I'm just about to break in my second pair of Brooks Cascadia (the non-GTX version for the same reasons as others have mentioned above). I find 'em comfortable, and they have a decent wide toe box, good protection and a hard-wearing tread.

I was planning on using them for TD, and as others have pointed out, they’re not in stock anywhere in the EU. I ended up picking up some in Canada before the start of the race. The WTB arrows look like a much more sustainable solution as they’ll work with regular bacon strips. I’m planning on switch...

Interesting spectating Meaghan Hackinen versus Lael Wilcox's dot - every night it passes here and every day she passes it. She also seems to have dropped Ana Jager again. That would be the average speed aspect of the dot (it’s not tracking Lael’s ride but rather her average pace). I think the final...

The pace of Justinas and Uba is staggering. It looks like they’re well ahead of Mike’s dot (though recall that the dot is an average pace). In terms of the route changes since MH’s time, the main one in the North is Koko Claims vs the ACA route through Elkford. I reckon this adds two hours minimum, ...

I see Duncan is making good progress, in the middle of the main bunch :-bd Good progress until it all fell apart. I made the rookie mistakes. Too hard too early, and didn’t get enough food (had food that wasn’t working for me) or rest. So by the time I got to Helena I had saddle sores and neck pain...

...but unless your first over the hill ... Not quite over the hill yet :grin: and unlikely to be anywhere close to the pointy end of the race, so the speedy ones can beat a nice track for me. I saw just now that Brush Mountain Lodge is closed for the summer, that's a shame and worth planning around...

Alpinum wrote: ↑Tue Jun 04, 2024 11:08 am Anybody doing it on a cheap beach cruiser?

That's genius, and you can imagine the bruised egos on some of the riders passed by those three. Goes to show, the "run what ya brung" works if you put a bit of thought and training into it!

Good luck - hope the weather is kind Thanks, I have spent the last month watching reports of snow on the trails with a little anxiety! The logistics of not finishing are often harder than finishing.....especially on the TD. Good luck, it is an amazing race Thanks. Yes, the hassle of figuring out th...

fatbikephil wrote: ↑Sun Jun 02, 2024 8:22 pm More dotwatching - you'll have to let us know your initials

DF. I'll post a link to trackleaders once that's up.

Yep, I’m giving it a go. I’m hoping to finish and ideally ahead of the broom, but will still be happy if I simply get to the end.

May's BaM for me was ticked off at the start of May at the WRT. I had ambitious plans for a long ride with a friend of mine, and had spent time working out a suitable route and an assortment of alternatives to make it longer or shorter as required. But circumstances got in the way, and my mate could...

Certainly looks that way from his recent post on FB. He seems to be shutting up after the current orders are completed.

Thanks for that pointer, Paul, I'd not spotted the pub in Llangadfan! There's also a pub and Spar in Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant, and a Spar in Llanfyllin.

Also

https://www.baryak.com/products/baryak- ... nstall-kit

Bearbonesnorm wrote: ↑Tue Apr 16, 2024 7:19 pm Most source rivers are currently at normal levels - they do rise quickly but obviously fall quickly too.

JohnClimber wrote: ↑Tue Apr 16, 2024 8:19 pm Kiss of death post......

I’ll pack waders and a snorkel so! Thanks lads.

So this year I'm hoping to ride my own (heavily 2015 BB200 inspired) route. I might need a sanity check on a couple of decisions though, given I'm mostly in unfamiliar country. Did the 2015 BB200 have a river crossing of River Vyrnwy after 138km (NE of Dolanog)?? Given the fact that it hasn't stoppe...

I think the only thing that should be pointed out, is Reg's penchant for cycling during extreme precipitation... Do we know if Karl has also angered the rain Gods in some way...? Well if he has, it's only since last year! The 2023 LHC group only had to deal with wet conditions on the Sunday morning.

I though the Apidura frame bag bladder looked a bit spendy, so I use a regular platypus bladder in my frame bag, and supplement it with a couple of runners’ squishy bottles in a running vest (I find it easier to drink from, and easier to track how much I’m drinking).

It was not a pleasant experience but when I got over the initial shock, ... A CT scan a couple of days later confirmed whiplash injuries but fortunately ruled out any serious structural damage or internal bleeding. Yikes, glad to hear you escaped serious injury. I know that climb up to the Shay Ell...

So has anyone studied what looks like an inverse correlation between the time remaining in the month to get in a bivvy, and the likelihood of it being raining? Back out next week for a decent three day spin and two consecutive nights out (April weather should be glorious as a consequence!) I put th...

So has anyone studied what looks like an inverse correlation between the time remaining in the month to get in a bivvy, and the likelihood of it being raining? I ticked off March last night, with a quick and local outing, back to the comfort and shelter of some old stones walls and the remains a fam...

A Pork pie on the other hand! (And with an apple and a lump of cheese makes a meal fit for any royalty you care to mention) There are insufficient words of praise for the role of the humble pork pie in bikepacking. The memories of the one (or two) I got from a little shop in Castleton, well, I have...

Boab wrote: ↑Thu Feb 29, 2024 1:18 pm a gold eye mask with absolute bliss written on it is a bit much

The power of positive thinking no doubt!

A bit more planning than usual went into my BaM this month. The missus had treated me to a weekend in Derry, so I took that as an excuse to bring the bike and make my own way home. I've not explored my of counties Donegal or Tyrone before, so I spend a few hours sticking together a route based loose...

I was looking at a Pinion c12 which I believe has very low gearing for this very reason. The C1.12 ratios run from 0.3-1.82, so when you factor in sprockets of 32 (front), 34 (back), you're down to 1.93, which I think is marginally better than a 28/52. So yes, you can spin up most things! I did pur...