I suspect I was mostly in zone 2 thanks to my spinny gear, with excursions into zone 3 and 4 on the climbs. The joy of singlespeed....

No dafter than some of the stuff you see on kickstart I think Ray Mears advocates stuffing heather in your trousers in his survival handbook!
I've tried layering up quilts too but the sum is less than the two halves so to speak as the inner quilt gets squashed.

:-bd I'd agree with the nice routes out that way. I can get from Fife to Lochgoilhead all on back roads with BA traffic, cycleways, forest tracks and other good trails. Not done the JMW on the south side of the Campsies yet so will give it a whirl next time I'm out that way. We always like a write u...

:-bd 8hr gravel bash today, in the warm (hot!) sun. Wanted to do a lot of hours of hard pedaling for some knee destruction testing. Right one fine, left one was aching a bit for a while but settled down for the last couple of hours. https://i.ibb.co/S4dQ17jh/20250510-161910.jpg Gravel-tastic on the ...

I used to find that layering up in a lightweight bag ended up stretching the down so you lost insulation. It was a particular problem for my bum as I sleep on my side at my bum always seems to stick out... It works better with a quilt. I did one night at -6 in my Vesper quilt with my thermal longs o...

Tah all, got a good deal on Fox Rangers from Tiso's so will give them a whirl

Glove recommendations wanted! So my third pair of endura gel gloves have fallen apart and whilst actually comfy, the bloody velcro hasn't worked on any of them. I'm tempted by another pair on the basis that they have sorted the velcro issue but I said that the last two times. I've a pair of spesh ge...

Aye they did us right in 2023 and cheap too (£10 for a cup of soup and a pasta thing) so may just decant straight to there. May be tempted by a pint in the OBH on Monday eve though if Tescos isn't on.

Enjoy it - the group start is going to get wee'd on...

Ooh, thats a good spot. Not seen one of those yet!
Just endless bunnies for me this week...

Tah for the intel. I reckoned about a 1.5 - 2 hour saving on the northern loop based on my previous timings round it. This puts the Ullapool Tescos in scope for Monday night.... Alan had mentioned Stephen and Wendy are retiring - well earned from what they were saying about the pandemic and its afte...

Blimey that's looking a bit fierce for this time of year. Hard frosts Saturday and Sunday night too....

Good one, 400k in sunshine defo puts you ahead of the game!

Alan did show me a 575 mile variation of the route!
It's always hard Pete, even when the weather and trail conditions are perfect as per 2021...

Ahh OK. I've always burnt it on the basis that leaving paper in a hole seems a bit anathema. Oh well, I'll know next time!

https://trackleaders.com/highland25

Looking like no other route changes so should be one of the easier editions (Cue horrendous weather which we are due TBH)

Widespread frosts tonight and tomorrow night so hopefully not too many midges....

Gas stoves are OK unless you knock it over.... I'm pretty careful with the BB meths stove when it's dry. I usually find a flat stone to sit it on (the stove bit is already siliconned to a bean tin lid which catches most of the stray meths) Just a case of making sure there is no overhanging vegetatio...

godivatrailrider wrote: ↑Sat May 03, 2025 8:14 am

fatbikephil wrote: ↑Fri May 02, 2025 10:36 pm

godivatrailrider wrote: ↑Fri May 02, 2025 8:38 am Suicidal Tendencies ? Napalm Death?

"You suffer" by the napes would be my choice.

Goes on a bit though doesn't it ....

Lazarus wrote: ↑Fri May 02, 2025 3:17 pm I was hoping for something a bit clearer

Thanks ( both now )

I got so annoyed

Will rigid and + tyres help

Looks for another route

Might get you another 100m....

godivatrailrider wrote: ↑Fri May 02, 2025 8:38 am

Suicidal Tendencies ? Napalm Death?
[/quote]

"You suffer" by the napes would be my choice.

I did that BW in 1989. I recall pushing my bike most of the way up (from the Stonethwaite end) and then been somewhat peeved to have to push my bike most of the way down....

I got so annoyed I started trying to ride anything I could, just because. Didn't achieve much in terms of progress though!

Looked a good trip that Bob. I recall trying to ride the old access track from Shap to Haweswater in about 1990 and it was covered in 'go away' type signs. Nice to see it's now permissive!

Ah bless!

Conversely, it will also fit someone who is 6'1". I've a medium lowside (a size too small in theory) and it's an absolute hoot, being short and nippy. I use a 170 dropper so I can get the seat up to my proper height without it looking too high and it drops all the way down for maximum pump trac...

Coo what a scorcher
20 plus degrees, dusty trails and blazing sunshine. Of course it's probably going to be horrible at the end of the month (NW Scotland currently single figures and drizzle) but what the hey.