it justice

When I said where are we going the reply was... "look as far as you can see and then its just round the corner"

Just before the heavens opened

Stu before his morning coffee and ciggie

We broke the golden rule of leave no trace, Stu wanted to keep his “kitchen” for next time

Mike · Post by **Mike** » Tue Aug 19, 2014 9:58 am

We could play a game of who can find Stu's stone stove circle now then

It also looks like a lot of tarp flapage went on stu in the back ground as in both those pics youve a different setup..... Obviously not as much flapage as me at llyn barfog though!

composite · Post by **composite** » Tue Aug 19, 2014 11:24 am

s8tannorm wrote:Another 3 days / 2 nights out.

After a proper soaking, spent the second night in the 'Scooby Doo Shack'

Did you try out the burner?

Bearbonesnorm · Post by **Bearbonesnorm** » Tue Aug 19, 2014 1:09 pm

Did you try out the burner?

No, I looked at the range and the chimney and thought I'd not bother.

Blackhound · Post by **Blackhound** » Wed Aug 20, 2014 1:29 pm

8/8

Since breaking elbow last month I had not ridden more than 2 hours and then on a carbon road bike. I decided last minute to head towards Bedford and then head to MK and North using the NCN cycle network. However the train I jumped on at Leicester did not stop at Bedford and Mkt Harborough had a short platform so I ended up in London!. I got a train North and headed for Mkt Harborough which is less distance from home so less riding. Anyway, after lunch inWelland Park I eventually got riding at 2.30 and found loads of quiet canals, lanes and little old tracks to ride along.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/oxaftD][img]http ... .jpg[/img]P8191480 by blackhound59, on Flickr[/url]

Into the evening there was no shops and I was running short of water. I saw a little campsite with plenty of units, no people, and the way in/out padlocked. All seemed odd but got bike under the barrier and headed to the tap which I noticed had a cobweb on it. I filled my bottles and saw something floating at the top - it was a spider!

I continued North on route NCN63 along the Ivanhoe Trail and ended up near Church Gresley and made camp about 9pm and nearly 6 hours in the saddle:

[url=https://flic.kr/p/oxafRT][img]http ... .jpg[/img]P8201482 by blackhound59, on Flickr[/url]

This left me with 2 hours to do this morning.

I felt fine yesterday, feeling strong into the evening but I was weary today. Hoping for almost a week away in September, probably from the borders home to Derby.

Bearbonesnorm · Post by **Bearbonesnorm** » Wed Aug 20, 2014 1:39 pm

It also looks like a lot of tarp flapage went on stu in the back ground as in both those pics youve a different setup..... Obviously not as much flapage as me at llyn barfog though!

Barney changed his pitch before retiring (just swapped head end round). My pitch (bicycle 3.5) remained the same throughout the duration and was bombproof as ever

I considering trying something less stable next time so I can try my hand at 3am streaking ... you seemed to enjoy it!

Mike · Post by **Mike** » Wed Aug 20, 2014 1:53 pm

Haha u should try it sometime...... Only when there's a stiff breeze though as ud not want the old chap eaten by an damn midges!!

Stu would u recommended the bicycle 3.5 over my siltarp 1 thinking about buying a new one and wanted an opinion first

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