It is indeed. In fact that's the book recommendation that came along with the link Andy sent me to this article.

He ran out that way over Easter and took some great photos of it:

This story from 1900 will have familiar elements for anyone who has bikepacked in less than favourable cirumstances:

https://archive.org/stream/wideworldmag ... 4/mode/2up

Highly recommended!

RE: Brakes... I would avoid hydraulics, myself. I think Jeff Oatley used them in the ITI, but he lives in those conditions so he can make sure his setup works. Unless you take both and test them before the race (and have the conditions you want for testing in that time), you're taking a risk. The ad...

I think a lot of the angst about people riding the Divide is because the rules were good enough for "us". In the sense that the people who wrote them, and the people who were first attracted to ride the trail didn't need more detail and complicated clauses, and everything nailed down in de...

Cut-off army gore-tex is quite flappy around your knees and does tend to slip down off your hips.

I once made belt loops out of cable ties and used string as a belt for the full-on hobo look. Pro

For snow, I'd go big. The difference in riding the Iditarod on 65mm Large Marges vs 100mm Clown Shoes was enormous. To begin with on the 100s, I kept almost tripping myself up. I was bracing myself to plough into the soft stuff and lose momentum, but it floated so much better that I could just keep ...

For me, bibs every time. You'll likely spend a lot more time riding than sleeping, so get the comfort right for that. I'll unhook the bibs as soon as I stop for the night, then put on whatever upper-body layers I need while setting up. Once I'm in the sleeping bag, I pull them down but keep them aro...

I used to use a Mountain Morph, but it does take up a hell of a lot of space. Since I was hardly getting any punctures, I decided to save some space with a Lezyne alloy drive. It works well for me, doesn't take up much space, and even went with me on the Iditarod where I had some big tyres to inflate.

Hello all... Yes, Rich is currently the only brave soul on the list. I've got other aims this year: The Yukon 1000 canoe race http://yukon1000.com/y/index.php , and trying to get over the cost of the Iditarod. It will be great if Rich can make it and keep EWE alive! There will be some minor route ch...

I think the "late" starts will just be down to the intervals in Spots (successfully) sending out their position. If yours sent just before the start, Trackleaders wouldn't know you've started until the next position gets sent some time later. And it will clock you as already being down the...

I'm still using the Dakota with that bodge.

Works well for me on and off road.

The mounts seem to be slightly variable. I have two and one was a much better fit out-of-the-box than the other. So that might explain why some folks have no problems.

I had always used XT, but I have Deore on the Puffin.

The pad retaining pin is a split pin on the Deore instead of a screw-fitting and they don't have the adjusters on the levers.

But they work great... I'd struggle to justify going beyond Deore in the future.

Damnit! The chain tool on the Hexus 2 is driven by popping off one of the tyre levers from the side of the tool, and that lever has an allen key bolt in it. The allen key bolt just sheared out of the tyre lever while fixing a client's bike on a guided ride. Grrr. Maybe the old Alien style where it s...

Some good near misses for me... After weeks of winter night rides on the cross bike, the face-plate of my stem broke off on the way to the curry house. 5 minute walk from home. Just after doing a gap/drop with about 7ft height difference, I was chatting to a friend and one of my cranks fell off. And...

In the past, I used a selection of allen keys stuck into a bit of plastic packing foam, and a chain tool separated out from an old multi-tool (weighs less than specific chain tools). That worked OK, but I ended up switching to a Topeak Hexus 2 for a number of reasons: Having exactly what you need fo...

I did their Scottish coast-to-coast (run, bike, kayak) a couple of years back. I did it with my wife as a trip rather than a race and it was down-right odd to be turning up at a designated campsite. And before sunset. And with a tent. All that hanging out when you could have got to the other coast i...

I seem to have some orange ones on the way. Sam will never forgive what I'm about to do to the Puffin

I avoid Scarpa boots because they're typically used by know-it-all Mountain Leaders. I can justify it since they're expensive, but know-it-alls are the main reason.

I would take their "Camp near a water source" advice and turn it into "Don't camp near a water source". Only a small change but it has a number of benefits: Less mozzies If you don't sleep where you cooked (probably by the water) you're less likely to get eaten by bears You shoul...

Andy was really happy with the backpack here for his DSLR

http://www.privateer.cc/2012/06/grenzst ... e.html?m=1

If anyone else needs to borrow a Spot for the Highland Trail, mine is available. First generation, so its a bit of a brick, but it works. SteveH - you do need a subscription for it to work. But if you borrow from someone who has a subscription, they can set up a profile in your name when they lend i...

This thread is really interesting. For what it's worth, I'm not sure that most sports science targeted at cycling has much useful to say about performing well at multi-day bikepacking events. I've talked to professional coaches about it, and they admit that they don't know what really works. So you ...

Charlie The Bikemonger

You could fill a book with musings about winter racing, but specifically on the point of low-temp grease... On the basis that if your freehub fails to engage, you're a bit stuffed, I've always just degreased the freehub and run that dry. Everything else I run with stock grease. I don't want to do mo...

Note sure what to recommend, but I would think twice about using KCNC or Ashima lightweight rotors. I've had both and they wear through really quickly. There's so much drilled out of the middle of the braking surface that it wears into a groove, which then wears out your pads more quickly. Then, aft...