I really enjoyed the experience of sleeping under a basha. Waking up and instantly being able to see the scenery all around you is great - The only thing better is sleeping under the stars. Most of the time the only purpose my basha was to keep the dew off me.

Bivvy bag - no real use for a bike trip imo.

A good quality tarp pitched well can withstand almost anything weather wise. I endured one of the worst thunder storms I'd ever seen in greece, camped up on a beach - Almost a worst case pitching scenario with basha between bike and pole, with all pegs going into sand. As long as you get the tarp really taught and low to the ground it shouldn't be effected too badly by the wind.

Whether to take a basha as your sole form of sleeping shelter? All comes down to what kind of trip you want to do. I needed to get a tent as I'd gained some female company, but otherwise I like the experience of 'roughing it'.

A poncho is a good idea to carry if you definately want a to use a tent for sleeping. You don't need to carry rope or poles or things if you just want to use it as a sun shelter for lunch stops etc - Just use the bungies you strap your luggage on with, and stop next to trees/signpost/pylon etc. You don't neccessarily need one of the really heavy duty army ponchos if you aren't planning on using it on a daily basis, a lightweight but good quality ripstop poncho will work pretty well. We used our poncho to make our tent warmer by sticking it inbetween the inner and outer parts, covering all the vents in the inner.

A poncho makes a better shelter and bike cover, than what a bike cover makes a shelter

Long term, effective weather protection - Slept under this basha at a campsite in Belgium for 10days, and it rained almost everyday including really heavy rain. All my stuff sprawled out underneath, but nothing really ever got wet.

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UK to Mongolia 2009, on a DR350