Not sure where I picked up a taste for whisky but it's well-enough known that I got a Glen Scotia, a Talisker 10 and a Laphroaig 10 at Christmas :-bd I bought a Jonnie Walker Black Label in Tescos for £22 not long ago, that's good for the money, slightly Islay/peaty but subtle. I was having drinks i...

Hi Alex, thanks, it is - unf the 13" laptop sleeve in that one is a bit smaller than I need.

Hi Alex, is the Borough bag inc the frame that clips to a front block? What colour is it? Thanks

Looks like a great weekend there! Sunshine, some excellent bivi spots and that water wheel cave is quite a thing.. brilliant stuff.

I wish that was the case, walking is the problem I have, being on a bike is actually easier for me, I have learned that you don't recover from a brain tumour, you learn to live with a new version of yourself, I doubt I will be able to bang out a century in a day again with ease but I will be able t...

I've found a down gillet or thin jacket adds more warmth as an upper bag airspace filler / blanket collar kind of thing rather than wearing it inside the bag, to back up what Stuart's saying. Maybe it stops some of the warm air getting out as well as adding insulation.

The 20K ultratrail was born.

The track is constantly evolving but some highlights tend to be there

Strada dell’Assietta
Colle delle Finestre
Gardetta Plateau
Via del Sale

A familiar route. You could've done the TNR and saved yourself £250 ; )

^ exactly. It's one of those things that you're shown once and it's a eureka moment and you understand what a rim well is for. I worked in a Raleigh dealer's as a work experience week when I was 13 or 14 and it was one of the first things they asked me to do - "here, chuck a tyre and tube on th...

Sorry to read that Loki. Could you get out on foot with bivi kit? I've been thinking of doing a hiker bivi recently, should have added it to the list here. Since we all have the gear I wonder how often many of us get out on foot rather than the bike. Thanks Dyffers and Psling. Mark Rigby is someone ...

More regular 2 night trips from my door into Wales would be good, around the Brecons and Black Mountains. Riding to Eurobike again if I can swing it as a work product test trip (it would be, honest). The new venue is in Frankfurt which isn't as nice as Friedrichshafen as a destination but the ride a...

Plus, ensure the tyre on the opposite side of the bit you are levering on is right in the well of the rim. This and making sure you start opposite the valve and work each side round equally back round to the valve. That bit maybe obvious but I'm suprised how often I see people trying to put a tyre ...

Thanks - thought so. GLWS.

The Strada beam pattern is good for road and MTB ime. It's not got such a defined cut-off that it's no good off road (eg compared to the low, distinct cut-off of the SON Edelux II) Ideally I'd have a dynamo and Edelux or similar on all my bikes and add/use a head torch for MTB as needed, but for the...

Interested. I'm getting fed up of fixing holes in mats and never really liked the air mattress roll/bounce. A foam mat could make a useful base or support to a bar roll / bag etc. I was thinking that picking a spot with softer, grassy ground might make it ok. I do like a decent sleep on rides these ...

Hi Keith, interested but it's probably a size too big for me. I'm 6' / fairly slim and a med Montane jacket fits great. I think this will be more roomy and maybe a bit big, any opinions on that / how do you find the fit? Thanks

Not exclusively, I'm not that much of a luddite : ) Mostly SS for unloaded MTB rides though, have been for ~13-14 years now. I got fed up of servicing suspension forks or sloppy bushings and cleaning triple chainset gearing back then, went rigid SS for a winter (Genesis iO with Titec H-bars, loved i...

TNR? You'd be fine there, no problem. Be great to see you out there.

Will watch this tonight, been looking forward to seeing it.

Fernie in 9 hours!!

that puts things in perspective doesn't it.

Really enjoyed this, thanks - I missed it on here when you posted but I think I saw some photos on IG? Love the shot of Cwmystwyth, one of my favourite roads anywhere. I looked up the map pin spot of a few places along your route as some of it's familiar from my own Wales wanders, some of it's not, ...

Nice one Rich, looks like a great trip. I have a book of past Tour routes and I'm feeling inspired to have a look through it and do a proper TdF sometime (rather than my usual 'Tour In France', to be more accurate). Might do some route checking on google satellite view first though : ) Those fields ...

Well done.. that's a big ride and I know too well what the wind's been like NE of Bristol area recently, haven't been out in it anywhere near that long though!

My French is no better than yours James, but I can speak menu fairly fluently!

Mange tout Rodney, mange tout..

That must've been quite a trip + climb Rich..

The cup.. Cut to size to fit into my small ti mug, used for cowboy coffees - it's like tea tannin marks on a mug?

Dusting off your French.. mine needed a jetwash and a full polish:) Reminds me to recommend a book, Rides of Passage by Matt Lamy. You might recognise his name from the cycling press where he's been a writer and tester for years. It's about him and his father (Arthur Lamy who owns a bike shop in Gue...

I'm a bit sceptical of theories that the industry killed them off out of fear they'd take sales from other formats :) Surly and others would have kept supplying a niche demand if the demand was there. Maybe the more common 27+ gave a bad impression of the Plus thing? They're a small part of a small ...