Squeezed in a school night bivvy for May, so 2/2. Left home at nearly 10pm, wandered my way up to the nearby North Hants Downs and found a lovely spot not far from the county top. Enjoyed seeing the 'W' of cassiopeia above the northern horizon. Sipped some whisky, slept OK for a bivvy kip and it was...

I was pondering this last night whilst watching the stars on my BAM bivvy. Personally, light pollution is my biggest worry as it reduces the quality of what you can see - satellites or not. There are so many useless lights everywhere. The internet told me that the majority of satellites are in geost...

Indeed! It's very difficult trying to speak any of the language in Scandinavia, apart from greetings and thank yous. Almost to a person, you are spotted a mile off and you will be schooled in the English language (in a good way) by someone speaking in their second or third language! :grin: dlovett -...

Nice one sir :-bd Really enjoying the write-up, will look forward to the next part. Having spent a fair bit of time in Finland (not riding), it has rekindled my desire to explore Scandinavia again - I love the landscapes and, strangely enough, the monotony of it if that makes sense? Beautiful, vast,...

It does seem to be at odds with the LNT principles it claims to support, and there's every reason to be a grumpy bustard about it. The how to camp bit was quite, er, intriguing; like carrying all that uncooked meat, a £3 morrisons grill (where on the bike does it go!?), and some charcoal/firelogs/li...

I agree that maybe a routes page on here or somewhere would be good, with a downloadable gpx. I think it's a good idea to have a reworked route, and I for one would be happy to give it a go. I'm planning on doing the TCW in June, so would happily look at a re-jigged alternate routing. Agree the endi...

Thanks for sending through...it's a monster!

As i'm new here, i'm intrigued to know what the big bear is? Assuming it's a massive route in the Cambrian mountains, anyone care to share the route for interests sake?

Ta.

Glad it got sorted, as i've read it a few times and recommended it to others. As others have said, the rawness and honesty is what makes it work. And the length really works too, it gives a good sense of the huge scale of travel. I really don't think you need to do much editing to it really. I've re...

Went to BB territory at the weekend to visit a friend. Despite filthy conditions on saturday, the trails were fine on sunday. Went for a lovely loop from near Mach up to Glaslyn via the Hengwm valley (the one leading to Nant y Moch), and down the byway to Aberhosan. Only a little bit of bog trotting...

Not sure i’m really up for BAM but this may count if I carry on in May... First big ride of the year going from Newbury to the New Forest via Savernake forest. Left late on Thursday under a full moon and rode for about 20miles to Savernake where I found a nice spot. Beautiful still night and I watch...

Know nothing about it myself, but i've followed Nicholas Carmen's blog/instagram for a few years (https://www.instagram.com/nicholascarman/?hl=en) and he pretty much set up the route, and I think he rode some of it recently. Why not contact him directly, sure he'll know a lot that would be of help?

Looks a great area to ride, and lovely cabins in true Scandi 'everyman's right' style. Main problem for me would be paying to be doing it when it's busy with other people doing the same. I'd want it to be just me, the mozzies, and a grumpy elk.

Like the look of that. Regular MTB magazines have had very little to offer me for a long time now, so I hope it's a good mix of interesting stuff.

Your point about what period of time to go back to is a key one. Taken broadly - this is the phenomenon of Shifting Baseline Syndrome, and is something rewilding projects have to contend with, to a degree. But it also highlights a difficulty with the way rewilding can be framed. From my perspective,...

Can't say I noticed it that much. I liked the film. I did think the snow falling and sparks in the flames looked a bit fake or an effect, but didn't impact my enjoyment. I wouldn't say washed out colours and graininess is 'on trend' [a phrase increasingly at odds with itself], it just lends itself t...

I've not read any of the reports or commentary, and i'm not going to. To be honest, when it happened I was totally gutted (and still am) by the loss of a cycling hero i'd never met. From my perspective, there is nothing to be gained from reading fairly predictable reports on causes and re-heating of...

Nice

Really like the look of that KM Dyffers. Think it looks better with normal drops rather than really flared ones.

That the fleet in the background btw? Dorset native exiled to Berks you see...

I'm doing this route this year, and i'm aiming for longer days and warm weather to make it more enjoyable. I've ridden plenty in the area so know what to expect in terms of conditions, at any time of year! As well as the resources on here, there's a good write up on bikepacking.com. I friend lent me...

Indeed, I think I'd have to be fairly desperate for fork bosses to go with it in the end...

I reckon this is a good option, but the frameset and complete build is a bit spendy for me: https://www.thelightblue.co.uk/Sport/5LB5DVM2K/Darwin-One-By-MT Great bike though, taking proper 29" tyres. Or get a camino or vagabond and get the fork only. I'm thinking of doing the same on my arkose: http...

I'll put my hand up to being a paper map 'believer', and still use them almost exclusively on bike rides. I just think there is a different spacial orientation in my brain that understands maps, and I learnt a great deal from years of being a scout. Still use them for car navigation sometimes; easil...

Aside from getting out as much as work and a baby will allow, definitely doing Trans-Cambrian when the weather is a bit better and it's lighter. May also do some Audax, but probably just some long rides I make up myself. Been considering BAM as a way of getting myself out each month too, will see. J...

I've just bought myself an early xmas present from R*pha (only likely purchase i'll ever make from them), "Longer Rides" written and illustrated by Jo Burt. £12 plus extortionate postage, but I like his drawings and it sounds good to me. No training plans and nutrition guff, and he talks to well kno...