I recently learned, thanks to Kevin Cunniffe, about a group in the UK that calls itself Bear Bones Bikepacking, and which has a tradition called Bivvy a Month:
There are no rules as such and you're free to do whatever you like. However, there are some guidelines which if adhered to make you eligible for a lovely BaM patch. They are ....
- At least one night out per calendar month for twelve consecutive months.
- Your own back garden does not count. That of your neighbour does.
- A single trip taking in both the last night of one month and the first of the next, will count as two months if you wish - but you still need 2 nights out, just that they'll be combined within a single trip.
- A bike must be involved - it's bikepacking, the clue's in the name ... 'Involved'? You really don't need me to spell it out do you?
- No paid for accommodation inc' campsites or hostels. Bothies are okay.
- Post each trip here in as much detail as you like, pictures are good. One post for each month please ... if you'd prefer not to post, that's fine. We'll take you at your word but people do like reading the trip reports.
I was intrigued enough to mentally commit to doing the same, starting December 2025. Why? To practice
bikepacking. I'd recently bought a
Hudski Dualist, and proceeded to set it up as my dedicated bikepacking bike. After my last bikepacking trip I'd had a fair bit of mechanical work to restore my gravel bike to its normal state. I wanted a bike that would always be ready to go on a trip. I hadn't yet
done a bikepacking trip with the Dualist. I am trying some new gear;
Schmidt SON 28 dynamo hub
and
Sinewave
lights, a
Mica Rat Tail Rack,
Swift Zeitgeist
bag with
Haute Bike bag support and light bracket, et cetera, and I wanted to see how they'd do. Bikepacking does take
practice. I want to keep
the bikepacking habits and skills fresh. One night of sleeping outside a month
is a good way to keep in touch with nature, detach from the comforts of home and remind myself that I am an animal.
An animal, with technology. I'll put up another blog post with my thoughts about these new pieces of gear.
The other thing that motivated me was this little nudge from bikepacking.com,
Good Night 2025 (December 19-31)
 |
| "Our end-of-year overnighter is back for its sixth consecutive edition! Good Night 2025 invites everyone to slip away for a quiet night under the stars anytime between December 19–31." |
|
| from Saturday Night Live's "Sunday Supper" sketch |
I ate dinner, packed up my bike and said goodnight to my family and headed
north to a spot I'd previously scouted, about 8 miles north by dirt, along the
ridge of hills that separate the San Francisco Bay Area from the suburbs to
the east. It was cold and windy, with another storm system coming. I wanted to
do tarp + bivvy, but I wasn't prepared, so brought my one-person
Tarptent Moment DW
tent instead. It's thirteen years old, and still works great. My spot was on a
little shoulder off a local hill, facing the eastern side, with a view of
Mount Diablo.
First ride with Sinewave Beacon light mounted on Haute Bike T-Bar Light Mount, powered by Schmidt SON 28 hub. In this video, the light is set on "bright," (max, 750 lumens) but the mount has the light so low that the front tire creates a big shadow. I'll abandon this mounting strategy and go with something higher up, on the bars.
I spent the night here:
 |
| My view of Mt. Diablo, before turning in |
 |
| Home sweet home |
It was 41º fahrenheit, 5º celsius with a strong breeze when I turned in. I slept well. As I lay in my bag, warming up, I listened to the distant roar of a nearby highway. All those people, rushing to and fro. I had this deep thought; sometimes you need to just be, you don't have to always do. And another; we're all busy earning a living, selling our time. But it's your time, your only life. Don't waste it, live it.
At some point in the night, one of the two pegs holding each end of my tent pulled out. I was up before dawn, restored structural integrity, made coffee and some oatmeal with trail mix, then returned before the next rains arrived, forecast for 8AM.
 |
| Coffee, oatmeal with trail mix, probable dawn behind clouds |
 |
| This was my camp spot; a nice little saddle, sheltered from the wind |
 |
| Pushing back up the hill |
 |
| Through this gate; society |
 |
| The road home |
 |
| As I neared my house, I could see rain coming in over the bay. I felt drops right after I took this picture. |
Comments
Post a Comment