First overnight cycle trip! It was bloody freezing!

[ChrisEyles]

I bought a bivvy bag a little while ago with the intention of doing some mini-touring over the weekends. It should hopefully be perfect for wild camping up on Dartmoor/Exmoor.

Managed to get out after work for a test run last week. The ride itself was very short since I didn't finish work 'til it was getting dark already, but I managed to find a lovely spot in a little birch glade on a bit of Exmoor heathland. It was quite comfy in the early part of the night, but dropped down to 0C later on, which was bloomin' freezing in the sleeping bag/bivvy bag combo! Absolutely amazing display of stars though, I'll definitely be doing this as much as possible once it's warmed up a touch.

I woke up to find myself surrounded by Exmoor ponies - they were very clearly after the porridge I'd brought with me to have for breakfast.

Followed by the best commute to work ever - some nice singletrack along a lake shore

Mrs Chris is off on a conference in a couple of week's time so I'm planning a weekend's riding up on Dartmoor with some wild camping overnight. I've also got myself a tarp to keep the rain off if it showers overnight and am looking forward to experimenting with a few different pitching methods. Might try and do a couple of beach camps later in the year too - we're spoilt for choice down in Devon so I'm really looking forward to a Summer under the stars

 

[ChrisEyles]

One quick question for the mtb tourers out there - do you carry your kit on the bike or in a backpack? I find carrying a load on my tourer/commuter in the panniers is fine on the roads but off piste I prefer to carry the load in a backpack. This is fine for day trips, but with the extra gear for overnighting I find the height of the backpack pushes my cycling helmet forward and pushes my head down, which is rubbish when it happens on a steep off-road descent!

 

[david k]

I bought a bivvy bag a little while ago with the intention of doing some mini-touring over the weekends. It should hopefully be perfect for wild camping up on Dartmoor/Exmoor.

Managed to get out after work for a test run last week. The ride itself was very short since I didn't finish work 'til it was getting dark already, but I managed to find a lovely spot in a little birch glade on a bit of Exmoor heathland. It was quite comfy in the early part of the night, but dropped down to 0C later on, which was bloomin' freezing in the sleeping bag/bivvy bag combo! Absolutely amazing display of stars though, I'll definitely be doing this as much as possible once it's warmed up a touch.

I woke up to find myself surrounded by Exmoor ponies - they were very clearly after the porridge I'd brought with me to have for breakfast.

View attachment 350269

Followed by the best commute to work ever - some nice singletrack along a lake shore

View attachment 350271

Mrs Chris is off on a conference in a couple of week's time so I'm planning a weekend's riding up on Dartmoor with some wild camping overnight. I've also got myself a tarp to keep the rain off if it showers overnight and am looking forward to experimenting with a few different pitching methods. Might try and do a couple of beach camps later in the year too - we're spoilt for choice down in Devon so I'm really looking forward to a Summer under the stars

Looks great but I did think it said first overweight cycle trip, I was going to share some of my own experiences of which I have many lol

 

[Yellow Saddle]

Carrying things in a backpack is a no-no. It increases the pressure between sitbones and saddle and leads to premature saddle sores on longer trips. It gives you a sweaty back and limits your heat management.
Panniers are best, but they must be well strapped on and in and an around when the going gets rough. They must be shake-proofed.

 

[ChrisEyles]

@Yellow Saddle I tend to agree, much nicer to carry kit on the bike if you can, though I've found the backpack fine for daytrips. I might have a spare rack somewhere in the garage that I could fix to my MTB but no spare panniers currently - and I would definitely worry about kit shaking loose on the rough stuff!

Fortunately my tourer/commuter has some decent panniers already so will probably use that one for longer trips.

 

[Crackle]

I think all the mtb/fatbike campers these days use bikepacking bags from the likes of Alpkit etc... Panniers off road tend to come off the clips break. it also makes the bike awkward to lift over gate and things.

 

[Lee-M]

I did some Dartmoor off road touring a few weeks ago with the bike laden using Ortleib panniers and they held up ok with not too much bouncing around . I definately wouldn't do too much touring with a backpack for the reasons mentioned above .

Dartmoor and Exmoor are great places for short tours . Let us know how you get on Chris.

 

[ChrisEyles]

I recently did up my commuter/touring bike in preparation for a weekend out on Dartmoor. It has been sadly languishing in the garage for the last year and a bit, since I moved jobs and am no longer able to commute by bike So I spent a bit of time tuning up the brakes and the shifting and gave it all a good clean and lube, nice new bar tape, and now it's got that "new bike" feeling back again

Given that I'm unlikely to be setting much pace with full panniers and I could never really comfortably get in the drops, I flipped the stem, then moved the hoods out and down along the bars to compensate a little. It looks a bit dorky and TBH feels a tad too high right now, but I think I'll get used to it and braking from the drops is much easier with the hoods in this position... and most importantly I can comfortably sit in the drops pretty much as long as I want which should offer a bit more variety of positions. My cycling fitness is pretty much at an all time low at the moment so any performance oriented set-up points are pretty much moot in any case!

The rigid MTB is the bike I keep at work so will hopefully still be using that one a bit (with backpack) for some sneaky short overnighters too.

If the weather's not dead set against me and I manage the planned Dartmoor mini-tour I'll make sure to take some piccies and post how I get on

View attachment 350354

 

[ChrisEyles]

 

[Heltor Chasca]

Nice!

I really enjoy some off road touring on my MTB. Seat pack, frame bag, dry bag on the handlebars, chalk bags on the stem and a little fuel pod type bag for bits. It's an ideal system and worth going light. I only use a rucksack if I'm lazy and don't downsize and I'll only put clothes and sleeping bag in it.

Next bivi-trip I'm doing is the Ridgeway.

 

[robjh]

I wish you hadn't posted about bivying for another couple of weeks! I'm off on a short tour next week (mainly south and mid-Wales) and was weighing up taking the bivi bag, but decided in the end on using hostels (and have started making bookings). My reasons were : 1 still quite early in the year and nights can be cold ; 2 plenty of cheap hostels where I'm going ; 3 saving on weight and bulk by not taking camping stuff, especially in view of reasons 1 and 2.
They're all good reasons but you've reminded me again of the joys of the bivi. Oh well, roll on summer.

 

[Bodhbh]

I've used a 40 odd litre rucksack for my first tour(s) and the South Downs Way. It didn't bother me too much but I'd rather have it on the bike, one way or another.

I've never had much of a problem with touring off road with the rack/panniers setup. That said, I'm happy to muddle along with whatever comes and aren't really bothered by technical riding. The main issue is pulling wheelies on v steep climbs if all the weight is up back.

I'm gradually aquiring some of the bikepacking gear to see how the other half lives. Some hidden costs to beware - eg, all your cables may need lengthing to make room for gear if you start lashing stuff to the handlebars. Then you may want a bespoke bag to get the max luggage volume out of your frame triangle. It seems you have to be more thoughtful about what you need and how to compartmentalise things. Some will say that's a plus, but prefer to take what I like and chuck things in. We will see!

 

[ChrisEyles]

Yeah, a 40L rucksack does make packing nice and easy! I think I'll stick with that for the time being on the MTB and use the panniers for the Dartmoor road ride. Overnight minimum temperatures are forecast to be 6C-7C around me this week which should be a lot more comfortable!

 

[ChrisEyles]

Went out again last week around Exmoor on a mini-overnighter, this time with a colleague. A lot warmer than last time, and the tarp seemed to work well to keep the dew off too. I am slightly envious of his hammock now though!

 

[ChrisEyles]

I was planning on going out to Dartmoor tomorrow but the forecast is looking dodgy and the moor is no fun if the weather really comes in. Looking at a few potential routes now... will have to check the forecast in the morning!