Interesting! I looked at the price of US cleaners for doing the chain and decided to give deep fat fryer and Putoline a shot instead. Been reasonably impressed with it so far. It did the CL300 without getting oiled again, although it was a bit noisy on the uphills towards the end. Still shifted fine...

As a cheaper, but no excuse to buy new shiny, suggestion.

I copy GPS files to my Etrex 30x using my Samsung phone. It came with a USB to USB-C plug that I use the Garmin cable with. The Samsung "my files" app lets you copy stuff across.

I'll be keenly following your dot Steve. Think I leaned a lot from your attitude in Tomintoul on the CL300. You just need to keep plodding when you're feeling a bit flat. I ended up faffing and losing a lot of time doing things like stopping to take photos, as my head wasn't in it until I met up wit...

To Woodsmith - what length was the pole you used? They recommend a slightly longer pole for more recent versions that lifts the bathtub up a bit. I originally got a pole slightly too short from Stu and had to order a longer extender.

I'd buy them based on Skurka's review. He's pretty thorough.

Please tell us how you get on, also interested.

I've got the side plates for the rack and they work well. I used it for bikepacking before I learned to TLS. Use it with mini Ortleib panniers though.

I tend to use Sugru for semi-permanent adjustments like this. You could maybe mold a shim to angle the bracket.

I'd thought about doing similar with an Alpkit Gordon on the front carrier. Taking it off for things like Larig an Laogh or the East bank of Loch Lomond on the WHW. You'd need to know in advance that it was a serious hike a bike to make it worth it. Decided it was a faff too far and didn't pursue. I...

I got blown off a couple of times, at one point to screamed expletives into the wind, didn't do much but made me feel a little better. Lots of good memories. Thanks again. Ian Martin Think I just ducked out of the gust to put my fleece on at that point! Pretty sure I could've been more sympathetic ...

Enjoyed that thanks Bob. It was me with the Tarp lofted high, to be honest I was too tired to figure anything out properly at that point and just tied it to various branches on the tree. The wind loosened it up overnight. Kept the rain off enough for a few hours sleep though. Took me quite a while t...

Hi, I just finished at 23.06. afraid my broken brain isn't able to figure out how many hours that is right now. Really pleased anyway, hardest I've ever pushed myself and the Glen Derry descent down to Linn of Dee was a particular highlight yesterday. Great to meet so many like minded souls and than...

Similarly got one dinner and one breakfast packed and lots of snacks.

Stu.

Out of interest gents, how much resupply are you planning enroute and how much is packed?

I see talk of "dinner" which I've also got with a small stove.

Yeah, I said I needed to avoid the weather forecast now all I'm doing is looking at all the different ones!

It's the strong winds for the descent to Braemar that I'm keeping an eye on! All good Cairngorm weather though I suppose.

Yeah it's been pretty consistent all week too

I'm in too. With a previous time over 50 hours I'll be happy to get in under two days though!

Aiming for one sleep and enjoying the sunshine and gentle winds (must ignore the weather forecast, must ignore the weather forecast...).

Stu.

Yeah, I'm really pleased with my 1l top tube bag too. Really well made and I've been able to get stuff out of the front on the move, by using just one zip.

Quality! Thanks Stu.

I've used this for shoe repair in the past with good success. Even managed to fix a puncture in the kids beach ball with it!

https://www.ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk ... esive-p250

I'm not convinced building your own wheels is cost effective (unless you do it a lot) but it's a very satisfying feeling.

Thanks Boxelder. I'm used to the midge!

That sounds sensible Jurassic. Just wondered if there was a reason the experts had agreed on. Seem to be lots of people talking about them the last few years.

Ticks really do seem to be increasing. Is there an accepted reason for this? What are their predators?

I was given it when I had laser eye surgery. I went for PRK (painful one) so it was definitely necessary.

You are quite spaced out and you know that there is some pain there but you just don't care. I would think it could help you push past pain limits effectively.