A liberal application of helicopter (or similar) on the frame and forks if you care about the paint/top-coat.

A small rucksack for the stuff you can't get back in your bags in the morning.

Yeh the sense of humour will be locked away ready for when it's required hopefully , especially as 2 of us are singlespeed so going to be some tough moments !
Wasn't going to take a rucksack as wanted to fit as much on the bike as possible but it's looking increasingly likely I may have to resort to backpack for 'light' items I think

In terms of the Cairngorm Loop, the bothy in Feshie still looks very unfinished and I can't see it being open for your passing.

Feshie Estate have done a little path re-routing where it had been damaged by the river, with the risk of a loooong drop. Smaller bit of path are still affected tough so be very careful if it's dark or you could get wet.

The steps at the big landslip in Feshie still end several feet above the river so some manhandling will be required. It'll be slightly easier if there are a couple of you.


As a general point, the "official" CL route along Feshie is now wrong in several places so don't try to stick to the GPX track, follow what's on the ground.

Thanks very much for the 'local' update much appreciated buddy !

Completed the route last week with all sorts of weather was thrown at us, We started at Aviemore and did the outer loop first then the inner loop it worked out quite well with a bothy stop at Bobs Scotts Hut on the first night then Ryvoan Bothy about 12 miles into the inner loop.The Inner Loop was very hard going and glad we did it at the end!
Untitled by Richard Munro, on Flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/nzrich/al ... 2920009016

With a group you can share stuff so you don't all need to carry everything. So you'd only need one multi-tool and pump. You can also get away with one stove and pot - just carry extra fuel. You could also share one larger tarp especially if you're all using bivvy bags too. This also saves on poles/guy lines and stakes.

TheBrownDog wrote:With a group you can share stuff so you don't all need to carry everything. So you'd only need one multi-tool and pump.

Not something i'd recommend on a big ride.
Imagine the scenario where your friend has the pump and heads off first down a long decent, you follow, but get a puncture in the first 100m.

How much walking are you going to have to do to meet up or how long before he realises you'd have a puncture and then has to ride back up the hill to find you?

Fair point Chew. You do need to keep in contact and that doesn't always happen. Same thing for injuries though. Riding in a mob means keeping an eye out for each other. I've been in my usual position at the back on a long descent, come off and felt abandoned when my mates didn't turn round till they got to the bottom.

I'll add to that -

What happens when the pump breaks?

Some things are always carried in multiples.

Chew wrote: Not something i'd recommend on a big ride.
Imagine the scenario where...

GregMay wrote: What happens when the pump breaks?
Some things are always carried in multiples.

This is why there are so many kit list posts and discussions on here. A large part of bikepacking is about balancing the risks of what kit you take and what you leave behind.

I only take 1 pump with me. I can see why you would want to take 2, but then where do you stop?
I can also see why it would be useful to carry spare spokes, pedals, cleats, brake hoses + bleed kit, tyres (and I suppose you should take multiples of each of these things as well?). I dont carry any of those things.

It's a balance between covering *all* eventualities and the *likely* ones. There's also the consequences of something breaking or failing, if you are out in the sticks and let's say your mech hanger breaks then if you haven't a replacement you're looking at a long walk which in poor weather might be a problem. I'll take spares/tools that I think are most likely to fail. It's a bit of a gamble really since it's a long while since I've actually broken something whilst out riding but of course eventually something will break.

Some items need associated tools: no point in taking spare spokes for the drive side of your rear wheel if you can't get the cassette off so you need something like the Next Best Thing to handle that. Then again, is one broken spoke going to make the wheel unusable?

Cleats - how many times have you had a cleat come undone? I've not had one come loose but I've had one completely pull out of the shoe plate and all! A spare cleat in that instance would have been pointless since there'd have been nothing to attach it to.

A bit of preventative maintenance will deal with most things.

I don't think Chew was saying, 'carry two pumps', more that each person should have their own. I generally believe that you should try and equip yourself with both the physical gear and perhaps more importantly, the skills to hopefully deal with whatever's thrown at you. Skill, ingenuity and the ability to engage brain can often negate the need to carry a workshop full of spares.

People skills are also useful - as I discovered when my rear wheel QR snapped on the Highland Trail

While packing for this weekend I reckoned that things like chain oil/lube, Stans fluid, etc can be shared among the party but you aren't going save a huge amount of space/weight.

If you are riding somewhere remote then you shouldn't be blasting off leaving the rest of the party behind no matter how exciting the descent is. If you are at the front then keep checking everyone is in sight and moving. Equally if you are at the back and you get a mechanical then you need to be shouting out so that the rest of the party know to stop. Basic mountaincraft really.