Bivvy a month 2023.

[RIP]

I noted a welfare unit with the key in the lock. Cue a screech of brakes! The loo was most welcome and the kitchen area would have made a fab bivvy spot. I couldn't get the kettle to work unfortunately despite the lights coming on so I availed myself of the seats for a cold cup of coffee.

Ten bonus points for that one!

[fatbikephil]

Yes Bob that's the one. Alan stayed in the Schoolhouse but got a crap nights sleep due to the snoring of his roomate.
I'd also scoped the 'shelters' at the bein Eighe parking area but they were out of the breeze so would have been midge hell!

[NeilA]

BAM May 28th
5 of 5, 17 of 17

Sorry my report is late, been too busy hosting family this last week.

My pal Pam and I planned a cycle/camp for Sunday eve at a spot she fancied near to Gullet Quarry on the Malvern Hills.
Come the day, time was short. Preparation to load my bikepacking bike (Whyte 19 Trail Steel) was ditched in favour of my panniered gravel/workhorse bike (Giant Trooper).
I arrived late at Pam's in West Malvern, despite hammering cold legs.
She broke the news her electric bike's battery never got charged due to her own confusion.
Change of plan required. Pam filled her rucksack.
We settled on walking to a nearby spot, ascending up to North Hill or Table Hill as the best option. Fortunately I walk my bike on this route due to its gearing. Searching the slopes, a cracking double camp spot appeared at 1200' with good views, and not easily discovered from below.
Camp set. Sat on a rock outcrop we drank beer/whisky/brandy, ate some exceptional Italian chocolate and talked about solo wild camping, which Pam is keen to progress towards.
The wind was cold.
Time to dive into sleep bags.
Now Pam had no tent. Her theory centred on sleeping under the stars, given the marvellous weather, and connecting with the ground.
I must say the wind chill could be felt, even cocooned in my Trekmaster.
Pam did have two sleeping bags though, positioning herself downwind.
We both slept, on and off.
Waking early I took pics and got tea underway, which took ages as my Optimus Crux Lite is poorly and due for replacement.
Some time after, Pam stirred, emerging from her makeshift shelter in good spirits .
I admired her resilience
The sun adorned our lofty perch. We stayed a long while, enjoying breakfast and watching the world arrive on the trails below!

[Moder-dye]

FFS.... Broken/cracked/bruised/mangled ribs here from a front wheel wash out on a steep lose decent on Friday on the Fungle Road above Tarfside Other bits are quite achy too...

I do hope to get a BaM in for June even if I missed May due to my foot issue. The bruising from that has just begun to fade

[fatbikephil]

Sorry to hear that Moder, get well soon. I think we don't know how to deal with dry and lose trails! I had a few moments on some of the descents on the HT route due to them being un-seasonably dry....

[Lazarus]

Broken/cracked/bruised/mangled ribs here

Thankfully mine was bar into sternum and seems to have repaired quicker so got a proper [ish not full on] lakes ride in yesterday
Hopefully you get a lucky [ cost me BAM for this year mind]

[NeilA]

Sorry to hear your predicament Moder, wishing you a speedy recovery, and getting back out in the wilds

[Moder-dye]

Cheers all

[redefined_cycles]

FFS.... Broken/cracked/bruised/mangled ribs here from a front wheel wash out on a steep lose decent on Friday on the Fungle Road above Tarfside Other bits are quite achy too...

I do hope to get a BaM in for June even if I missed May due to my foot issue. The bruising from that has just begun to fade

Sorry to hear that MD... Hope you get well soon mate. Pain killers when and if you need to ensure you keep you're deep breathing up to scratch (which hurts and thus can cause chest problems as a side effect, hence the pain management needing to be optimal ).

[Boab]

Er, forgot to post details of last months bivvy; which was on the Jennride. Was going to write a big long screed, mostly about my overactive sense of self preservation, coupled with a severe lack of confidence, making for some anguish, and frustration, on the descents. Instead, have some photos...







The highlight of the weekend...










https://www.strava.com/activities/9155787071 (Sat) & https://www.strava.com/activities/9155739544 (Sun)
2023: 5 / 12
Total: 33
Streak: 5

[Boab]

Left the house at 20:45 on Friday night, 438KM later after flouncing my way around the Rebellion Way, I stopped for a kip.

This was supposed to be a test of the setup for the North York Moors 300 next month; even though I knew a MTB on this route would be pretty tedious give the sheer volume of tarmac it takes in. Failure to setup a new front tyre, breaking both a pump and inflator in the process, left me either running an inner tube, or taking the gravel bike; I took the gravel bike.


I've ridden through the night before, but never through the following day. I was interested to see how the sleep deprivation would effect performance, mental acuity etc. I "started" on the Rebellion Way by leaving Thetford Tesco around 23:45, the plan to be back before that the following night, I made it back around 22:30 or so. When I walked back out of the Tesco with more water and a beer, I momentarily couldn't see my bike, even though I was looking straight at it. I kept thinking there were groups of people out on the trails, but they were just tree trunks and what not. Interesting how the tired mind tries to interpret what it's being fed.


Mostly I spun round with my HR in zones one or two, constantly shovelling carp into my face and trying to wash it down with copious amounts of water and electrolytes. It got to that point where I just didn't want to eat anything else, but keep shovelling; I made it around without cramping or bonking*.


I had a spot in mind for my bivvy, just off one of the byways on the bit that links Thetford with the Icknield Way. Trees on one side of the sandy byway, fields on the other. For some reason, there was someone out in the field, in some sort of farm machinery that required copious amounts of illumination. Obviously I had copious amounts of illumination too, so no chance of stealthily creeping into the trees to setup camp. I continued for a bit, I didn't want to go too much further, as then there would be too much noise from the A11. The strip of tree I eventually choose, were well spaced apart, and didn't provide much coverage to remain hidden.

Even though I was in a bivvy bag, and way too warm, I don't remember much about the night, other than it did sound like it was raining at one point, and I got pins and needles in one of my hands. I awoke at 06:30 and felt pretty broken. Once we got going though, the legs did start to work, but only on the flat, they really didn't want to do any climbing. My arse and hands, on the other, er, hand... were both very tender, feeling like they'd been tenderised with a meat hammer.


Lots of "firsts" for me on this ride. First time past 320KM and 400KM in a oner, plus first time riding for longer than 24 hours. The next step has to be doing it the other way round and riding all day, then through the night, possibly followed by the following day as well; I have a route in mind for that. First though, lot's to think about in terms of upgrading, or just fixing, the bike; as like my body, bits of it didn't like me riding it for that long.

Edit: Once home and I'd had a shower and made a coffee, I absently tried to pick what I thought was a small scab off my foot, turns out it was a small tick. Unlike last time I had a tick on me, this one has left a red mark. So eyes peeled for the next few days, given Tick-borne encephalitis virus has been detected in the Thetford area...

Another edit: totes forgot that I also recorded this ride via the medium of YouTube Shorts...

https://www.strava.com/activities/9243390771
2023: 6 / 12
Total: 34
Streak: 6

* I did get stung by a bee just before Holt. I'd pretty much run out of water and was feeling hot and bothered by that point anyway. The sting just seemed to flick a switch and I got a bit shoogly on the way to the Budgens for supplies. The coolness inside seemed to sort me out though, but I took a brief rest and shoveld more carp into my face.

[sean_iow]

Chapeau, that's some ride

I've never managed to solve the hands/arse issues that come with rides over 24 hrs. I have a feeling that if you do anything with your body for 24 hrs+ it's going to hurt.

I've read that some long distance runners (doing runs of 100 miles and up) talk about everything gradual begining to hurt and just keeping going untill it stops hurting/you've got accustomed to it/you've lost the feeling.

These days my hands can go numb after 10 minutes of riding, perhaps from all the previous damage? Small price to pay, no-one needs to get to their end with good condition hands, or any other parts

[Blackhound]

My first attempt at a June bam failed when I became ill at the end of the first day. I planned to ride Alsager > Maghull >Morecome > Way of the Roses > Bridlington and home via train or bike depending on time and energy. I paid for camping in Maghull near my daughters in order to see her and family but I was poorly overnight and since, caught a bug off herself who was ill earlier in the week. I did get 4 British Cycle Quest clues though.
Plenty of time to recover and another opportunity awaits later in the month.

[Boab]

Chapeau, that's some ride

I've never managed to solve the hands/arse issues that come with rides over 24 hrs. I have a feeling that if you do anything with your body for 24 hrs+ it's going to hurt.

I've definitely tenderised the median nerve on both hands; did some stretching this morning and had to be careful about hand placement due to stabbing pain. While the fingers are all fine, the fleshy bit over the thumb (pollicis muscle?) is pretty numb and painful when pressed. I can now fully understand why ultra-distance cyclist all have clip on tribars...

[josh]

This month's BAM is in the form of King Alfred's Way, riding King Alfed's Way had been booked in for a while and it was only as it was a few days away that it really dawned on me that it would be a pretty big effort.

I had planned to do the route over 5 days, but for no particular reason pushed hard (140km+) on the fourth day and finished early in 4 days, doing two days of planned distance in one.

As I rode I said to myself 'must remember that' so many times, but half of it got forgotten, so here's a list of highlights I can remember, instead of an essay of every detail…

• Seeing the same couple (doing the same route) multiple times, leapfrogging each other as we rested or stopped for the night.

• Getting passed by a group of four at Stonehenge who were trying to do the whole route in 24 hours but whose navigation skills were questionable and pace iffy.

• Seeing Stonehenge from the free side of the fence.

• Wild camping just outside the boundary of Salisbury Plain, seeing a lovely sunset and waking up to a truck flying up the gravel road and putting up a red flag.

• Walking around Old Sarum for a bit and wondering how the hell they managed to build/dig it all.

• Grabbing all and any food I could and just shoving it all in my mouth – I ate 6000+ calories on Tuesday!

• Having a chair to have a rest on.

• Walking among the stones at Avebury – they're huge! How the hell did they get them there?!

• Seeing all kings of wildlife: hares, rabbits, buzzards, red kites, deer, a rat.

• Finding a nice bivvy spot for night two, when I wasn't sure where I'd sleep.

• Leaving the Ridgeway!

• Stopping for lunch in Streatley, on the Thames and sitting by the river watching boats come in and out the lock.

• Passing through Reading without really knowing it, on bike paths basically the whole way.

• Having a shower at the campsite I booked for the third night, and being out of the wind.

• Riding through through commons in Surrey that were huge and full of sand.

• Riding through a ford instead of taking the bridge and mostly keeping my feet dry.

• Somehow only dabbing once up a long, loose, technical climb up towards Devil's Punch Bowl.

• Reaching the South Downs Way and knowing vaguely where I was.

• Making it up Butser Hill, only stopping for the gate.

• Getting back to Winchester without any injuries or mechanicals!

The section of path just before this was one of the most overgrown I've ever used, It was a relief to emerge.


I wonder what number photo of Stonehenge ever taken this is, but this is mine. The easiest way of seeing Stonehenge on this route is to just follow the route as normal, then at Larkhill slightly double back on yourself and go down the byway to the left.


I was mostly really lucky with the weather, though there was quite a headwind for the first two days.


Wasn't the spot I'd planned to bivvy, but it was one of few areas on day one that I felt comfortable sleeping, as it skirted Salisbury Plain for so long. And it turned out to be a great, if windy, spot.


Go into shop, buy lots of food, eat lots of food.


Avebury, another amazing stone circle. Hard to tell, but they're massive.


I wondered if these stones, not far up the hill away from Avebury, were a coincidence, or related.


One of few areas along the section of the ridgeway that KAW follows that seemed good to bivvy.


Ha.


Campsite on the third night – glad I booked.


Big but doable.


Indicative of nearly every train journey I've been on with a bike – could do better.

[fatbikephil]

A fair bit of the clear blue skies this month, this will all change when I go out in a couple of weekends time!

[redefined_cycles]

Well done Josh. Enjoyed that and the pics. I remember seeing Stonehenge once whilst riding nearby. They're massive!

Lively pics too and thanks for sharing.alot of water seems to have bern drunk

[Verena]

Three actual bivvies this week, not counting the one in a campsite.
I'll pick the last one, undoubtedly the most exciting one of the lot, if not ever.
No pictures just yet, sorry, I will try paint the scene with words...
It's been a beautiful long hot sunny summer's day, you've been riding since 6am, and it is now getting close to 10pm. You're high on life, the riding is good, smooth and down more than up, and there is a stunning sunset going on to your left, in the big wide open sky, as you're on a plain of grain fields quite high up.
You were aiming for a night spent in the vineyards overlooking the river Rhine, but realise that's still a good hour away or more, and chances are the track will take you back down into a valley or some woods and you'll lose that beautiful view of the sky.
So you think, nope, this is just so lovely, next nice spot we see up here, let's call it a (good) day.
Literally half a minute later, you spot a tiny gap on your right in a hedgerow. The right side is good you think, better for seeing the sunrise in the morning.
You stop, peep round the corner, and can't believe your eyes:
Nicely tucked away out of view from the road, as per above with the small gap in a hedge.
But, amazing, good size flat area with strimmed grass, and a bench, obviously placed there for the views, which were stunning.
Gently downward sloping big field of rye with pretty wildflowers mixed in right in front of me, starting maybe ten feet from my bed.
Thinking I've won the bivvy lottery, I set up for the night and lie down. Perfect, there's even a little "bum hole", as in a perfectly shaped depression in the ground to park my derriere in.
Nod off to sleep almost instantly.
Wake up almost instantly a few minutes later.
Adorable but equally alarming snuffling grunting and squeaking sound of several baby wild boar, really close, and I mean REALLY close, hidden from view in the grain field.
You've never seen me move as fast as when I leapt up onto that bench, drawing my knees up to my chest and, remembering the thing about wild boar only being really quite dangerous when they have babies with them, expecting mummy to burst through the edge of the field somewhere at any moment and go for me, you know, like in some horror film, when you know it's coming but not sure exactly where and at what moment .
Considered hiding behind bench and bike, but then thought no, that could make it worse if they do come out and then my presence is more of a surprise, at least here they can see me...
They stayed for a really long time, heard mummy as well, but they didn't come out. Briefly considered moving on, but then thought riding through the forest at night could just recreate a similar problem elsewhere, possibly worse.
After a long time, it went quiet.
There was no way I was sleeping on the ground, so bench it was. Reasonably comfy.
Went to sleep, no not really, it was all too exciting and not really comfy.
Tried to roll over.
Slid then fell off the bench, hands trapped inside sleeping bag
Got back up there, more hours of not really sleeping.
Gave up eventually, all quiet, slept on the floor.
Slept really well, bum hole and all.
Woke up at what felt like a luxurious lie in, 5.30, sun already high in the sky.
Felt wrecked and cold, maybe a slow stretch and a snack before packing up.
Grunt grunt.
Legged it!!!!!

[fatbikephil]

Wild boar encounter on a bivvy beat the usual slug or mouse which is about al we can expect over here!
Well done for your ride sounds fab!

[Verena]

Wild boar encounter on a bivvy beat the usual slug or mouse which is about al we can expect over here!
Well done for your ride sounds fab!

Cheers Phil

Reading more pics and stories tonight from riders, and missing it already! Although I'll ride back up that way on Saturday for the finisher party and hopefully catch up with a few other riders and hear their stories!

Definitely did the right thing not trying to ride on much onto the night, I know the "winners" must have done, but I read one Finnish rider rode till 1.30 am but stopped because of too many wildlife near misses....

[KernowSteve]

6/12 June done.
A bit last minute, but turned out to be the best one I've done in a long time! Casually browsing my phone at breaktime on Thursday morning and the weather forecast jumped out at me.... Good conditions overnight going into Friday and then turning not so nice for the weekend. Quickly booked Friday off and then wondered were to go, what bike to take etc. Fortunately I was early shift Thursday, so finished at 2pm and cycled back home to prepare/pack/check bike and generally just make it up as I went along! Decided to head up to the moor on the jack of all trades rigid MTB, no time to carefully pack fancy bags and strap them to the bike spending ages getting them just right instead I just threw all my gear into 2 huge Ortlieb panniers and clipped them on. Somehow rembered to fill the fuel bottle before heading back out managing to get on the 4:20 ferry back to England.
And then it just got better and better and better.........
Everything seemed to fall into place and work for a change! The Spa cycles triple chainset performed just as I had hoped despite only having been test ridden around the car park outside my house. Tried 1x on a couple of my bikes for about 12 months now and definitely think a triple with good range is better for my knackered old legs especially with a loaded bike!
Headed out to Sheepstor village and then on to Gutter Tor scout hut were I picked up the bridleway that heads across the moor to Princetown. I usually go the opposite direction and to be honest with a loaded bike and uphill gradient it was hike a bike in places. Found a perfect flat spot not far off the track in amongst the mine ruins at Eylesbarrow and rolled out the bivvy to settle. Before this I had to stop at Sheepstor dam on Burrator reservoir to replenish my water supplies as I'd managed to drink all I'd brought in the heat. Broke my own rule by filtering from a shallow bit of still water in the reservoir itself, which was warm and had a lot of fly activity, but it was probably better than a stagnant pool of Horse p##s which was all there was at Eylesbarrow.
Regretted drinking all the water when I got up on 4 occasions in the night for a wee and stepped in Sheep sh#t barefoot each time.
Today dawned clear and bright so I headed into Princetown and then back on the old railway to Burrator and onwards to home!
Really enjoyed this one, weather brilliant and all the gear/modifications worked as planned for a change.
Now going to spend the weekend building a new set of wheels for the on road tourer and dreaming up a trip for that one to go on!

[Stinginglip]

June's BaM was another local one after realising without doing a school night my other opportunity's were zero. So it was last Friday I rode up Winter Hill with as little as possible, arriving just before sunset.
Set up the bag on the very comfortable heathland using a drystone wall as a windbreak and got stuck into the kids lunchbox snacks I'd raided from the cupboard, all washed down with a 12 year old whisky I'd got for the Jennride and not touched
There was only one thing for it as I started getting cold..get in the sack. I soon drifted off once warmed up, and apart from a pee interval about 3.30am, it was one of my better sleeps in a bivvy,only waking again at 7.15am..total lie in for me!
Didn't hang about as the stove & coffee had been left at home.
8ish miles easy ride for breakfast with the missus,then straight out with the hound on what was a lovely morning
Definitely being more about the bivvy, I really enjoyed it, next month will be the other way around as I've decided on doing the North York Moors 300

[fatbikephil]

Live bivvy in progress- currently in bivvy next to a trig point (500m AOD) checking out the trossachs, the perthshire hills and the southern cairngorms. No tarp! Plus skylarks everywhere more later...

[fatbikephil]

That was a good one!
Nothing fancy - just a leisurely pedal away from the house and up into the hills above Glen Eagles. Given my efforts for my May BAM I figured I was due an easy one....
Anyway my destination was Steelesknowe which is 500m high so not the biggest bump hereabouts and fairly easy to get up thanks to a windfarm track. It was looking like it would be the last dry night for a while so a breezy hill top seemed a fine spot to head to.


And it was! Looking north to lots of hills from the Trossachs to the Cairngorms.


Fine sunset.

There were actually a few big clouds around plus I'd heard a rumble of thunder over the forth valley as I was pedaling away from the house. But 'twas all dry where I was. Again! No tarp needed and the breeze kept the midges away so success all round - my fourth night in bivvy bag only

[Raggedstone]

MAY
I am not doing very well with my posts at the moment late again with the May bivvy report . May's bivvy was done on the Saturday night of the Jennride , the weekend got off to a great start with an extremely social and well lubricated evening in the camping field which included getting to know Stinginglip (Martin) my neighbour for the weekend who was also getting his BAM in over the weekend and at last i got to meet Tony someone who has unwittingly provided me a few of my bikepacking bits and pieces and I am definitely not the only one to have benefited from his great generosity though I was led astray by him and drank far more than was good for me .
PXL_20230526_190132181 by Kevin Hawker, on Flickr
PXL_20230526_190145014.MP by Kevin Hawker, on Flickr
So after an early and very gentle start in the usual glorious Jennride weather I started to feel more normal and it didn't take long to begin the being passed and then passing the same people again and again which is always fun .
PXL_20230527_075007541 by Kevin Hawker, on Flickr
I had arranged to meet a mate in Coniston in the afternoon which I was and wasn't looking forward to as he's pretty fit and I was pretty knackered I did play a bit fast and loose with bits of the route to make sure I was on time . We followed the route into Grizedale and then went to somewhere he recommended for an overnight stop within minutes we were in a cloud of midges Phil set off home leaving me to my fate . I went back to the fireroad and found a flat space on the side in the open with a bit of a breeze it would do . Stove on bivvy set up dinner made the wind dropped smidge in the van I had a midge net so I tried eating dinner while walking up and down the fireroad soon got pissed off with that so quickly got into bivvy bag . I have two bivvy bags one with a mesh one without guess which one I had with me After a while I was faced with a dilemma do I get out for a week or do I wet myself I got out next time I may take the other option the bastards are merciless !!
PXL_20230527_203550282 by Kevin Hawker, on Flickr
PXL_20230527_203030778.MP by Kevin Hawker, on Flickr
After a night of listening to a loud buzzing around my head I quickly got up finished dinner and left . I had been bitten all over it was a beautiful morning though .
PXL_20230527_203620699 by Kevin Hawker, on Flickr
PXL_20230528_081918771 by Kevin Hawker, on Flickr
A good day on the bike followed and another nice evening relaxing back at the campsite with friends old and new rounded off a great weekend .
5/12 for this year