Hi all,

I'm new here - and I hope it's not rude for me to start off by plugging my own site. It's a (free, of course) 'webzine' for bikepackers - for wont of a better description. But you will get the drift if you visit.

You can find it here:

http://trails-tours.com

The site is updated very frequently and includes some UK content. If you have any suggestions, I would love to hear them.

Best,

Martin

Nice - have taken a little look around.

Some bits there I'd not seen before.

Good work!

Oo, that Wakes coast to Coast link is my route as written up by Jack. Takes me back. Happy days.

I'm really glad you enjoy it - I have added a link to this site now. And there is a really good, long film going up in half and hour.

I've cleaned up the software and tweaked things a bit. The site should be much faster now.

You can post links to your own trip reports on Trails and Tours, now - blog posts, live tweets, theads here... whatever. You can find the right page in the top menu under Features -> Your trips and tips

I also added some advanced searching functionality that shows up when (possibly) needed.

We now already have well over 100 articles with hundreds of links to external resources on http://trails-tours.com

In view of that, I've tried to tweak presentation so that research functionality is more easily found (features like browsing by topic). First and foremost, the site remains a webzine for your daily reading fix. But I hope the archive potential is more obvious now and would welcome any feedback you may have.

I've updated the site to include a section for adventure races. No doubt this category will grow fairly swiftly. As I said elsewhere, I'm more of a recreational rider myself - but race itineraries and good routes go hand in hand. And racing gear is interesting to anyone with a UL slant.

Additionally, there is now a page on navigation options: http://trails-tours.com/using-site/ It shows how you can use the site as a research resource, e.g. when planning a trip.

Martin, I posted my kit for the Highland Trail Race here. That article also links my four-part account of the race. If you want to add to your site, be my guest :)

Bookmarked already, Ian. It will come in handy for something I have in mind pretty soon. :) EDIT: 'soon' as in 'right now'.

Incidentally, anyone can post links to their own pages (trip reports, gear reviews etc.) on http://trails-tours.com/sites

I have added a few 'specials' under Features (in the top menu) - one for beginners, one for travel tips and one for trail skills.

If there is anything else that ought to be bundled in your opinion, please let me know.

Thanks to Stuart for a treasure chest of great material in the Bear Bones blog. I have just linked to his two-part report on the Rudy Fat 29+.