At danger of being called a metric using whippersnapper, I'm seeing it as

2389 metres of elevation in 185km of distance which equals just shy of 13 metres (12.91) of elevation per KM of distance.
Though obviously it won't be distributed evenly!

Saw this on bikepacking.com: https://bikepacking.com/routes/glenha-bikerafting-loop/ Looks quite interesting, not overly challenging and seems to be quite a good use of the raft to allow you to follow a route you couldn't do without one. The figure of 8 route means you could do it in smaller chunks ...

Specialized Tactic 4 from Tredz at £41.99 down from £80 plus best ranking mtb/emtb helmet and 3rd overall regardless of price as tested by Virginia Tech https://www.helmet.beam.vt.edu/bicycle-helmet-ratings.html They seem to be £40 at a lot of online shops, so handy if you are buying something else...

Two semi-conflicting themes for me. 1) A bike that is left in the back of the shed or somewhere for months will generally be good to go with just a wee spot of air in the tyres and potentially some chain lube. 2) Spending time cleaning a bike normally means I find lots of little bits on it to tidy u...

Hello, am back from my holiday. In the end, we didn't camp at all. Rooms in nice (if basic) Riads/hotels were about £20 a night between the two of us... We also didn't do much hiking in the end, a couple of 2 or 3 hour ones. We were travelling to different towns each day. Can definitely see the appe...

So, after mulling this over for a while, I have just received a pair of second hand Paramo Velez trousers in the post. They seem closest to what I'm looking for and if they don't do the job I can sell them on for no/low cost. Will test them out by riding to work (20 miles) in the rain. And while, sa...

Tortec ultra lite works well for me. Easy to fit, robust enough for anything my bike can do off road (with 38mm tyres). Can take panniers and the platform is big enough to put bags on top. They're less than £30, so not a big expenditure to try it out. Would recommend Ortlieb gravel panniers too. The...

Is there an 'optimum' age for a whisky? Is there a point of diminishing return? Chemically, almost all of the maturation flavouring happens in the first 18 months. The 3 year minimum maturation law is arbitrary. Was put in during the 1920s as a semi-prohibition measure to slow down production. Olde...

I have a masters degree in whisky distillation and maturation.
Feel free to ask anything you like.

Thanks for the info, and enjoyed reading about people's trips there.
Have starred a few places in Google Maps to visit.

Hello, a little off-topic but thinking there should be some people on here a little more widely-travelled than I. My pal and I have booked cheap flights to Morocco at the end of the month for a week The general plan is to hire a car, do a bit of a road trip. Sometimes stay in a hostel/hotel and some...

I once had a tankslapper on a GSXR600 at full throttle. Absolutely terrifying!

The Mason bikes have had lots of great feedback

This looks pleasant:
https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/borders ... -way.shtml

You could cycle down the Tweed from Peebles. Also very pleasant and there is a lot of riding of all kinds there.

In Glencoe last weekend

Still mulling this over.

Saw some OMM Kameilka (sp?) ones on their refurb site which I ordered to try but turns out they were out of stock....

Anyone have experience with the Patagonia Storm ones? https://eu.patagonia.com/gb/en/product/ ... 25030.html

fatbikephil wrote: ↑Fri Jan 12, 2024 10:38 am I'm getting one too - saves huffing and puffing!
I wonder if it will inflate a packraft?

I've got the other one that John has (the white one).
Does my packraft no problem with lots of battery capacity left over.
Does take about 5 minutes though.

There's a known issue with the T5 2ltr TDI 180HP engines around that time, I think it was something to do with high oil use due to a fault with cooler, which often appears after 45,000 miles. We had a deposit on one a few years ago and walked after some research. We ended up with a 2013 140HP versi...

I have a new Honda Monkey 125 which covers those bases for me
Absolutely brilliant motorbike to ride and goes on a rack on the back of my camper.

Here it is in Spain last year:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cx6Brg6oinm ... RvZDdrZ2tw

I've been looking at getting something cheap/low hassle as well, as my girlfriend is just doing her license. Automatic only. Also need something that go in to ULEZ zones (my van is a little told old) Been looking at Renault Kangoos. Come in a 1.6 petrol, automatics are available. Lots seem to have b...

I spent a lot of time looking at different vans. Was replacing an Leyland Daf 200! Asked the mechanic (with whom I spent a lot of time, being a Leyland Daf owner!) about which ones he sees the least of, and he said go for a French one. They're cheaper than the German ones, are more reliable and rust...

I'm off to Glencoe in the campervan.
Fireside pints, hill walking and sledging down the ski slopes.

Am in a good mood!

I dunno what it is about those Alpkit Cloud Cover quilts, but they are sub standard. You're always cold.
Sell it and put the money towards a better one, or a down sleeping bag

Have just arranged a long weekend of trail centre riding/staying in a cottage in Dumfries and Galloway with a few pals in March.
A good motivation to work on my fitness!

Ordered these by mistake: https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/brake-levers/shimano-ultegra-st6800-bracket-covers-black-y00e98080/ They don't fit my hydraulic disk brake ones - they are for the mechanical shifting, rim brake ones. Tried fitting to the bike so they're not brand new, but obviously didn't fit s...