Would be curmudgeonly to find any fault there, apart from it's not raining in the photo .

That paints a very rose tinted picture of going bivvy bag only. Cue loads of guardian readers running home from a bivvy screaming chased by clouds of midges, mozzies, vampire slugs and demanding digestive systems. Then the next weeks letters page - "My bling rab down sleeping bag is soaked, how do I dry it"
Get thee a tarp.

*Looking forward to the slew of cheap bivvy gear on eBay*

Used once, didn't like the slugs!

What's all this about not getting good sleep in a bivi? All you need is to ride a bike from just after dawn until gone 11pm and you'll sleep ok

after dawn - you like a lie in then

You guys should try an eye mask and ear plugs. I've had proper lie ins in my bivvy!

benp1 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 24, 2021 1:05 pm You guys should try an eye mask and ear plugs. I've had proper lie ins in my bivvy!

You must've been covered in slugs by the time you woke up, Ben.

MuddyPete wrote: ↑Thu Jun 24, 2021 1:27 pm

benp1 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 24, 2021 1:05 pm You guys should try an eye mask and ear plugs. I've had proper lie ins in my bivvy!

You must've been covered in slugs by the time you woke up, Ben.

They are a very grim part of the bivy experience. Sometimes I'm open to the elements, sometimes I zip the mesh over my face. Depends which bivy I take, but the mesh is great for reducing the risk of slugs

benp1 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 24, 2021 1:48 pm

MuddyPete wrote: ↑Thu Jun 24, 2021 1:27 pm

benp1 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 24, 2021 1:05 pm You guys should try an eye mask and ear plugs. I've had proper lie ins in my bivvy!

You must've been covered in slugs by the time you woke up, Ben.

They are a very grim part of the bivy experience. Sometimes I'm open to the elements, sometimes I zip the mesh over my face. Depends which bivy I take, but the mesh is great for reducing the risk of slugs

Slug proof bivi bags? Tell me more, I’ve only ever used my well used hunka, which is very much a sharing is caring kind of bag when it comes to slugs

*Resisting temptation to mention I've never (knowingly) had a problem with slugs, lest I jinx it.*

Landslide wrote: ↑Thu Jun 24, 2021 2:43 pm *Resisting temptation to mention I've never (knowingly) had a problem with slugs, lest I jinx it.*

I was woken up once by a sharp pain on the inside of my wrist. I switched my headtorch on to find a slug there. At first, in my half-awake state, I thought it was a leach, but then came to my senses, flicked it off and went back to sleep. When I woke in the morning I thought that I'd dreamt it, but there was an itchy, circular mark on my wrist that took a couple of weeks to fade.

substandard wrote: ↑Thu Jun 24, 2021 2:29 pm

benp1 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 24, 2021 1:48 pm

MuddyPete wrote: ↑Thu Jun 24, 2021 1:27 pm

benp1 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 24, 2021 1:05 pm You guys should try an eye mask and ear plugs. I've had proper lie ins in my bivvy!

You must've been covered in slugs by the time you woke up, Ben.

They are a very grim part of the bivy experience. Sometimes I'm open to the elements, sometimes I zip the mesh over my face. Depends which bivy I take, but the mesh is great for reducing the risk of slugs

Slug proof bivi bags? Tell me more, I’ve only ever used my well used hunka, which is very much a sharing is caring kind of bag when it comes to slugs

Borah bivi. Has a mesh cover over your head/face. You can seal yourself off from midges which is a bonus

I have a few bivvies (5 I think?) and the simplest borah bivi is definitely my most used

Landslide wrote: ↑Thu Jun 24, 2021 2:43 pm *Resisting temptation to mention I've never (knowingly) had a problem with slugs, lest I jinx it.*

So you've never actually woken up to find a slug trying to kiss you You've not lived...

Even I've had the slug experience and I've not even managed a full BAM yet

benp1 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 24, 2021 1:05 pm You guys should try an eye mask and ear plugs. I've had proper lie ins in my bivvy!

Aye, he has

The Cumbrian wrote: ↑Thu Jun 24, 2021 3:01 pm I was woken up once by a sharp pain on the inside of my wrist. I switched my headtorch on to find a slug there. At first, in my half-awake state, I thought it was a leach, but then came to my senses, flicked it off and went back to sleep. When I woke in the morning I thought that I'd dreamt it, but there was an itchy, circular mark on my wrist that took a couple of weeks to fade.

Arrgh! Man-eating slugs!

Surely: it's preferable to "man eating slugs", though?

jameso wrote: ↑Thu Jun 24, 2021 12:46 pm What's all this about not getting good sleep in a bivi?

Another thing I've not understood. I normally sleep well, though waking up occasionally is actually a positive, especially under a star-strewn sky or just as the sun rises (I normally set an alarm for that in case I'm not awake).

benp1 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 24, 2021 1:05 pm You guys should try an eye mask and ear plugs. I've had proper lie ins in my bivvy!

I know, I brewed 3 coffees then thought about going for a warm-up ride while you slept in on WRT a couple of years ago.. I was impressed. Bought a proper mat and thought about a tarp tent after that : )

I normally sleep well, though waking up occasionally is actually a positive, especially under a star-strewn sky or just as the sun rises (I normally set an alarm for that in case I'm not awake).

Agreed, and that was a good point in the article. Wish I did sleep better, at least consistently. If not physically tired it can be a bit patchy. First bivis in a while tend to be less sleep than when I'm doing it more often.

benp1 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 24, 2021 3:06 pm
Borah bivi. Has a mesh cover over your head/face. You can seal yourself off from midges which is a bonus

I have a few bivvies (5 I think?) and the simplest borah bivi is definitely my most used

I was a bit disconcerted to see the slug trails across the mesh panel on mine knowing they had crawled over my face, albeit on the mesh.....

Always check your boots as well, nowt like a squashy slug in between your toes.....

I detest slugs.

An open ended bivy bag. Lol.

Oh yes, slugs - guess how I found one of those small ones in an open bag of chocolate raisins one morning recently?

jameso wrote: ↑Thu Jun 24, 2021 10:50 pm Oh yes, slugs - guess how I found one of those small ones in an open bag of chocolate raisins one morning recently?

The same way my dad found one on the back of a hunk of lettuce he'd plucked from his vegie patch?

^ probably Little bstrd was very well hidden in the chocolate raisins.

Slugs....I've clearly been missing out on something here, never yet encountered one when bivvying....
Apparently there's an anti wrinkle cream made with snail slime, so maybe it's not such a bad thing?

I sleep very well outdoors, more so if it’s without my kids or the dog…. But if I’ve ridden particularly hard or long then I have a struggle to get to sleep. Must be all the excess cortisol and what circulating around.