Audax rides

A tnner a night I would have been all over like a tramp on a bag of chips!

I guess I'll see what the weather is like and judge it on the day.

Where is the start/fin? Both Poole?

Are you going wrong? You seem to do pretty well in ultra events.

I have also slept in the freezing in the middle of open fields, beside roads absolutely covered in bugs, besides streams, on farm driveways and actual driveways so it's not all glamorous "MTV Cribs, Bus Stop Edition" :)

When I'm bivvying I often lie awake for a while because it's too fucking cold to get up. If I was inside it might be better from that PoV and I might set off earlier.

You're right that most people do target toilets, etc. Mike generally did. Maybe I should, for that reason. I've never done a proper inside bivvy. Mostly I find pleasant rural sites or benches / bus shelters.

OTOH some of the outdoor places I've bivvied have been really spectacular and great memories, eg Gotthard Pass, Nullarbor, Tara Gorge.

Poole and the Gang

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I dislike bivvying, it's a means to an end for me. If I packed a full size pad, sleeping bag and bigger bivvy I'd probably sleep better and enjoy it more but that's not the case during races, I'm sleeping so I don't die. I usually wake up freezing, unable to breathe properly and extremely stiff (not in a good way) and sore.

That cafe had benches outside, did it have a table? Places like that always have little nooks and crannies you can find a spot in. It's industrial so no one will be drunkenly wandering through because piss head want kebabs and more beer, not large loading cranes :)

I've often thought about contributing to OSM Cycle by adding bus-shelters and such for you proper long distance nutters. Whenever I see one, I think 'I should note that down', but don't.

Good idea or crap? Not a good idea to so blatantly put it out there that someone may be sleeping here?

Bus stops should already be listed in OSM (they're an obvious transport feature) so if they're not then you're probably helping bus users (and us).

Now you mention it, there was a toilet block round the corner too if its raining.
Strong contender right there!
Lock the bike, carradice pillow.
I'm gonna be like a pig in shit.

#hippyisalwaysrightinthetoilet

Aversion to sleeping in toilet blocks - definitely one of my weaknesses!

Looks like that's you sorted @J_a_m_es - what a great forum, where you can get recommendations for a toilet to sleep in in British seaside towns.

👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

Wait... "sleep"?

Going to interrupt the toilet chat and ask a quick question. I'm heading off to Burgundy for a wedding in a few weeks. I need to keep the training going and it would be extremely rude if I didn't take my bike with me. Can I DIY a 200km route in another country for recognition with AUK?

Can I DIY a 200km route in another country for recognition with AUK?

Yes. It's no real different to doing a DIY in the UK.

Yes.

Wonderful, thanks.

Back to the toilet chat.....

Do you prefer your head or feet nearer the bog?

Me too, I think I would rather bivvy somewhere slightly more rural than a toilet block in the centre of Poole on a Friday night!

Depends how many beers I've had.

You haven't lived...

at the docks too....

I may go further afield if it isn't wet though.

I'm a fair weather camper.

Doing my first 400/600 in a few weeks time, should I take any sleeping equipment (mattress/sleeping bag..) on the bike? Or what could I expect from the organisers?

Taking your own definitely gives you more flexibility to snooze when you need to. Also sleep facilities tend to be minimal so having your own means you don't miss out if 20 people are already using all the matts/blankets.