Cheers Whitestone – fwiw we tend towards tucking ourselves away. My 1 man tent is only 1kg and compact and not as noticable as the tent in your photo, plus I shy away from being close to people, houses, roads etc but the thought of some Spanish copper waking me up in the middle of the night and dragging me oFf to the local cop shop to be charged and fined would mess UP the happy go lucky vibe I’m seeking

Morocco appears to be ok from what I know re wild camping. As for Greeece no idea, I have never seen Greece mentioned on any bikepacking thread which is on reflection is a bit of a surprise.

Single night is exactly where I am going unless something goes wrong (1 man 1kg tent). I was a bit assumptive to think other countries  would be as relaxed as the UK, every day is school day when its comes to bike packing 🙂

NZ are obsessive about no “forgeign matter”. If you take your fishing kit you have to take your waders, boots and net to a UK vet and pay to get a certificate say the vet has sterilised it all and its bug/virus free. If your bike and shoes have the tiniest bit of dirt you run the risk of losing a lot of time and money getting it cleaned at their end before its released back to you.

Looks interesting & thanks. In general the Spanish authorities appear not to allow wild camping and the Trans link above encourages the use of hostels, approved campsites and their like which is fine but if I can find somewhere where they are relaxed about discrete wild camping that would be preferable.

I’m not fit enough to run 29″ MM, I felt like someone had welded the rims to ground, I gave up after one short lakes ride and sold it at a fair old loss and was still happy to see it go

Some things are meant to be – Warm Fuzzy – I give you Fuzzy Sun with their single “want love”

And this http://biotifuldairy.com/

I have had a poor digestive system for ever, I cannot eat beyond 7.30 in the evening without really bad reflux and my facial skin is not the best. Tried the actimal/yakult suff for many months, no difference then started cultivating my own kefir, it was a bit/lot of a faff but I could tell the difference then noticed these in Sainsbury’s

https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/gb/groceries/bio-tiful-kefir-250ml?langId=44&gclid=Cj0KCQjwjvXeBRDDARIsAC38TP4tOZsSP88VH2tr_oGCAG1WBM6DoKCyQTRFq_NKnjHk_e9gt1q5thsaAvzREALw_wcB&storeId=10151&krypto=u589ZnSiwtlFYhWYO7Z9qWSyyoOl8mGOhN6NcOpRS9bo82maCY586YxkXZ4km5vlxgqbEE5eszyszvNyIBuz4v8pOOPk4XLawtOq%2Bff2iY3IRufJcz4TnW%2BCoMZuKZ3veL9RITqEtV%2Bq6QLkIAxDSqAfOUZdTZKroxPPyJ%2BxjRYSx3Juc%2BkIBdPxoYwDOu1qDkspFuDMoTJkhcPsfMjWOK7029lGMX%2B%2BKkRY820AIaJliWaZ0mSmRm%2FIxSs4uahHkUN9745r%2BupxD1QRmnC9tejS1MjXpX6wv%2F0c%2FjmlkqQ%3D&ddkey=https%3Agb%2Fgroceries%2Fbio-tiful-kefir-250ml

One each morning and the difference is truly there to be seen, reflux signifcantly reduced, skin the best its been in a very long time and I have a lot more energy – my only worry is if Sainsbury’s don’t sell enough to continue stocking them.

Dysons Duralit toasters, Smeg anything, the list is endless. I guess there is an argument that they are better but I’m sure a lot is about the perceived brand image and the ultimate extension of this vanity is personal (vanity plates in USA) number plates. Not for me thank you but I am not going to knock people who choose to spend their money that way.

I am planning to be there, going to see if I get Mark C along

Yes, next question ?

One of my very good friends refers to them as the Nazi Trust, I guess she must have had a run in with them as she is normally a quiet tree hugging type of person

Dual footy scarfs. Sporting support is tribal so for god’s sake make your bloody mind up who you support and get on with it. There’s thousands of things I think I understand but would never ever get involved with, politics, religion, TV soaps, caravans, personal number plates are obvious examples but it’s not my place to mock peoples choice. Diversity is great.

Yes, bought a Yelli Screamy off Charlie, its been great fun and now also have a Whyte 150s. You notice heavy wheels/tyres far more on 29ers.

That level of customer service combined with price to weight ratio is why I bought Hunt for my Tripster build

Sanny that’s much appreciated I will rethink my gearing as I am aiming to ride from country to country with the usual backpacking load and a bit more and the less pushing I have to do the better 👍

One other thing, I presume given 11 speed chains are universal, ie same for road and MTB I’m fine transfering my 11/42 MTB cassette to my Tripster build ?

Ok and thanks – as my new build is a mixed terrain tourer I would prefer a 1X set with a clutched rear mech which I think Shimano now do

Pb2.??? Is that you PAUL?

Yep, it most certainly is, feel free to ping me a message, my email addy is in my profile info

In the 14 years I have been MTBing my Canyon Dude CR is best fun I have had by some distance. I have had bikes by Intense, Spesh, Turner, Trek, Santa Cruz, Whyte and Canfield to name but a few. OK my eye sockets get rattled on fast rocky sections and my heart is my mouth on certain trail sections but I have no problems on tracks like Llandegla’s black, its brilliant for off road bike packing and it was the only way to reach Hilbre Island for a cheeky overnighter.

I have taken the plunge and ordered a V2 frame and forks. I am giving a lot of thought to fitting Jones carbon H bar (yes I know it’s going to look odd) Has any one else used Jones H bars on a Tripster or other long distance bike packing rig. All advise/thoughts welcome, thnx Paul

I suspect he is guilty and he will get the usual celeb treatment of big fine, comminity service and a suspended sentence.  It won’t happen but I would like to see him unable to play for England until community service or suspended sentence is over/expired.

Passed a rack with two bikes still attached, upright and looking ok in the middle lane of the M60 a few weeks ago. It could have only just happened as the driver and passenger were running a short distance down the hard shoulder and looked like they were thinking of running on the motorway to drag the rack and bikes back. Rather them than me, I would have called the police and hoped the bikes did not get run over before the boys in blue could help out.

Cheers Daffy, I am still crunching the numbers to see how much the final build will cost and what I will have to sell to balance the books but I am determined to get one and jump on a plane/boat and start to live a more interesting life.

Sorry another sizing question, I’m 6′ 1″ or 185.5cm, with a slightly longer body/arms, inside leg 31.5″ or 80cm. Right now in the absence of a test ride I don’t know whether to go 55.5cm or 57cm. Any advice most welcome. ps my mountain bikes are large size with short stems and my old road bike 2007 Spesh Roubaix is/was a 58 or 59cm frame.

Thanks guys, I am smitten by old school nous and crap web site

Done and even though this is a very sad subject the response is magnificent and so very positive.

Cheers guys, all replies much appreciated. FWIW I know its not the just wireless side as the tele is wired in to the router and suffers like for like problems. I have put the problem back to BT and I am going to see if dropping back to 2 ghz makes any difference. ATB Paul

Cheers ET, are they worse than your previous provider ?

This is very timely, I have an old Dell laptop that I think uses W7 and having not been near it for a year I cannot remember the bloody password. I have tried all the usual suspects without any joy and theres a whole load of photos and music I would like to retrieve. Fingers some of the above will work

The Chinook crash 6th Nov 1986, we were due on the next flight, 2 survived 45 died, when the gearbox failed.

A baseball bat to head, when my girl friends (my single girl friend) husband turned up ! The baseball bat, deflected off my arm on to my head and on the kitchen cupboard and snapped with the force of the impact. Some how I got out in one piece and managed to get to A&E. Nasty cuts to my head & arm, requiring lots of stitches, plus bruising and swelling to my face, arm, ribs and nether regions, plus very bad concussion and shock. I honestly had no idea.

Leela James – more soul than you could cram in a VW camper

Bled is tourist central in the holiday season. Mountain biking is not welcomed although one or two or two should not cause a problem but a group would. Ljubljana was wonderful place to people watch and soak up the atmosphere, we stayed over at Ribcev Laz and there is a mini bike park next to the Vogel ski centre. The walking, food and the quality of the countryside is excellent and affordable. I am going back to walk the Julian alps.

Phew Canvey Island is a tough gig. I worked out of there a short while for Shell in the late 70s. Does it still have perma frost from the storage of liquid methane ? The pubs in the middle were hard work for someone like me with a northern accent and I distinctly remember having to go to Southend to find a half decent restaurant back in the day.

As for Prof Green, good on him for having the nous to get these type of programs made, we need more authentic reality and not the usual brain dead plastic reality shi*e

That explains the big discounts around Christmas 🙁

Ok its only my opinion but I have tried everything listed and its got to be amalgamating tape, everything is second best

Which model of the NW range are you using ?

Good whisky, life is already far too short to waste time drinking fizzy water or herbal nonsense 😀

Woah Howarthp thats a bit OTT, you have got to be single to have a set up like that 😆