Asposium wrote: ↑Wed Jul 17, 2019 11:53 am

redefined_cycles wrote: ↑Wed Jul 17, 2019 9:29 am A LeJOG without all the busy roads would be lovely and maybe from that angle they've hit it on the head

LeJOG without busy roads is easy .....done it twice; well, one was JOGLE, but the route is as LeJOG the same just in reverse.

Sections of the PBW are evil on a gravel bike.

Thanks for that info... Yeah, I'd not wanna do somw of them 'gnarly' sections on a gravel bike. Each to their own but on some northerly Peaks sections of trail (tye slabby type ones) I even find myself wishing for a little bit of front sus when on the lovely Travis Prongs (doesn't last long though and standard loose rocks/bouldery rockery is fine with em)...

My Stan (for the GB Divide eventually) it is then

There are a few nice pics of the scenery on the route on Andy Deacon's (Substandard8) Instagram which make it look very alluring, no doubt there are some dull bits as well. Andy rode it on a Smokestone ti fat bike with drops and tri bars and did pretty well during GBduro. He reckons that the bike choice balanced out in that he had advantages on some sections with the big tyres but obviously was slowed a bit on hardpack or tarmac sections compared to folks riding more "conventional" steeds.

my Stan (the Sonder) is semiFat

redefined_cycles wrote: ↑Wed Jul 17, 2019 4:28 pm my Stan (the Sonder) is semiFat

Is this the sane route as the gbduro movie ive just watched. Looks ace. Maybe i should start upping my miles now as i fancy having another year on the bike in 2020. Its defo an idea for one of my leave slots. Is anyone else liking the look of it its so much easier and less faff to get to lands end than abroad with the bikes thats for sure :)

Mike wrote: ↑Thu Jul 18, 2019 8:35 am Is this the sane route as the gbduro movie ive just watched. Looks ace. Maybe i should start upping my miles now as i fancy having another year on the bike in 2020. Its defo an idea for one of my leave slots. Is anyone else liking the look of it its so much easier and less faff to get to lands end than abroad with the bikes thats for sure :)

You mean slotting work in amongst the leave

Mike wrote: ↑Thu Jul 18, 2019 8:35 am Is anyone else liking the look of it

Yes, I really am eyeing this up with interest.

HT550 to do first...and then work out if my flat bar cx bike is comfortable enough - otherwise it may require the use of a different bike .

Zip, buy a new one ;0)

Zippy wrote: ↑Thu Jul 18, 2019 9:45 am HT550 to do first...and then work out if my flat bar cx bike is comfortable enough - otherwise it may require the use of a different bike .

Once you've ridden the HT550, some of which is used on the GB Divide route, you'll put aside thoughts of taking a flat bar cx bike

Flippin 'ek I'm already debating which bike to take, which tyres to use etc. etc.
Not convinced about 40mm tyres though. Yes there is a lot of road riding but some of the dirt looks pretty rough.....
I may tour the Scottish bit north of here (I'm about 15 miles off the route) in September as I've always fancied riding to the far north coast.

Also interested Mike.

Everyone I've come across who's involved with The Racing Collective or rides their events have been absolutely sound. Brenin Beener off here rode their WalesDuro event a couple of weeks ago. It looked great.

It was completely brilliant. We ( me and Ruth and Huw) met up with about 30 very laid back people who wanted to ride bikes. There was a guy who had just done GBduro.

There was no attitude or ego and we had a top time. There was an organised stop over on the evening, where for £20 you had a lamb stew with bread and cheese, fruit crumble and custard, a hot shower, a place to bivvi and breakfast in the morning.

It was tough but i made some friends and chatted to anyone i could keep up with.

There wasnt anyone who was 'the racing collective' it just seemed they had created an opportunity for people to come together and ride. The event itself was free. Im a fan and would definately do further events.

Ian

So e good insight from the EF racing team here:

https://www.efprocycling.com/gbduro/

And a movie of Lachlan’s ride here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e74xncSCoqw

I think the route philosophy is very sound; nothing worse than an event that deliberately uses crappy terrain just for the sake of it... I’ll get my coat!

I enjoyed the film, I know it's a taboo but it inspired me enough to join the mailing list Then I found the date for 2020 and realised I'm at a wedding abroad

Thought Lachlan spoke well during the film and thought he was humble about his experiences.

It's also impressive to see how much quicker a pro rider is (even if it's not their normal style of race) than a non-pro.

The race did roll more or less past my town, but the riders were either too late at night or too early in the morning to wave them on

I think the route philosophy is very sound; nothing worse than an event that deliberately uses crappy terrain just for the sake of it... I’ll get my coat!

I imagine this is pointed towards me, so .... for an event aimed at gravel riders / bikes then yes, it's a sound philosophy and one that makes perfect sense. Yet, there remains a group of riders who enjoy the path less (never) travelled. They don't shriek like big girls at an Osmond's concert should they have to push their bike or heaven forbid - carry it a short distance. There are those riders who enjoy the remoteness that can only be found away from the surfaced byway and revel in the challenge of taking a bicycle there.

Of course, there are others for whom the thought of those things is in no way appealing but to be perfectly frank .... they can just f*ck off and ride something else

I think there's a place in the balanced life for both.

Bearbonesnorm wrote: ↑Sat Jul 20, 2019 5:05 pm Yet, there remains a group of riders who enjoy the path less (never) travelled. They don't shriek like big girls at an Osmond's concert should they have to push their bike or heaven forbid - carry it a short distance. There are those riders who enjoy the remoteness that can only be found away from the surfaced byway and revel in the challenge of taking a bicycle there.

Of course, there are others for whom the thought of those things is in no way appealing but to be perfectly frank .... they can just f*ck off and ride something else

Have a look at my post in "Today's Ride" thread. You'd be proud

Just sewn that aswell thanks Bob. Looks lovely and amazing training for the BB200

Had a blast on the gbduro event on the fatty,

Absolutely no way I’d want to use 35mm tyres for this route,

Personally think 2.25 xc tyres would on balance be the optimum setup, if I was to attack it again I’d probably still use the fat tyres #becausefat. There was minimal dullness, the segment from Devon to the men dips was the least interesting from my perspective as it contained so much road but bar that the route was amazing, if I could just learn to sleep less I would be right up there! My pace wasn’t all that far off Angus who finished 2nd... I just slept more!!

ZeroDarkBivi wrote: ↑Sat Jul 20, 2019 2:59 pm
And a movie of Lachlan’s ride here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e74xncSCoqw

That's a fantastic film. The route looks tremendous.

That was a really good film. Good insight into what goes on in a long event.