[Closed] Nuit de bivvy Internationale on Friday!

quite fancy this myself.
somewhere round ogden/hebbers/luddenden maybe.
anyone from these area's up for it??

Tony, after months of lovely weather, you [b]now[/b] decide you fancy it? respect 😆

Hmmm, I'm up on Speyside till Friday night, I'll take my tent and trailer and head up somewhere up Rothiemurchus way.

The Beacons beckon...

Ooo...
That sounds a plan forming Tony..

is it all in secret this year?

wheres all the chat?

The first rule of bivvy club is ...

need to know basis and you dont need to know 😉
But i will be participating this year - got a cracking spot !

But Stu, YOUR not a member of bristol bivvy club!

Ton - If your planning to be out Calderdale way i could be up for going out that way as well.

Still looking at the weather options.

Here's the deal. Friday night is the 2nd Nuit de Bivvy Internationale, but Saturday night is an acceptable alternative.

Head out somewhere with an inspirational morning viewpoint, take pictures, write up your trip with photos by Wednesday next week on this thread. Best write up wins a prize from the ST office 'big box of stuff'. Extra points available for morning view, cheekiness of bivvy spot, use of humour in write up :o)

*no entries from ST staff and family members, Tenters, professional vagrants. Standard network charges apply.

Flatfish, thought it was a secret society with only you in it!

your just jealous 😉

Nuit de Bivvy Internationale?

so is this a STW invention?
I will consult with the thursday nite riders and the missus.

oooh I have an idea that would involve Bivving on what is technically American Soil, hmmmm

Into the Crown at Churchill first for a couple of pints then i think i'll head up to the fort at Dolebury Warren.

[I]Nuit de Bivvy Internationale? so is this a STW invention?[/I]

Yes, it's all ours :o)

i'll be out for a ride tonight then back into town to get sh*tfaced at the pub then passout in a gutter.

Does that count?

Dave - Moderator

*no entries from Tenters*

thats tentist that is! I'll report you to someone

[i]thats tentist that is! I'll report you to someone[/i]

Whatever. Pole bender ;o)

Pah!

Does it count that I spent last night on an island with 24 others, under tarp?

iBivvy

Teching up the bivvy experience

Plum

Good nights sleep ? On a train back to trail-rat HQ as we speak.... Discovered my saddle is akin to a jack hammer on a loaded bike !

Any reports from last night?

if your gonna sleep rough you have to do it right - 3 miles from your house dont cut it ! I had 2 options in mind with the friday off - one requiring reems of maps and lots of navigation or a signposted route requiring minimal mapping.

opted for a ride on the west highland way - the second option. Started at 8am friday morning and rode with no haste enjoying the epically beautiful weather over conic hill - nice descent going north then along loch lomond banks. I was told and all my research pointed towards it getting better riding after that ...better is subjective, there were more ridable sections but still impossible to get into a rhythm for drainage bars and steep steps and gates - for a minute i thought i was in england - never seen so many gates on a ride! . North of tyndrum got better after a stop at the greenwelly shop for some pizza. Up to bridge of orchy was fast going - so fast it confused **** out of my cateye computer which decided to display error and reset ! trail was still rough and a combo of slr 135 and a loaded bag man rack meant my bike did not skip over bumps and instead clattered into things leaving me with 2 options - stand or get a battered arse i opted for both! Should have fitted my brooks.. The plan had been to get to fort william and bivy out but due to a late start and a sore arse i realized that wasnt going to happen so stopped at inveroran leaving me with the option for the train, down by the river just past the hotel. .... Minimal bivy kit worked well with only a +5 wynster superlite sleeping bag , my rab survival and a berghaus down vest- my waterproof became my tarp/midge protection - under arm vents provided adaquate ventilation to stop condensation Had slightly cold feet when i woke at 5am to the crap sun rise - driech grey day and rolled over till 7.30 before riding 3 miles back via road to bridge of orchy to catch the 9am train to glasgow. One of the best things about packing ultralite is the time it takes to pack up - or rather the time it doesn’t !

One things for sure i shant be making a speedy attempt at the double rob lee can have that honour all to him self- i am tempted to enter the trail run along it though !

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packed ,

wynster superlite 600 bag
rab survival zone bivy
berghause down vest - all in the red dry bag on the bike. Waterproof shorts and jacket strapped onto this.

bag had , torq , torq gels and torq bars , gilet , arm and leg warmers , dry socks , a cannondale polartec balaclava , camera , tool kit , lube.

Greenwelly Terry, thats a fail, should've opted for the Real Food Cafe down the road then you'd made it to FB. Good ride nonetheless. Maybe starting as Tyndrum or Crianlarich and heading north would've worked out better as you've avoided the carry up the shore (or did you get the ferry?) and all the gates. From memory Milngavie to Drymen isn't all that interesting.

>before riding 3 miles back via road to bridge of orchy to catch the 9am train to glasgow. <

B of O bunkhouse does a nice fry up - I'd have been availing myself of that 😉

milngavie to drymen - as interesting as a road ride..... punctuated by gates

conich hill - pretty good descent

first half of loch lomond to the hotel - nice

second half - as expected pretty awful - some bits even tough pushing/carrying

from there it was real rough trails punctuated with drainage bars too wide to hop(loaded bike remember) gates and stairs.

29er or full sus - or light full sus 29er for that trail !

oh and re real food cafe - it was 6 at night - i didnt intend to stop for food at greenwelly but saw a sign saying - fresh home made pizza here ... that sounds like a q to stop to me !

ps - where are all the otehr rides ? folk been out doing double bivys 😉

trail_rat: How easy was it getting on the train?

Tried to book my bike on yesterday and they couldn't even book me a seat. Was planning on going to Fort William on Friday and heading South as far as I could get over the weekend.

just walked on as did many others - its not like many trains on the east coast scotland who have 2 bike spots and fight you to get on ....

they had 6 spots at one end of the train at bridge of orchy - the train joined another at crianlarich and had another 6 spots ...

id imagine the sunday train to glasgow to be busy tbh ....hence why i abandoned rather than keep riding saturday and bivy sat night and train on sunday...

i hadnt booked.

Thanks, might risk it and not go as far as Fort William so i can cycle all the way home.

trail rat, what brackets on the back of your bike?

bagman expedition - its meant for carrying my carradice camper long flap but i wanted to go lighter than even that lets me - so bagman plus a drybag ... in addition to that i used a camelbak blowfish - just had arm/leg warmers , gilet , food and water in that though

So is that it!!!!
One vid and one (admittedly epic) photo report?
I was really looking forward to hearing about everyone's exploits. Ah well. I guess that shortish notice didn't help (that's what ruled me out).

shortish notice - its marked on your singletrackmag callender

:d cummon bristol crew - you lot are probably still lost in the hills 😉

So is that it!!!!
One vid and one (admittedly epic) photo report?
I was really looking forward to hearing about everyone's exploits

shortish notice - its marked on your singletrackmag callender

Yeah, but it clashed with the Bontrager 24/12. I mean how ****in' stupid is that Dave? 😉

Anyway, I was still camped out in the wilds of the quiet camping area at Newnham Park and in a pop-up tent that cost a third of the price of my bivi bag, and it rained, so here's my nuit-de-bivi competition contribution......

[img] [/img]

BTW, top bivi photos and write up trail_rat 🙂

Didn't get out on friday but i did get out on saturday, unfortunately i had to take the wife and kids with me in a 'kin huge tent, as i promised the rugrats weeks ago, so unfortunately i'm having to DQ myself.

Sorry i'm such a failure. 🙁

Sure it was a tent not a B+B? 😉

Defo slummed it in a tent, mind you, it was bigger than the b&b in Rhayader.

I have for a while been a wannabe bivvy-er who, I suspect like many on this forum, had read of the adventures of others, gradually assembled a passable collection of suitable kit, but who realistically was unlikely to ever give it a go. That was until Nuit de Bivvy Internationale appeared on the STW calendar on my office wall. The blurry prospect of a night under the stars came sharply into focus, depending upon the forecast nearer the time of course. A call to arms assembled just three brave souls who were willing to take on the 'wilderness*' of the Chilterns on a Friday night. Maps were pored over – the most difficult task being to locate a suitably isolated spot on which to bed down out of sight of wealthy landowners, their gamekeepers and the local dogging fraternity. Our individual kit lists ranged from 'all the [Alaskan adventure] gear' to 'a few extra clothes and a bivvy bag strapped to the frame' so it was probably a good job the weather was set fair. With planning complete we set off in Matt’s florist’s van on our adventure just as everyone else was returning from work to begin their weekends with a curry and a pint. A circle on a map left with my wife indicated the rough location where three bodies might be found enshrouded in breathable but waterproof fabric should things go horribly wrong.

[img] [/img]

I'd never ridden off-road carrying more than a large lunch, tools and a waterproof, so the additional weight of my overnight kit took a little getting used to on the first bit of singletrack. Trails we'd ridden many times before offered up a different prospect, with the bike behaving unusually with an altered centre of balance. Carrying extra weight the descents were faster, but we battled on the climbs to keep the front end down and bike going uphill. The trails were empty but for barn owls, red kites and rabbits.

[img] [/img]

We reached our pre-identified spot as the sun disappeared below the treetops and hunted down a suitable location with the assistance of around 3,000 lumens.

[img] [/img]

In the end we settled on an area beneath the beech trees carpeted with leaves, and far enough off the trail to avoid early morning confrontations with red-socked ramblers. After rolling out our gear we cooked up a storm with a critical ‘come dine with me’ style assessment of each other’s efforts, before settling down in front of a fire in the best traditions of ‘scouting for boys’, armed with hip flasks and marshmallows. That was until Adam, fearing a repeat of the infamous ‘singed gap year fleece in Vancouver incident 1999’ (don’t ask but it wasn’t hot rocked, right), extinguished every last ember, and we retired to the comfort of our bags.

[img] [/img]

[img] [/img]

I fell asleep, while trying not to think about the harvestmen crawling all over the ground, looking up into a moon-lit sky through the trees and slept surprisingly well, waking to the sound of distant barking deer, cooing wood pigeons, and not so distant snoring, with a morning mist hovering over the wood. After the essential morning coffee was made, we packed and hit the trail, leaving no trace we'd ever been there.

[img] [/img]

[img] [/img]

The Chilterns is usually pretty busy on a weekend, but at this time in the morning we shared the trails with no-one. My pack was lighter after the consumption of food, water and spirits, so the riding felt no harder despite having spent the night 'sleeping in a ditch'. We fairly flew down the first fantastic singletrack descent before the inevitable climb bought back memories (and almost more) of the whisky and chilli. We arrived back at the van at 9:30, earlier than we'd normally start biking most weekends, with 6 hours of riding under our belts and a new sense of liberation. My advice to any other wannabe bivvy-ers – don't wait for the Nuit de Bivvy Internationale 2011, get out there and do it in 2010 before the winter properly starts.

*I know you can't get much less wild but you have to start somewhere and some of the landowners round these parts have big dogs and shotguns!

Aye ... get some practice in for the 2011 Welsh Ride Thing! 😀

Nice one 😉

so just three bivys then ?

any more for any more ?

Not on friday but a few days before.
Absolutely hoofed it down with rain. Bivy bags and a bothy shelter supported by two bikes.
[img] [/img]

And breakfast under a bridge the next day.
[img] [/img]

proper ghetto.

I think the 'Nuit de bivvy Internationale ' should be extensed to the end of August, that way everyones got LOADS of time to plan and get out there..??

Ah ha, just worked out how to post bigger pictures so here are some of those from above again in slightly more detail!

[img] [/img]

[img] [/img]

[img] [/img]

Nuit de Bivvy Internationale is surely known across the world as the 4th Friday of July (or there abouts)? Of course I had an excuse as it's on my STW calendar. You can bivvy on other nights too so I am led to believe 😉

Nice pics, much better with bigger ones.. Shame all my riding buddy's think the whole Bivi idea is a bit on the sad side, I cant understand it and the thought of going on my own doesnt flow.... I think a massive STW Bivi adventure would be good, a massive group of like minded Bivi adventurers??

I'm not convinced mass bivvying is the way forward! A few mates and a rough plan is the way to go (in my limited experience).

Sad some may say but I loved it, and riding the trails when most people were tucked up added to the charm.

While I'm on a roll here's the others in BIGGER format,

[img] [/img]
(There are hills in there honest!)

[img] [/img]

[img] [/img]
Chilli 1 or Chilli 2?

ok - so I didn't have any excuse (ST calendar is right in front of my desk) clearly marked for the bivvy night. Ah well.

Unfortunately we seem to be in a pattern of July and August being pretty wet, but I guess I've got to get used to toughing it out (instead of my usual check that it's going to be dry and sunny before heading out).

Nice to see some good nights were had. I've enjoyed the s24o article in this month's ST too. I wish everything around here wasn't farmland - some proper wilderness (with clean running water) would be nice.

After travelling the swcp for almost 4 mths, with at a guess 3 of those months being wild camping, but without a tent or Bivvi back, i thought i might of missed the occasion, however a night on a roll matt under a partially open ended Marquee tent at Newnam was as close as i could get and one of the more comfortable places i've stayed this summer.

Bigface0_0 if your riding buddies think it's sad I suggest you get some new, slightly more robust ones who think it's less scarey ... I mean sad 😉

yeah I think your right, roughing it for them is a B&B... 🙄

So who's won the 'stuff' then??!

Prizes for first, second and third then??

Doesn't that just mean that everyone's a winner in this competition?!

Plumber, TrailRat and Dr Bakes email me your addresses and I'll send a preciousl thing to each of you.

It'll be a fortnight though cos I'm off to France later tonight.

Dave@singletrackworld.com

Well done chaps, Look forward to seein the pics of you with your prizes... 🙄

Well its a bit late, but I found myself at a loose end last night so I popped out for a bike bivvy
[IMG] [/IMG]
Cycled down to a little informal site on the spey and set the tarp up
[IMG] [/IMG]
The view out in the morning
[IMG] [/IMG]
thats the spey, sunday morning
[IMG] [/IMG]
coffee and breakfast
[IMG] [/IMG]
packed and ready to ride home.

well that was better than getting pissed in front of the telly 🙂

Nice one Sweepy. Your kit looks very well managed/packaged.
Looks like a nice spot too.

still waiting for my prize - 8~>

i had forgotten plumber - bivying here would be 5 star hotel - we have ants in the kitchen - broken everything , we had to clean our room out as it smelled foul

its very very cold in the rooms to stop malaria too

looking forward to a good bivy up on the hills when i get home !

what tarp is that sweepy?

gracias my man - Mrs TR tells me im the proud owner of a Singletrack hip flask

itll keep my cockles warm next time i go bivy 😀

Thats a decathlon tarp, 20 squids and it comes with super strong steel poles to leave at home. Seems ok for the money.
Sorry i didnt reply sooner, thought this thread had disappeared so didnt see the question.