I used to be slack about carrying spare pads on short rides, especially if my pads were newish, but a couple of months ago the pads in my rear brake fell apart mid-descent :o They were brand new too - the resin just sheared clean off the metal. Luckily I was on a long ride and had spares. Now I just...

One rider found an opened packet of Tramadol on the ground somewhere in Fisherfield in a place where only riders would have been. This is on the list of drugs banned by the UCI. Alan gave riders a chance to own up, but no one did, hence there were no results published. Also there was nearly no futu...

Just watched Neil Beltchenko's interview with Sofiane Sehili for Bikepacking.com. It's a really interesting half-hour and well worth a watch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s55r-cENgsc The YouTube summary mentions the "doping scandal of the Highland Trail 550", as if this was common knowl...

Pity Police Scotland aren't doing the same. I'm hearing tales of visitors and second home owners turning up throughout the Highlands - in some cases emptying shops like a plague of locusts I haven't seen this in the Lomond & Trossachs NP - at least the bit where I live. My village is a "ga...

Not used the latter in anger yet but garden tests (the front left peg was in a plant pot!) indicate it's easier to get in and out of and gives you more headroom where you need it. i.e. your head :roll: I can go from lying down to sat up without my head touching the tarp material so handy when there...

Wah hey! https://i.ibb.co/HN4198y/20200404-182053.jpg As above but pole offset - my favourite so far Also my favourite after some more playing around on Saturday - easy to pitch but loads of protection and headroom. I think I have the same tarp and guyed out that central lifter to a shorter pole fo...

DDhammocks are still delivering (though the order went in pre-lockdown). Alpkit seem to be too.

Now on the half pyramid, I like this one #homeschooling #outdoorlearning

Excellent

Actually under the tarp right now in the back garden with the kids. We’ve gone for a simple A frame to start. Lots of bowlines and a couple of clove hitches deployed.

No surprises that the HT 2020 group start has now been officially cancelled.

I had a place but plan to take up Alan’s offer of a deferred spot on the 2021 start. Anyone else?

I’m looking at it positively, it’s an extra year to prepare :)

Agree with Ben on this. As well as tallish I'm rather wide-ish and like my room, so a 3mx3m DD Hammocks Superlight Large has been my tarp de choice for the past 3-4 years. Cheap at £60 and light enough at 500g. It works in any sort of pitch and give loads of coverage, and it's been perfect for hamm...

whitestone wrote: ↑Thu Mar 26, 2020 1:08 pm 2.8x1.5 seems very elongated, what's the model or is it a MYO?

It's the DDHammocks superlight small.

Thanks for all the pics. I think I'll start off with the dropped A frame using some trekking poles which will be a good way of experimenting with different pole heights.

Bearbonesnorm wrote: ↑Thu Mar 26, 2020 1:03 pm Half pyramid - dead quick to set-up (some may remember me doing it while blindfold at the WRT some years ago. Decent coverage on 3 sides, good headroom and pretty stable.

I like that setup, looks cosy! Thanks for the pole tip :)

My new tarp arrived this week, just in time for the lockdown. As there'll be no big rides or overnighters for a bit I'm going to practise in the garden instead and maybe throw in some garden bivying with the kids when the weather warms a bit. A couple of questions... 1. I need a pole for the tarp. I...

I'm working from home - full on 10-hour shifts from the dining room table, but I'll need to head into the office at some point next week and will have a "permission to travel" letter from my employer confirming I'm a key worker. Hopefully I won't need it, but it's there just in case there'...

I found a tick on my daughter's neck the weekend before Christmas! This is in central Scotland. There's not much of an off season these days...

They allow you to attach a line to "lift" the tarp to give you extra room. Have a search on the review part of this site and look for "tarp", Stu did a series of posts on how to create various pitches. Best to figure out what you want/works for you and practice those one or two....

Thanks @Shewie and @landslide. Sounds like it's worth a punt.

I think the main difference between it and the Alpkit version is that the Alpkit has a couple of extra lifters along the centre of the minor axis. Whether that's important to you is another matter and probably depends on what pitches you prefer to use. I confess I've only ever attempted to pitch a ...

Has anyone used DD Hammocks? Looking at the superlight small, which seems bigger, lighter and cheaper than the competition, so wondering if there's a catch...

https://www.ddhammocks.com/product/dd_superlight_tarp_s

Not quite the same as a sponsored rider, but I did run an outdoorsy podcast that was sponsored for a couple of years by Alpkit. It meant I didn't need to run the podcast at a loss (travel, hosting costs, etc) and could invest a bit in audio gear or other specific kit needed for an episode. In return...

Great write-up, Sean. Thanks for the story and well done on the ride!

Nice one Colin, sorry the weather was so bad. Not sure I would have made it out the car park. I really did get lucky with the weather a few weeks ago.

touch wrote: ↑Wed Aug 14, 2019 3:19 pm Nice writeup. You got a great weekend for it. I came over Ryvoan pass in the direction of Glenmore and at the green loch around 15:45 so I must have been close to passing you.

Probably missed each other by 10 mins or so. Hope you had a good ride!

Thanks all

Sean - I think I'd actually tape the SD card in place if I was using a similar GPS again. The metal flap on the model I borrowed (Dakota 20) was very loose and it was only the weight of the batteries holding the card in place.