do you manage to get out on groomed X-country ski tracks too? Are they very protective of them or is access in the Alps OK in most places Yup, I do try to avoid them during regular hours. The groomer will work early morning and early evening around high frequency places like St. Moritz. So riding t...

The ascents were for now just a way back to the top of the race.

I always feel like that.


Doff my hat too

My home brewed yellow frame bag (see http://bearbonesbikepacking.co.uk/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=4088#p41621 ) weighs in at 150 g. X-Pac VX21, Velcro, two watertight zips, rubber opening for water or electronics, removable divider and net pocket on one side. You always win, when you myog. Just ...

Aye, been on two handfulls of trips and a 3* BCU sea kayak training close to Oban. Best trips so far was paddling in the Reinefjorden and Kjerkfjorden (albeit only one day) and paddling in the area of Sitasjaure for 5 wind-battered, solitary days (we saw 2 hunters during the time beeing). The BCU tr...

Is that going up to Chew reservoir? 8850 m climb on that thing? ... God that must be boring. And tough. The climb is OK, but there are a gazillion drainage ditches to negotiate on the way back down. http://vimeo.com/89689947 Yeah, just hop'em once pulled a lamb out of misery in a bog hole just left ...

Thanks Pickers. Stunning. Looking through your photos gives reason to my frequent visits to bonnie Scotland. You got to love it.

Pickers wrote:13 days, 575 miles, 3 B&Bs, 3 campsites and 6 wild camps. Not huge or fast, but enough to keep me happy for a bit.

Sounds like a very buoyant mix

Singlespeeding a fat bike round here is quite an undertaking... can imagine The alu freewheel body of my Hope FatSno has deep marks and is pretty much chewed up, even by the smallest cog (30t x 11t). I usually don't get that from small cogs - not after only 500 km. You surely can torque the sub sta...

johnnystorm wrote:I'm rather jealous.

Sorry for that, only wanted to make FLV jealous.

That's a good write up by htrider. Most fun I get out of trails compacted by snow shoes hikers and back country skiing tracks/winter hiking tracks (compacted by groomers). That's on bottomless snow. Even a fresh track on deep snow can suffice. But you also gain efficiency with 10 cm of snow on froze...

Struggling to think of why I shouldn't enter. [...] Unfortunately it misses all the best parts of MTBing in Switzerland :cry: :wink: I'm sure it'd still be fun. And it does run on more spectacular ground in the second half - so that's good. Finishes an hour from my house too. Ah, a fellow bike pack...

The first such race in Switzerland:
http://www.navad1000.ch/seite01.html

Unfortunately it misses all the best parts of MTBing in Switzerland

Or I could have just bought a fat bike and lugged it round Wales in summer convincing myself that it makes a great all round trail bike Yes, they're awfull on trails. Like going down stairs on a dingy... :???: But you can make a 29+ and 29er bike out of a fat bike frame (at least out of a muru witi...

Blackhound wrote:According to Kristoff's blog he has ridden ~23,000 km since 1st January

Some believe quality > quantity

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. I run a mixture of silicon oil and grease and it works great in the Alps. A thin film of silicon oil will help with all moving parts and acts as a lubricant down to -60 ...

Conti X-King 29 x 2.4 Protection. Did use Racesport version last year, but if you ride rough stuff, the sidewalls won't last 1000 km. The Protection version is only slightly heavier, but faaar more durable (and puncture resistant). With Conti's the important thing is to use those with Black Chili Co...

I walked it recently. More fun. It's mostly trackless. Very boggy around Bioda Bhuide. Most climbs too steep to ride, descents would be fun, but no tracks over long stretches (I always feel bad riding in such places - therefore I try to avoid them). After back (not bike! ;-)) packing across Skye and...

Few of us are on 100% optimised set-ups and we adapt to a range of kit more than I think most of us would expect, my interest here is that cleat position jumps out at me as one of the obvious areas of bike ergonomics I've simply never experimented with .. sounds daft now I realise it. It may affect...

slarge wrote:Artwork?

Tracey Emin style or Constable?

Pyro wrote:Jackson Pollock.

The one and only Goldsmith. An Original

Sick...
That's one of the reasons (and for that enough already) why I prefer to leave cities behind and enter the wild

Truly good stuff.
Only until you realise, that you're already in such a position and you'll not gain anything from a different one. Damnit. No spontaneous increase in performance, ease whatsoever.

jpw247 wrote:May just try Stu's inboard bar ends

That Mike Hall TD setup kind of thing?
Been thinking of some thing similar when pedalling against the "Brüscha" in winter on the fat bike on groomed tracks.

Stubby bar ends, foam, tape?

Cheers

I had some correspondance (late '13) with Alan about a more fun descent and recommended dropping down to Achnashellach. There is a price for most decent descents :wink: My girlfriend and I actually hiked over that very pass on Boxing Day '12. Didn't need crampons or axes :wink: After all it's mounta...

I spent the last 2 days of 5 last year promising myself assos shorts and a short travel full suspension bike. :shock: I remember you watching the suspension before the climb into Glen Affric - saying something like "nice how the suspension’s working for you, looks comfy“. Thing is, I have a sh...

Just thought about my numbness. Preparing for a long distance event last year, my ring finger went numb. I didn't change the bar but I changed the stem. 5 mm shorter - numbness gooone. + better riding position + more control + more fun + saved weight - spent money It's always worth having a look at ...

As someone who asked A. Goldsmith if he could no include more single tracks, I prefer a framebag with no velcro at the rear end of the top tube so I can grab my bike easily. If the steps are really high, the path blocked by boulders and stuff, I carry the bike with it's downtube on my shoulders and ...