Bivvy a month 2020.

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JoseMcTavish
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Re: Bivvy a month 2020.

Post by JoseMcTavish »

ScotRoutes wrote: Thu Mar 05, 2020 6:46 pm Panniers!! Burn the heretic!!!!
:lol:

Aaaah, remember the good old days when bikepacking was just called offroad touring? I fitted the rack in summer for camping trips with my 6 year old, but the panniers are great for an easy night out with a few luxuries, rather than my usual extreme minimalist approach.
RIP wrote: Thu Mar 05, 2020 7:12 pm A rather novel form of "under floor[hammock]" heating though.
:lol: Just spotted that comment! :lol:
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Charliecres
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Re: Bivvy a month 2020.

Post by Charliecres »

Right, I’m joining in, with a March start, having been off the bike earlier this year due to a hernia op and knackered elbow.

Joined my mate Toby on a jaunt out to a local scout camp spot. Not surprisingly, there were no scouts or open facilities at this time of year but there is a big concrete fire bowl, so we were able to while away a guilt-free hour or two post-pub, feeding damp twigs into the flames while we ate noodles and talked nonsense.

We both got a good night’s sleep despite a nearby party and an incredibly bright moon, then home via an excellent veggie breakfast at the Plucky Pheasant at Newlands Corner.

I was expecting sloppy trails but the north downs tracks really are horrendous at the moment, so everything got caked in clag. Yuk.

Roll on April.

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ericrobo
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Re: Bivvy a month 2020.

Post by ericrobo »

Ventured out yesterday afternoon at about 4pm, having aborted Monday because of the weather ~X( ~X( ~X(

It didn't rain.... :-H was I dreaming, but boy was it windy, and going uphill against it was grim.. grim... very grim...
and trying to get to my spot before dark at about 6:30pm

I got there at 6pm, (nearly 12 miles and about 1900 feet) having reccied this spot on a walk. A lovely spot and out of the wind... mostly... apart from some very powerful gusts.

Now came the problem: very difficult to get the pegs in =)) - rocks and stones everywhere, but I managed it, of a sort...

Got settled in, and ate my freeze dried meal, then organised my sleep. Some very solid rain pounding away, a hint of sheet lighting, but everything felt stable...
Until at midnight, so out I went and tightened everything.... lucky because it wasn't raining.
As I got back in, the heavens opened big time.... glad I was in..

Temperature was between 6 and 7 degrees, but got colder as the night wore on, dropping to 1 degree by 5pm.
At daylight I could see that it had snowed a bit..

Made a brew then packed up, and set off in bright sunshine :-bd heading for the BG cafe. Great riding but hands and feet very cold until I got there after one and a half hours.

One of my mates was in there (a meeting of Lancashire Road Club).

Then up and over the hill again, still the sun was out, and home for 2:30pm
31.5 miles, and over 3900 feet

(My Lakeland foray will have to wait, need more light and better weather)

ImageIMG_3088 by Eric Robinson, on Flickr

ImageIMG_3083 by Eric Robinson, on Flickr

ImageIMG_3082 by Eric Robinson, on Flickr

ImageIMG_3081 by Eric Robinson, on Flickr
Lazarus
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Re: Bivvy a month 2020.

Post by Lazarus »

Leadmines?

Wind and hail kept me awake in the house so kudos to you
ericrobo
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Re: Bivvy a month 2020.

Post by ericrobo »

Step Back...

The track from Vaughan’s cafe towards Darwen Tower, then go right. It’s a really great little climb going up and whizzo going down.

Great spot but difficult to get the pegs in, and with the wind they worked loose by midnight, so had to adjust everything.
Lazarus
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Re: Bivvy a month 2020.

Post by Lazarus »

Ta i like to play the guess where eric kipped game when you do it locally- I shall endeavour to learn t put picson here and you can join in as well.
I know where you mean now and though the river looked to big for Leadmines but could not think of clear path by a river

Wrong side for me and I usally go up the path whose name I forget - I dont really but its a FP so I am not declaring it :wink:
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BigdummySteve
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Re: Bivvy a month 2020.

Post by BigdummySteve »

3/12 39 in a row :-bd

Somehow it seems like a lot longer than two weeks since the the Dartmoor episode. Perhaps I’m subconsciously trying to block the memory :lol:
Since I’m temporarily shelterless I thought I’d sample the delights of Wales’s bothys.
Thankfully I finished work in London (not full of dribbling zombies, yet) early and called in at BB towers to pickup a bag. I’d planned to stay at a dirt cheap B&B on the Friday expecting to arrive very late, but I felt like a traitor so ended up at the star, felt very odd being there on my own.
Saturday dawned wet, it’s the new normal.
Having not made much of a plan I drove over to Llanidloes raiding the Spar for calories, left the van near the cafe and toddled off towards Llangurig then stated climbing up towards Nant Rhys,
The forestry people had been busy
Image

I stopped for a brew at the bothy which is in a stunning location but carried on, a group of lads from up north had taken residence with some hefty quantities of beer so a quiet nigh didn’t look likely.

As I climbed further up towards the wind farm the weather deteriorated further, the tops of the scything turbines lost in the mist and rain. Before long I was enjoying the downhill run to Nant Syddion, despite being just before five I decided to stop and have a early night. There were a couple of girls from Mach in one downstairs room then later a
Group of four blokes from South Wales who came fully equipped with gourmet food and booze.
I had a pot noodle.
Image

Up and away early I had an enjoyable blast back along the A44 and straight into the cafe :-bd

Last months BAM was soundtracked by Led Zeppelin, The immigrant song/ When the levee breaks

This month by Joy Division-Isolation

But if you could just see the beauty,
These things I could never describe,
These pleasures a wayward distraction,
This is my one lucky prize.
Isolation, isolation, isolation, isolation, isolation.

I think we deserve the spring now.
Last edited by BigdummySteve on Sun Mar 15, 2020 11:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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RIP
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Re: Bivvy a month 2020.

Post by RIP »

Nice one HOT. Amazes me there's so many others milling around bothies midweek in March.
"My God, Ponsonby, I'm two-thirds of the way to the grave and what have I done?" - RIP

The sign outside the asylum is the wrong way round.....

"At least you got some stories" - James Acaster
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BigdummySteve
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Re: Bivvy a month 2020.

Post by BigdummySteve »

Yes, the sad thing is that it appears that the bothy is the point rather than just being part of a trip. All the people I met had driven as close to the bothy as possible.
We’re all individuals, except me.

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Bearbonesnorm
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Re: Bivvy a month 2020.

Post by Bearbonesnorm »

Yes, the sad thing is that it appears that the bothy is the point rather than just being part of a trip. All the people I met had driven as close to the bothy as possible.
I find it sad too Steve. For many, the journey now seems to be a mere inconvenience.
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Cyclepeasant
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Re: Bivvy a month 2020.

Post by Cyclepeasant »

Bearbonesnorm wrote: Mon Mar 16, 2020 9:43 am
Yes, the sad thing is that it appears that the bothy is the point rather than just being part of a trip. All the people I met had driven as close to the bothy as possible.
I find it sad too Steve. For many, the journey now seems to be a mere inconvenience.
Agree with you both.
Generally find everyone just wants to reach the destination asap.
Even getting slightly lost causes extreme grief for the majority.
We should embrace our journeys, getting lost is part of the experience,that's how we discover new stuff,routes, people etc.
There truly is a positive out any negative! :-bd
Insanity over vanity
ScotRoutes
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Re: Bivvy a month 2020.

Post by ScotRoutes »

During the cold, dark winter months, bivvying/camping out is the major part of the experience for me. The journey is sometimes almost an inconvenience.

Summer can be a bit different. Bivvying out then facilitates the accomplishment of longer journeys.
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Bearbonesnorm
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Re: Bivvy a month 2020.

Post by Bearbonesnorm »

During the cold, dark winter months, bivvying/camping out is the major part of the experience for me. The journey is sometimes almost an inconvenience.
I'm sure we've all had those times Colin :wink: but I'm also fairly sure that most of us wouldn't like to find ourselves magically transported to our destination either. It's as though we know that the journey is an inherent part of the experience?

It seems quite common to read requests from people asking for information on the nearest possible parking spot to location X or somewhere they can simply park up and camp directly next to their car. I'm not saying those requests are 'wrong' as such but certainly sad as people are actually missing out and maybe even devaluing the experience for themselves?
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ScotRoutes
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Re: Bivvy a month 2020.

Post by ScotRoutes »

Anyone else planning on a night out very soon? Just thinking ahead to any potential lock-down and that a cheeky midweek bivvy needs to be on the cards.
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RIP
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Re: Bivvy a month 2020.

Post by RIP »

Hoping to get over to Bonesland later this week. Maybe after that we'll all be kipping in each others back gardens...
"My God, Ponsonby, I'm two-thirds of the way to the grave and what have I done?" - RIP

The sign outside the asylum is the wrong way round.....

"At least you got some stories" - James Acaster
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Bearlegged
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Re: Bivvy a month 2020.

Post by Bearlegged »

Should the BAM Oversight Committee* be considering measures to help those who can't bivvy due to Covid-19? Maybe a system of Universal Bivvy Credits for those affected by travel restrictions or self-quarantine?

*Largely self-policing, no one seems to be too draconian, ooh look at those pandas!
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RIP
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Re: Bivvy a month 2020.

Post by RIP »

Mmm.. moratorium perhaps, then pick up later on. There's always somewhere to kip nearby though, unless you're actually confined to barracks. In that case maybe there's special dispensation for "own back garden"?
"My God, Ponsonby, I'm two-thirds of the way to the grave and what have I done?" - RIP

The sign outside the asylum is the wrong way round.....

"At least you got some stories" - James Acaster
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Boab
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Re: Bivvy a month 2020.

Post by Boab »

Headed out late Saturday night, destination MOTHER... at Wicken Fen. Had to stop half way there and remove the small crud catcher from the front forks as it was rubbing on the tyre. As I left late, I got there late and didn't bed down until 01:00 ish.

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Draughty...

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Headed off to the visitor centre and the facilities at around 07:00 after a disrupted nights sleep, will be creating a new thread to cover that one. After filling up water bottles etc, I headed off, then got confused about where I was and why the GPS was telling me to go down a footpath. Reality returned when I hit the next village on the main road, where I had to stop and "fix" my handle bar harness. Mounting it on the tri-bars, in normal orientation, didn't lift it enough to increase the gap and it was buzzing off the tyre every time I hit a bump, which was ridiculously annoying. So I mounted it along the extensions, which worked really well. I shall be doing this in future, but in such a way that the feed bag will sit in-between the extensions, rather to one side.

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The byways I was following to start with were horrendous. Piles of building rubble and asbestos (reported to council), burnt out cars (reported to council) and fallen trees (reported to council), were the least of my worries. Un-rideable side to side ankle deep slop, and lined with dog rose, bramble and every bush known to man whose name ends with -thorn. I may has uttered a few choice words. I nearly turned round and went home at this point.

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Glad I didn't, as no sooner was the slop over, than I was treated to some utterly fantastic, arrow straight, hard pack gravel and double track alongside the Hundred Foot Drain. The sun was out, the howling gale was at my back, I had a huge grin on my face and just wanted it to go on and on.

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Obviously it didn't, so I stopped at WTT Welney for coffee and cake, nice cake it was too. Once at the Denver Sluice Complex, the plan was for a bit of tarmac, then some bridleways to take me all the to Brandon. In reality, it was a navigation nightmare, with zero signage for any of the bridleways, including one that just didn't appear to exist on the ground at all. Another I had to cycle though what looked like someone's garden, before it ended in a wall of undergrowth, where I had to walk part way round a field, then through a hedge to find what I was supposed to be on. The bridleways were all thrutchity grass affairs as well, really hard going on 700c wheels. So my average speed died a death as I bounced around and fought to keep the bike pointing in the right direction over all the hidden holes and ruts.

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I ended up bailing on the bridleways, as the maps were telling me to go through someone house, instead I clambered over a road block and cycled down NCR 30, which looked like it had been involved in an earthquake. The weather was starting to close in, with the occasional rain shower, so I stopped at the BP garage in Brandon for a quick pick me up, then carried on into the Country Park, where I picked up the Blue Poachers Trail.

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Soon enough I was heading South, out of the tree cover and into the heath land, heading for the Icknield Way Trail and the way home. The skies opened and the rain fell, the under wheel conditions deteriorated and I was battling into the wind, starting to get cold and tired. It was a shame, as some of riding was amazing, and I'm really looking forward to going back and doing some of it again when it's dry.

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It was nearly four o'clock as I swung into the Pheonix Cycleworks car park, hoping for a last gasp coffee to warm me up, but the shutters were down. So I wrung out my sodden gloves, ate a Cliff bar, dark some water and headed off for the last ~30 km. I skipped the last few sectors of bridleways, mostly as I know how bad they are when wet and it was now very wet, but also due to my drive chain and brakes making all sorts of nasty grinding noises. When I finally arrived home, the bike was thrown in the shed, my clothes deposited in a pile next to the washing machine and I headed straight for a long hot shower to warm up.

I learned a lot from this outing, which I'll go into a bit more detail in a blog post later in the week. I had a bit of everything on this ride, horrific lows, ecstatic highs, and everything in between. While it would've been nice to have had sun and light winds for the last 60 km, it was a good test of all the kit in some, at times, pretty bad conditions.

Fun breakdown: 50% type 1, 40% type 2, 10% type 3.
Strava: Distance: 208.47km; Moving time: 10:31:27; Elevation: 709m, plus more photos.
2020 BaM: 3/3
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fatbikephil
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Re: Bivvy a month 2020.

Post by fatbikephil »

:-bd
Good bivvy spot that. Re the lockdown / self isolating thing, I'm planing my March bivvy as a total isolation, not speaking to anyone, not meeting anyone, not going into shops /pubs type of thing. Thinking about it, most of my bams are like that.....
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BigdummySteve
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Re: Bivvy a month 2020.

Post by BigdummySteve »

htrider wrote: Mon Mar 16, 2020 9:16 pm :-bd
Good bivvy spot that.
I saw it in the BBC news site and thought the same, re: potential lockdown I think the government are saying if it happens then you will be allowed exercise as long as there’s no social contact, I’ll be ok then. Oh bugger! No pub! :o
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RIP
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Re: Bivvy a month 2020.

Post by RIP »

Maybe you win the prize for the last "proper" BaM then H.O.T?. Looks like my Golden Jubilee BaM has been nobbled (for now), so local woods instead it is then. Interesting to see how it pans out next, best wishes to all with their family/mates/work/biking.
"My God, Ponsonby, I'm two-thirds of the way to the grave and what have I done?" - RIP

The sign outside the asylum is the wrong way round.....

"At least you got some stories" - James Acaster
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fatbikephil
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Re: Bivvy a month 2020.

Post by fatbikephil »

BigdummySteve wrote: Mon Mar 16, 2020 9:35 pm Oh bugger! No pub! :o
A half liter nalgene bottle will accept a bottle of ale, won't affect its taste and seems to withstand the resulting pressure build up. Carrying 2 is not a hindrance to progress :-bd Thereafter I resort to spirits
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BigdummySteve
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Re: Bivvy a month 2020.

Post by BigdummySteve »

RIP wrote: Mon Mar 16, 2020 10:44 pm Maybe you win the prize for the last "proper" BaM then H.O.T?. Looks like my Golden Jubilee BaM has been nobbled (for now), so local woods instead it is then. Interesting to see how it pans out next, best wishes to all with their family/mates/work/biking.
I may have much time to spare soon, our clients were looking at 80% cancellations even before borris told everyone not to go out.
We’re all individuals, except me.

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benconnolli
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Re: Bivvy a month 2020.

Post by benconnolli »

RIP wrote: Mon Mar 16, 2020 10:44 pm Looks like my Golden Jubilee BaM has been nobbled (for now)
May have to be a garden Jubilee instead. :lol:
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BigdummySteve
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Re: Bivvy a month 2020.

Post by BigdummySteve »

benconnolli wrote: Tue Mar 17, 2020 12:43 am
RIP wrote: Mon Mar 16, 2020 10:44 pm Looks like my Golden Jubilee BaM has been nobbled (for now)
May have to be a garden Jubilee instead. :lol:
I believe the elderly are being allowed out for exercise :-bd
We’re all individuals, except me.

I woke up this morning but I’m still in the dark
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