If you can source one sunrace do a 9 speed 11-40. Will work with an old style pre shadow rear mech without any issues, links, extended screws or anything.

One day I will roll the dice right

Saw the edited highlights on bikepacking. Lucky score with the weather!

Looks like a B&B in Ullapool, she is definitely doing it in style
'That' river crossing next. Staying as dry as possible would seem to be the order of the day given the temps but looks like she has picked a stunner to go through the great wilderness

Looks like this is out now, do participants get a discount?

Thinking about it, pedal strikes only happens to Jones owners....
As you were

Blimey, there you go then, Winter HT's are the new thang.
I think a Solstice ITT would be somewhat harder than one done in early March. Given the temps just now it must have been bog-tastic over the Ledmore Traverse. Serious sub zeros and some snow next week.....

I tend to keep an eye on Bikeradar for no other reason than it occupies a few minutes when I'm having by breakfast and its always nice to see their take on bikepacking stuff :???: . Anyway, a couple of things caught my eye this week - https://www.bikeradar.com/features/first-look-friday/poc-consort-...

They are just bars with a particularly big sweep and there are a few bikes out there with TT lengths similar to Jones on which they work well. I found they induce terminal ache between the shoulder blades if they are set too low but otherwise work very well on a 'normal' bike. It's all down to prefe...

Yup, and chilly again next week with sleet forecast here for Xmas, welcome to the UK!

Thats a pretty good site that. Did a few tests to compare against my own route knowledge and it came pretty close to agreeing with me which is good for an algorithm. Even seems to be able to include off road stuff that is known to be good going.

Optimus paraffin stoves were ace - lots of faffing but lots of flame and low fuel usage. I carried one on my first bikepacking trip in 1987. They weigh around 2kgs..... Primus ones in the separate tins were more lethal as they didn't have a pressure release valve (Optimus did) My dad managed to blow...

Hopefully a pair of slippers and one of those thermos mugs. Mum likes buying me pressies at Christmas so I indulge her! I'll be buying her some books and me Dad another pair of Crocs. Due to his duff ankle he always wears the right on out in double quick time so I buy him a pair every year. Pity I c...

Looks like she's bivvied where I did in May (and me, Dave B, Alistair Maclean and Carl Hutchings did in 2015)

Nice one! Fixed gear bivvy, now there is something I need to do next year

ooh ooh me too! And a gillet as my green one is worn out.
(Cue cry of "Oh FFS" echoing over the hills of Powys)

Oops nearly forgot to post....
December done on the SWB, BAM 2021 complete!

A winter HT might have been a goer at the end of Feb this year as there was a rapid melt and then some serious freeze thaw so you may have got a mix of dryish trails and frozen snow... Cairngorms loop would be a better prospect in late winter on 'spring' snow - imagine cruising through the long stra...

Cheers for the pics Jimmy and Dave. Apologies for spelling Morne's name wrong, now corrected
Good going getting past that lot - I think we could have got round on that track you were looking at Dave but I'm happy with our decision!

ScotRoutes wrote: ↑Mon Dec 13, 2021 11:04 am Celebrate my wife defeating cancer.

Very glad to hear that Colin, I'd picked up from some of your comments recently that she was being treated for cancer so excellent news

Bivvy a month again A tour based on the Scottish bit of the great north trail. A week in the Yorkshire dales camped at some suitable base in order to drink nice beer and do normal mountainbiking BB300 Mebbes the Borders 350 but only if its nice weather. Got a ski holiday in Austria planned for Janua...

As mentioned in the 2021 Reflections, Annie Le should be starting a winter HT550 today, here's the link to her fundraising. https://localgiving.org/fundraising/AnnieLe-WinterHighlandTrail550/ I thought I'd seen mention of a tracker but can't find it at the moment, but I'll add it if I do. Blimey th...

Fav ride / Trip Had too many good ones to choose easily so I'll go with this weekends Winter Bivvy as it was great Fav bit of kit - SS and blinged Straggler - its a been a hoot blasting around the place on it this year Inspiration to get out - simple - the alternative is to sit in the house on my ow...

That was a cracker, Ray you would be proud! So the destination was 'somewhere in the hills above Dunkeld' with Jimmy G, Dave (Northwind) and Dave's mate Morne, as well as my good self, confirmed as show ups. I lazed around all day looking at the varying levels of drizzle outside before eventually lo...

2 pages on the merits of flasks, old age isn't as bad as I thought