My Maxxis Avantage/Ardent pair are starting to resemble slicks. Does this count as ‘fast rolling tyres’ :wink:

and there is no external storage to be able to add an SD card for maps.

Etrex takes 2GB (max) micro SD card, in the battery compartment. It’s where you store the maps you download to the unit, or you can buy maps already on microSD (can’t use there on Mapsource like the DVD maps though).

but the etrex isn;t designed as a satnav for the hills, its just a basic unit.

[Dragnet] I’ve never needed more [/Dragnet] (although a Dakota and £200 of OS maps would be nice).

I do what you suggest and use MemoryMap to plot a track, then no matter what suprise singletrack I find I know where I am in relation to the line on my Etrex. For road stuff, the Etrex is all you need. For offroad, I’ll probably have an OS print out in my pocket just in case.

All Garmin products, although I think Metroguide is now out of production.

Quick google:

https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=1359&ra=true

http://www.handtec.co.uk/product.php/1968/garmin-city-navigator-europe-nt-dvd—2010-maps–010-10887-00-

Garmin proprietary maps only I’m afraid.

When I sorted out my Etrex Legend 2 years ago the choice was City Navigator or Metroguide for road maps, or Topo for more (but not great) offroad maps.

Then you use Mapsource with the unit usb’d to the comp to transfer to maps on.

You can’t use memorymap files, and won’t get anything like OS maps detail without buying a newer unit like a Dakota I’m afraid.

If the pain is mild enough that your thinking about the condition of the bike, then you’re probably not badly injured.

All change for us.

Everybody’s talking about clockwise routes. Looks like the woods near Dolgellau will be full of bikers in bivvy bags on Saturday night.

CBA with a big pack ride to Machynlleth on Saturday afternoon, so were going to do our route backwards, anticlockwise, to get away from the crowds.

The route to B4 and on to A3 looks great going the other way. Then it’ll be a full roast for sunday lunch at Dolgellau whilst you’re all in the middle of nowhere eating cous cous. Ace. :D

The best bit of all is that Monday morning will be insanely tough. Yay!

By the way, we found it less confusing to have A1 – A11 and B1 – B4 nomenclature…

Plans have changed now, but initially I was thinking of ticking off all but 3 and D then had a 90% road route to get ’em both if I had time on Monday morning.

By plans changed, I mean I’m now investing more effort convincing my leadout man he wants to climb 630m through potential bog up from Macynlleth to grid ref A. :wink:

Email sent. I’ll be there 8.15-8.30 ish.

Be gentle, my knees are complaining after Saturday. :wink:

You’ll have to wait another 36 hours Chris.

I’ve gotta ride across Wales tomorrow before I’ve got any more time to plan riding round Wales again.

Not happy about this Cadair Idris wussout though. It’s win or die trying. :wink:

Indeed, that’s a bit of a slip up on his home page.

(Try SN, rather than SH)

The route I planned for last years WRT and the route I completed were totally different.

OS map augmented with a Garmin Etrex on the bars with your ‘perfect’ route loaded means when you diverge from the line you can at least see where you’re supposed to be, and use the map to find the quickest/shortest alternative back on. Has worked for me for 2 1/2 years since I got the Garmin.

Is it wrong to do some pre-WRT scouting?

Do you go and scout your other holiday destinations?

Memory map makes it easier – you can zoom right out and get an idea of the overall ‘shape’ of the grid refs.

I’ve got some other stuff to do tomorrow and Saturday, so needed to get it out of my system today.

There’ll be tinkering in the next foew weeks, not least because my leadout man will come up with a completely different route by the end of the weekend (eh Chris?). :wink:

Provisional route plotted taking in all 15 (yeah right) grid refs.

Now I’m just worried about my 34:18 (26er).

Route provisionally planned: all 15 in a day & a half then 24 hours in the pub at Llanbrynmair :wink:

@oldgit

Brevet Cymru & Bryan Chapman. London’s further away and more boring scenery than Chepstow & Wales.

Garmin Etrex Legend HCx FTW

Dyffers have you qualified for PBP? Its next year isnt it?.

Not qual’d yet, 400k this weekend, 600k two weeks after that. I have pre-reg’d though as I did some ludicrous events last year.

PBP is August 2011.

This is my 5th year of SR+, and my 2nd time on PBP, so I’m a bit blase about the quailifers which will probably come back to bite me.

I chose the wrong parents to be a bike racer

:lol: Me too. Doesn’t stop me trying though. 130 miles road – one ride last week. 44 miles offroad, mostly bridleway bashing locally, two rides over the weekend.

I’m trying to balance road training for Paris – Brest – Paris with roadie-moonlighting-offroad-skills training for Catton Park/Kielder/SSUK (do you even need to train for the latter?!).

I keep finding myself enjoying myself on the MTB. S’not on.

Beer = Energy

Energy = faster up hills
Pint ~= 568g => more weight = faster down hills

So I’m up for a beer at the start, half way round and/or at the end as well. :-)

This is sounding like a superb training ride: beer, cake and about 8mph moving average. :lol:

Mornin chaps

I’m up in Blandford, riding in wales Saturday-Sunday but might be interested in a warmdown on Monday.

This thread seems to have become a bit of an unoffical WRT info source so…

Stuart, any idea what time on Thursday you’re going to email out those grid refs?

I have managed to a)sort my report deadline for work for the 27th, b) be just about the only person in the office and c) have Memory Map installed and ready at work.

So 9am would be great, y’know, just in case I’ve got nothing to do for my lunch break ;o)

Lovely bike. Needs a white saddle though – bar tape and saddle should always match.

What are you going to do with it? Dare you actually ride it?

(My steel Serotta gets ridden, and consequently looks pretty shabby these days)

BuggyBags.co.uk has been working up a prototype framebag for me over the last few weeks.

Still a work in progress but here’s the first attempt

More to come soon, and Jon at BuggyBags would love to here from you if you’re interested.

My particular frustration is the simple-looking switchbacks on the the climbs at Cannock.

Turning in a bike length? I’ll maybe clear 1 in every 5. :(

One of these

Mine’s probably worth way less than 10k now, and I can a) fit a bike on the back and b) still embarrass moron BMW drivers with it there.

Wasn’t very good in the snow though. :roll:

No problem (someone will be along in a mo to tell you I’ve never cleared the lot).

Even if you need to walk the steep bits they’re only 50ft long.

The red ones are for summer use only, didn’t anyone ssy?

:D

Maybe that explains my racey tyres anecdote: Vittorias were yellow, and my Krylions are black/grey, so no wonder the Vitt had more grip. :wink:

It’s funny really, because the ProRaces are obviously superb tyres, but when I raced them on the same old Crit circuit every week I was all over the place. When I put my Vittorias back on I was making ground on the bends. Which leaves me to believe a lot of it iz in your head.

I rode in the Pyrenees on Vittoria Evo CXs and they were amazing – proper get your knee down grip coming down Luz Ardiden and Hautacam.

However, 450 miles later they were square.

The ProRaces/Krylions will do 4 times that mileage before they’re shot. Of course you lose a bit of grip, but that’s the trade off.

So, for the OP, Vittoria = best race tyre. Michelin = my recommendation for ‘best allrounder’.

Another vote for Krylions. Used’em for about 3 years with no complaints.

They’re grippy like the old Pro Race 2s, but with 20-ish grams of punture protection.

Some of our pictures here

There is a small shop in Sheildaig which IIRC is open 7 days

We asked in the pub and they said there wasn’t a shop…maybe it was just shut as it was 6pm – which was our other problem as the pub didn’t do meals until 7. Hence guinness calories.

Likely your road chainset won’t fit a 22T ring I’m afraid, and your road triple front mech almost definately won’t cope with 22-42-52.

Yeah, I forgot to say that the Applecross pennisula road made the 626m Bealach climb seem easy! We found there was a pub but no shop in Sheildaig because we were absolutely bolx’d and ended up only being able to get a pint of coke, pint of guinness and a bag of crisps.

Likewise if you want any more specific info (the ride was May 2010) drop me an email – address in profile.

We did Kyle – Applecross – Kinlochewe – (back to Inverness) – Ullapool – Scourie – Lairg – Inverness all on-road.

For supplies:
Big Co-Op in Kyle
Shop In LochCarron
Pub in Applecross
Pub in Sheildaig
Shop & pub in Kinlochewe (shop closed on Saturday 7pm when were there)
Allsorts in Ullapool
Good size Spar in Scourie

We didn’t go to Lochinver. I would particularly recommend doing the Bealach Na Ba and Applecross pennisula on the way north – tough but brilliant.

122 miles for me. Ride up to Winchester, tootle along the South Downs Way for a bit then freestyle it up to Nutley.

Don’t think I’d get a pass even if I went by car though :(

Ah, but the point is you’d wear a hole through one drybag, but not the inner bag! So kit stays dry, and when you get home and find the outer bag is holed, you spend a fiver on a new one. QED!

For a fiver a go, why not buy two 13 litre alpkit bags, put kit in one, put that one in the other and strap to the bars. I bet you can wear holes in quite a few alpkit bags before you reach the price of an ortlieb one. :wink:

Mine’s 13 litre as well, but not used in anger yet. Should fit 660mm bars, have some 715mm Fleegles on there at the moment so no issues. 600mm might require going down to the 8 litre.