On the longest day of the year I had a Romantic (with a capital ‘R’, right? Miranda?) notion of b’cycling out to a field and sleeping under the stars.
As I had not yet been very due east east out of Bristol, I choose to do a shortish, albeit quite hilly cycle to Chippenham then sleep under the stars in a campsite just south of Chippenham: Wick Farm, near Lacock.
At about 5pm (ish) after a quick rice & poached egg energy meal, I strapped my sleeping bag to my handle bars and slipped a tarp into my rucksack along with some jeans and a t-shirt. I had no idea what I was doing nor what I was expecting. The last time I camped was in a tent in a field at the Upton Cheyney Chilli fest with an air mattress and a second human for warmth. Many years ago.
I carried on regardless and set off for the Bristol-to-Bath cycle path but was to take the mysterious left at the fork in the path near Mangotsfield. I have always passed this fork in the path and taken the right to Bath wondering to where the left might lead. Now I was on a voyage of adventure and discovery as Komoot guided me north, towards Yate.
It was a lovely warm summer evening and as the path ended I was directed up the first of many inclines towards Pucklechurch.
Just south of Pucklechurch, a new road surface was being laid so I had a bumpy, dusty ride for about 5km. Then betwixt Hinton and Dyrham was the humourously named Cock Lane which also lead into a 11% climb which was pretty gruelling.
The road flattened out somewhat and the county lanes were splendidly windy and undulating. It wasn’t long before I’d eaten up the km’s and was heading up the hill towards Chippenham. It was around 7pm so I went to Sainsbury’s for a large bottle of water to keep me going until the morning.
I found a Subway and ate a hearty footlong, then headed to my campsite before dusk. The campsite was just 5kms out of Chippenham, due South. A tough ride on a very gravely lane.
I arrived in the field which was to be my bed for the night. I met the owner and paid my 15 pounds. I laid down my tarp and sleeping bag and enjoyed the warm evening as the sun set. I changed into my jeans & t-shirt and put my lycra on over the top for an extra layer. Then I had a raincoat and water-proof trousers which I slipped over for even more extra layers.
As the evening turned to twilight around 10pm I slipped into my sleeping bag and drifted off to sleep. But not for long, around 11pm I was chilly. I drifted in and out of sleep but was feeling colder and colder.
Around 3am I was unable to sleep at all as I was now uncomfortably cold. After a pee I decided to pack up and set off for home. I left the field around 3:45am and set off with a head-torch and bike lights to show me the way.
I felt surprisingly good for most of the ride home. As the sun came up, I warmed up and enjoyed meeting various wildlife along the way. Luckily I also had plenty of water to see me through the ride home, so I was pretty much non-stop and got home around 6:45am.
I was hungry and made pasta for breakfast then went to my lovely warm bed. I learned a lot about camping; namely I need lighter, yet warmer equipment and more clothes. For my next adventure I will get a better/lighter sleeping bag with a bivvy, insulated sleeping pad and warmer clothes. I will need a better bag to mount it all to my bike. The larger saddle bags that can fit these items are appealing.
B'Cycle Rob Blog 