Right – what “support” has anyone given the person doing the riding? If it’s merely being in a van somewhere in the highlands incase everything goes horribly wrong then it can be considered support in any meaningful sense. <snip>
If the guy in the van are preparing meals, fixing and swapping out bikes, towing the guy along – then it’s a supported ride.
I don’t think Phil would argue about whether it was a supported attempt or not (or care, frankly!). He’s got a mate in a van who meets him every now and again to check he’s OK. The van has water/energy food in it and (horror of horrors) he had some porridge in Fort William that he didn’t make himself.
Thus his ride is meaningless, futile and puny in comparison to anyone who has ridden it using only water they’ve dredged from the ground themselves, eating only the heather and thistles they pass on the way and not making eye contact with anyone they see en route in case they get a mental boost from it 😆
(In all seriousness though, it must be classed as a “supported” attempt and I don’t think anyone worth listening to gives a flying f…)