Using udderly smooth just now. Seems to work well.  Not sure I’ve noticed massive difference in the ones I’ve used over the years.

Wow – it works

Looks like he’s doing brilliantly. Hope he keeps it up.

South side of glenshee again here, 55.3 mph according to Strava. Not sure that’s my fastest ever, but felt up there. Had a wee vision of what would happen if I came off at that speed and backed off…I’ve come off going slower on a motorbike in leathers and that wasn’t fun, so in lycra it would be horrendous.

Just got one because we were filling the green bin with sparkling water bottles. Also the water would lose its fizz before it was drunk (especially when kids leave the lids off!). Had it about a week and it’s been great. Kids love it.

I’ll start with holes of scraada and esha ness generally, jarslhof, mousa broch. Only had 3 days there when we visited but weather was amazing and we loved it.

4 ribs and a punctured lung. Ft Bill DH course. Last run of the day, obviously. Rode all the rocky stuff just fine and then managed to land on my front wheel on the first table top on the motorway bit. The noise of me trying to breathe captured on the GoPro after being horribly winded was grim. Managed to roll to the bottom. Had a bit of millionaire shortbread and a coffee, but even that didn’t cure it. Breathing was getting tricky and I was told I was going a bit grey. Driven to Belford by my dad in my not very comfy Clio 182 – damn those stiff springs! Couldn’t get out of the car myself when we got there.

The hospital were great. Despite (or maybe because of the morphine) I remember it was a very weird feeling as the chest drain went in…as the guide wire rubbed against the ribs it felt just like a brake cable rubbing against the outer cable.

Was meant to be the first day of a week’s family holiday. Oops.

Oh god. He’s back. See you in a while once he goes away again. Thanks for all the sane voices on here. Seriously, don’t feed the troll.

Didn’t see any spot checks last time, but they may have happened. I don’t remember being too heavily burdened. Think I complied with the kit list and had knee warmers, waterproof and an extra top layer. I had a saddle bag and a wee alpkit half frame bag. Took far too much food around with me. Could have got away with pockets and the frame bag. It is very remote in places so worth being sensible.

Couldn’t get mine to stop rubbing. Pads just didn’t retract very far. Disk fairly true and no probs on shimano calliper (grx, which leaked). Just put on a deore calliper on after getting fed up with it. It is a shame as it was otherwise powerful and silent.

@davy90 – it is just a running gag. I suspect your dealer won’t quite understand when you ask…unless our old friend Ian has had a word with them about how mean the forum is.

Not sure the roof glass is rated for that type of rack. I’d check. They do sell roofbars for the Y at least. Pricey but they might be a safer bet. No idea about effect on range, but I’d imagine it’d have a big impact given how aero a Tesla normally is. I was thinking about fitting a tow bar on mine, but for now we’ve still got an old Skoda which can do bike lugging duties.

Same here. Usually I dump it behind a hillock or peat hag, or round the back of the Bothy so it’s out of sight a bit. I’d be most worried about some cheeky, knackered toerag using it to avoid the long walkout than actually nick it. Taking an axle should see to that. Never had an issue.

I got a 1zpresso kmax and it’s been great for all coffee – aeropress and espresso are my most common methods. Been using for a couple of years now with no issue. I’d definitely recommend. Think they have options with even finer adjustments for really precise espresso control, but the kmax seems to have suitably fine control for any coffee I’ve made. Takes a wee bit of effort each time to grind, but for me it just adds to the pleasure of the process. If making coffee for more than 2 or 3 people it’s a bit of a drag though.

The reckon race tyre on the back was definitely not the right choice. Couldn’t be bothered changing it though.

You don’t ride that bit (I think you’d need to be trials god to ride a lot of it)…it’s a horrible slog pushing or carrying your bike. It was awful when I did it. It ls a lovely walk but will be busy and as you say the midges will be grim. 8 days does seem a wee bit too long

Ages since I’ve been but I always liked Mabie, Dalbeattie was good but didn’t seem to flow as well, and Ae seemed a bit of a chore – seems to be about 90% uphill somehow. Kirroughtree worth the trip in my opinion. The black isn’t very black and it’s a great loop. The red flows nicely too.

Wow. Loved that

Have a neo 2T. It died recently. It was the 2nd one to die. First one was a warranty replacement but this time out of warranty. I got a zwift hub to replace it. It’s fine, seems to work well enough, but the power seems to read a little lower than my garmin vector power meter pedals, so I do wonder about the accuracy. Main thing for me is that without the side to side flex of the neo I find it significantly less comfortable to ride than the neo – the wee bit of sway on the neo really makes a difference. It also doesn’t feel quite as nice to pedal generally, but then again, it’s a trainer so it’s never going to feel that good, is it. It’s also a bit of a pain having to calibrate it too, even though it only takes a few seconds…i was obviously spoiled with the neo! So, I definitely prefer the neo, but it just not worth twice the price, especially as it’s broken twice. The good news is that I got the neo repaired by the turbo doctor (Google him) for a very decent price, so I’ve got that back now. The Zwift hub will be relegated (at least until the neo breaks again).

We had a ratty visitor a couple of years ago. Gnawed various cables, including the house alarm which went crazy as a result. Showed no interest in the dozens of traps i put down with various different baits on them. Eventually ate some poison (could tell by the poison coloured poo) and died in a wall cavity somewhere that I couldn’t find. It was a bit smelly for a month or two. They are a complete pain so do take action. I found the entry point – they had tunnelled a long way under a concrete plinth.

Sound like you’re fairly fit, travelling light, are happy to do long days on the bike with minimal relaxing time, and you have time to build up to it…so it doesn’t seem unreasonable at all. Will still be a lot of hours in the saddle and it might be sensible to have an option to shorten a day or two in case you’re not feeling it though.

That does sound quite brutal unless you’re an absolute machine. I do like doing silly things but that sounds like it’d be an epic challenge rather than a holiday.

I like the black too. Just a good old xc loop. Did two laps once, training for strathpuffer – definitely felt that. Did it for the first time in ages this year. Shame there were quite a few diversions in place. I hope it reopens fully. Not sure this master plan is going to make anything better, but the extra trails might be good for the family.

Ah, I just binned mine as it was like a paste despite trying to squelch it around for a while. Couldn’t see it becoming useable again. Should have persevered it appears.

Wow, Waderider, that’s quite extreme (unless I’m missing the sarcasm). I think we’re all suggesting that the OP take care but get out and enjoy themselves. Yeah, there’s an element of risk with any activity like this, but largely you can control the risks.

As for ‘willy-waving’, Spin, I thought it was mostly just good natured sharing of experiences (good and bad) and the odd cautionary tale.

That’s the route I had in mind, but articulated better than I could manage. Enjoy the trip!

@wbo we had used the rope to get onto the plateau via the fiacaill ridge, which was fairly safe. When we got to the top we kept it on for two reasons, 1) so I could use it as a visual aid for navigating (we both used a compass as it was proper whiteout and really hard to walk straight even using the compass, me at the back having the rope to sight along made it much more accurate to correct our direction) and 2) in case we got off course and my dad wandered over a cornice. The avalanche danger was when we were heading down and got onto the steepening slopes above Coire an Lochan – there the snow shoes were not helpful at all.

Just to point out the obvious about ‘spring’ in the Cairngorms. This is the top of Ben Macdui in April:


Note the snow shoes and ropes. They were really needed – deep fresh snow. We were very careful but still ended up on a dodgy avalanche prone slope over the norther corries at one point.

MWIS is my go to, but I agree it can be a little pessimistic. That said, it’s best to be prepared so you won’t go wrong following it generally. I did have one walk in solid cloud all day and I was mightily annoyed as MWIS said 90% chance of cloud free munros…fuming. MWIS 90% cloud free I took as a dead cert!

In truth, I usually look at them all and pick the one I want to believe.

There are tons of great routes through the glens and nipping into loch Avon is spectacular. Scotroutes will have better knowledge than me, but I’d suggest a good basic (and classic) loop to build from (depending on conditions) would be out to Derry lodge via lairig an Laoigh and then over to Corrour bothy and back via Lairig Ghru. You can add bits to it easily if your going well, and take in some tops if you want. You will of course the major bonus of winter/spring camping…no midges! I’m getting very jealous thinking about it.

Be sensible, don’t take on a route you can’t reverse or that’s over committing where you can turn back if you encounter problems and you should be ok. Use the SAIS and MWIS and any other sources of info to help plan. Do turn back if in doubt. I remember doing a walk in Glen Coe and we merrily romped up one side of mountain in the sun (south) with barely any snow or ice and the other side (north) was basically sheet ice. We’d not have got down that side without crampons. Those wee crampons are great but they aren’t so good on steeper ground, and I’d prefer to have an axe to hand on the hill. Just to add, an ice axe is for more than just arresting if you slide, first and foremost it’s a tool to keep you from sliding, whether that’s cutting steps or digging it in for stability. Arresting a slide is bloody hard if you’ve gained any speed at all. If I were you I’d get an axe and try it out (using it that is, not self-arresting!).

If conditions are good then the plateau would be great. If conditions are grim it’s a very harsh and dangerous place to be without the right skills – especially navigation.

Hey, look, I’m in that photo of the best trail in the alps! Who’d have thunk it!

That must have been one of the rare times when I was actually in sight of you all as I gingerly picked my way down the trail in your dust!

It was an amazing trail, my favourite of the trip, but the climb in 40 degrees or so really was brutal.

Not vertigo though, Gav? That gentle warm up trail on the first day!! 🫣😱

Yes, I would. Agree with all the above.

Just ordered Rapha ones based on the discussion here. I struggle to wear knee pads apart from on uplift days because I never find them comfy so if the Raphas are as good as people say that’ll be great. Will report back with the viewpoint of someone hard to please in this regard. Rapha don’t half take ages to send things out though, do they – weirdly slow dispatch compared to most bike shops.

I left mine on the street in kinning park when I did it, and it was still there when I got back! Nothing fancy mind, it’s a 14 plate Skoda superb so not all that desirable. Bikes on those trains is a pain – but did I hear about some improvements recently? I booked so had a space, but there was barely room for the two bikes. Had to take a wheel off and spin bars iirc. Don’t think 3 was doable at the time. I hope it has improved.

Ochils on the new bike for me. First a wee ride with the boy then off on something a bit bigger.

Finally got out on my Izzo uncaged for a proper ride at the weekend. Really enjoyed it. Felt fast and taught but supple and really efficient on the climbs. Lockout was really useful for road sections and smooth climbs. Descending was really confident though a little less relaxing on the steeps than on my S150. Think it’s spot on for 90% of the trails near me. I put a dhf on the front in place of the rekon race it came with, as the trails were mostly muddy open Scottish hillside which added a bit of weight and drag but the bike still felt fast. Rekon worked remarkably well on the rear. Will swap the dhf out when things get a bit drier or I’m riding on less sloppy trails – maybe pop a forekaster on. Anyway, I can recommend considering the Izzo.

Crikey. I had an activator. Didn’t realise it was quite that ugly!

Best me to it Rich_s

They really don’t make it easy, it’s pretty secure. I have a memory or finding my way to a gate that you could get by on a bike that led to a back road somewhere near the place where they do the archery and things like that. Looking in the OS map, I think it must be the road going through salter wood. It was a long time ago though so could be anywhere. Take wire cutters? Dig yourself a great escape style jump?