I’m not really a big fan of the cold, snow and ice but some people seem to love it and Karl Booth is one of those people. Recently returned from Alaska, he kindly agreed to answer some questions about his time competing in the Iditarod Trail Invitational … thank you Karl. 1/ The Iditarod […]
Back in 2008, the first Welsh Ride Thing took place. Aside from it being the inaugural WRT, it was also the very first bikepacking event to be held outside of the good ol’ US of A. Those of you awake will have already computed that 2023 marks the 15th anniversary of the WRT and is […]
When it comes to choosing something to sleep within or beneath, I’m a big fan of quilts but some people aren’t. I find sleeping bags feel restrictive, yet some people don’t. The simple truth is – we’re all different and some are definitely more ‘different’ than others, so there’s absolutely no reason why we should […]
The word ‘divide’ is now so liberally scattered throughout the world of bikepacking that it appears to have lost much of its original meaning. However, there are some routes that still adhere to the true meaning – the Calder Divide is one such route and I’ll let Adrian explain a little about it and the […]
I think it’s perhaps fair to say that, washing, clean clothes and general personal grooming are things which often fall by the wayside when bikepacking. However, help to combat the potential side effects of such neglect is now at hand in the form of Bear Bones bamboo T shirts. You might not realise this but […]
What would the world of bikepacking and especially that of ITT look like if it weren’t for lithium batteries and LED technology? … yes, that’s right, you’d have no idea what it’d look like because it’d be too dark to see it. I believe it’s fair to say that lighting technology has quite literally dragged […]
A few people have recently asked me how the BB200 / 300 routes are devised, so I thought I’d try and explain and possibly help dispel any rumours that it’s all simply done with a map, blindfold, three darts and a drunken spider by the name of Doris. Perhaps it’s easier to begin at the […]
The prize glistened just inches below the surface. I pushed my hand through the cool clear water and brought it to the surface. My faithful Leatherman made swift work of releasing the golden genie from its lamp. They say “be careful what you wish for” but the second I lifted the bottle to my mouth […]
Way back in the swirling grey mists of time when I started riding, I had one bike. It had a skinny tubed steel frame and just enough clearance to squeeze in some 2.1” tyres on its citrus, lemon yellow rims. Any retardation requests required advanced notification, preferably in writing and the alleged 60mm of plush […]
I’ll let you into a secret – in all my years of riding, I’ve never once wanted to ride from John O’Groates to Land’s End and I’ve most certainly never wanted to ride from Land’s End to John O’Groates because quite obviously, that appears to be uphill all the way. However, despite my reservations, it […]