Fair enough - I realised after reading up on the the Tour of Flanders a bit more that it was unlikely that you were a pro tour rider moonlighting as a bikepacker! Shows how ignorant I am of the road riding scene in general (I know nothing that I haven't learned from watching Le Tour infrequently). w...

Ok, so to re-cap quickly..... Interested - we've got: Me Stuart Kevin Fantasticmrmatt Yetiman Duncan/Pistonbroke Chew Dates - we've got: The beginning of May outlined at present Trip/Location/Route - we've got: Crossing the Pyrenees (either W to E or E to W). Off-road as much as possible. Fully self...

I haven't looked but massive hills involved? http://www.letapedutour.com/ET1/img/commun/EDT13_profil.jpg not as bad as it might have been :? here's a list of the climbs: Côte de Puget (5,4 km à 5,8%) Col de Leschaux (3,6 km à 6,2%) Côte de Aillons-le-Vieux (6 km à 4%) Col des Prés (3,5 km à 6,5%) C...

It's in Annecy.

So close to Lyon, Grenoble, Geneva etc... for those who might be traveling from Blighty

The fact that it starts and finishes in the same(ish) place clinched it for me as there's no need to bother with all the expense of an organised thingy.

thinking about it???

Not so - I got 'em delivered to the UK (for later pick-up).

Though.....there are little pockets of (very well off) Brits (mostly on the West coast of France) who club together to get weekly Waitrose deliveries. :?

No, near Lago di Livigno in northernist Italy.

Holy-crap - I appear to have just entered the 2013 l'Etape du Tour :shock: Made sense to do it this year as: - It's the first time I've seen it be a loop which means that I could just enter the race without having to pay through the nose for a 'package' which normally includes transport/luggage nons...

Ouch!

have just ordered a hell of a lot of 9bars!!!!!

:D :D :D :D :D

thanks - try this:

link

November - done!

Despite sub-zero temps and some light snow I was toasty warm and slept much better than a baby!

Here's me playing around with some long-exsposure settings on the camera:

i didn't get one (simplegairy@gmail.com).

gairy - still interested although a cross-europe race has also piqued my interest. I know the [road] route but no date yet announced for that one. road??? pah - let's hope that doesn't happen! (only kidding - just got myself a new road frame and am pretty excited about it!). I would look to come do...

What bits you putting on your road frame? nothing special - i've got a 105 groupset and some semi-reasonable Shimano wheels (a Merlin sale bargain) which are going on there along with some other little bits and pieces i've got laying around. although.....now that i've got a frame that doesn't weigh...

Yeah, nice looking machine! I've a pair of those bars but never found an occasion to fit/use 'em??? Am just at Lyon airport awaiting the arrival of my Mother-in-law (and my new Planet X 'Sl Pro Carbon' frame!!!). So that's kind of like the postman arriving - no? Also means I may be the first bloke i...

I've got an Osprey 'Talon 33' and love it!!!

By far the comfiest and most well thought out bag I've owned.

Having said that - I've no idea about the 'Raptor'???

nice work fella!

good good, let's see how it goes.....

I've been doing very little thinking/planning with regard to this trip as it seems ages away but it might be worth sorting out some aspects so that people can know what they're likely to be getting themselves into???

this guy (click here) uses a saddlebag and seems to do alight!

At the moment I've got two 'big trips' in the pipeline for 2013: 1. In March I'm looking to do something for a couple of weeks and, right now, I'm getting very excited by the idea of bikepacking in the Atlas mountains in Morocco (but I suspect that the more I look into it the less practical the logi...

there's a brand new On-one 'Inbred' 29er full build (19.5" only) going for £599 (which is a bargain!) on their website:

http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/YBS ... __195_inch

Are those On-One forks truly dreadful? I'm after some rigid forks to replace an ancient pair of SR Suntour XCP 75's on an old Giant XTC to make an easy offroad/commuter/hack bike. I have a pair that I used on a 69er build without noticing any severe harshness but some people (especially on here) se...

Brilliant, something else added to the list of 'things I must own', just what I need.

Thanks Stuart!

*EDIT: Since reading/posting I've done nothing but research packrafts and canyoneering - I think I'm hooked :D

I always think of Marzocchis as being weighty little buggers (if nice and plush) - is that not true of the ones you're suggesting?

I always recommend RS Rebas as they're lightish, simple to maintain (not that they need much TLC) and cheap and easy to find (either new or 2nd hand). I've had nothing but Rebas (in varying guises - long travel, short travel, 26", 29" etc...) since 2006 and can't fault 'em. eBay and STW al...