You spend ages prepping your gear in the blazing sun in the back garden, clearing a space in the diary for the following evening, securing the necessary family permit to take off into the hills, sorting out a couple of irritating bike niggles THEN sit down with a cool drink, have a casual glance at your weather app and discover monsoon conditions are set to return just as you are due to push the bike out the back gate.

That feeling.

mud is always fun :D

I have the opposite...when it's about to tank down, Mrs Scattamah will say "get out there...don't be a blouse!"

Knew I married her for a reason :)

Greetz

S.

Oh it's not going stop play but was kknd of looking forward to a pleasant warm summers evening. Instead of another test of endurance...

I have that fear every time, but that's actually the best part of bikepacking!

I panic, I pack..unpack...repack, stress over every imaginable detail, mostly food and weather, and have bugged out more than once due to forecast

However, once I'm out the door, and in the saddle, all is well. No stress, worry, pondering with kit or thinking about work and home, nothing, all I have to do is pedal, come rain or shine.
Once you've puckered up the courage to get your feet wet and get out it could quite possibly be the most stress free and mentally relaxing thing, just keep pedalling

Ofcourse that doesn't strop the stress once your home again planning the next trip....

I have the opposite...when it's about to tank down, Mrs Scattamah will say "get out there...don't be a blouse!"

I get that too, although the actual terminology used is often somewhat blunter

Lol i'm having that feeling right now i've been planning a 3ish day 230km ride from Aberystwyth back home to Stoke over the Cambrian mtns and Long Mynd for a few weeks now starting this Sunday and at the moment the forecast is rain every day !! I'm hoping they're wrong or it will change..i can live with showers but if it's wall to wall rain then i think this one will have to wait !

@CoA - Don't let wall-to-wall rain stop you. You can still have fun and find beauty out there when it's shedding it down. It'll make you stronger in resolve to boot.

Greetz

S.

Scattamah wrote:@CoA - Don't let wall-to-wall rain stop you. You can still have fun and find beauty out there when it's shedding it down. It'll make you stronger in resolve to boot.

Indeed. Earlier this year my wife and I decided to do the northern part of the West Highland Way, basically Crianlarich to Ft William. So bought tickets and booked the bikes on the return train from Ft William.

We get to Crianlarich and it's wet. And Windy. Actually it's very wet and very windy. Most of the route was under a couple of cm of water. The first day getting to Kinlochleven was as hard a day I've had in the hills for a long, long time. We were both close to being hypothermic, really not pleasant. Bivvied in the woods above KL on the way to Lairigh Mor. The following day was much more pleasant.

s8tannorm wrote: I get that too, although the actual terminology used is often somewhat blunter

Have you been "knobbing around" in the workshop again Stu?

Have you been "knobbing around" in the workshop again Stu?

Funny you should ask, just finished and popped in to make a brew. She now actually tells people that I'm a professional 'Nobber Abouter'

s8tannorm wrote: I'm a professional 'Nobber Abouter'

Always good to have a trade you can fall back on in times of need, .

Back on track,

All ready to go out for the night and it's raining quite a bit here. Hopefully it'll finish before I go.

Get out there Taylor. You know you love it.

Well it went ahead, and despite a less than promising forecast, it turned out a beautiful evening...I'll do a wee ride report in the other section...

There used to be a saying - 'there's no such thing as bad weather only the wrong clothing'.

looks like getting "that feeling when" for this weekend on sand stone way , but weather forecast is improving so maybe i wont have to take the tarp and stove .... will see

We're up that way (Chatton near Wooler) but road biking for a change, say hi if you see a group of Skipton CC riders

After just riding through 14 miles of mud last night to my partners house, in heavy rain, I can say its never as bad when you're out in it, though the mud in my drivetrain might disagree....

All my friends in the forces live by the motto: Skin is waterproof!
Although clearly they've not experienced " trenchfoot " yet

However putting back on soaking filthy clothing this morning, including a damp chamois has to be the worst feeling in the world

my drivetrain might disagree....

all about the single speed