Well time is Marching (ho-ho) on. I think I need to get BaM done.

Um, Stu, apologies for being a bit self-centred here, and maybe a bit insensitive in the circumstances, but have you managed to cover off my Caeconroi proxy BaM yet please? You've plenty on your plate so fully understand if not. I'll forgive not having porridge for breakfast if that wasn't possible. Even the lie-in - it's tough times.

If not, I think I've sorted out a spot quite close by and will give it a whirl tonight.

Ta, 'Reg'

Sorry Reg, BaM by proxy is still in the planning stage

Righty, obv no probs thanks, better start getting my poorshow together then . Need to try and keep some sort of civilised normality going on.

'Live BaM In Progress'... (brought to your armchair by 'BaMCaM' (c))

OK, all set. But I really do feel rather uneasy about this. Just doesn't seem right to be 'having fun' when there's a lot of people definitely having no fun at all. Well I'll just have to crack on in my usual jocular style but please note looks can be deceiving. Compliments to Shaf, Luke, Chew etc and everyone out there on the front-line. Once I'm convinced I've had the bug I need to get out there with this volunteer thing. Hated Camoron's 'big society' bollocks (otherwise known as "we're using all the money to pay bungs to our housebuilding donors so you suckers will have to take up the slack unpaid") ((surely we were told there was no such thing as BigSoc 20 years before...)) but I think this might be an exception....

Still, BaM is BaM so....

Bike all ready..... ( no bike? not a BaM then! )



After considerable thought I've chosen a spot quite nearby, with which I'm pretty familiar. It's very flat, plenty of bushes for cover as it's rather too close to a load of buildings for comfort, and has a useful pond nearby so a filter will come in handy for morning porridge/ovaltine. Let's see how we get on... 13c earlier but claims 0c overnight....

En route now and going OK so far. Nobody around. Stopped for a moment to get my bearings. Not bothered with a map - it's pretty much committed to memory this one.

The track here is in good nick considering recent wet weather. There's a lot of frogs and toads though so am having to swerve around a bit to avoid the poor things ( was reading about how they morph from tadpoles - effectively recycling their own tails to turn into legs etc. Clever things enzymes ). Snails too, and I nearly got my head ripped off by an old washing line that some idiot had strung across the track - shades of that razorwire-across-trailcentre-singletrack nastiness a while ago.



Anyway... nearly at the spot so I'll check back in later....

Lol... Reg thanks and I believe I have my answer. Kids are gonna love this BAMing stuff

Reg, have you asked the landowners permission ?

Managed to find the spot, and tarp erected quickly. Thought I'd deploy the S2S Nano Bugnet thingy as well for a laugh. Sits really well over/under the mat with the cord tightened. Nice evening out here actually, albeit somewhat chilly. My tiny maxmin thermometer says 1c but I can't see it properly so who knows.

Numbers? Heights... speeds... miles.... I don't do 'em as you know, of little interest, but in this instance I'll make an exception. As ever, no gizmos, so I'll have to do it the old-fashioned way... now where's my tape measure.... back in a sec.....

.... 35' 4". Eh??

Damn. I knew I should have brought the map after all. I'm in my own back garden. What a pathetic bit of navigation. Ah well, just have to make the best of it. Might even be brought breakfast in bed. And I do believe it's my shortest-ever BaM ride by a considerable margin so it's turning out to be a memorable 50th after all.

'Night Johnboy. 'Night Mary-Ellen. 'Night Jimbob. 'Night Mom. 'Night Pop.

Fat tyre kicker wrote: ↑Tue Mar 24, 2020 11:03 pm Reg, have you asked the landowners permission ?

Very fair question. I fully intended to but unfortunately she went to bed early with The Bug.

Talking of The Bug, I've just read the waffle on the Nanonet stuffsac (I'm worse than Stu I really am). It says 'Does Not Protect Against Viruses'. Oh.

>brightens up a bit< Luckily I've brought my Steripen which of course is an ultraviolet source. I'm saved! Just means I'll have to stay up all night waving it around my head.

PS. Even better, I seem to be typing this using the house wifi so I'm saving mobile data as well .

RIP wrote: ↑Tue Mar 24, 2020 10:11 pm... a useful pond nearby so a filter will come in handy for morning porridge/ovaltine.

No outside tap in the vicinity?

As per usual Reg, your're a trendsetter

That's epic Reg, I didn't twig at all, like a scandi crime drama, when it gets to the end and it's a complete surprise who did it

So there we go. No Barmouth or gold mines, but maybe that's the whole point. I've come full circle. "It's in the petty details not the great results....".

Good luck for everyone else in March...

3/3, 3/12, 50/50

Well done Reg and happy 50th you are absolutely right it is in the small details .

I will probably try a similar BAM tonight just moved into a new house and the garden doesn't have the kind of tree cover you were able to take advantage of , should provide a bit of entertainment for the neighbours at least .

Good work Reg

RIP wrote: ↑Tue Mar 24, 2020 10:11 pmCompliments to Shaf, Luke, Chew etc and everyone out there on the front-line.

Dont worry i'm as far away from the front line as possible

Ooh yes, lovely work Reg. Glad to see you taking proper advantage of the new rules and not letting the current situation hinder

Ta. The Nanonet certainly discouraged the slugs. It felt quite strange waking up without one perched on the end of my nose. Not sure how it would work with airborne teeth. Surely you'd trap a load in there with you unless you calculated some extremely complicated mat/bag/net moves. I'm thinking along the lines of that puzzle with three posts, a few decreasing-sized circles mounted on one of them, and having to transfer them all to another post one by one but never having a bigger circle on top of a smaller one. Bag out, net up, mat somewhere else, net onto mat, bag... etc etc.

I see Mr Sling'd is in the house - how's the van dwelling going in the circumstances Peter? "confined to home", how does that pan out?

Good work reg, thankfully my bothy trip was early March so I’m covered. April could be in my own private bothy which looks very much like a shed but from now on will be known as ‘Steve’s hut’

Ace posts Reg. Looks like you have a lot more cover in your garden than I have in mine (the houses are all too new).

March BAM done, stuff yer lockdown!

Ready to go. I knew the route was going to be tricky so took no chances


Tricky gravel / grass transition


Woodland margin


Nadgery rocky bit


Heavily vegetated death march


Found a good spot just as it got dark. Thought the shed would make a good cheeky bivvy but it was full of junk....


The pitch


Tea up!


Morning view. Bugger, I seem to have pitched up in someones back garden!

. Nice one! You did well getting through that rocky patch - an "off" there might have been a difficult self-rescue to the, er, back door!

Couple of days to go and our ranks are sadly depleted. March:

Charlie
Eric
Frog
Goat
H.O.T.
JC ( Bedroom? Hmm! ;-) )
JimmyG
KT
Phil
'Reg'
Sean
(apologies if missed anyone)
Not sure who's done Jan/Feb as well...

Still two chances peeps....