Popped out last night to nab Novembers BaM, before Lockdown II. After finishing work, and having dinner with the family, I packed the bike and headed out into the dark. Rather than pottering straight to my chosen bivy area, via the road, I took a slightly longer meandering route, which took in three byways. I picked these mainly as they're all hard pack gravel, and they were all fine, apart for a short section though a farm yard.
I knew roughly where I wanted to bivy, a stand of trees just off one of the byways, but I wasn't hundred percent sure about how to get to it. I sneaked through a hedgerow and jumped a ditch, but the wind was fairly whistling through. A couple of hundred metres further down the byway though, there was a marked footpath heading in the direction I was after, it even had a couple of handy board bridges over the ditches.
I stopped at the first passable spot and unloaded the bike. Unfortunately, before I even go the Tyvek down, I realised the ground was covered in bramble shoots, and other protuberances. Another twenty or so metres down the footpath, there was a much better spot, and totally shielded from the wind, so I set up the tent and got out the cold. I was soon wrapped up in my bag, with a beer and my book.
I set my alarm for 05:30, as I wanted a bit of a ride before getting home in time for work. While there was rain forecast for the morning, the percentage chance of it early was low, so I was expecting to get wet near the end of the ride. Leaving earlier would mean I would stay dryer for longer...
While putting all the bags back on the bike, I noticed that the front tyre was completely flat. I put this down to running it over all the brambles when arriving, so I swapped out the inner tube for spare, rather than patching it. I couldn't open the valve on the, well used, spare tube and struggled to get it closed again, but the tyre was up and at a good pressure. While I'd been sorting the inner tube out, it started raining, a good couple of hours earlier than I'd hoped. There wasn't even a bit of light rain to ease in with, it was straight to torrential downpour. So I scrubbed the planned 50km morning bimble and headed straight home.
I hadn't even made it off the byway, when I heard what sounded like one of the tyres going pop. Sure enough, the front had lost about half of what I'd put in, but was still rideable. As it was coming down in stair rods, I decided to ride it as far as I could, and try and find a bus stop to shelter in while trying to sort it out. Turns out there's no bus shelters in the villages between my bivy site and home. I did stop in the porch of a pub though and stick a bit more air into the tyre, this thankfully lasted till got home, but the drag was something rotten. I was totally drookit when I finally rolled back into the drive, so the bike went into the shed, the clothes into the washing machine and me into a hot shower.
I'm glad I went out, I felt less anxious about getting caught this time, so felt like I slept a bit better. Although the twany owl that decided to give it full beans twit twoos in the tree above the tent, could've waited a few more hours. Roll on later in the week, when new tyres, inner tubes and mudguards will arrive.
Fun breakdown: 70% type 1, 30% type 2
Strava:
Distance: 41.20km; Moving time: 1:59:38; Elevation: 310m
2020 BaM: 11/11
P.S. I would've proffered to go out this evening, clear skies and a predicted 2°C, but I have to be somewhere early doors tomorrow...