I'm sure everyone has their own reasons why they bikepack, bivvy, ride miles to sleep in a hedge, etc ... so what are the reasons? I'm starting to wonder if we all might have a collective character defect, seeing as the vast majority of the mountain biking population just don't seem to get the attra...

I know flatfishy carries a spot tracker ... anyone else use one?

Does anyone carry any emergency food with them? I'm thinking something that just lives at the bottom of your pack, etc that you don't touch unless you really need it. I tend to carry a couple of packets of mini Haribo and a lump of toffee. I reckon it might be better to carry something you don't rea...

Sorry about this and please excuse my hillbilly tendencies but ... wtf is Nando's?

I've a number of different saddles on a number of different bikes. None have ever given me any trouble ... until last week. The saddle in question was an On One Big Nose which has been fine but after putting in some very long days, it decided it didn't like me anymore. I've always considered myself ...

Mobile phone - normal use - entertainment for flatfishy

:D

A few pictures now added to the blog for anyone interested.

Okay, so what stuff do you take or have you considered taking that serves more than one purpose? I'll go for -

1/ Waterproof OS map becomes a groundsheet.

2/ Drybag becomes a water bucket.

I suppose in my head something 6+ hours starts to become a long ride. I'm just always a little surprised by how many people think that 3 - 5 hours is an epic (mbr mode) ride. I know that everyone has time constraints and you can't always stay out as long as you'd like to but it doesn't seem uncommon...

Just wondering what people would view as a long ride, either in hours or miles covered?

I'm asking as I've seen a few things of late which make me believe my ideas and those of others, may differ quite a lot

Which BW does your GR refer to Ian? ... your GR doesn't tally with the picture on page 41 of XXC mag.

@ Chew ... you'll find the track in the picture on page 41 at SH896144. Most people missed it by not going out East.

For anyone interested, the latest copy of XXC Mag has a WRT article in it. There's also a bikepacking 101 feature plus all the usual event reports.

A downloaded copy of issue 12 will set you back less than £2, get your copy here http://xxcmag.com/

Not eaten by the bears ... only midges

Very interesting ride ... also pretty hard going at times.

I'm setting off this afternoon and heading down to St Davids for an ice cream. On the way I'll be taking a few detours and scouting some sections for the BB 200. I've a few ideas in mind so fingers crossed they'll pan out. I'll post something up once I'm back, Inc' some pictures to whet your appetit...

The only reason I ask is that I thought it was only the Fargo MK2 and Enabler forks that have the 3 bolt braze-ons for Anything cages?

What forks are you running on the Salsa?

Top job DNF, I now have a copy winging its way to me.

I agree with Paul. For a lot of people 4-5 hours is viewed as quite a long ride. What's called for is the ability to ride for 10-12 hours then do the same thing next day ... if your hands, arse, shoulders, etc stop feeling like they belong to you at any point have a fiddle with your set up

DNF ... if you're talking about the BB200, then there's one route of 200km which everyone will follow. You'll be given a route map but still be expected to navigate it. There'll be a minimum kit requirement ... nothing stupid, just enough to survive a night out. More details to follow on the site so...

Afraid not Ian but you might find something on the Sustrans site ... route 25.

Sorry DNF ... folding bead.

I've a couple of bikes set up tubeless. Both are ghetto cobbles, the first one I did used 20" tubes and latex. The second one just used insulation tape and a valve I cut out of an old tube + 200ml of latex ... never caused any problems. It's also cheaper than buying a tube ;) I've not tried ust...

Hadn't really thought about dates ... being a work shy lay about means it's possibly easier for me to work around others. It also means that weekdays are easier for me than weekends. If we're looking at a weekend then it appears I'm stuck until the start of Sep. If weekdays appeal then I'm much easi...

Anyone else suffer with small amounts of condensation in bivvy bags? I've used various bags over the years from the cheap to the very expensive but 90% of the time there'll always be a small amount of condensation inside by morning ... even with an eVent or Goretex bag. It's nearly always down towar...