Presumably if you record it in the strava (watch) app then you can’t recalculate?

I run a Madison Flux which seems to be exactly the same as the Charge Spoon but with a cover that is slightly tougher. It’s also very similar to generic saddles you get on a lot of bikes, and a cheap one that Brand X did

Run them on all my bikes apart from my Brompton

I’ve settled on the Topeak Ratchet Rocket with some additional bits

I found my multitool couldn’t get access to a couple of tricky bolts but the Topeak worked well (e.g. bottle cage bolt).

I just take a little combination retractable cable lock. It’s not going to stop anyone committed but it stops an opportunist. Comes on nearly all bike trips for cafes, pubs and shops. Peace of mind too

Saw my first swallow of the year in my local bird reserve (by the sea) last week. Made me smile

Not migratory but I spotted a treecreeper in my bins on the dog walk this morning, they’re not particularly rare but I rarely see them. Was a nice bonus

For wet grass, I’ve not found anything that can match wellies. No amount of waterproof ability can cope with that amount of water – expensive walking boots through to trail runners etc. They might work initially but they eventually fail. Wellies just work really well in that situation. Wet grass is a real test of waterproof ability

I’m very similar to nickfrog above. Haven’t used a chamois in years now

I just found them a faff, unless I was cycle commuting when lycra was actually convenient (i.e. as an item of clothing, not as underclothes)

Under armour boxerjocks (my normal boxers) and charge spoon saddle. Works fine for me, even bikepacking for a few days

It’s a massively amount of faff considering how good and easy poles are to use. There is very little weight penalty. I’ve never bothered due to the faff

FWIW, I’m selling a couple of carbon poles on the bearbonesbikepacking forum if interested

Ooo, RIAT is on a different weekend to the Festival of Speed this year. Excellent!

I’ve used both and definitely prefer my silky saws to my laplanders. Being a pull saw is a huge benefit

Would have to be a bikepacking trip in the Lakes. 2-3 days or more riding your bike in beautiful scenery and great trails, interspersed with pubs and cafes

Fried rice is made with leftover rice. Not with freshly cooked rice. Put leftover rice in the fridge and make it straight from cold. Really quick and easy meal to make

(you can cheat with using defrosted frozen mixed veg if you want to make a special)

Picked some while on holiday in Exmoor last weekend. Had a lovely bruschetta type thing with wild garlic, tomatoes, oil, salt/pepper and a few herbs on some baguette cut into discs. Got polished off pretty sharpish by the family!

If you’re looking at monoculars you really want to be looking at Opticron

It’ll do the job just fine if you struggle with bins. I often carry a Zeiss mini quick 5×10, it’s only usable in good light but I’m always surprised by how useful it can be. Have taken it in my waist pack on bikepacking trips

For bins I personally find anything up to 8x magnification to be the sweet spot. I have them ranging from 8×20 up to 8×42, although my main pair are 8×30. They get used most days

Three in our household (wife and 2 of my kids), the smaller form factor works well. Seem to work well

Only real world downside is the camera not being as good

Wow, thanks. Wasn’t expecting such a great response!

They’re my favourite birds so I’d be disappointed to not see any. PMs incoming

There’s a cafe just south of Waterloo on the high street. Cafe in the morning, Thai at lunch and evenings. Very well regarded, and cheap. It’s called Marie’s

Not a fancy place but student budget friendly. Lots of places nearby for a drink after or before

I did the Rat Run (linked above) last weekend. Started on Friday morning, finished just after lunch on Sunday

Some of the area was absolute muddy hell and I was pushing on quite a few bits (up, flat and down), particularly around Cranbourne Chase. New Forest area was running mostly quite good, particularly if you stick to the bigger gravel tracks rather than the muddier bridleways. In fact the bigger gravel tracks are pretty much the perfect terrain for a gravel bike, they’re really rather lovely

I rode it on a rigid 29er (Mk1 Solaris with carbon fork and jones loops, 29+ up front) but it would be OK on a gravel bike if you are happy to take it easy on some of the rockier descents

I usually have a speaker on, but sometimes I use airpods pro as for music and I can then stick a pair of over-ear defenders on top

One of the greatest chilli sauces is ‘Crispy Prawn Chilli’, it’s honestly delicious. Hot without blowing your head off so you can eat lots of it. Fantastic flavour and texture, highly recommended

Plastic tub with a red lid, Teans brand is good but others available. I get it in 1kg tubs. Very common in Malaysia

I have a couple of Fiskars axes (actually one is a Gerber that is now a Fiskars) and a couple of Gransfors axes

For any splitting or kindling making I tend to use the Fiskars splitting axe as the head shape makes it easier. They’re great value

Have you tried using a punch to line it up?

2 to 3 metres up ideally

The Joe Blow pump with a tubeless reservoir is just a normal pump with a tubeless reservoir attached. It works really quite well and doesn’t need ‘charging’ to use the normal pump, although I don’t really use the tubeless but now as I have a proper compressor. I still find it easier to do top ups with the track pump though

Up your budget if possible so you can get a decent quality cordless hammer drill and impact driver set

Something from makita or dewalt from screwfix or Toolstation would work great. Will last you years

Alternatively look at for the lidl or aldi options

Apart from weekends away biking, I don’t ride on the weekend, unless it’s with the family (3 kids)

I generally ride weekday evenings only, all through the year. At least once, though aim for twice with the rare time I can manage three. Two things help massively
– riding with others – makes you get on with it as you don’t want to miss it or let them down
– good lights. Easy to ride in the dark then

I generally ride from home but most of the people I ride with don’t. Driving adds a bit more hassle but very mamageable

Having done a little bit of mild offroad on my surly big dummy, I would most definitely want to have an electric motor than go full acoustic

It’s bloody heavy and any cargo is dead weight

I think the Up GTI looks absolutely cracking. I have a look at them on autotrader every now and then, despite having no real life ambition to own one seeing as I’m already commited to another fun car

As an alternative, I also really like the Pandas, like the 100hp or maybe a Panda 4×4/cross

Which settings do you change where if you’re a subscriber please? They’re irritating and I didn’t know you can turn them off!

I prefer the retractable combination cable locks. Easy to use, small, convenient, and no keys to remember

I have two. One for pub stops and bikepacking, another for locking my brompton on the train. Only used to stop opportunists

Wolftooth pliers here. I’ve used them trailside a couple of times. Could survive without them but when you need them, they work great

If you’re jones loop copies are rotated so they are angled towards your rear hub, for example, you might find the hand position isn’t significantly different to a very wide, very flared set of drop bars

I have two folding silky saws (pocketboy and gomboy), and a laplander as well

They work great, and easy to carry too

But if you’re knowingly doing a decent amount of cutting a battery powered thing would be a helluva lot quicker and easier. I have a dewalt polesaw, not very portable and not a chainsaw but for a cutting session I’d be using that over a handsaw! (I use it for low down stuff, I just stand further back)

Every now and then, which actually included this morning, I have some porridge oats with a couple of tablespoons of hot chocolate powder, then chuck in some hot water. Cover and eat it about 5-10 minutes later. Really easy to do

Out of interest, are you drying the bike (or drive train) in any way? Towel, compressor, leaf blowet

twofish lockblock

lots of other similar versions on amazon/ebay/aliexpress

Disappointed at the lack of puns and innuendo :-(

I think we might have a glass/crystal milk jug somewhere, some family heirloom passed down. Never been used, not even sure why we have it!

Deuter bags currently on Sportpursuit

I have an Elite one and a Topeak one. Slightly different designs but both good.

I use one for keeping all my tools and a cafe lock

Tailgate on my T6.

The biggest downside is that I can’t reverse into a space and get into the boot if there’s a wall or post behind. It is an annoyance but isn’t a problem

The huge upside is being able to use it as a shelter, and it’s instant. Not 20 seconds of faffing to put a tarp up and then dealing with something wet. Sometimes it’s only used for a 1-3 minutes while sorting stuff out at the end of a walk or ride.

There’s no perfect solution, but I specifically looked for a tailgate rather than barn doors. I haven’t needed a forklift assisted load so that has yet to be a problem for me