Hey, I like Christmas! It's a chance to give myself a week off work, and to spend a couple of days without trying to fit in a bike ride around everything else. I let go and live like a normal person for 48hrs 😆 Then after Boxing day I can bugger off for hours and nobody cares, plus I'll have massive...

Lee Craigie was already my hero after watching Divided last year.

Oh this is embarrassing. It was a film by Jenny Graham.
Still, both awesomely cool, inspirational people anyway.

I was watching her GCN+ film about training for the Trans Continental race. At one point she's explaining how being unhinged is ok. She turns to ride off and shouts "f**k hinged!"
It's the best quote I think I've ever heard. Really cut through to how I feel about life.

But flat caps have been added to the game card.
Gotta keep my wits about me in this marriage.

Back on topic, my wife has informed me that bivy bag writhing would not incur a strike. I knew she was a keeper.

I used to have a little 20' twin keel yacht that I moored over at Thorney Island. Used to sail over to the IOW but found Cowes not my sort of place. Fortunately came across Wooton Creek sailing club which was much more my cup of tea. My boat was a Sea Wych (which we called the Sea Bych). I rigged an...

I just burst out laughing at the thought of my wife looking out into the garden to see me writhing around inside a bivy bag. "Just practicing taking my clothes off" We've got a long running joke that there's a divorce bingo card. This would definitely be a strike. Luckily unless I take up ...

Thank you. That's a nugget of purest gold information.

Would you strip off and put your damp clothes inside your sleeping bag with you or outside your bag but still inside the bivy bag?

Would removing waterproofs and getting into the (synthetic) sleeping bag fully clothed, be a bad idea? Would your body heat dry out your damp clothing leaving you dry and warm by morning?

Last trip I went on I had a chicken pie, Welsh cakes, licorice allsorts and proper coffee for breakfast. All bought the day before from Abergavenny and eaten in the valley beneath Pen-y-fan.
Best breakfast ever

I've got a tent that I've used a fair bit over the last two summers. It's lightweight though so not super strong. I want to work towards being able to survive out in a proper gale in an exposed location so I figured a bivy bag with a thick synthetic sleeping bag (MH Lamina -10)and inflatable mat rol...

It's more my wife I worry about. Don't want to give her further evidence that she chose poorly.

Speaking of which... I was camped next to some woodland. My arrival alarmed a few pheasants which made their clucking warning call. Out of the blue about 10mins later this crescendo of noise erupted out of the woodland in a wave starting at one end and travelling along hundreds of yards. It sounded ...

I went out last night around 7pm, rode to a nearby field, then set up my mat and sleeping bag in my newish Alpkit hooped bivy bag. I'd not used it before and franky couldn't see how it'd be anything other than cold and damp. After 30mins in it I decided I'd better pack up and go home before I fell a...

Yeah, he's only had it a few months. He'll get to know it.

My mate has a Saulo and I have a copper spur ul1.
On milder nights he's too hot whilst I have great ventilation. On nights around 2-6 degrees he's woken up soaked from condensation. Below zero or in high winds I expect he'll have the last laugh.

Ordered a 16T SS sprocket from Bikemonger.com. Didn't fit on my freehub. Bit of googling revealed it's only compatible with a 12sp freehub. Now that's a niche within a niche! I was a bit cross about it as I wanted to finish my sscx refurb, but mainly I think it's funny and sums up the bike industry ...

Would there be any interest in my local stomping ground? There's a nice route from Dover to Winchester using NDW to Guildford, then Downslink to Steyning on the SDW before finishing the ride on the western end of the SDW. Done in January/Feb, preferably with a stonking headwind, it'd be a mud apocal...

What have I done?

Bought myself a Lamina -9 rated sleeping bag on your recommendation and used it this weekend in the Brecon Beacons. Was quite a nippy night with damp air, but I was so snug. Loved the neck baffles and the chunky feel of the synthetic lofting. Preferred it to a down bag as its firmer structure meant ...

That's a pretty good idea.

Due to the nature of my job (I'm a gardener), by the beginning of April, I'm flat out. Jan-March are my quieter months. I fancy doing a group start on something like the Dales Divide or YD300. Not so as to ride for 40hrs straight with no sleep, but to meet people and have an adventure. Struggling to...

I think that when you buy new brakes they come with the hose disconnected from the caliper so they can be fed through frames internally. The hose is filled with oil and has a stopper on the end. The kit comes with a little cutting clamp tool, barbs and instructions. It's really easy to install which...