Sort of on topic: feeling a little rusty with my map reading and navigation skills, I benefitted greatly from a lesson from our work IT guy who's a scout leader. I have homework and lesson 2 next week!! Feeling much less nervous. At least now I can be lost with some vague skills, rather than lost wi...

nice to see the love for the old V8 barge... I commute by train and folding bike, I don't drive it round town, and it won't depreciate (apparently it was about £55k new in 2001 and I paid £1,450, 202K miles, last owner for 8 years and has clearly cared for it), On a run being sensible the mpg isn't ...

A 20t alfine sprocket and kmc chain to lower the gearing on my fortitude. Low miles so far means that I could have just changed the sprocket but the existing chain wasn't long enough. Get and brake cables and brake blocks for the commuter folder Dahon, as it was well overdue a fettle And O/T an Erco...

2 x Salsa anything cage HDs from Charlie the Bikemonger.

My small trip over my handlebars yesterday, thanks to some very gloopy mud on the Ridgeway, into a bramble-infested-water-filled-ditch, resulted in me being very wet, with slightly grazed hands, and helpless through giggling too much as I lay there at the stupidity of it. More seriously, it has set ...

honey saddle now sold

a gloopy 5 miles along the Ridgeway and Icknield way nr Chinnor - I wimped out and went back to the car after I 'highsided' after getting the front wheel stuck whilst riding through some deep mud, and ended up in a 3ft deep ditch full of water and brambles. I just lay there gently bleeding and giggl...

PM replied to..

Brooks Ti B17 black Nicely broken in! Fairly well used and well cared for. Regularly proof hide-d. There is one notable scratch on the top, but it’s not deep but I think it looks more noticeable in the photo than in real life. Scuff by the nose rivet, and small scuffs but the rear side rivets where ...

More praise for Cambiums here. I struggled for years to find a comfy saddle. I'd dismissed Brooks saddles after trying a Brooks professional 30 years ago (unbeknown to me they were /are a particularly thick leather so took ages to break in and as a skinny teenager it didn't really ever break in.) I'...

2 for 2 Like chew, was a bit of a gamble weather-wise but turned out dry but very windy. Snuck into a local nature reserve at about 10.30 last night after supper at a friend's house. Bivvy-ed amongst the snowdrops - with a leave no trace ethos I found a flower free space so I didn't squish then... H...

Genesis Fortitude Adventure, Unless (entries allowing) my wife comes along, and then I'll be relegated to a rigid steel, moustache bar'd, mid '80s Muddy Fox Sorcerer, or a similarly aged rigid steel Specialized Hard Rock :grin: Pic below from a mainly road based bivvying weekend where the rear overh...

Surprised to score 24. I'm slightly less of a softie than I thought!

Just entered. My first! Can't wait!

Yes please. 2 if possible for teenagers who expressed interest in joining me after my bivvy at the weekend! !

I was recently told in one of the LBSs to work that "in cycling weight is everything". "Really?" I replied "even at the expense of reliability and durability?".... cue a pause and then a sheepish , "oh, I see your point... I'll leave you to it then"

Month #1 done! Left home at about 9.30pm after supper and tucking my youngest daughter in. Rode all of 1 mile to where a local bridleway meets a footpath. Bivvi 'pitched' and in my sleeping bag by about 10.30 pm. My synthetic two-three season bag wasn't going to be enough warm enough, so I wore ther...

As a newbie to this I've got a question... does a bivvy on the last night of the month count towards the month you start in?

Just realised that if I want to fit one in in Jan it's tonight or next Sat...

A bivvy a month - incorporating at least one mid-week bivvy direct from and back to work... and at least one road based overnight bivvy on my 1960's series 1 F Frame Moulton. Maybe in all of that, I'll manage to get the teenage sprogs out too... Hopefully the WRT and the HONC Having ridden Dunwich D...

Thanks all. that's really useful info. I've just emailed the url of this thread to my wife...

^ lovely pics above My highlight was a 6 mile potter around Wendover Woods family trail with my wife a couple of months ago! All 6 miles of it! It was the highlight because 9 months earlier she'd had major surgery for bowel cancer (aged 43), and this was her first time back on a bike and despite me ...

Excellent - just ordered a pair of bagainacious gloves - thanks...

Genesis Fortitude Adventure (Alfine 11) Stock build apart from On-One Mary bars, and ESI extra chunky grips. Std weight is 12.9 kg apparently...

Hi all, Although not the lightest or the most compact when folded, I'm very pleased with my ex-dutch Army hooped bivvy, but want to complement it with a tarp for when the weather is less than great. I'm new to tarps -but have enjoyed perusing the web 'learning' about them - so would welcome some rec...

Hello from a new forum member based on the Oxford/ bucks border near Thame. I mostly ride a recently purchased Genesis Fortitude Adventure and occasionally an old 1980's rigid steel Muddy Fox Sorcerer for the odd bit of bike packing. Looking forward to getting out on a few more overnighters next yea...