They have just finished it. Just in time to ride the start tomorrow. Then the challenge of getting 2 bikes back to the Peaks on a Bank holiday weekend.

When I spoke to them at elevenes they were going for the finish tonight but Tom has a split rim which is slowing them down. They aren’t carrying a lot of lumens so it is going to be a crossed finger job. Looking at the spot they are still going for it. Tom wants to get back to do the tribute to Mike so I think they will ride as much as they can and walk the rest where they can’t see. Expect them in Tyndrum tonight or early tomorrow.

After a short diversion to Square Wheels for more brake pads and a wait for the Spar to reopen to stock up on cake and porcine products Tom and Rich put in a few more miles last night.
They have made a start this morning already – hopefully the weather holds for them. Tom so wants to get back to see the main start.He will be the one who is setting the alarm.
As they go into uncharted territory I know he will appreciate support from fellow dotwatchers. They are checking Twitter feeds @richpips where they can.

Ok the guess was wrong. 91 miles since 6ish this morning and still going.

Tom and Rich will be setting off tomorrow morning. Just for those wanting to get their dotwatcher practice in before the main start. I guess there will be more sleeping than in the main event but more fun guessing the Instagram meal picture at the usual stops. Will Tom get to eat pies at The Pie Shop?

As others have said – the longer the rise the more flavour. Some of the best breads are just flour, water salt and a touch of yeast.

Honey, sugar, malt and huge amounts of yeast (anything more than a 1/4 tsp of grains disolved in water) all cause the bread to over rise before the flavour develops. Cold rising conditions retard it and return the balance towards flavour, but it is as easy to use less yeast and no sugar. Alternatively save a pinch of dough from your next loaf and then add it to water to make a batter, which is used instead of the new yeast

To change the texture have a play with the fat content (egg yolk, butter, oil, mmilk & cream)- more fat gives a closer & softer crumb. The more fat you have the more yeast you will need to give the same length rise.

Or if you are doing a long slow / sour dough / sponge rise – then don’t knock it back for a second rise. Make the dough more liquid – using autolayse techniques (mix to incorporate, leave for 40 minutes then knead for 30 seconds only every half hour for 3 hours) & tension-ing / shaping to get the loaf to keep it’s shape. This gives the larger holes seen in some breads. Cook the bread as hot as you can – otherwise you will break your teeth on the crust.

Flour is the other obvious change – even changing out bread flour for white cake flour will change the texture & flavour. Or try T55 or 00 flours – both have a higher ash content than bread flour and respond to autolayse better than the reaaly high gluten flours.

Poor Jenny – thought that she had found a place to cross, but she is having to backtrack again.

Neither can he 😀

They are back in Tyndrum having done 405miles. He sounds so tired. I could hear him shutting down transmission as I was talking to him.

Glad to hear Jenny has somewhere dry(ish) to spend tonight.

Do you know where you can get one from and how long are they?

Alpit did all of the bags – they will be back tommorrow night so one I have scraped the mud off I will get a measuring tape out. Tom is only 135cm or so.

Hope she is OK. Where is the nearest bothy?

Jenny is doing an awesome effort.

Just spoke to Rich & Tom – the weather has been awful. Rain and headwinds all day. They are going to try to get to Tyndrum tomorrow to see the end of the 3rd place race. Hopefully the blackhole of Strathcarron lets some of the riders escape…..

Honked the horn and waved as I passed the pipz near contin earlier this morning. Sorry for putting you off if you thought it was just another aggressive anti bike driver!

No they didn’t think that you were anti cysclist – they have had quite a few honk and waves over the last few days.

Fantastic effort Tom (other Tom). Hope you and your Missus to be have a great day.

Did they give you the forks…. Minipips is well trained.

Hope so – it would be heartbreaking to get so close.

Javier Simon could be in a spot of bother – hasn’t moved for 2 hours and just been over taken by Steven Sloof …

<edit??? ;)>

The race between 3rd-6th looks as if it could be interesting… those dots are getting close to each other.

After riding for that long I don’t think it will take much to confuse them…

That was a flurry – it is an attritional race.

Quick update – They are going to Contin, then onto Fort A. From there to Fort Bill where tehy are going to pick up the bottom section of The HT550 trail back to Tyndrum.

It was a case of Rich making an execuitive decision after pussing up the hill – they would have been out on their timings for Bothys and shopes. Minipips is not broken as earlier reported.

There is always next year. 😕

It appears the small legs have fallen off. Greg, Rich will contact you later. They are heading back to Contin for tonight and then to Fort A.

They have an encyclopedic knowledge of cake shops and pubs so that is also a possability

Ahhh…. very sensible given Toms ability to sink like a stone.

That is a shame.

The Pips are either having a navigational or packing it in. They are currently scooting along the A832…

Now they are at the bottom of The Inverbroom push would it be wrong to shout “Push! Push! Push! just PUSH!!!”. I seem to remember something similar being said to me 10 years ago.

An update on Rich & Tom’s detour. Apparently Rich went wrong around there last year too…. so all the fault of Pips the Elder.
Tom is looking forward to the steep hill push
The river crossing (Rich is going to take his bike across first and then spot Tom so he isn’t eaten by a Loch Monster) and then
The Fisherfield section of doom that seems to take ages to cross, but is flat(ish)on a well ironed map so has us armchair dot watchers screaming at the screen.

They are loving all the support they are getting here and on Twitter – even better than the May Queen entourage doing a pre teen scream (at Tom thankfully) as they passed by the other day.

It looks as if it is going to be tight to the end – who can stay awake the longest?

I am so impressed by the back markers too… Jenny G looks to be having a hard day, but she is still going and Chris A is plugging away. I don’t have that sort of will power.

it looks like the pips took a wrong turn off

A case of take the right turn…. no the other right! Or Rich was ahead with the tracker and had to go back and find the boy…

It is going to be a bit of a head swivel moment for the field as they pas Team Pips for a second time….

Luddite moi…

On an aside is a remedial Twitter user = a Twit?

I am always the last to know…..

Oh eh….

It is one of the planned get out clauses. See how he is doing at Oykle Bridge, if he won’t make it back for school on Monday morning then turn south. They weren’t too impressed when he took a day off for Strathpuffer. Having said that the top loop looks as if it is a goer on his times so far.

We will find out in the next hour or so if Minipips is going for the full 550 or will decide that the top loop will get him a unauthorised absence from school.

Needs must if Ocardo won’t deliver.

Rich knows that if Tom comes back in bits we will be getting a BOGOF deal at the undertakers.

They have shit hits the fan contingencies in place – although I do worry when the tracker doesn’t update for a while. On board the bike is 11,000 calories, Tom has had the call emergency services drill down to a fine art (both phones are registered with 121 and whistling was practiced until the deaf neighbour complained). He can also set up the tent by himself so if something happens to Rich he is OKish. My biggest worry is the river crossings – Tom is not a strong swimmer.

If he wasn’t doing this I would have to worry about childhood obesity and the long term health effects of sofa surfing & playground bullying because he is not very good at ball sports…

Invercassley Stores has a rush on.

Minipips training has consisted of going out on his bike lots to avoid tidying up the swamproom that he sleeps in. He has combined this with plenty of playing in the park and eating his own body weight in cake and sweets, with crisps as a savoury accent. He has also done extra thumb specific training on the playstation.

I can see the attraction of the Inn.