Stick to the trails unless you want a brutal epic is my advice…

http://shoestring-racing.blogspot.com/2009/09/few-days-at-coast-knoydart-penninsula.html

Some great stuff there.

Depends on how big a camelback you use but for Arrowhead 135 this year I wore my camelback under my jacket and the hose just down the front of my jacket… used insulated pipe and also blew water back in but as others have said if temp is low enough doesn’t take long for bite valve to freeze up :(

North Face do a battery powered heated hydration pack although no idea how well that works.

I would say a nalgene inside your camelback in a insulator if you have room and fil it with hot water.. pain in the arse to have to stop to drink but least you will be able to drink :)

I met a guy at Yak Attack this year that had rode and won his age category at the first edition of this race… apparently it was alot of non technical riding and alot of riding in fast groups pace lining.. he rode a 29er and I think I would do the same… alternatively any hardtail.

mail me and I will dig out his contact details if you want.

http://vc-moulin.blogspot.com/2010/11/snow-cross.html

38 x 11/28 … in deep snow needed the low gear.

Tufo Cubus tyres running pretty low pressure… could feel the rim bottoming out on alot of course.

I could top it all with a misplaced classified ad.. then a niche bike pic and the grand finale a question about tyres :)

..29er is a Kona Big Kahuna frame.. Hope/DT wheels, XO/XTR mix, 2×9 set up, ritchey finishing parts, carbon rigids or Reba forks…

2 wheels and handlebars is normal… the dimensions are inconsequential :)

Just my 29er to sell now then all my bikes will have ‘normal’ wheels :)

Think i’ve sold it all now :)

I’ll relist now with an extra lazy link to the original post.. I cant be bothered reposting the pics :)

Kinesis Tripster maybe for a do it all bike ???

I race mine every weekend but pretty sure it would make a light tourer/fast commuter/winter trainer.

Much more affordable..

http://flyweightdesigns.com/products.aspx

This Rapha event looked great..

http://www.rapha.cc/rapha-gentlemens-races

This should give you some pointers…

http://www.youtube.com/user/cyclocrosschannel

I have one that I use to race cx on.

Not the lightest thing out there but holds its own.

I would spend some time investigating sizing as I ordered what I thought was the right size and it was massive!

If you are anywhere near Newcastle feel free to come take a look and try the sizing out.

Romax, definately have the capacity for disc brakes… so 135mm or 132.5mm

Find the local road hill climb race.. and enter :)

When you can taste blood and your whole head has a pulse then your probably there :)

Sold out in Newcastle.. think I paid £7.50 a ticket

Slightly off topic but has anyone ridden the East Highland Way??

I planned to when I did this..

http://shoestring-racing.blogspot.com/2010/05/varied-diet-of-trail-and-tar-3-ways.html

.. but time didn’t allow us to give it a go in case of navigational errors.. wanna go back and give it a bash if its any good.

I think the WHW does hold some good sections and definately worth a ride… the Loch Lomond section that is fabled to be a nightmare isn’t so bad at all really and short lived.

Transporters overpriced… Vito’s prone to rust..

Take a look at a trafic or a vivaro… 6 speed dci engine great on fuel and stacks of room.. plus a heap better value for money.. just my experience.

I love Matthew Lee’s approach to packing for the Tour Divide.. everything he would take on a long days ride.. plus a sleeping bag :) Minimalist:)

This event is definately on my must do list… maybe not next year though.

I’ll stick to convention and continue with base miles and interval sessions…

Chris Carmicheal has a training plan for time pushed athletes

I agree a run maybe more productive in the short time you have.

Also a turbo trainer would make most of any spare hour or so in the evening… then on the weekend make sure you get at least one 3-4 hour steady ride in.

Doubt you’ll see any training effect from 20 minutes…

.. plus if you come out cold and go all guns blazing for 20 minutes no warm up your gonna injure yourself in no time.

Leave earlier and lengthen your commute to 40 minutes – 1 hour..

Training is meant to fit around your life but it rarely works that way.

You don’t really say what your training goal is??

I use an elite realtour I picked up cheap… Tacx imagic is the same deal… makes it a little better but its always a chore…

Buy a fan and set up a tv to watch dvd’s … then use turbo for interval sessions as they make the time go alot quicker than just bashing out duration.

Pic of the Pass here …

http://genesisbikes.co.uk/riders

..I have heard there is a higher pass in the world but in a region that you really wouldn’t want to visit :) .. not at moment anyway.

I feel invisible… surely my 5416m Thorong La Pass trumps the OP … :)

5416m … Thorong La Pass .. Yak Attack race this year :)

With Gloves you pull your jacket over the cuff of the gloves so water doesn’t get in them… you can’t do that with pogies so you usually end up with warm damp hands…

For endurance events just keep swapping you gloves out for dry ones… they are stupidly warm when you use them… using Dogwood pogie plus’s my hands were sweating at -30.

Sooner or later someone will take note of all these little products and we will have our own UK version of Revelate or Carousel designs.

Pogies are amazing… I have moose mitts atv ones and will be ordering another set of Dogwood designs.

Very very limited market but for deep winter riding they are very comfortable… allow you to use very thin gloves so you get all the feel of the bike that you dont with heavy winter gloves.. only down side is stopping water coming down your arms and into them so better with a narrower opening/cuff.

Done it .. it was awesome!!

A GPS is essential as the race route is virtual so no physical markings on the ground… from being a non GPS user I had the flow of it after a few hours.

Start getting lots of long steady rides in and start building your endurance base.. you might already be super fit but it won’t hurt.. some very long days in the saddle.. think they still have the back to back near 100mile stages I did when I was there.

It really is an amazing race… start sending out the emails now and track down anymore UK guys to save paying single room supplement… would suggest bike wash and definately massages.

This is my experience..

http://shoestring-racing.blogspot.com/2007/10/look-back-at-transportugal.html

Sure velosolo.co.uk do a conversion to nuts for shimano hubs…

.. and how did you manage to pull your wheel over with chain tugs on??

whats the set up??

seanodav, cheers give them a call tomorrow… only 5 minutes from my house.

Been quoted £250 plus by a few places in Newcastle for towbar on my 2009 Fiesta..

.. £70 alone for the interface lead so no cables are cut on the car.

Would love to find it somewhere cheaper as towbar racks are the best way to carry bikes on a car

No one mentioned the new Salsa Spearfish yet ??

Sub $1000 frame so should build up reasonable on price… gonna be a couple of months off yet but looks great…

http://www.salsacycles.com/culture/salsa_spearfish_introduction/

No one mentioned the new Salsa Spearfish yet ??

Sub $1000 frame so should build up reasonable on price… gonna be a couple of months off yet but looks great…

http://www.salsacycles.com/culture/salsa_spearfish_introduction/

Sludge… goes in through the valve… adds 50g per wheel.

Used it on my winter road bike and so far i’ve been flat free.

Search it on ebay as I was given my tube of it so unsure where to buy it.

That is truly tragic … after watching him on the RAAM documentary I had the utmost respect for this man.. total dedication.

Another tragic loss to cycling.

Kinesis Decade Tripster…

runs 700c and 26 … and disc mounts:)