K1100T
That's another one of those wonderful pictures that when someone asks you why you want to sleep out in the cold/wet/ditch etc you reach for your device of choice and show them that

Thanks all, quite pleased that the weather played ball, as the mist and fog really closed in after that. Quite fortuitous too, as the actual spot I had in mind was about twenty metres further along, in the dark, I just though I was there. If I'd kipped at the planned spot, the sunrise would've been hidden by the hedgerow.

4/4 done
All a bit last minute as per usual.
Quick ride to the edge of my local forest with a riding buddy.
A bit of single-track then beer glugging and ditch lurking.
Owls a go go in the middle of the night.
Woke to a light frost. Best nights sleep all week.

I wouldn't have been unhappy waking up to that view. Lovely and bucolic...

K1100T wrote: ↑Sat May 01, 2021 6:25 pm I wouldn't have been unhappy waking up to that view. Lovely and bucolic...

Aye all it needs to complete the scene is bambi silhouetted in the dappled rays .

K1100T wrote: ↑Sat May 01, 2021 6:25 pm I wouldn't have been unhappy waking up to that view. Lovely and bucolic...

Both of your photos are gorgeous views

April bivvy happened. I hoped to do a nice write up of it all, but I just can't get the creative writing juices flowing.

A good night and day out with Stef from Pannier and Trep.
Highlights included not needing bike lights, newborn lambs, pickled aubergine, friends, sunshine and Trep's trail mix.
There were no lowlights.
Beer of the month was Sugar Spun Sister, 8.0% Chocolate Imperial Stout by Thornbridge.

Pics: https://www.instagram.com/p/COXMwHzlFio/

2021 BAM 4/12
2021 total bivvies 4
Current streak (months) 29

April BAM done, last minute equaliser (the old 30th / 1st dilema)
See this thread for the ramble.... viewtopic.php?f=10&t=19770&p=259358#p259358

But in short, I did a long bike ride, bivvied in a very nice spot and then did a longer bike ride

I’ve been away from the forum for a little while but still been looking in regularly. In the meantime, I’ve been quietly ticking off this year’s BAMs. I did leave April’s until late, though, finally managing to get out on the afternoon of 29th April. My original plan had been to ride out along the coastal trails into East Lothian but with rain predicted over the next couple of days, it was time for a Plan B. The outlook seemed better a bit closer to home so, after a quick Google Earth study, I selected a place in the Pentland Hills I’d not visited before – North Esk reservoir.

‘Real life stuff' partially derailed my plans, meaning I had to leave home a good bit later than I’d intended. I therefore drove to the outskirts of town and rode in from there. The trails I encountered early on were a mixed bag: Some nice sections of rooty singletrack (but blocked in a good few places by big pieces of deadfall) and parts that were boggy and rutted. The gravel climb after this was easy going in comparison. However, once I’d finally reached the top the track down towards the reservoir wasn’t great fun on a loaded bike – narrow, mostly off-camber and the numerous small, rock-strewn stream crossings didn’t exactly make for a smooth passage.

Untitled by Jimmy G, on Flickr

On finally arriving at the reservoir I came across a small birdwatching hide. It was unlocked and I will confess I was briefly tempted to spend the night in there. However, two things stopped me: the prospect of being lectured by horrified twitchers the following morning and, worse, the racket being made by the reservoir’s feathered inhabitants. Anyway, what's the point of lugging your gear up there if you're not going to use it all, you say? True, true… so I dragged myself away and set up camp in a small wood overlooking the reservoir, far enough away that the density of the trees masked some of the screeching. A nice bonus feature was the dry stone dyke that provided some respite from the chilly breeze that had developed.

North Esk Reservoir by Jimmy G, on Flickr

Should I stay or should I go? by Jimmy G, on Flickr

Untitled by Jimmy G, on Flickr

It stayed windy but dry overnight... or at least it did until 0530 when heavy rain arrived. The surrounding hilltops were shrouded by cloud and it looked like the rain was set to hang around but to my relief, it finally stopped around 0800 and patches of blue sky started to appear. After I’d breakfasted and packed up I commenced the laborious climb back to the top. A different route this time but the final part was pure hike-a-bike. Once at the top, though, I was able to enjoy a fun descent back down the twisty gravel track.

Untitled by Jimmy G, on Flickr

Untitled by Jimmy G, on Flickr

Untitled by Jimmy G, on Flickr

Untitled by Jimmy G, on Flickr

So that’s my 4th of the year and 40th consecutive month chalked up. As yet I’ve no firm plans as to where my next one will be but it’ll definitely be farther afield than this latest one. So many trails, so little time!

JimmyG wrote: ↑Mon May 03, 2021 7:32 pm As yet I’ve no firm plans as to where my next one will be but it’ll definitely be farther afield than this latest one. So many trails, so little time!

I sympathise with your frustration but just know I enjoy your stories and photos from areas I'm sort of familiar with.

Ta Colin. I remember you saying you used to live in Balerno so will be very familiar with the lie of the land in the Pentlands. I know them pretty well too (a mix of biking and walking) but still have a few spots to check out. All in due course!

I remember the wee bird hide. It'd be a cosy bivvy

Nice on Jimmy, wondered where you'd got to for a bit there!
Spreadsheet updated

Cheers Phil. Temporary voluntary exile now complete, it's nice to be back.

Love that shadow-Jimmy g-checking out the bird hide shot.

Cheers! It was certainly a lovely evening.

Just packing the kit for tonight's BAM. Does anyone know where Ralph's bivi bag is? I wish he's put his kit away in the storage boxes to make it easy to find

sean_iow wrote: ↑Fri May 07, 2021 6:48 pm Just packing the kit for tonight's BAM. Does anyone know where Ralph's bivi bag is? I wish he's put his kit away in the storage boxes to make it easy to find

I hope Ralph found his bivvy bag in the end??

He'd left it in the dry bag he had his kit (and himself) in last time.

I planned to try a new location, a bit of woodland only 5 miles from home. For those not familiar with the Island there's a ridge of chalk download that runs east to west across the center, the only gap being at Newport where the River Medina passes through.

So despite being only 5 miles away I'd have to cross up and over the downs. Hard work on the higher gear I'd fitted. Made it to the woods but despite it looking promising when I'd ridden through, closer inspection showed a lack of spots that didn't have extensive undergrowth. Eventually found a flat bit clear enough to get the tarp up, brought as there was heavy rain forecast for the morning.

As I unrolled my bivi bag my heart sank, I'd packed the Hunka and not my myog one, they're both black. There wouldn't be enough room to get my mat inside. I did try it partially inflated but there still wasn't room. I did consider putting the mat underneath but wasn't keen due to the nature of the ground. So I packed up, rode back up over the downs to home

As we'd been looking forward to a night out I swapped the flat tarp for my 'race' tarp and got out the Borah bivi and pitched up in the garden. I'd made a wind/rain deflector for the tarp so took the opportunity to test that. Once the rain and wind really got going there was some being blown in so more work required there. I did stay dry and somehow the tarp didn't blow away. As it has line-locs sewn on for the guys it's possible to tension these from inside without going out into the storm which I had to do in the middle of the night.

So not the BAM I'd hopped for (I assume the emergency rules are over) but a worthwhile and fun night out.

Proper BAM will have to be done later in the month.

Thought I'd better get a May BAM in the bag now "just in case", as the rest of this month is going to be busy...

Thursday night would have been much nicer, beautiful loooong sunset and sunrise, but after what felt like many many hours mowing the lawn, walking to vote and back, walking one dog then the other, it was 9 o'clock and I was feeling really cold.....

So Friday night it was, just a very local one in the woods, pretty uneventful but lovely nonetheless.

Still love my reflective tyres on this bike (present from Mr Z)
IMG_20210507_222009 by Verena Zimmer, on Flickr

With all the recent talk about the DD superlight pyramid tent, and the heavy rain forecast, I thought it would be a good choice for the occasion. Yes Stu, it does have a peak vent . I also thought I'd try out the walking pole option, though I agree that it would be well weird actually going bikepacking with a walking pole. I much prefer the option of hanging it from a tree. But here I wanted to be near and within view of the badger set, kind of hoping to catch a glimpse (didn't happen, not helped by arriving when it was already proper dark, and being inside a tent with the door shut, and any noises they may have made would have been drowned out by the wind in the trees, tent flapping and rain noises )
IMG_20210508_054746 by Verena Zimmer, on Flickr

The promised rain came in during the night, but I was warm and cosy, breakfast in bed, I do love a bit of rain on tent....
IMG_20210508_062656 by Verena Zimmer, on Flickr

Badly pitched tent looking even more bedraggled in the morning Not quite the vista I had in mind, I had pictured something more like kumquat's morning a few posts above
IMG_20210508_064908 by Verena Zimmer, on Flickr

Also not quite the sea of bluebells I was aiming for either , but if you zoom in A LOT you might find one or two....
I'll just have to go out again later this month won't I?
IMG_20210508_064948 by Verena Zimmer, on Flickr

Wildlife wise, well I could clearly hear some people have a fairly raucous party nearby, probably at Cwm Gwdi car park. Followed around mindnight by a couple of cars tear ar$ing past with super noisy exhausts (glad I wasn't out cycling then!). Then I heard lambs bleating much later into the night than sheep normally do. Does anyone know, are lambs like human children? Adults get sensible and sleep at night, whereas the little ones are wakeful at unsociable hours demanding milk?
An owl very nearby in the morning briefly. Then the usual dawn chorus only a bit subdued because of the rain, and the resident ravens, who have a nest you can see and chicks you can hear by the way, so eggciting!

Oh and somehow during proceedings I thought I had lost my woolly hat under mysterious circumstances - but I eventually found it when I got home, it had got stuck inside my buffalo hood.

5/12

Oh, almost forgot, food details:

No night time snacking this time (though I would have done if I'd brought any...)

Porridge concoction with oats, bran, cranberries, cinnamon, and linseed mix for breakfast.

Finest nescafe 3 in 1 for my first cuppa (disappointing).

Boiled water for my second cuppa. Spilled the whole lot just when it was ready

Boiled water again, and in a stroke of genius mixed a sachet of hot chocolate and some proper coffee (in the tiny glass jar I have saved from the ridiculous tea party (it had clotted cream in originally), making quite a nice mocha.

Looks like the second half of May could be a bit damp. Need to pick my day carefully

First attempt of BAM for me so I'll see far I get with it, first night out for a while too up Bryn Alyn near the Clwyds. Setting off from home around 21:30 ish on Wednesday and arriving just over an hour later to set up in what was a good night on real flat ground only to wake up at 04:30 to hail & snow on the Thursday and greeted by a zero degree ride home, I'll post some pics when I figure that bit out

May

Rearranging plans to try and avoid the worst of the wetness on Saturday saw us rolling out of Oxford in the evening. After a nice circuit of some delightful A roads we pulled in to a big Sainsbury’s to buy junk for dinner and breakfast (pineapple Jaffa Cakes...) the plan was to road pack Lost Lanes #19, a loop round the Cotswolds. We would ride till we found a bivvy spot on Saturday night then finish up the remainder on Sunday.
Didn’t take long to come across a pub, all lights on but nobody home. A few polite knocks followed by some knocks with more intent produced a window being flung open:
“Are you open?”
“ I guess we are now”
Great, beers ordered and we settled into the covered seating area round the back. Second round and a few piles of chips later we remounted and departed the hamlet. Small detail, the pub was named The Cock Inn...

Rolling on we came to a fork that looked like a couple of fields away might yield a potential camp spot so off we trotted along the bridleway. In all those Rough Stuff Fellowship photos, they never seem to be bent over swearing at how little mud can slow a narrow tyre to a halt and having to find new sticks to scrape it out because with each scrape the stick snaps and is a little shorter.
A lovely sleep spot it was indeed, tucked away in the corner of a field. Daylight meant that we were up early and on our way. A succession of twee Cotswolds villages were pleasant but lacking a key quality, their offerings for second breakfast. The Jaffa cakes were not set to last very long at this rate.
Approaching a junction we found a Road Closed sign, it barely registered as we passed. Years in London has taught me that such signs only really concern those in the metal boxes. A bit further on we came to a low fence and a sign that implied the road might actually be closed. Sure, open up the fence and on we crack. Next we come to a high fence blocking the road and verges on both sides, a peer through this one revealed that a bridge over the railway line was in a less than complete state. Guess the first sign was right after all. Bit of a detour to come and unfortunately being the wrong side of breakfast it didn’t do much for moral but soon enough we were in Stow-on-Wold looking for a suitable cafe to assault.
Among other things we found crumpets with grilled cheese and a very tasty rocky road.
Back on track we ticked off a few more miles before turning our attention to a possible dip in a river. A second attempt at off road lasted about as long as a chocolate teapot and we bailed onto a nearby gravel track. This turned out to be a private drive for a nearby manor and we were somehow on the inside of their security gate. Eyeing the number keypad suspiciously, I rolled closer and with a huge sense of relief triggered some kind of proximity sensor and open sesame. Presumably this feature on the gate is specifically for oiks trapped inside country estates.
Rolling back onto route we did eventually find a roadside location for a wash/dip. Always handy to have a hill to climb immediately after this to warm up again.
Rolled back into Oxford exactly 24 hours later.

May done, 5/5

Obligatory rubbish photo:

Sounds like a good trip I now feel the need to add pineapple jafa cakes to my shopping list for this week