A funny little night out...

[Verena]

Not sure quite where to put this, so here goes...

I've been wanting for a while now to try and do a bit more riding at night, and I now have a general pass for a night "out" once a week from Mr Z, so the idea is there, even if not the reality quite yet...

Last night was not going to be a BAM night, no point really as that awkward night that we never want to speak about again, that starts one month and ends another... Plus, whilst Mr Z has pretty much given up trying to talk any sense into me, young Miss Z freaked out somewhat at the thought of me cycling at night (I did suggest I could just ride along the canal, as that would be ever so safe...- not mentioning recent stories from here of course...but she wouldn't have any of it. So a bit of stealth was in order. I decided to put bike in car, drive to woods, sleep in hammock, ride bike at some point either before or after getting some sleep.
Last minute realized car didn't have enough charge to get me there. Took other car, which is too small to take a bike. Never mind, I thought, be flexible, go for a run instead, almost sort of the same-ish....especially the mental aspect of getting up out of a warm sleeping bag super early and still being able to function of sorts...
It was a very densely foggy night, eerily quiet. Good job I knew my place round very well. I quickly pushed away the thought of that nearby most haunted house in Britain...
Hammock was cosy and warm, except I'd had a different sleep mat, and for some reason had thought to use a bivvy bag around the sleeping bag, so it was all a lot more difficult to get into, and a lot more slippery. First time ever, the hammock on first attempt chucked me straight out the other side as soon as I'd got in!
I got to sleep about half eleven or so, then woke up a bit cold at half two, and found much to my surprise not the sky and trees above me, but my mat lying on top of me. Go figure.
I tried to get a bit more sleep, but didn't quite work, so at half three I got up, made some coffee and porridge, then packed up and drove to the common with a view of a gentle ploddy off road jog (oh, yes, I had the vague idea of going for 20k, for the Terrence Higgins Trust 20:30 challenge for world AIDS day).
Weird to explain, but, the fog up there really was so thick that, even though I know the place like the back of my hand, I couldn't really see the back of my hand, and the light just made it even worse...
So I changed plan again, drive into town, and plodded along the canal.... had half hope di might spook some unsuspecting bikepackers somewhere, but surely no-one would be daft enough to bivvy along a canal, now would they....

So yes, all a bit different, but object achieved, I spent a night out, got up after just three hours sleep or so, then managed to go do something in the dark!

Oh, and I figured on my cough at the end of the cold I picked up at the wobble, a couple of hours running in near freezing fog would be ideal really...

[RIP]

You're crazy mental you are missus.

And that of course is the highest compliment.

Glad you enjoyed the fog. It's a strange and wonderful feeling riding in fog. Everything's muffled. I can just picture your hammock contortions too. Would probably have made a good black and white silent movie, maybe very slightly speeded up with some vertical scratches on screen? With appropriate Laurel & Hardy type soundtrack? Perhaps with a cuckoo-clock noise as you fell out of the hammock and at other appropriate moments?

Good idea to ask for a general 'ongoing' pass. I still have to do individual ones each time. Both sign it, green copy to Herself, red copy to me, and the blue one goes in the file. All square and watertight then, and no arguing or recriminations later.

Looking forward to next weekend. In a weird sort of way.

And just to be contrary, the cold, the runny nose, and the sore throat that I've had for the last couple of days, after tonight's nasty ride, have all disappeared. Hmm.

[psling]

Well V, you'll be getting some night riding in later this month, hopefully not so inebriated that you don't remember; we'll be relying on you to guide us to the bivvy spot from the pub...

Mon Brec canal - I've bivvied along there on a couple of occasions at a little picnic spot, I think between Llangynidr and Talybont, up bright and early before the dog walkers

[RIP]

we'll be relying on you to guide us to the bivvy spot from the pub...

I though the bivvy spot was the pub! Nice comfy carpet...

[Verena]

Well V, you'll be getting some night riding in later this month, hopefully not so inebriated that you don't remember; we'll be relying on you to guide us to the bivvy spot from the pub...

Mon Brec canal - I've bivvied along there on a couple of occasions at a little picnic spot, I think between Llangynidr and Talybont, up bright and early before the dog walkers

SHHHHH!!!! I know the one, it's on my list to try one night.... looks lovely....

[Cheeky Monkey]

Mat + hammock = poop, IMO IT's why I have such a lovely collection of under-quilts

Some tricks with mats include underinflating them and making yourself a dedicated one out of CCF. These are usually T shaped so they insulate your shoulders.

As ever the hammocking bible of the Ultimate Hang is a great source of information as is the author's website https://theultimatehang.com/hammock-camping-101/. Apologies if you've seen or heard all this before

[The Cumbrian]

Fog can be really odd, especially in darkness. My strangest experience was in daylight though, when I was canoeing on Loch Shiel. It was so thick I had to paddle on a bearing using a compass on the thwart, and I seemed to be in a dome of clarity about 10m wide. The only sounds were those made by me and my paddle, and I couldn't even see where the sun was. After about half an hour of this an almost imperceptible breeze started making shapes in the fog, before picking up and eventually clearing the fog to reveal a beautiful, sparkling morning.

[whitestone]

Mat + hammock = poop, IMO IT's why I have such a lovely collection of under-quilts

Some tricks with mats include underinflating them and making yourself a dedicated one out of CCF. These are usually T shaped so they insulate your shoulders.

As ever the hammocking bible of the Ultimate Hang is a great source of information as is the author's website https://theultimatehang.com/hammock-camping-101/. Apologies if you've seen or heard all this before

I'd add that it's worth watching Shug's videos on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@shugemery/playlists, there's a playlist about using mats/pads in a hammock.

I didn't get on at all using a mat so went and bought an underquilt They do take a bit of fiddling to get set up right. Alpkit do an underquilt for not very much that looks like it would be OK for summer to early autumn use, you want about a 5C buffer between the UQ's stated temp rating and expected overnight temps due to the airflow around you.

[Cheeky Monkey]

Really odd they didn't fit something to the Mora to allow the head and foot of the UQ to be cinched up. It's a common issue with UQs when you roll around, causing the top or bottom to gape that the warm, trapped air is lost and/or strong breezes can find those gaps. Like being flushed by a wave in a wetsuit.

For the money and if you are a handy "thread-injector" then I imagine it could be modified. There's not a lot of UK hammock gear available, AFAIK.

[whitestone]

Really odd they didn't fit something to the Mora to allow the head and foot of the UQ to be cinched up. It's a common issue with UQs when you roll around, causing the top or bottom to gape that the warm, trapped air is lost and/or strong breezes can find those gaps. Like being flushed by a wave in a wetsuit.

For the money and if you are a handy "thread-injector" then I imagine it could be modified. There's not a lot of UK hammock gear available, AFAIK.

I suspect it's a cost thing - the Mora is synthetic so it could be that designing/sewing an effective cinch mechanism would cost too much or it might just not be cost effective to do it. Their Cloud Cover down quilt might be a better option, if more expensive, do a search on here - John Climber has used it like this. A linky to a test - https://advntr.cc/alpkit-cloud-cover/

[frogatthefarriers]

I suspect it's a cost thing - the Mora is synthetic so it could be that designing/sewing an effective cinch mechanism would cost too much or it might just not be cost effective to do it. Their Cloud Cover down quilt might be a better option, if more expensive, do a search on here - John Climber has used it like this. A linky to a test - https://advntr.cc/alpkit-cloud-cover/

I’ve been using a Cloud Cover as an 2-3 season underquilt for 6 years or more. It took a bit of thought to make it work but it works and in the winter it works as an overquilt extender.

[Verena]

Mat + hammock = poop, IMO IT's why I have such a lovely collection of under-quilts

Some tricks with mats include underinflating them and making yourself a dedicated one out of CCF. These are usually T shaped so they insulate your shoulders.

As ever the hammocking bible of the Ultimate Hang is a great source of information as is the author's website https://theultimatehang.com/hammock-camping-101/. Apologies if you've seen or heard all this before

Thanks, and no, not seen or read anything about this before, would be interesting.... so far I've never really taken hammocking in any way serious at all, just looked upon it as more like playing than camping/ bivvying - haven't even taken one with me on a bike, just used it in places where I've been able to chuck a random collection of layers, fleecy blankets, pillows etc. on it and hope for the best

[Verena]

Fog can be really odd, especially in darkness. My strangest experience was in daylight though, when I was canoeing on Loch Shiel. It was so thick I had to paddle on a bearing using a compass on the thwart, and I seemed to be in a dome of clarity about 10m wide. The only sounds were those made by me and my paddle, and I couldn't even see where the sun was. After about half an hour of this an almost imperceptible breeze started making shapes in the fog, before picking up and eventually clearing the fog to reveal a beautiful, sparkling morning.

That sounds amazing....and a litte spooky....