Bivvy a Month - January

D invited me to join him Saturday at his favorite winter camp site in the Marin Headlands. I agreed, and for a short time we had two others planning to join us, but in the end, it was the two of us. He'd come late, after work, and I had the whole day off to get there. I rode down the hill, took the ferry from Alameda to San Francisco, rode across the Golden Gate Bridge just after the sun set and got to camp, a really beautiful spot, and started thinking about where to put a tent. 

I texted D my coordinates and asked where he usually set up and he told me "That's 7 miles from camp."

It turns out, there are two campgrounds with the same name, in the same area. I had come down a pretty long descent to get to this one, and was ready to put up my tent, which I nearly did. A sense of loyalty was what made me turn around, climb and climb again to the other campground. It was a tough push at the end, but I got to an empty campground close to 8PM, set out my new-to-me tent (first-generation Durston X-Mid 2, short carbon poles, mesh inner) and made myself a dinner of cheesy mashed potatoes with bacon and some bone broth to warm me up. 

The thermometer on my bike bag - another new piece of gear - showed 43º. It was breezy, and I'm glad I had my Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer down puffy pants and jacket. I look like a green Michelin Man in that outfit, but I don't care, it's cozy! D got there a bit later, and we had a good conversation, good cheer, and by then I had let go of any bad feelings about restarting for the second campground.

I cheated at good sleep; I took two night-time Advil. My 30º bag, the puffy pants and jacket and my new-to-me tent kept me cozy. I slept well, waking up with the sun.

D didn't have as good a night. He'd experimented with a new jacket, which turned out to be not quite warm enough, and he slept in a bivvy + bag only, and his night-time tea had caffeine. But his setup was lighter than mine. The X-Mid 2 tent is ~ 34 oz / 965 g, not bad at all, but if I'd brought tarp + bivvy it would have been even lighter and less volume, in fact I could have put everything in my front pack. But I really wanted to try my new tent, so I did. I guess this is another TAM, not a BAM. (Tent A Month, not Bivvy A Month)

Breakfast was oatmeal with dried fruit and a luxury; medium-roast coffee, pre-ground from home in my AeroPress Go. I need to get some more dehydrated coffee, and carry it with a collapsible cup, but this was nice.

We studied a map. 

the wrinkles in the bandana make it look like a 3d topo map

I was advocating for a drop to the pavement, then a single climb up Mount Tamalpais and down the other side to Fairfax, where my wife would meet me, but D suggested we stay on dirt, and climb the series of ridges to Tam. "We've got all day." He had a date night in Oakland at 6PM, for which he needed to be back on time. I had a loose agreement with my wife to meet me in Fairfax for dinner. I could have completed the return trip all the way home by bike, but it would have been a very long day, and I was recovering from a cold and not feeling like a hero, or early starts, or a hard, all-day push, mostly on pavement. Riding primarily on dirt, all the way to dinner with Lauren worked.

We rode Miwok to Hwy 1 to Muir Beach to the Pelican Inn, then waited for them to open to have an early lunch. We went off the athletic and ascetic rails pretty quickly; Shepherd's Pie and a Bloody Mary for me, beer and pasties for D. My friend Laura arrived, waiting for all the girls and women of Archie Williams and Fat Tire Flyers high school and middle school mtb teams, and they rolled in while we had our lunch, led by Hannah, Laura's daughter and a fellow race crew member of the NorCal League. It was good to see them both, and the riders of the future; it was a large group of riders and supporting moms! They'd spent the night before at the West Point Inn. Laura and Hannah and their coaches have a great program. The funny thing is that, I think the last time I saw Laura and Hannah was at the Pelican Inn, a year ago.

I have to admit to some gluttony here. D asked if I wanted a beer, as he was getting a second. It was just past noon. I got a beer, and you can't have beer on an empty stomach, so I got fish and chips to go with it, figuring we could share. Well, D was full and I had a second lunch, and a second alcoholic beverage. My old friend Jimmy, a riding friend from decades ago was also there - his young daughter was part of the Fat Tire Flyers. We had a good conversation. I faded into the background; this was a ladies and girls weekend, middle-aged men drinking beer and eating second lunches belong over there.

Then, it was time to climb out. We basically regained all the elevation we'd lost on Hwy 1, climbing Diaz Ridge, which D didn't know. My stomach was full and my head a bit spinny from alcohol, but decades of Thursday Night Rides have taught me that I can metabolize alcohol and use it for physical work, just not very efficiently. Oof. By the time we'd reached the Panoramic Hwy, D was ready to split, and start heading toward his date night. 

We said goodbye where Gravity Car meets Railroad; D went down and I went up. I stopped at the West Point Inn - the "What's the Point Inn," as my friend Gravy used to call it - to drink water and let my stomach catch up, while I texted Lauren and my friend Terry about dinner. Terry had reached out a few days before, and I thought that we might catch up over dinner, since I'd be arriving in the next town over from him. 

I have a tradition of buying a Mount Tamalpais "hiking pole badge" at the little gift shop on East Peak, and using double-sided sticky tape to put it on my bikes' head tubes, for head badges. D had mentioned he wanted a second Mount Tamalpais bandana that wasn't the grimy one he was using for bikepacking. At the summit a ranger was offering free hot drinks, courtesy of the Friends of Mount Tam. I gladly made a cup of Abuelita hot chocolate, as I was cold & tired, and thanked her. I should become a member of FoMT. All sales from the gift shop go to them as well, and I put some money in their coffers, bringing home another head badge, and a bandana for D.

The Eldridge descent is rocky, but I love it. My history with Eldridge Grade goes back 45 years, and even with a rigid fork, I find it delightful. It requires a "ready position;" rarely sitting, bent elbows and knees used as shock absorbers, and a lighter grip on the bars, and an awareness of tire-cutter rocks, the ability to see and take good lines, and the right attitude. My attitude was right. I was ready.

I took the Lakeview Fire Road split to Lake Lagunitas, then dropped by the little dam and pump house to Sky Oaks Road, then down Shaver Grade to Fairfax. Lauren arrived just five minutes later. I stuffed the bike in the back of the van, pulled out my puffy jacket, and we headed for our favorite restaurant in Fairfax, Sorella's, where I made myself a bit presentable, and where Terry and Roz met us for a very nice dinner and conversation.

That's January done, two BAMs (TAMs, realy) in a row. I'm committed to keeping this streak going. New gear tried; Durston X-Mid 2 tent, Nitecore NB10000 Gen 3 Ultra-Slim USB-C Power Bank, which I was able to charge from my Sinewave Beacon 2 light while riding, and the ThermoDrop® Zipper-Pull Thermometer, which tells me current temp, and max/min during the period it's on. And I'm going to spend a night at that first campground; it's very nice.