Bikepacking/Bivvying

[Dan_K]

Anyone do it/done it?

Have seen some good articles in MTB magazines of late and want to give it a go.

Picked up a bivvy bag and some lightweight kit and am gonna head out on some mini mountain biking adventures. I think I may be having some sort of crisis!!!

Any recommended local sites/tips?

[Amy]

Phone the Samaritans?

Prefer cycle touring where there's a bath and proper bed at the end of each day

[Lucyap]

Jamie has bivvyed on Leith Hill, in the wood behind Summer Lightening . . . with his unicycle! But he's completely bonkers

He recommends "The book of the Bivvy" by Ronald Turnbull, apparently he's the all round Bivvy Guru (Ronald, not Jamie . . . but I'm sure both are crazy, crazy, crazy )

[Keith]

If Jamie is "bonkers" and "crazy, crazy, crazy", what does that say about anyone daft enough to marry him?

[Andrew G]

You should be nicer Lucy or he won't come out with a spare bike for you next time your gears go bang on the CR, that or he'd give you his unicycle to do it on .

[Dan_K]

As a family, we camp a lot but I've never tried actual bivvying. In cadets we had to sleep under ponchos when on exercise but I was to young to appreciate the outdoors really.
I've seen a lot of it in the press of late and i figure that I'd like to give it a go. Think it would be good fun to have the freedom to find a stealthy camp somewhere on the trail and wake up in the wilderness.
I'll have to order that book Lucy. Jamie's got the right idea! I'm tempted by a South Downs Way bivvy...

[Amy]

I knew a couple of guys who used to find an out-of-the-way barn and sleep in there. Occasionally woken up by a farmer - and not thrown out.

[Phil H]

Sounds strangely appealing. I reckon though doing it in Surrey ... well it probably loses something when you are never more than a 10 minute walk from a mobile phone shop. Might be fun in Scotland but possibly more likely to be shot on a grouse moor.

[Dan_K]

Thanks for the "tips" Marco. I'll try not to curl one out onto anyone's lawn.

Phil, get involved! You too can spend loads of money on kit to sleep rough. Super strength lager is optional.

Here's some of the kit i've picked up already and i'm just going to use my existing lightweight sleeping bag:

Rav Storm Bivvy [url]http://www.snowandrock.com/rab%20storm%20bivi/rab/ski-snowboard-outdoor-sports/fcp-product/4846[/url]
Got mine for £54. Was looking at the Hunka bivvy from Alpkit.com but like the fact that the Rab one has a zip to close fully rather than a drawstring.

Alpkit Base 120 mat and Gamma Headtorch: [url]http://www.alpkit.com/shop/[/url]

I'm gonna pick up a lightweight stove (MSR Pocket Rocket) to go with the Solo Cookset and Spork I got from Blacks so I can cook/make a brew on the trail.
Also need to get an Exped Pillow for an extra bit of comfort.

All in, I think the whole lot weighs around 3kg.

Here are a couple of links to some good articles etc:

[url]http://www.alpkit.com/bikepacking[/url]

[url]http://v-g.me.uk/WildCamp/WildCamp.htm[/url]

Location wise, I'm thinking of a few local test rides like Leith Hill and then look to go further in the spring and do the SDW, possibly a trip to Wales or Scotland. With my inlaws living by the Peak District National Park, it would be rude not to wild camp there too.....

Any other members be interested in a wild camp/cycle trip?

[Andrew G]

Love the IOW audax write up Dan. Have you done many audax this year as I know you were planning a few. I'll have a look at the calendar and see if I can fit any winter ones (not that there are a lot from memory) as some of my long steady rides. Man of Kent 200 was on the radar last year so will have to see when that is and if it fits in as it was going to have made a good long ride with about 30 miles either side of a 200k audax. Can't remember why now but Ben and I both had it pencilled in and then it didn't happen.

[Dan_K]

Glad you enjoyed it Andrew.

I've entered these two but it depends on the weather as to if I go or not. Let me know if you fancy them and i'll give you a lift. Beauty of Audax is that they're so cheap, you can sack it off if the weather's rubbish.

Sun 27th November – 100km - £8 – Start in Billingshurst nr Brighton

[url]http://www.aukweb.net/events/detail/11-409/[/url]



Sun 29th January – 100km - £1 (!!!!) – Start in Guildford

[url]http://www.aukweb.net/events/detail/12-196/[/url]

[Andrew G]

[quote="Dan_K"]Sun 27th November – 100km - £8 – Start in Billingshurst nr Brighton

[url]http://www.aukweb.net/events/detail/11-409/[/url]

[Andrew G]

Just realised I can't do the first one on the 27th as I'll be helping out at the ACC cyclo cross. Sorry Dan but that means it's also likely to be chucking it down, our CX promotion tends to come with an all day downpour.

[Dan_K]

No worries Andrew. You're a braver man then me for wanting to do a 200 in December!

[Marcus]

[quote="Keith"]If Jamie is "bonkers" and "crazy, crazy, crazy", what does that say about an
yone daft enough to marry him?