Might just be able to fit this between contracts. Consider this post an interested bookmark.

Yep, I'm in for the 100. Also in for a pint or two on the Friday.

Another shout for WTB Nano from me. A good all rounder. I rode last year's BB200 on them and they handled everything with aplomb.

1- Do I need to have strava premium to be able to do the route planning in strava? As others have said, no. And a feature that will make make Strava route planning a lot more interesting than using Google maps is their Global Heatmap: hover over the red cross in the top right and "Create a Rou...

Nice one Mike, the relaxation break we had in the pub was exactly what I needed.

Shotgun House located and colonised by midnight. Muchos gracias for the pointer.

Some pics of my trip here http://www.imgur.com/a/9fNAS

Cheers for waiting for the last rider back Dee and Stu! The tea and Battenburg were most welcome. Fair play to everyone who showed - poor show weather but the Friday night pints in The Star and Saturday night pints in The Eagles more than made up for it. Extra special thumbs up to Scott and Mike for...

Belated update - can confirm it's rideable and all in good condition. The southern stretch is a resin-bound path which makes me think Sustrans have probably spent some money there. The northern section is grass/plastic matting which wasn't 100% complete (there's a section of about 15m where a roll i...

Is the "Tallest Tree in UK Stump" worth a look?

Tights with baggies over the top in winter. Pulling the bottoms of the tights over the Sealskinz (ie Sealskinz under tights) is a decent way of stopping water running down legs into shoes. Sometimes pull the bottom of the tights over the shoes too if it's mega wet. In the summer usually just a pair ...

Really good write-up Howard. Cheers.

Thanks chaps. :-bd . It's not a major problem to nip down the main road and along the parallel bridleway to access the TPT. Yeah, that was plan B. Thought it might be nice to know in advance whether to just head straight round that way and preserve what's left of the legs. ian - I'll try to grab a p...

Probably giving this a visit tomorrow if I can finish putting the hardtail together. Anyway, does anyone know whether this bit (circled in blue) is currently rideable? http://i.imgur.com/15PTHRK.png http://i.imgur.com/hzMVVcn.png A little bird told me today that there are some issues with the landow...

Far too many weeks of no riding at all, brought about by a mixture of silly injuries and bad lifestyle choices.

Will aim to hit 5000km this year. Want to have plenty of miles under my belt by the time the Dirty Reiver comes around.

Definites BB Winter Event Dirty Reiver Jenn Ride Tour de Mont Blanc & Haute Route double-header BB200 Probables Pennine Bridleway End to End Trans Cambrian Wish List A warm trip would be lovely, so one of: Transandalus Altravesur Fannying about in Crete Also, inspired by Ian's efforts I'd like ...

Anyone know what fork that ^^ is?

Doesn't look like the Magnum Pro, which is what Manitou recommend for 29+ as far as I can tell...

Might be in for this. Driving back from Nottingham to Manchester on the 17th so could quite easily chuck the bike and kit in the car and come join you at the Fox House..

I've sacked off the Dirt Wizard from my front. They've got a very square profile and I found it struggled to find grip in a lot of conditions - wet grass and firm mud in particular were kryptonite to it. I run a Nobby Nic up there now (45mm Dually rim), it's an infinitely better winter tyre and you ...

Nobby Nic front, Ardent rear is my favoured year-round set-up. I'm a big fan of the Ardents, but like something a bit grippier up front for riding in something a bit shittier.

A lot of good ideas in this thread, so consider this post a bookmark for viewing tomorrow on work's time.

*I also use the Decathlon meals previously mentioned - the vacuum-packed English breakfast is wonderfully trashy.

I'll easily go through £20 a day when bikepacking - obligatory shop stops for snacks, and cafe detours for coffee and (at least one) cake soon add up. If I'm travelling away there will be a B&B the night before with beers and evening meal - that's around another £60.

Viewranger is free and (relatively) easy to use. You can map out (or upload) a route onto the website, then follow it via the app on your phone. It's a good starting point for gpx use.

Thoroughly enjoyed that Pete. Top posting.

I've just been looking into doing this myself. Not sure how wise it is for the winter and shorter days though.

the Hollingworth Lake cafe is great btw.

I just REALLY like a cafe breakfast

Problem is I like the bivying/camping as much as the riding I'm the same, but it's not really a problem. I bivied after the cafe at 140km - found a spot in the woods a km or so down the road, set the tarp up and had about 7 hours. That meant the cafe in Llanidloes was open for breakfast when I rode...

do you have a photo of how they look on a gravel bike /bike packing bike? Only pic I got of my weekend set-up, up at the top of Pen Y Garreg Wen: http://i.imgur.com/cJqB3wB.jpg not a great view of the bars I'm afraid. I'm a convert to touring bars for off-road - find them very comfortable. There's ...