(upbeat percussion)
- Going on a bike-packing adventure
is a really great way to escape the realities of life,
and there's nothing more exhilarating
than sleeping out under the stars in a bivvy.
Now a bivvy bag is essentially
a waterproof sleeping bag cover
that keeps you and all your sleeping kit dry.
- Now, if the idea of this is slightly disconcerting to you,
i.e. you're as soft as I am, then fortunately for us
Josh is an expert and he's going to show us exactly how.
Or perhaps I should say, unfortunately for me,
because now I'm going to have no excuse whatsoever.
- I'm sure you'll be all right.
So today we're going to be using bivvy bags
with a fully zippable cover.
Now we've stopped here in this little valley
and I think this spot over here
is going to be a perfect place to sleep tonight.
(gravel crackling) - Like here, mate?
(bike wheels clicking) - This looks good.
So, all my sleeping gear is stored in the saddle pack.
So it's quick and easy to get out.
A little trick that I like to do
is wrap everything up together.
We're quite liking this trip;
we're traveling relatively light.
So we can really maximize the space in the back here.
So this (Simon whistles) is the sleeping gear.
As you can see, it's basically a sleeping bag cover.
So this particular one has a zipped top on it,
which can undo.
And inside I've wrapped my sleeping bag
and also my sleeping mat.
Now a sleeping pad is really great; it's not uncomfortable.
And after a long day in the saddle
it's sometimes nice just to lie on something soft.
The sleeping bag is rated to about two degrees,
which should be all right here in Morocco.
However, if you're sleeping somewhere a bit colder,
or dare I say, go bike-packing in the winter,
you will probably need to have
a slightly heavier sleeping bag.
Now one of the downsides of a bivvy bag is that
it's not quite as breathable as a tent.
So it can be a little bit sweaty at times,
so just make sure you've kind of got enough
of the right amount of clothes on underneath.
And you may want to have the vent open
if it's particularly warm at night.
- You zip it up over your head?
- It depends how cold it is and if it's raining.
- But potentially, yeah.
- Potentially, yeah.
- Okay. (Josh chuckles)
- So despite the fact it's been
really warm here during the day,
it can get quite chilly at night as the heat escapes out.
So it's worth putting layers on as soon as you stop
to try and keep your body warmth in
so you don't get chilly before you go to sleep.
So you probably need to put your jacket on.
- Right, let me grab my jacket.
- Now as we're only doing a short night's sleep
and we're not staying out multiple days,
you're probably pretty much ready to go to sleep now.
(circus music)
- What, mate, seriously?
- Yeah, in the clothes you're wearing.
- You want me to go to sleep in a chamois?
- Yeah it's fine.
I mean ideally, we'd have a nice veranda and a nice hammock,
and we could hang our shorts out and dry them
and put casual clothes on.
But let's face it, we're in the middle of a desert;
it's going to be getting dark soon,
and we want to get in our sleeping bags, keep warm.
And then when we wake up in the morning,
we'll be dressed, ready to go.
- That's possibly one of the worst things
I've ever heard in my life.
- Now before you select your bivvy location
you need to think about conditions.
Now today it looks like it's going to be
a pretty clear night and not much rain.
There's a bit of wind, however.
So we need to find somewhere that's sheltered.
Now we've chosen this valley here,
and there's a few trees as well, which will block the wind.
And you can also use things like,
depending on the country, a wool or some rocks,
or if you're lucky enough even a bus shelter.
- Wow. - That's luxury there.
- Yeah it sounds great.
- You're not getting that treatment your first trip.
- No, okay.
- We're also on the edge of a bit of a dry river,
so if it was really going to be raining,
or if there's a lot of snow up high,
we would need to consider the safety of that,
because that could come crashing down in the night.
So that's worth considering.
The other thing, it's more of a personal thing,
some people will just sleep anywhere.
I like to kind of tuck myself away a little bit
from the road that I'm traveling on.
So you can just make out the road
in the distance here, through the trees.
But if you were traveling on a car or a motorbike,
then you probably wouldn't pay much attention to this bit.
So we're going to be out of sight
and there's less chance of being disturbed
in the middle of the night. - [Simon] Good stuff.
- So now we've got our kit out,
and we've chosen our bivvy location.
Now we need to think about the ground we're sleeping on.
Ideally, you'd find a nice velvety grass field to sleep in.
However, we're in Morocco, and it is quite rocky.
So we need to make do with what we've got.
So we've found a bit of a sandy area
which is going to be a bit nicer to sleep on.
However, there's a few things we need to think about.
So, there's a few rocks around here,
which might be uncomfortable.
- That would be uncomfortable, Josh.
- Exactly, you don't want to be sleeping on that.
- No, and that one.
- We'll get those out of the way.
And also there's a few little sticks and thorns,
and they could either go through your bivvy bag,
and make a hole in it, and then
if it does rain you'll get wet.
Or even worse, they could puncture your air mat
and then you'll find yourself
sleeping on hard ground in the morning.
So we need to move the sticks out of the way.
- Right, move sticks.
- Just check for anything.
And also just check that there's
no ants' nests or anything like that,
because that might be a bit itchy in the morning.
- Yeah.
- Now safety is another aspect to consider
when you're camping out in the wild.
Now you've already said you're a little bit nervous,
but the fact of the matter is,
if you feel unsafe somewhere, just don't sleep there.
Your natural instinct is pretty accurate sometimes.
And if you feel kind of threatened when you go to bed,
you won't sleep very well. - Yeah.
- So it kind of defeats the object of it.
So there's a few things we've touched on already,
so that's kind of keeping out of sight of the road.
Personally I find that if I know that I can't be seen easily
I feel more secure.
And also when I set out my bivvy,
I use a little headtorch rather than a big bike light.
It's just a little bit more subtle
and stops people sort of seeing where you are
if they're passing.
It's also pretty attractive.
- Yeah, that's the real deal right there.
Just got to turn myself on.
- [Josh] Do you want a hand? - Yeah.
- There we go, we'll put the red light on
to keep your night vision there. (laughs)
- I've got my red light on.
- The other thing is the safety of your bike.
Now at the moment your bike is laying up on a tree there,
and it's kind of quite obvious really.
- Yeah okay.
- So I like to just lie it down, sort of out of sight,
maybe behind the trees, and fairly close by,
so if it does move in the night you can kind of hear it.
- Right. (helmet crackles)
It's a good excuse to actually sleep
right next to your bike, isn't it?
- Exactly, you don't really get that option very often.
- Yeah I know, I'm not able to sleep with it anymore.
Right okay, brilliant, excellent.
- So there we go, so I guess you're
pretty much almost ready I think.
- So blow up my mattress?
- Well yeah, should do that I suppose.
Now a top tip for extra comfort when you're bivvying
is once you're in your bag,
you can put your shoes under your head,
outside the bivvy bag, as a bit of a pillow.
- That does sound comfortable, Josh! (laughs)
That mat's comfy.
- [Josh] I did tell you, Si, this is a luxury bivvy trip.
- Right then, so any last words of wisdom, Josh,
before I turn in for the night, mate?
- Yeah, goodnight, sweet dreams.
- Okay, all right.
Well here we go.
Where's the air vent, mate?
Comfy anyway, right.
Well thanks Josh, very much mate, for these tips.
I reckon I could get used to this actually.
So well anyway I'd better give it a go later on.
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if you enjoyed watching it.
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(spaghetti western music)
Josh can you do the pointing, mate?
Josh? (bivvy sack rustles) Josh?