Oh, and BTW, still looking for a way to get to the start from Shrewsbury. Anyone up for a lift? If only you could start and finish at Shrewsbury. You could bag most of this year's refs on a ride to-and-from Stu's but you'd miss out on all the tea, cakes and camaraderie at the start and finish :cool...

My "plan" is to have OS maps open on my phone and try to get to most of the GR near the start/finish point, maybe 2-3 out of the next bunch to the east, and skip the 3 that are further away altogether. Also, maybe finding slow riders that actually know what they are doing and try to keep u...

Was trying to follow here to find out when tickets are available, and now it seems they are all gone. Was quite confused between the "event postponed" message on the home page, and assumed tickets are not yet for sale
Or maybe I don't understand something?

How did you get on? That was a short but much needed getaway! Headed down to Guildford by train in the afternoon to cycle the North Downs Way towards Farnham. Saw 2 deer along the way, and loads of bluebells. That's the last section of the NDW that I haven't done yet, and actually, didn't expect mu...

A slice of inner tube held my 700ml water bottle in its down tube's bottle cage quite firmly over 90km of the South Downs Way yesterday. Not as versatile and easy to use as a proper strap, but free and still useful.

The weather this weekend doesn't look that promising. Heading down there today till Thursday instead. One of the benefits of being a PhD student I guess... I assume no one is up for joining, but if you do better to drop me a private message.

This is a copy of a posh one, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't though, we've got a couple. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/353315728905 Can confirm that this is quite good. Nice sound indeed. Quite high pitched though, and you have no control on the "volume", it's either a full on g...

I’m based in Dorking and might be able to join for some of that. I’ll post up here nearer the time if it’s looking likely. Excellent! Would love to have some company. There's a portion of the Downslink closed at the mo, but for the life of me I can't remember where. I'm fairly sure it's navigable a...

Thinking about doing the Downs overnighter from bikepacking.com on May 15-16. Will probably get on the trail on Friday evening, near Farnham. Then Surry Hills and a bit of the South Downs Way towards Brighton on Saturday, and back north through the Downs Link to Guildford on Sunday. Does anyone wann...

Oh... this train situation looks tricky. An extra day off to cycle from Shrewsbury, maybe?

Thinking about how to get there and back and I have a few questions: - Where are the starting/ending points? - I see that the ride starts at 1pm, but when do people usually arrive? Will be nice to meet some of this community face-to-face before the ride (and win the "heaviest bike" award :...

No much experience with anything else but I have this one from decathlon and quite like it. It's light, packed small, comfy, and warm enough for my needs.

Thanks for the explanations Alpinum , ScotRoutes , Lazarus , and Cheeky Monkey . They do make a lot of sense! Since reading your comments, I've ridden the Ridgeway in a constant 25km/h head wind over 2 days. It was completely dry, so no need for rain protection, but I did miss some wind protection. ...

Maybe a bit off topic but it looks like the goal with a softshell is to be windproof, warm-ish, and breathable, right? Is that your preferred combination of "features"? Intuitively, and with not much experience, I would have gone with windproof + waterproof and get warmth from other layer(...

Hi!

Looking for a cheap-ish seat pack. 10-14L will do. Something sub £40 because the Lomo looks fine and is £35 new.

Cheers,
Tom

EDIT: Went for the Lomo, so this can be deleted now.

This is going to be my first ever cycling related event! Booked a place and already excited

Hi all! Got a Minipeak II 2nd hand from eBay for £128. Advertised as "superb condition" + a pole. Went for this instead of a Lanshan thinking that this is something I can trust in any weather. Might get a grounsheet at some point for overnighters when the weather is good. Thanks a lot for ...

I’m not so sure you ‘need’ a bivi with things like the Lux or DD. Good point. I'm gravitating towards the Minipeak II or the Lanshan 1 ATM. Both come with an inner, so will have the option to decide later on a trip-by-trip basis. Although the DD is lighter than the Luxe, I'm worried that the standa...

You can often add sufficient bug protection with a sea2summit net. This is approaching an amount of faff that's beyond what I want. I mean, a tarp + bivvy + bug net? Isn't it better to just get a tent? Or a tarp + bivvy with integrated bug net. If you want to sit up and cook in it, I'd consider the...

This looks similar to the DD Super light pyramid tent I don't really like the full mesh on this one, and the entrance is quite low. It's smaller and lighter though. Requires more pegs and guy lines than the Minipeak II, right? I've only got the outer, so it's basically a shaped tarp. Feels spacious...

This looks similar to the DD Super light pyramid tent Checked again, and the Minipeak II is actually very similar to the DD SuperLight XL Pyramid with Solo Mesh . Also, I think I underestimated the weight reduction of Stu's poles. If these are 60-100 grams that's a massive difference compared to a ...

Thanks for the recommendations! I think the treker stealth will be a tad small for getting into and unlikely to meet your price point Yeah, I think the stealth is a good example of what I don't want: looks like an excellent escape from the elements, but really disconnected from the outdoors and not ...

Hi all, I really need to stop carrying my 3 person 2.75kg tent. Looking for advice for 1 person lightweight(-ish) shelter. Really hope to spend 10+ nights in this this summer, riding some bits of the King Alfred's Way, South Downs Way, maybe start the Great North Trail (in sections). Requirements: -...

2nd attempt, now with Gorilla tape , was successful! Found a neat trick along the way that might be worth sharing. After seating one side with an inner tube, I was pumping like crazy for an hour until realised there might be an easier way. Tried it and it worked immediately! Worked 1st attempt on th...

So... managed to sit the bead with the sealant, but it's far from sealing. Lots of air comes out from around the valve and from various points along the rim. Here's what I think went wrong: - Checking online, the rim is specced as 26mm internal width . Nope, it's a 30mm internal width rim (as marked...