Cycling UK Forum

Hi all.
Dose anyone go cycle camping in feb/March/April when it gets dark early. Those long dark evenings do not sound appealing, unless there is a pub nearby

2wheels wrote: ↑6 Feb 2023, 4:14pm Hi all.
Dose anyone go cycle camping in feb/March/April when it gets dark early. Those long dark evenings do not sound appealing, unless there is a pub nearby

I think you've identified the usual solution!

Golden Swan, Wilcot, Wiltshire... large camping field to one's self, ditto washing facilties, pub, serving tasty food, beckoning at ne corner of field. Oh Yes.

Generally no. 12hr/12hr is about my limit. Probably after the clocks change to summer time is my limit for bike camping. An extra hour at night is a huge difference. Obviously for March a suitably settled spell of weather needed as well. March is totally random. Anthing from the Beast from the East 2 weeks snow or last years shorts and T shirt weather in Sutherland.

I enjoy a bit of 'getting away from it all' in late March / early April. Arrive late afternoon, feed, snuggle into sleeping bag early (maybe 8pm). Perhaps I'll listen to a play or drama I have downloaded from BBC Sounds to my phone. Typically I go to Dartmoor, as I combine it with picking son up from university.

What you need is an abandoned soviet airforce hanger ...

BerlinMatt wrote: ↑9 Feb 2023, 4:42pm What you need is an abandoned soviet airforce hanger ...

Does it have Wi-Fi?

I try to get a trip out late March and late October to a campsite not far from home. It's close to a church I visit for "memorial" reasons but too far from home for me to want to do the return journey in a day. Up until last year, I went October only but this year on my reasons for going now include March. The campsite is open March to October.

So the days are a bit longer than they are now. I try to wait until about 9:00 pm to get to the pub (maybe earlier if I'm eating there) so as I'm not spending too much time there (I leave at kicking out time). I'm happy listening to radio/music/podcasts before and after the pub. As well as my phone, I have a little music player (needs head/earphones) with FM radio and microSD slot - I have thousands of tracks and some podcasts saved to the SD card - so I have something to listen to even if I have no phone data signal. I typically read bulletin boards and news websites on the phone - especially in the pub, using their wifi.

mattheus wrote: ↑9 Feb 2023, 4:55pm

BerlinMatt wrote: ↑9 Feb 2023, 4:42pm What you need is an abandoned soviet airforce hanger ...

Does it have Wi-Fi?

Not even a single bar of phone reception!

You need to take a good reading light for your tent. Last year a pub campsite kindly provided one, conveniently switching it off about 10/10.30: -

Have bivvied in a corner of a wet field at the end of march - a few years ago on a ride from Birmingham to London.

Slept fine, not cold, despite strange animal grunting noises.

Sweep wrote: ↑10 Feb 2023, 3:45pm Slept fine, not cold, despite strange animal grunting noises.

In my experience, this is usually a symptom of too much beer at the pub.

Camped out* last night in the freeze.
Forecast was for -4 but I don't think it went much below zero.
* In a garden admittedly to test some stuff, not in the wilds.

Was perfectly snug.

Sweep wrote: ↑8 Mar 2023, 8:24am Camped out* last night in the freeze.
Forecast was for -4 but I don't think it went much below zero.
* In a garden admittedly to test some stuff, not in the wilds.

Was perfectly snug.

Do you do this just to give your neighbours something to talk about?

mattheus wrote: ↑8 Mar 2023, 8:44am

Sweep wrote: ↑8 Mar 2023, 8:24am Camped out* last night in the freeze.
Forecast was for -4 but I don't think it went much below zero.
* In a garden admittedly to test some stuff, not in the wilds.

Was perfectly snug.

Do you do this just to give your neighbours something to talk about?

Can't see me - and if they have nowt better to talk about, good luck to them.
I thought I had explained somewhere - and if not pretty obvious - doing it to test combinations of stuff at various temps - far far far better to do this close to home before heading to a blasted moor or two and waking freezing at 2 in the morning.
It's pretty standard practice/good practice for cyclecampers - similarly I don't fiddle with the bike/make major changes to it the day of a departure - or even the day before.

Of course I could rely on the data/estimates of the manufacturers/marketeers of the kit - tent, sleeping bag, sleeping mat/s etc, but I think that would be somewhat inadvisable/daft. My sleeping mat even quotes two separate R numbers.