Here’s the images, so you don’t have to click on the knackered links to see them…

Went out Friday night, got back Saturday lunchtime. Went to reccy a potential future bivvy site and rode some of the Icknield Way that I’ve not been on before. Loud geese and ducks, roads, byways, bridleways, singletrack, slop. Fun breakdown: 60% type 1, 30% type 2, 10% type 3.

Depends what you’re riding…? I was out in the slop this morning, my Conti Terra Trails were as useless as ever. They’re great on actual gravel though…

Hope RX Crankset

Had Thursday and Friday off, no motivation on Saturday, so instead of 125km on the road, I did loops of a small off road climb for a bit. Was going to go out again today, after fitting some Tannus Armour, but was too hungover…

I recently invested in a Restrap setup. All good so far, apart from the fact that I run a low front end on my gravel bike.

I was quite intrigued when I first saw this event, but I’m on holiday, so canny do it!

maybe I’m just fortunate

You are.

Getting back from a long ride without puncturing…

If only Vittoria offered the Terreno Wet in a 650b in a 47 to 50 width…

I’d settle for finding somewhere that actually has the Vittoria Terreno Wet 700c x 40mm in-stock!

@madeupname apologies, missed the all important X there. They do indeed look beefier, shame they only come in 33mm width…

Thanks all, I had the Terrano Wet on my short list after a cursory look last night. Will have a look at the Smart Sam too.

Anyone tried the Michelin Power Cyclocross Mud…? They’re a bit narrower than I’d like, but the fancy green has peaked my interest.

@madeupname Those G-One Bite don’t look like they’d give me anything over my current Conti’s. Plus, I’ve dinged my rim at 40psi, so there’s no way I’m going to 20psi…

Smokestone Mr Harry…?

@ElShalimo Apologies for the flippant answer… I’ve been impressed with them so far, they were lovely on the first ride; windproof, warm. Second ride they got saturated, took longer to happen that with the Briskers they replaced, they remained windproof and dried out a bit, eventually. Since then though, the index finger on my left hand has tightened up and can get annoying after three hours or so.

As @FOG has pointed out, what works for me, might not work for you, having said that, I’ve found them to be adequate for my uses. The nice thing about them, unlike the Briskers, is they’re windproof regardless of conditions. So while my fingers have been cold some mornings when setting out at 06:30, they have warmed up as the temperature has risen.

I have though about getting a pair of those Endura waterproof over gloves for when it’s very wet, other than that, they get a thumbs up from me.

Has anyone got the Galibier Ardennes gloves?

@ElShalimo Yes.

Headed out for my January BaM at 22:10 on Friday night. Got within a mile of Plan A bivvy spot when I got a rear wheel puncture. I then proceeded to walk passed my spot in the dark, twice. So I fixed the puncture and headed for Plan B.

Ended up kipping in a bird hide, which was nice and roomy.

Thankfully the toilet block at the nature reserve was open when I set out again in the morning, so rather than heading straight home, or to the in-laws, I continued on to Phoenix Cycleworks for a coffee and some cake. Took in a couple of byways and bridleways, some of which were ankle deep liquid mud, which wasn’t much fun. The fens are still totally waterlogged.

This was my first bikepacking trip, and also my first “wild” camp in decades. I learned quite a lot, so there’s plenty of decisions to make before future BaM’s and my planned multi day trip in June.

I was running Conti Terra Trails on my RAG+, they were shocking in the mud, superb on the dry(ish) gravel sectors and not too bad on the road; I did a 191km ride with them on. Only issue was dinging my rear rim on potholes at while running tubeless at 40psi.

MTB Batteries The Lumenator18 & Lumen800 Combo…?

I only carry a pump these days. I used to just carry CO2, but I managed to break the nozzle on an inflator once, which meant I had to flag down other cyclists to ask if I could borrow a pump. Since I’ve (mostly) moved to tubeless, CO2 isn’t an option with some of the sealants either.

Top tube bag – if you over pack them, then yes, you can get knee rub, depending on how you waggle the bike as you climb out of the saddle.

Small frame bag – if you over pack them, then yes, you can get knee rub. If you get the larger ones, then you can get knee rub while sitting down too, just take fewer things with you.

Stem bag – almost guaranteed to knock your knees when climbing.

Things generally only get in the way if you let them. You can adjust your position while climbing to be further back, so you are then less likely to hit them with your knees. You can also get top tube bags that are designed to go against the seatpost, rather than the stem, you might look for one of those.

A very chilly 108km ride this morning. Type 2 fun for two hours till it thawed out a bit, not quite sure how I remained uprights at some points. Coasting along what looked like a flat bit of road and having the rear repeatedly snap away on the ice, wasn’t much fun. Almost wished I’d still had the 40mm nobblies on the gravel bike, as I’m assuming the local slop would’ve been frozen solid(ish), and a lot less slippy.

Plus off camber back roads with ice down each side and crap down the middle. They were fun too…

Tried velcro and ratchet straps, but now have boas on both pairs of shoes. Can’t see me going back.

The the perceived wisdom that these things are better than Backer rod, or are they much of a muchness…?

The event has already won support from the town’s community council.

Chairman Alistair Pattullo said: “Event tourism is definitely the way forward and this will be a great boost for Selkirk.”

Fellow community councillor David Deacon added: “This is a great opportunity for Selkirk to host a major event.”

I used the neoprene Planet X ones while cycle commuting years ago, they were OK. I also used the Endura Road overshoes for a couple of years, but the neoprene was quite fragile and they ended up full of holes, far quicker than the Planet X ones did. Check out the Galibier ones too, if you haven’t already order the Planet X ones.

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How do you pinch flat a tubeless tyre that is..well, tubeless?

@rOcKeTdOg snake bite…? Whatever you call it when the tyre is cut due to the rim impacting on the tarmac and cutting your tyre. Thought that was a pinch flat… 🤷‍♂️

Here you go, Restrap frame bag (medium), on a NS Bikes RAG+ (medium).

Planned a 100 km ride this morning, but road closures, and failure to read road signs, saw me out for an hour longer than planned. My one ride old Wahoo Elemnt turned on, started warming-up, then did a fantastic impersonation of a brick; so it’s going back tomorrow.

My weather app told me that the light rain would stop around 08:00, when in fact there was a 30 minute deluge that would’ve had me looking like a drowned rat, apart from my spanking new Galibier Tempest Pro rain jacket.

I was also wearing my brand spanking new Galibier Vu Winter jacket and Ardennes gloves. My new all time favourite between seasons jacket and gloves. Brilliant the pair of them.

Tubeless can 🤬 off. Spent ages yesterday patching both front and rear tyres, only for the rear to be nearly flat after an hour and a half. Pumped it up and continued, but then got a pinch flat in a submerged pot hole, while avoiding going under a 4×4 pick-up truck. Got some cheap road slicks and tubes coming, going to run them for the rest of the winter.

I fitted a Restrap medium frame bag and top tube bag to my RAG+ last night. I’m about to head out on a ride, I’ll post you a photo of what it looks like when i get back. As has already been noted, I can no longer fit a 750ml bottle on the down tube, but I can on the seat tube.

The AlpKit Possum is much smaller, so maybe looks to be a better option, if you want to meet the event requirement of being able to carry 1.5L of water.

@mashr the lever wouldn’t move with the cable in, or out, as I had the cable out as one of the first things I did. Also, I built the bike from components, so it’s not like I don’t have any idea where the clue tree is. Given how much they charged, they had to do more fiddling than just fitting a new cable.

I was considering a pair of the Clement Strada LGG Folding at 2 for £30, to get me through riding on the road for the rest of the winter. Although the Vittoria Trail Tech G+ Tubeless Ready at 2 for £20 , and the Vee Tyre Co CXV Cyclocross Gravel Tyre at 2 for £22.48 are also both tempting…

So no idea what was “wrong” with my dual control lever, as chap in the shop got it working after replacing the inner gear cable. He did say that they’ve had issues with the Shimano cables with that fancy coating on it before, still doesn’t explain why it just stopped working after a wheel change though. Doesn’t fill me with confidence for the future…

NS Bikes RAG+, ali frame, full carbon fork, 15mm front and 12mm rear thru-axles, doesn’t have sliding drop outs or push fit BB though.

I’ve taken it to the LBS, so should find out in a couple of days if it’s fixed or 🤬. Bit pissed off, as it meant I could get out for another 100 miler before starting back at work next week. I shall drown my sorrows in beer…

Did both of those things, didn’t make any difference. It feels like the lever is being stopped from moving by an obstruction in the mechanism.

@scud nope, in my infinite wisdom, I’ve decided to park at the finish and spend two days riding to the start. So both our legs might be 🤬 before we start! 🥴

@jonnyboi I was reading the yearbook yesterday. I’m yet to decided if I’m doing any of them yet.

Did anyone enter then…? I have an email saying I’m in. 😟

On the fat bike until May, then the new gravel bike this month:
Distance 2,741.4 km
Time 135h 7m
Elev Gain 20,282 m
Rides 55

I’ve nearly spent a similar amount of time immersed this year too:
Distance 375,838 m
Time 110h 41m
Swims 78