After some suggestions. We've a week's mountain biking in Chamonix this summer but also have the week before this as holiday. We plan to drive down to Cham. We had thought of taking the road bikes as well but as an option does anyone have any suggestions where we might do a bit of bikepacking/tourin...

Nice.

I recognise a few tracks and roads around the Elan Valley. Where's the track on the third day where you are following a deep valley on your left?

80Lbs! What's that in proper money? 36Kg or thereabouts. Blimey, I'd struggle to get that moving on a downhill bit of tarmac

Nice article and refreshingly understated.

There's not a huge difference in weight between a quality steel frame and say a carbon one and you could mask that difference by using heavy components especially wheels & tyres which have a bigger impact on how heavy the bike "feels". My hardtail and commuter are both steel framed and...

I think you are right about the attitude part: I've been "touring" with less kit than I would "bikepacking" but it was what commonly gets called "credit card touring" in pre-booked B&Bs or hostels. I'd see bikepacking as more random in the route/plan with a general ...

Thanks MB & Ian. I did see your (Ian's) broken hub and thought WT!!! Understandable about the Divide MB. I've Hope hubs/Mavic rims on my road bike and have done something like 15,000Km (at least) on them with no problem though I'll probably have to check the rims :| Like I say, the hardtail also...

Slightly OT but how long did your Hope hub/wheels last? What went and was it sudden or just built up? I've Hope wheels and a year and 2500Km in they are still fine.

I've found that having a "snug" sleeping bag helps as the moving around whilst you are asleep doesn't force as much air out - your body has heated this air up so when it's replaced by cooler air you then have to heat that up again. A snug bag doesn't eliminate it but certainly helps. Other...

Just had a quick skim through your blog ... Could you sew yourself up a frame bag? Wouldn't have to be anything fancy, i.e. velcro fastenings rather than zips, but you could put some of the heavier pieces of kit in that which would improve the weight distribution. I notice you've compared the Vango ...

As Slacker says: if you have the space then you think along the lines of "what can I fill it with?" The trick to travelling light is knowing what you can get away with leaving behind - it's called experience. It's a constant re-evaluation of what worked, what didn't, what you used, what yo...

As with anything new learn to use it before you have to rely on it

Just try it. If something doesn't work then try and figure a way to fix it/get round it. I'd be surprised if anyone came back from a trip and though they'd got everything spot on and couldn't be improved.

Don't worry, I wasn't being critical just putting forward ideas. We all have our little necessities - I have to have something that can act as a pillow for example otherwise I struggle to sleep. It can be anything from a rope on an alpine bivouac to all my clothes stacked up in a pile.

While lists like this look like a lot of gear most peoples "light weight" list wouldn't look too much different as there's a minimum you are likely to take: toolkit; spares; FA kit; etc. I wouldn't bother with the deodorant - this will be confirmed by my wife!, or even the wash kit as a qu...

Looks nice :-bd Having component colours that complement the frame is nice, my wife's hardtail can use the Hope gunmetal parts to achieve this. Only ever had one custom made bike: a 531 tubed road bike way back in the 1980s, fitted as they say "like a glove". At the moment I'm making one b...

That's one I don't know

Nice.

I recognise quite a few of the bothies but won't say where they are in keeping with his comment beneath the video.

Some interesting shots of the Fisherfield river crossing, though in the opposite direction to the way the HTR550 goes.

I'd look at a weekend about a month or five weeks after the YD300 but that could be within the summer holiday season.

Yes it's a starting point but then you've got to start somewhere :roll: For me the formula isn't too far out (I'm actually very close in weight to the above worked example) but the weight includes all your clothing and kit so if you you are 180 pounds in your birthday suit but your clothing/kit adds...

I've an Alfine 11 on my commuter/tourer, it's about three years old now and I'll do about 3000Km a year on it. It does seem very sensitive to correct set-up particularly the cable tension, I've found that on a day like we've had recently, i.e. cool in the morning and warm in the evening that if it's...

Spare batteries (and charger) and micro-SD cards for the GoPro.
GorillaPod
A Klymit x-frame sleeping mat.

Just a word of caution for anyone looking at the BB200 route. The bridleway that runs between Ty'n-y-cornel and Soar y Mynydd is closed due to heavy erosion. From the stream at 755533 there is a huge crack in the hillside that runs straight up the bridleway to the top of the hill eastwards. Over wi...

The postman's been (well she's still here actually and has been for years ) - A shiny new Gopro 4 and a set of various mounts and harnesses for same.

After yesterday I'm not too sure! Bloomin' freezing!

The curlews and lapwings have been about for a couple of weeks now but no swallows, house martins or cuckoos to report as yet. The hares are lolloping around and there were a couple of amorous hedgehogs in the lane the other night.