It's long, but then so was the ride itself. It's had only the briefest of proofreads and is mostly for my own memory.

https://joshransley.com/blog/bb200

There's also a video.

Well, that happened. Thanks to Stu & Dee, and every rider I rode with, even if I was monosyllabic at best – I’m not hugely talkative normally. It took a little while, but I’ve edited together a video from my ride. https://joshransley.com/stuff/photos/random/bb200-thumbnail-a.jpg https://youtu.be...

Phil's advice is pretty spot on, though I would recommend that you clean the item(s) first (with Tech Wash), even if they appear clean. Otherwise you're likely to reduce the effectiveness of the waterproofing treatment. A bit like how painting over a slightly dusty surface (even if it looks fine) me...

I’ve been looking at getting an Alpkit Gravel bag (https://alpkit.com/products/gravel-handlebar-bag) for the same use case. I also asked if they could add a second row of horizontal webbing at the bottom to make strapping it around an existing bar bag easier – they quoted RPP + 20% for this. The dow...

I’ve ridden a version of one of the previous routes, so am not a complete stranger to the interesting route choices. Though this was at a gentle pace.

A plan to do another of the previous routes, instead of the actual event, is already forming…

I make no apologies, having people with limited experience (some had never ridden at night) out there was a worry and a liability ... I know there will be some who've never ridden a BB200 but are more than capable of doing so, it's those folk who will sadly lose out. Ah. Fully understandable reason...

. I decided I wasn’t ready for last year’s one Anyone who hit Strata Florida in the dark found out they weren't the hard way It's not a critique of Stu, more a reset of expectations of the scale of the challenge he sets "Success is a little like wrestling a gorilla. You don't quit when you're ...

fatbikephil wrote: ↑Fri Jul 05, 2024 9:42 pm Invite only this year - mebbes drop stuart a line

Hmm, good to know. I was hoping to enter this year. I decided I wasn’t ready for last year’s one.

Would be nice to take on holidays and I could take it on public transport etc but I WFH so don't commute. Based on my experience of commuting (I know you say you don’t need it for commuting) on the train and seeing people attempt to lug around various folding bikes along platforms and onto trains, ...

Boab wrote: ↑Thu Mar 14, 2024 11:58 am Suddenly remembered, Coffee First, Then the World by Jenny Graham is out on paperback today...

I’ve recently had it arrive from bookshop.org – I preordered it ages ago.

I’m only a little way in, but a well narrated story so far.

Used the pot I’d added heat shrink tubing to today. Didn’t burn my fingers so I guess I’d call it a success so far. I use an MSR Pocket Rocket so don’t have as much of an issue with errant flames melting the tubing.

How do you get the tube onto the handles? Depends on the mug / pot but often they can be compressed just enough so they can be sprung free from the retainers they locate in. I’ve just done this exact thing with the handles on an Alpkit Ti pot. Pulled them out of their ‘sockets’ by hand and pushed s...

23:59 was, without exaggeration, the time I ended up shimmying into my bivvy bag on New Year’s Eve. It wasn’t meant to be this way, but a serious case of procrastination, followed by an even more serious, and nearly fatal, case of dithering led to me cutting things very close. I had originally plann...

Watched this last night. I've seen a couple of your videos before, but it took me a while to put two and two together and work out who you were.

Very enjoyable. I have now subscribed (I thought I was already).

This month's BAM was neither when, or where it was originally planned to be. As it was, I left home after work, in the dark, with the temperature already down to a solid 0ºC. I rode at a much slower pace than normal, to stop me getting too warm from pedaling while simultaneously getting cold from th...

Given my age (32) and my job (web development) I would say I am unusually ‘analogue’. He says, typing this on his phone and wearing a smartwatch. I think peak analogue/manual was intentionally buying a second hand push mower and having to take it apart and sharpen the blade, instead of an electric o...

We're hoping that making next year 'invitational' should provide a degree of control over who rides. I’m curious to see what form this takes as I’ve been planning to enter next year. I support any reasonable attempt to prevent people getting themselves (and potentially others) into trouble when the...

Wasn’t expecting to sit and read all of that. Sounds like a nice trip and well told – I enjoyed reading.

The 'there, technically I rode my bike and slept outside' edition. Enthusiasm to wild camp was at an all time low this month. I’d put it off with various, genuine and imagined, excuses a couple of times already. In the end I went to a new spot, about as close as I could get to my house without being...

gecko76 wrote: ↑Sat Oct 28, 2023 9:12 pm crawled into a hole in the river bank.

I'm not particularly bothered by spiders, or small spaces, but that's a no from me!

The Durston X-mids do look very good but quite ££ once you factor in shipping, customs duties, VAT etc. Yes, I’m very happy with my x-mid so far, but I wouldn’t say it was a ‘beginners’ tent. If you’re buying in the US, the price seems very good value. But as Jack says, once you actually get that t...

Another all tarmac (except for when I got into Bedgebury Forest) BAM this month, last Saturday. 30km-ish each way. I decided not to bother taking cooking stuff with me, to try and get more used to the idea of not necessarily having a hot 'dinner' and instead just finding and eating anything with suf...

samwise wrote: ↑Sat Aug 19, 2023 9:35 am Alpkit/Sonder Confucius Bar if anyone is interested.

Yes – this might be the solution to my light mounting issue. £25?

Also nice tent, x-mid? Apart from a peg pulling out and the tent collapsing on me at 1am one night, yes. I put that down to exceptionally wet ground, only using the four corner stakes and one ridge guyline, on what turned out to be the opposite side from the unexpected wind. Otherwise, I’m very hap...

I’ve booked a ticket for this year’s event, it’s a 100km+ ‘gravel’ ride in Kent.

Anyone else here planning to go?