I love tents of all shapes and sizes, big, ones, small ones, tall ones and short ones. Each tent has it’s own unique characteristics and if designed well, is suited for a particular use. For my recent adventure, bikepacking on Dartmoor, i needed a really small tent that was light enough to carry on a bike.
Let me introduce you to the bivi bag, probably the smallest tent you can get although having said that it is not technically a tent as it doesn’t have poles. But when pitched with a tarp over the top and supported by a bike frame and several large granite boulders it becomes a tent.
If you are unfamiliar with bikepacking, it is bascially cycle touring but off road. You are completely self sufficient, carrying everything you need for your trip – water, food, cooker and a shelter of some sort. We opted for the bivi bag with a tarp over the top. Some people just use a bivi, some prefer a hammock and tarp set up and some opt for a complete tent. There are some amazingly lightweight tents on the market these days. If your budget allows it, check out the MSR Carbon Reflex weighing only 844g (excluding pegs and bags) and costing a whopping £479! This is a serious piece of kit for serious adventurers where weight is a premium.
For me on the other hand, seeing as this was my first bikepacking trip, i made do with an old bivi bag costing £30 and a cheap tarp which cost about a tenner i think. I haven’t got a clue how much it weighed but after pushing the bike uphill for about an hour on the first day, i realised it definitely weighed too much. Actually, i think all my kit weighed too much but i managed to get it all on the bike and still pedal 30 miles (and push a few as well!)
Seeing as this was my first bikepacking trip i thought i would start off with a fairly easy route and not too far from civilisation just in case anything went wrong. After parking the van at Princetown i decided to take the old railway line across the moor and down to Burrator Resevoir. This is a nice easy track that winds it’s way gently downhill skirting the main tors and passing some interesting quarry remains. The sun was shining and the views were amazing, I definitely chose the best weekend for it. After a short stop on the edge of the resevoir for a refuel i continued around the edge until i came to a stoney bridleway which continued uphill for a couple of miles. I think this is the lane know to mountian bikers as the ‘Widow Maker’. I went up this track, pushing for most of it. I think it would have been more fun going down!
The ‘Widow Maker’ continued uphill until i reached the flat track that heads back to Princetown. The junction at the top of the hill seemed like another good snack point. The views here extended all the way across the moor and down to Plymouth in the distance. From here it was an easy ride back to Princetown. I had already decided i wanted to bivvi out in the open moorland so when i got back to Princetown i just kept cycling back out along the railway track until reached Foggintor Quarry, a quick scan of the surrounding tors and quarry remains i had spotted what looked like a good spot off to the left, which turned out to be Kings Tor.
It took me a while to choose my perfect spot, a bit like when you pull up in an empty campsite, there are just too many things to consider. It was basically time for another cuppa, with another amazing view before me. A cuppa always helps focus the mind, and it did. My chosen spot in a slight dip (no rain was forecast) with plenty of granite boulders to secure the tarp, views in front across the moor to Plymouth and behind me the rising sun would hopefully put on a special display.
I was not disappointed, the skies cleared about 4:00am and it i watched the most amazing display of shooting stars, which afterwards i learnt was the Perseids Meteor shower. The sun started rising about 6:30am and it really was a special sight, the photos as always don’t do it justice.
After a quick breakfast of porridge and a banana i packed up the bike and set on my way, heading for Bellever Forest. I was very lucky as the weather was amazing and as it turned out it was the last decent weekend of the season. Since then it has pretty much rained every weekend since.
For anyone thinking of doing some bikepacking i would heartily recommend it. It is the perfect escape from the stresses of modern life. The only thing i would recommend is make sure you have some decent lightweight kit, it will make the journey more enjoyable, research your route and always tell someone where you are going and when you expect to be back. For tips and inspiration there is a great website called Bikepacking.com
