Bivvy experiences / advice

[GPS]

I've got a 600 in a few weeks time which will take me through two nights due to the start time. I'll therefore have to sleep en route and thought it's about time I got a bivvy bag and slept out in the open.

Plenty of audaxers do it, but apart from the occasional bus shelter snooze, I've avoided it so far.

Does anyone care to share their thoughts, experiences or advice ... ?

[danrough]

I've done it a couple of times. To date, I have used an Alpkit Hunka bivvi bag, perched atop a Thermarest NeoAir mat. On the last time I used that combination the temprature dropped to about freezing, and I was a little cold. I'm going to add a silk liner to that set up, and am considering a sleeping bag too - I've read good things about the Snugpak ones.

[Chris N]

2-night 600?  If you sleep on the first night you'll be out of time; by the time you get to the second you won't care.

[DrMekon]

I have bike packing gear where a bit of sleep on an offroad 200/300km is a possibility - doing techy drops in to Gunnerside at night, even with an exposure six pack is brave.

My preferred superlight "might sleep" setup is

SOL emergency bivy - 108g
Neoair xlite small - 207g
Cumulus quilt 150 - 375g

If it's a def sleep then SOL Escape bivy at 241g adds breathability. Throw that lot in a alpkit 13l drybag (148g) and there's a sub kilo sleep system that you will have a good nights sleep in. Add a silk liner if you like but by the time I stop, ICBA.

[Oscar's dad]

I've done it once and want to do it again but haven't had the chance. 

Given I had never done the bivvy thing before and it was September I my kit list was cautious as opposed to experimental and brave:

1 - full length Thermarest
2 - lightweight sleeping bag (a cheapy I had already, no particular brand)
3 - Alpkit Hunka bivvy bag (borrowed)
4 - plastic survival bag I used as a ground sheet
5 - inflatable pillow 

I am a rubbish sleeper and didn't think I'd get a wink but I did, much to my amazement.

[When I can get Photobucket to behave I will add a photo]

[marcusjb]

I'm intrigued by a 2-night 600 (sounds horrible!), but anyway!

I sleep cold.

I have been using the following a little recently and will be using it a lot over the next couple of weeks.  I suspect I could go with a much lighter sleeping bag and mat, however, this is just a test and I didn't want to shell out for more stuff and would rather use what I already owned.

Bivi - Rab Alpine Bivi - 420g
Mat - Thermorest Pro-lite stolen from Mrs. JB because my one is pretty old and heavy compared to even this!- 460g
Bag - Mountain Hardware Phantom 45 - 530g
Silk liner - Sea to Summit I think from memory - 121g

A shade over 1500g

Whilst the bag is rated to 7 degrees, with the silk liner and wearing what I had with me, I was comfortable down to very low temperatures the other night in a forest in Suffolk (it was around 1 degree according to the Garmin).  I suspect I will largely be sleeping in low teens, however, if I got caught out at altitude, it could easily be 3-4 degrees.

I like silk liners as cleaning down bags is a pain in the arse!

NeoAir is going to save 100-200g (depending on model) from that and a light bag maybe 150-200g - and that's about it, but it would cost me a reasonable chunk of cash to do so.

[Oscar's dad]

Here we go, a picture, I was in a wood ...

[Brakeless]

I have one of these http://www.outdoorresearch.com/en/helium-bivy.html I like the hoop, it's not much heavier than a normal bivy bag but a lot less claustrophobic. I use it in conjunction with a Thermarest neoair and a really light (less than 0.5kg) down bag. The bivi, mat and bag all fit in my saddlebag and everything else(clothes puncture kit etc) goes in a framebag. This'll be my set up for the Highlands and Islands 1200 in July. The plan is to just ride till I'm done sleep and repeat.

[ChillyPanda]

Great thread! I'm interested, too, to learn how others' are using a bivvy on a bike for multi-day rides.

I'm planning to ride my first 600 later in the year (Tomsk's Flatlands 600) plus some shorter rides beforehand, and I intend to bivvy as will give me the flexibilty to get some shuteye anywhere there is a secluded spot, which is pretty much anywhere. No hotel booking worries.

The ChillyPanda Sleep System™ should come in at around 790g total for everything (bivvy bag, sleeping quilt, mat). Rated down to 4 celsius. Total cost - under £120. And should fit nicely in a pannier or in my Carradice lowsaddle.

I'll just need to take it on an overnight test run beforehand 

[Ruthie]

Do you ever wake up with slugs crawling on your face and in your mouth?

[GPS]

Thanks for the info everyone. I was planning on just using an Alpkit Hunka bivvy bag and a silk liner and chancing it - depending on the weather. I hadn't thought about a bag and mat too ... maybe I should ? Had no idea they could be so light.

I'm intrigued by a 2-night 600 (sounds horrible!), but anyway!

I'm riding the Hellfire perm starting at 10 p.m. after a full day's work. I could probably go through the first night without too much of a problem, but not the second. I'll need to sleep and was thinking maybe a few hours in a bivvy, under cover too if possible might just see me through it. It's my idea of 'fun'.

Do you ever wake up with slugs crawling on your face and in your mouth?

Not yet. But if I do, I guess that's breakfast sorted ...

[Phil W]

Do you ever wake up with slugs crawling on your face and in your mouth?

I woke up with a leech on my lips when camping remote in Nepal 23 years ago. What memories!

[Phil W]

On the bivvy question I have 3 bivvy's but they are from my mountaineering rather than cycling. So used up mountains not at side of road.

My lightest bivvy bag is 200g made from 30d coated rip stop nylon, slightly smaller than a can of drink when in its bag. Amazingly it goes back in its bag without issue. I have a down sleeping bag from PHD that weighs about 350g. 

The bivvy fits in my 9l saddle bag with ease. The sleeping bag I'd probably Bing in a sil nylon dry bag from sea to the summit. It fits in a 4l one, so 60g or so. I'd probably strap that to front of handlebars.

Total weight 610g and not that bulky at all.

Next up I have a storm bivvy for when it's defintely going to be a very wet sleep. This comes up about 400g and has its own built in dry bag.

I also have a bivvy with an inflatable hoop that comes in at 910g. That one I'll tend to use if touring with planned multiple full nights rather than a couple of hours you'd typically grab on a 600.

Saddlebag under head works fine as a pillow.

I don't bother with a mat for one nighters. I find a grassy area is comfortable enough for an hour or two. Barns not near a farm building also work as do hay stacks. Wooden decks of beach huts, windmills and other buildings I've found also work well.  Just be sure to be on your way before dawn.

[Oscar's dad]

... I'm planning to ride my first 600 later in the year (Tomsk's Flatlands 600) ...

My one and only bivvy experience, shown in the photo up thread, was on the Flatlands, I had a few hours kip in a wood an hour or two after turning for home at Goole.

The OS grid reference for my bivvy site in the woods on the outskirts of Haxey is SE 77182 00485.

On the A161 between Walkeringham and Beckeringham I noticed some nice looking fields, particularly on the left, which looked like likely spots to duck down behind the hedge and unroll your bivvy bag on the field margins.  The OS grid reference I noted is SK 77208 92117.

[Somnolent]

... I'm planning to ride my first 600 later in the year (Tomsk's Flatlands 600) ...

My one and only bivvy experience, shown in the photo up thread, was on the Flatlands, I had a few hours kip in a wood an hour or two after turning for home at Goole.

The OS grid reference for my bivvy site in the woods on the outskirts of Haxey is SE 77182 00485.

On the A161 between Walkeringham and Beckeringham I noticed some nice looking fields, particularly on the left, which looked like likely spots to duck down behind the hedge and unroll your bivvy bag on the field margins.  The OS grid reference I noted is SK 77208 92117.

Are you hoping they'll put up a blue plaque to mark the spot ?

[Oscar's dad]

I'm expecting nothing less 

[mattc]

I'm intrigued by a 2-night 600 (sounds horrible!), but anyway!

There have defintely been night start events - I vageuly recall something on the Mull of Kintyre, possibly 2015 (PBP practice?)

I cant see any in the current calendar, so either the OP is riding something overseas, or he's DIYing.

There would need to be good reasons for that start time (ferries? ) and would work if you can finish in 35hours-or-less. Finish close to midnight and you sort-of get a proper night's sleep and still have a Sunday left to "enjoy".

Nothing to do with bivvy bags of course ...

[Frank9755]

I'm intrigued by a 2-night 600 (sounds horrible!), but anyway!

There have defintely been night start events - I vageuly recall something on the Mull of Kintyre, possibly 2015 (PBP practice?)

I cant see any in the current calendar, so either the OP is riding something overseas, or he's DIYing.

There would need to be good reasons for that start time (ferries? ) and would work if you can finish in 35hours-or-less. Finish close to midnight and you sort-of get a proper night's sleep and still have a Sunday left to "enjoy".

Nothing to do with bivvy bags of course ...

The 2011 Mull of Kintyre was my first night start, and probably my best ever 600. 
We set off at 9pm, rode across Scotland overnight. 
We didn't have bivvy bags, but did find shelter from the cold in a phone box, which fit three people at a squeeze, at about 5am. There were only two problems with that:
- it was hard to sleep standing up
- there were four of us so one had to take turns going outside to cool off
Then, at about 8 or 9 am when the sun was fully up, we got half an hour's kip on some benches by the harbour at Tarbert.

[vorsprung]

When I've slept outside on audax type rides at best I've had a silk liner.  Normally I just lie down fully clothed on whatever is available (church porch, garage forecourt, haystack etc)

I just get 15 minutes sleep and then press on

I do have a bivvy but I've only used it to sleep on the beach at the end of the Exmouth Exodus

[Andrew]

Normally I just lie down fully clothed on whatever is available (church porch, garage forecourt, haystack etc)

Ditto. Generally speaking though, the weather allows for such things.

I am considering some touristy style couple of day rides though (not validated DIYs because they won't be to time limits or such, they'll be 'just for fun' rides) and for those I'm seriously considering bivvy, mat and bag/silk liner. I have the kit, just haven't gotten around to using it!

[Christophe]

Done it a few times. For me makes sense. Too slow for a proper night in travel Lodge etc so ideal for 2-3 hours proper rest.
Alpkit Hunka, lightweight tescos sleeping bag and a Big Bertha lightweight blow up sleeping mat and blow up pillow from Poundland for extra comfort. On 300k + rides I also have a Whitebox micro stove and small pot so I can make coffee and noodles.

[Rod Marton]

I generally take an emergency bivi bag on longer events but try only to use it if the weather is good. I generally sleep better outside (rather than in a sleep control full of snoring farting cyclists) and prefer to do it, but it isn't much fun if it is cold. Cold is really the problem: you can get away from rain in a bus shelter or similar but it is difficult to get away from the cold - and you really start feeling the cold on hard events. My only recommendation is to make sure you don't sleep in a valley - it's often a couple of degrees colder at the bottom.

If you know that you will be sleeping out it's worth taking something with a bit more insulation, but as ever it is a balance between comfort and weight.

[ChillyPanda]

... I'm planning to ride my first 600 later in the year (Tomsk's Flatlands 600) ...

My one and only bivvy experience, shown in the photo up thread, was on the Flatlands, I had a few hours kip in a wood an hour or two after turning for home at Goole.

The OS grid reference for my bivvy site in the woods on the outskirts of Haxey is SE 77182 00485.

On the A161 between Walkeringham and Beckeringham I noticed some nice looking fields, particularly on the left, which looked like likely spots to duck down behind the hedge and unroll your bivvy bag on the field margins.  The OS grid reference I noted is SK 77208 92117.

Are you hoping they'll put up a blue plaque to mark the spot ?

[mmmmartin]

my best ever 600......

We didn't have bivvy bags, but did find shelter from the cold in a phone box, which fit three people at a squeeze, at about 5am. There were only two problems with that:
- it was hard to sleep standing up
- there were four of us so one had to take turns going outside to cool off
Then, at about 8 or 9 am when the sun was fully up, we got half an hour's kip on some benches by the harbour at Tarbert.

There some people who doubt the glamour of audax. Hard to believe, I know

[Tomsk]

My 'Blue Plaques' would mostly be on bus shelters somewhere in Lincolnshire  , but I did a two nighter Cambridge-York-Cambridge 600 once with a bivi in the woods near South Kyme: I think I used my tarp and a 2 season bag...

On our 'Reversed Flatliner' last summer, Huggy and I used lightweight sleeping bags in the ACME 5***** bus shelter along Burton Ridge near Lincoln. Any more kipping-kit would need something bigger than a Barley.