my first ever solo bivi

I laid the bike down and chose a rocky outcrop to shelter me from the wind with flat grass at the base and a great view in almost every direction. I pitched the tarp using the bike’s handlebars and the rocks to get a bit of height, and rolled out the sleeping bag, sleeping mat and bivi bag in beneath.

I’d brought Iceland pasta salad to heat up for my supper, but it wasn’t that long since my dinner so I had half a bottle of Gatorade and a Frusli bar. I was glad to strip off my soaked cycling socks and replace them with the thick dry walking socks I’d brought – the only change of clothes I had with me.

Lying out there alone on the exposed hillside with the unfamiliar night sounds all around, I was a little unnerved. The flying sheep circling overhead bleating repeatedly as it came closer and closer to my camp was particularly unsettling (OK, so it probably wasn’t a sheep, but it really did sound like one) But it was a clear, still night, no rain, it wasn’t cold or windy in the shelter of the rock, and because I was on the hillside there were no midges. It was a beautiful night. With no light pollution for miles around it was bright until I fell asleep at 1130, and the first time I woke, at half past five, it was broad daylight. I thought I’d overslept.

I dozed until 7 o’clock when I stretched an arm out of my sleeping bag and set my stove onto the flat rock beside my head to boil the water for my porridge. The tarp was soaked with dew, so when I’d wakened enough I pegged it out in the early morning sunshine to dry. As the last of the mist cleared I packed up the rest of my kit between mouthfuls of porridge, and by 7:30 I was on my way again.