HT550 advice.

[cockadoodledooo]

hi there

im doing the lon las cwmru in wales again in a weeks time (28th) with a couple of mates for this ive found a gravel bike much more suited with my panniers on and a tent trangia ect.
however my mrs has just booked herself and my daughter a holiday with her mum to turkey on the 5th of may so i thought id book the week off work and attempt a highland 550 route ive seen on the net.
my trips to scotland before have involved long distances between shops and that was in a car let alone cycling so im after advice from anyone who has ridden a 550 route on what to take?
ill be using my orange p7 so plenty of comfort but no rack mounts so not able to take so much stuff, i have frame bags handlebar bag and big under saddle bag and a rucksack i normally use british issue ration packs as i have an abundance of them but they are heavy im thinking more along the lines of pasta pesto as theres tons of water about to rehydrate food
are the midges that bad at the moment and is it a big ask just to use a bivvy bag and no tent?

tia nick

[fatbikephil]

Your best bet is to search out the threads on last three years group starts on this forum. On these are links to various blogs / write ups which between them will provide a blow by blow account of the whole route. Further links to write ups are also provided on the 2014 results page on highlandtrail.net. Other than that geograph.org will give you an insight into what the various trails are like if you spend a bit of time tracing the route.

There will be no midges just now but it could be chilly....

[whitestone]

Midges tend to become more prevalent towards the end of May but it does vary from year to year, I've been climbing in Glen Etive in late June and not been bothered (Etive is usually one of the worse places for midges). Sun (well bright light), rain and wind tend to suppress their activity so choose bivy sites that are out in the open with a breeze.

I've not done the route - I'm on this year's group start - but the blogs and threads about previous year's rides should give you a good indication of where you can expect resupply. Depending on your pace, not all of them may be open when you reach them, expect traditional shop opening hours rather than 24hr society.

[cockadoodledooo]

thanks will do