I’d do the Pamir highway, if I had a dog that absolutely couldn’t be left behind I’d try the HT550 with it

I followed it and it did nothing for my IBS, Nerva on the other hand completely fixed it and changed my life for about £50. Best money I’ve ever spent!

IBS is very subjective it seems so FODMAP is worth a try as it works for some people

Thanks all! Sounds like Trailcross are a good option to try but I really like the idea of cutting tongues out and putting Velcro in as well, I bet you get a tonne of gravel and dirt on there but I could live with that for the airflow

I’d seen the trailcross but thought the material was a gore tex type thing, is it more of an open mesh then?

Haha yes you can, and I do! But need something closed for proper mtb rides. In winter I can get away with pretty much anything but if it’s warm it’s a problem

I was bikepacking last weekend and met a German guy who had ridden to Purbeck with no shoes, he had flat plastic platform pedals. I’m walking barefoot a lot so might try that in the future as well

If you’ve got ferrata kit defo go do Ferrata delle Aquile, some very unique features up there

Haha yeah good find but just pay the £15 and buy a proper mount ?

I buy litre bottles off eBay as I gave up on finding it in an actual shop after Maplins closed

Just got back from a very similar trip. Being solo the van bench seat made a huge difference as I could slide over to the passenger side to pay tolls, when I’ve done it solo in a car before I had to get out and walk round each time which was a pain, I’d probably get a Telepass if I was doing it solo in a car again

But driving over there is much easier than here, better roads, less traffic, a bit more tailgaiting but just move out the way and they can go tailgate the next car. The Italians get a bad rap and they drive faster but they are much more aware and better at actually driving than Brits so don’t overthink that

For Lake Garda I usually stay at one of the smaller lakes (Lamar, Tenno, Ledro, Molveno etc) as they are so much more scenic, quiet and buried in the mountains. Garda itself is mega overrated IMO

For the route home I thoroughly recommend Passo Spluga and through Switzerland, a bit slower and windier but mostly free roads and the most stunning scenery of any route back by miles. You also pretty much drive through Lenzerheide that way, so can get a few runs in if you have time, I got a few in last Tuesday on the way back

Also, lost of snow still on the Dolomites due to cold and wet summer so far, we ended up having to cross a load of near-vertical snow that wasn’t usually there on an approach to a climb so if you’re going up above 2,200m check your route and get some local advice before heading up

Also unable to post classifieds as ‘not logged in’

Yep the big 300km bikepacking loop

Thanks, I now have 2 more interesting options to check out! I guess the weather will most likely make the call for me so great to have a few to pick from

Can’t wait!

Going by the Garmin Explore map it’s just at the border of Mar lodge estate, where the loop peels off from Derry Burn

Another slight resurrection

Have been planning to do this later this summer but due to some family stuff I now basically either do it next weekend or wait until next year so I’m heading up Tuesday

Weather doesn’t look great but not terrible either, and my fitness is not optimum but good enough to get round but more importantly I’ve tested all the kit out so ready to go for it

Any news on the route? @johnny63 how was your ride?

Yep I left it all attached when I took it down so hopefully tonight I can pitch quickly. Not using a footprint though, seems like carrying one negates the benefit of an ultralight tent a bit

If you have an interest in current affairs and politics but want something uplifting try the Tim Dillon Show. Absolutely hilarious (of course that’s subjective) and only 1hr episodes

I got the Helium UL1

Yeah the bag is pretty narrow but I’m not one for comfort when camping anyway so doesn’t bother me. I am 6’2” with size 12 feet though so if you’re smaller than that you should have loads of room. Packed down it is smaller than my mountain warehouse 18C summer bag though!

Got out in my new Vango f10 tent and cobra 200 bag last weekend. Coming from a hammock the ground is a bit less comfy but that tent feels huge!

Somehow my local woods had more mozzies than the Amazon (not an exaggeration but my actual experience) so I had to hide in the tent all evening and it’s great, you can sit up and move around in there

Sleeping bag was super cozy considering how tiny it packs down as well. Just need dry bags for both and I’m sorted

Tetrarack is awesome, haven’t even taken it off

I have to say I don’t know what to expect from Denmark at all!

On the positive side it’s very flat, nice n easy to pedal a loaded bike

On the negative side it’s very flat, very boring place to be pedalling through!

I’ve used a few and the Restrap one is pretty good

However racks are a million miles better, you can use your dropper and rear suspension and they don’t swing about. I got an Aeroe spider rear rack as none of my bikes have rack mounts and it’s just sooo much better than any saddlepack Got a Topeak Tetrarack coming for the front to try out

Yeah the CEO earning 250x the employees is not out of the ordinary. “My” CEO earns 280x my salary, and there’s people in my organisation earning half my wage

The other stuff sounds pretty nasty though, had no idea. I’m on DFDS later this year anyway but will remember for future bookings

Yes the guy does not give the impression of an intrepid wild camper, but you get a good look at the tents and he pulls them about a bit which is good to see

1500mm head seems standard for alot of these mega lightweights, same on £600+ tents which have multiple user reviews and youtube vids showing them in downpours not leaking. I did miss the seam sealing bit though, I had read it as being seam-sealed but you’re right, it says “can be seam sealed” so I guess it needs doing

Vango it is then!

Thanks again for all the advice, I think I’m going to try to get that Bobcat (thanks for that youtube link, very useful) on Friday when it releases, failing that I’ll get a Vango f10

Meanwhile I’ll take some time to learn to seal seams for future use

Also going to treat myself to a Vango Cobra 200 sleeping bag, as I have a very light and a very heavy bag but not an intermediate, and a Topeak Tetrarack so I don’t have to deal with swingy handlebar bags anymore

All I need now is some decent weather!

Holy shit, opened this thread expecting the use of the word “torture” to be out of place but yeah, that is horrific and the fact that the people involved still work there… wow

Wow the OEX does look good specs wise. Does that shape work well in the wind though? Seems like it’s gonna fly away!

Scotroutes I am very tempted to, and usually would just figure out how to do it but with the amount of good waterproof options out there I just don’t want the hassle and risk

Hilleberg looks fancy but over £700 and heavier than the £70 Naturhike one? I’m sure it’s higher quality and alot more durable but I use a hammock 90% of the time so it’s not gonna get tonnes of use

Wow loads of good options there, thanks!

SMD looks great for the cost, but I’m not looking to learn how to waterproof seams myself. Not gonna get a lot of time to test this so don’t want to find out I did it wrong in the middle of nowhere! Same for the trekkertent, looks great but not gonna be getting one quickly

The phoxx, naturhike and Alpkit solo also seem great for a lot less money, but do give up a fair bit in weight/size

New Alpkit one looks good but no packed pic, and the size for packed is the same as the soloist, probably a typo. Anyway not available yet so no good for me

MSR Hubba and Vango F10 seem like winners to me, probably the Vango

Yeah it’s a struggle to get to 23kg with an Evoc bag and an MTB. I usually remove pedals, rotors and seatpost and chuck them in my main bag. Think I did grips once as well to get the last 100g

Apologies on the whisky spelling, always get that the wrong way round!

Ballater and Heartbreak Ridge would be amazing but matey is not up to that, it wouldn’t be fun for him. Would be cool to hike to the bothy shack thingy though

Will check out walkhighlands as well, thanks for that

Thanks everyone! Tonnes of good stuff to look at, Glenlivet mentioned a lot I see so that goes straight to the top of the list

Fully aware it may involve lots of driving and I’m happy with that, but also point taken on the balance between fresh air and driving seat. I have been known to get carried away with trying to get too much in!

Been riding round Aviemore but never walking, and when people say Cairngorms it always looks amazing but it’s so huge I never know where to start! Much easier with riding, tend just go where the best trails are but walking gives me too many options I find

Any specific peaks to look at?

Oooh that looks awesome! Assuming that’s a fair weather route, or is it doable in most weather?

Thanks! Will go with M&S then I think

Yeah if the tattooist puts it on instead of cling film remove that after 24-48h and re-apply fresh stuff

I bet something with a name like Hustle Butter is expensive for some moisturiser

I went for the 5S for that reason, agree that the standard one is a bit uncomfortable. The X must be unwearable for proper rough riding or running

By far the best way to heal a tattoo is Dermatize sticky film. Creams help but you always end up with a scabby mess, with the film it goes on the day after and stays there a week then when you remove it you have a healed tattoo with no scabs or ink loss

That really sucks, whenever I get a close pass or cut off on a roundabout I imagine myself in that situation, injured while the person who put me in that state to get to work 5 seconds earlier suffers no consequence. I avoid roads as much as possible

That said the police cracked down on luxury watch theft in Kensington and Chelsea lately so at least we know they are spending their time on something truly worthwhile

I have a very very knackered knee and Ben Patrick’s ATG program allows me to ride anything I want pain free and I’m back training MMA. It focuses on the stuff people above are recommended but in a very well structured and laid out way

It is completely broken, same as everyone else I have tonnes of anecdotes but the best ones are being told to give up on walking after a leg injury, I ended up going private and am now fully recovered, and being told to “google it” after spending 8hrs waiting in A&E for a serious head injury

My mrs passed out in A&E and would have been left to bleed out had I not started shouting for help and the most recent one is her being referred to an external company of “specialists” by her GP, only to find it is a scam company used by the NHS to reduce waiting lists who never do the referrals and are full of fake reviews on Google and the NHS website

We got scammed by our GP, that is something I never thought was even possible

The NHS is shockingly bad, and while it may not be the nurses and doctors’ fault we need to start saying that to create some accountability somewhere

Not our usual kind of destination but as I was recovering from surgery last year we went for a couple weeks

We stayed the first week in the town, insanely loud until late, annoying when trying to walk the streets and the locals just shout names of football teams at you and not much of a vibe to the place. Nice snorkelling on some of the beaches but not great

Second week we stayed at Fort Arabesque, never been to a fancy resort place before but it was really good, and honestly the snorkelling from the beach was better than some of the scuba we spent a couple hours on a boat to get to

I had one, it was great. Only replaced it because I fancied a change and never really liked the 3-bar gate look, especially in XL

You’re worried about a 5 year old car? Must be nice to be that rich 😂