Heading off for Feb BAM this morning, over Long Mynd and Stiperstones for bivvy in Bishops castle, then Kerry ridgeway round to Clun on Tues. Looks a bit windy out there!

then Kerry ridgeway

Ooh that should provide a good headwind

Have a good one. Still breezy. Only spot I could see at BC when there in Dec was couple miles up road, or the hill a few miles south, so interested see where you pitch up. Or there's under the verandah in the Tuns car park!

Only spot I could see at BC when there in Dec was couple miles up road, or the hill a few miles south,

You're forgetting Al's barn Reg

Good point, although I didn't want to presume that it was "available to anyone" as per The Rules rather than just "selected customers" . Although what with Al being a gentleman it probably is .

I hope everyone had a great weekend, managed to get out on Friday before the worst of the weather came in so I am now 2/12 and looking good. The plan was to head up to a local area / Iron age fort, it had been nearly a year since my last visit here and what should have been an easy route to the top of the hill and a nice clearing to bed down on turned into a bit of a hike a bike, there was no chance of us reaching the clearing, the rain was getting heavy and there was lots of fallen timber to climb over so we bedding down on the flattest bit of hill we could find. We brewed up then got our heads down for a fairly good nights sleep despite sliding down the hill every time I moved.

IMG_20200207_222332 by Simon Kirk, on Flickr

IMG_20200208_074329 by Simon Kirk, on Flickr

IMG_20200208_092209 by Simon Kirk, on Flickr

The morning was quite nice, very mild, the spot was quite sheltered so it was an age before the sun cleared the ridge, we rolled back into town before stopping at Morrisons for a vegan breakfast and a pot of tea.
Fingers crossed there will be a second this month.

Neither Joe or I managed jan btw. Feb isn't looking great either tbh.

Borderer wrote: ↑Thu Feb 13, 2020 10:37 pm Neither Joe or I managed jan btw. Feb isn't looking great either tbh.

Start in March and push through to next March??

htrider wrote: ↑Fri Feb 14, 2020 7:51 pm

Borderer wrote: ↑Thu Feb 13, 2020 10:37 pm Neither Joe or I managed jan btw. Feb isn't looking great either tbh.

Start in March and push through to next March??

Yes, hoping we can do that. Cheers for the encouragement.

Borderer wrote: ↑Thu Feb 13, 2020 10:37 pm Neither Joe or I managed jan btw. Feb isn't looking great either tbh.

I'm afraid Fraser and I fell at the 1st hurdle too. A mixture of me hurting my back and loads of other activities going on too.

Believe it or not, I’ve never completed this. However, after very sporadic Bivvy activities the past few years, I’ve ticked Jan and Feb so far;

Jan: some birch woodland in Glen Avon, just south of Tomintoul
Feb: 2x laavu’s on the Rovaniemi 300.

As is typical for me, no photos as I typically arrive well after sunset and leave early while still dark.

See if I can keep it up for the rest of the year!

Borderer wrote: ↑Wed Feb 19, 2020 12:41 pm Yes, hoping we can do that. Cheers for the encouragement.

Ian wrote: ↑Wed Feb 19, 2020 6:37 pm Feb: 2x laavu’s on the Rovaniemi 300.

Riding the winds of change.

The climate is changing at an alarming rate. Extreme weather is less rare. We should be doing everything in our power to slow this change, but we are not. Seeing as this is the bed we have made for ourselves, we are going to have to sleep in it. That is exactly what I decided to do when I set out last weekend to ride through Storm Dennis across Wales, to Anglesey. I was there to harness this epic storm, rather than fight a losing battle to block it out.

Talking to people, they think I was mad for going out in those conditions, but I say they are mad not to! The weather truly made this ride what it was. Each direction offered a completely different experience. The tailwind, which I had most of the journey, pushed me on with awe inspiring might. In the headwinds I was reduced to a ridiculous game of grandmother's footsteps, it was virtually impossible to move in the gusts, so I tucked myself in and held my balance, then, the moment i felt it subside, I would jump up on the pends and dash forward as far as I could. In the crosswind I felt like a discarded crisp packet being tossed around like a rag doll, until I learnt how to tame it. I would deliberately slalom, initially taking a rush of the wind behind me, then cutting back into it so that I could much better regulate the tossing across the road.

Probably the best moment, and up there with my best ever came early Saturday morning. I had woken up cold from an hours kip in the doorway to a church, decided that was that, and got back on my bike. In silent darkness I climbed Gospel pass, as I arched towards the crest, the streetlights of Hay-on-Wye made the faintest outline of the summit. I was on top of my world. The juxtaposition to earlier, the cocktail of adrenaline and endorphins, the weightlessness of the flowing descent, the rain piercing my fast moving face, the wind gushing through my nervous system, this is what it feels like to be truly alive.

Using a bike for transport is integral to who I am. This trip “proves” that it is the most economical way to get from Stroud to Anglesey as well as the best. Here is a complete breakdown of my fuel costs.£1.25 on eight croissants, £3.27 on eight potatoes to bake and six apples, £4.75 on a significant sized mixture of oats, raisins, apricots, and nuts, £1.75 on a jar of peanut butter, £9 on the best veggie breakfast and tastiest apple and cinnamon cake off my life at the Maltings Cafe in Clun, I hope to become a regular here, another £7 on sausage sandwich and a cuppa, then £2.75 on an entire bara brith which by my calculations is £29.87, less than the £47.80 for my last minute train ticket home.

For once this was a euphoric finale, or very close to the end at any rate. I turned a corner and the sea hit me, literally. I had reached my destination and it was waving with gale force. Sunday had been rain free from 9am until I got to the mighty Caernarfon Castle and Denis fired his cannons. I was welcomed with the power I had been searching for, and realised it had always been with me.

Point of view is so influential in how we judge our lives. I can tell I am in an excellent place mentally because of how positively I look upon the events that happened. Setting out in a storm I had expected unrelenting heavy rain, so when it was unrelenting drizzled that was good. There was still some proper rain, but this came in familiar mid Wales, and gave the atmosphere a completely different dynamic. The trees came to life in the screaming wind and the water physically connected me to the ferocious environment. The cake tasted even better for the rest of the functional food I consumed. Me sleeping out and enjoying it is completely different to a homeless person who has no choice. Being in control of my situation allowed me to take this approach.

There is another reason why I felt compelled to get out last weekend. I was rebelling against February 14th. Also known as Valentine’s day, this obsession our society has with sexual, romantic relationships being the pinnacle makes me feel like an outsider, and presses me to do more outlandish things. I have only really discussed this with the people it may directly affect, until the reflection of this ride gave me clarity, and a will to shout about how the outside is a valid place to be. I am Asexual. I do not feel sexual attraction to anyone. Homosexual people feel sexual attraction to people to the same gender, but not other genders. Bisexual people feel sexual attraction to all genders. That is just how it is. I do, however, feel romantic attraction, which some ace people don’t, and that is valid, but the way the world works the risks outweigh the rewards for me in that scene.

It took me a really long time to figure out this absence of feeling, and that I was not being cold, or unnatural. I didn’t know it existed until I decided things were not quite right and started researching. I did not know that people like me existed. This is because Asexuality is not talked about, and why I realise I must. The A from LGBTQIA+ is for Asexual and is often part that is cropped, which adds to this negative invisibility. This ride made me realise that however scary and invalidating it may be for me to talk about it, scary things are sometimes necessary, and they are rarely as scary as being scared of them was.

I will take this opportunity to explain some of the other forgotten letters, and their importance to people. Q is for queer, or sometimes questioning. Queer used to be a nasty word, and should still not be said in a nasty way, but this word has been reclaimed by the community as a blanket term for anyone who does not identify as heterosexual cisgendered. I love this type of reaction to adversity by taking ownership of it. Questioning also covers a wide range of people who are still unsure of their sexuality or gender. This is absolutely valid. It is very hard to know. Especially when this isn’t talked about, people may not have the language to express themselves, just know they are not. We do not get to choose our sexuality, just like we do not get to choose our gender, or our eye colour, but if we say we feel one way, then later feel a different way, we were not lying before. That is just understanding ourselves better. I is for intersex, this is people who are born with a combination of male and female genetics, be that genitals, chromosomes, or another part of our human classification system for gender. Then my A for Asexual, which I have already discussed, and finally the + which covers all other orientations and people who know they do not conform but do not subscribe to being classified. People are different. This is a fantastic thing. Embracing these differences make us all richer, if we can just take a moment to do it nicely.

Nobody has been mean to me because of my sexuality, I have never wished to be different, but there are small things other people could do at no cost to them that would take away almost all of the negative aspects of being ace. Accepting people are different is massive. Complaining about lack of representation in the media, as is true for pretty much every minority ever, once you see it you cannot unsee it. Be tactful in your questions, feeling invisible then having to justify your existence is messy. Don’t say “oh you will grow out of it” “You just haven’t found the right person yet”, even in the edge cases this may be true, you are completely invalidating that person with those comments. Just be nice.

I am OK. I back myself. Life is an adventure and scary things are part of that.

. What an interesting family we have here .

RIP wrote: ↑Fri Feb 21, 2020 8:50 pm . What an interesting family we have here .

Indeed. And isn't it fantastic the clarity of mind a good bike ride and a couple of nights bivvying can induce.

BTW, personally, I don't give a damn about anyone's sexuality or how they identify; that does not mean that they cannot express themselves though, especially if it puts them in a better place mentally. It's not that I don't care, just that it's really none of my business unless they make it my business.
I always wonder when a 'celebrity' comes out, why is it even news?

Who knew Bivvy a Month could be so diverse; keep up with that Cycling UK !

Super piece of thinking and writing Ben. Thank you.

BTW, that frame you sent last year is in very regular use. My girlfriend (god I hate that expression ... Im fucking nearly 55 and she's not far off that.) It was brilliant to put it into service. Thanks again.

Much love for this family.

psling wrote: ↑Fri Feb 21, 2020 9:20 pm BTW, personally, I don't give a damn about anyone's sexuality or how they identify; that does not mean that they cannot express themselves though, especially if it puts them in a better place mentally. It's not that I don't care, just that it's really none of my business unless they make it my business.
I always wonder when a 'celebrity' comes out, why is it even news?

I totally agree with the irrelevance of telling irrelevant people and have objected to coming out for a while because of this, but I think it is important in the current state. While society assumes that everyone is straight it will be necessary to come out as different. Part of who I am was constantly subdued, it is an irrelevant part most of the time, but still part of me. It is this assumption that forces the news. It is people like me not knowing that other people like me exist which is why it is relevant. Changing all of society to be more accepting is the better solition, but we can only control our own worlds and hope that they overflow into enough others.

TheBrownDog wrote: ↑Fri Feb 21, 2020 9:29 pm Super piece of thinking and writing Ben. Thank you.

BTW, that frame you sent last year is in very regular use. My girlfriend (god I hate that expression ... Im fucking nearly 55 and she's not far off that.) It was brilliant to put it into service. Thanks again.

Thanks. I'm so glad to hear that!

So, er, it's a tad breezy out here tonight. Aimed for the largest woodland I could see on the map. My ride through the more, um, educational parts of Northampton just now was entertaining and I'm hoping that I am indeed the scariest thing in the woods but I'm not betting on it .

Rezillos? Blimmin' brilliant. Front row was a bit lively.

g'night John Boy. g'night Mary Ellen. g'night Jim-Bob. Zzzzzzzzzz.

Reginald Iolanthe Perrin. Exactly 61 years old. Sitting here in a wood in Northampton. Having a brew. Listening to the birds. Except he can't hear them properly after the onslaught of Fay's screeching. What is it all about? Well one thing it's about is taking as much time as I like to have a brew, sit around, pack slowly. Solo, I'm not one of these 'pack as fast as possible and bugger off' merchants. Whilst only achieving about 10% of Ben's level of transcendence, I'm quite happy sitting here thinking about nothing but the wind in the trees. It's rather nice. Emptied brain. Which doesn't take much in my case of course.

Glad-I-Had-It-Kit this time: down balaclava again. Earplugs for the wind. Tent? Only gave me that false sense of being protected, felt cosier but wasn't really.

Is there such a thing as an 'unsuitable' BP bike? Emphatically and plainly not!

2/2, 2/12, 49/49.

Lovely writing that Ben.

Was looking to see initials RIP on the briefcase there; assuming the umbrella is in the lost-and-found at Norbiton?

What a great way to spend your birthday

Very insightful Ben. Be who you are and true to yourself because at the end of the day, we're all simply bluffing our way through no matter how good a show we put on.

I guess I'd better prove I was actually at the gig. The Members got roped in at the last-minute:



Rezillos. Jim Brady not around but I think I preferred the new bloke's playing style. Right down the front but very boring crowd, I didn't get squashed once:




Fay claimed not to have heard of Dave - just a ruse I reckon - however she did give me her playlist:




Back to the railway station. Look this way (yes you can ride Bromptons across fields if you're bonkers enough to try):



Look the other way. I like a bit of post-industrial gloom of a morning:



As usual I'm now struggling to adjust back to unreality after a night in the woods. But maybe spare a thought for those who are doing it because they have to:

Whaaaaat! The members were supporting too???
Double

Should av cycled and just turned up late for job no.1. (Parcel sorting)mostly unimportant shi...te...like,clothes,shoes , electronics,TV channel sales guff etc. A well below minimum wage job
Job no2 starts at 9am. Another minimum wage job.
Next gig... F..k em, I will be there!!