I did it with White Brothers (now MRP) Rock Solid and would do it again. Super comfy!


Sent from my iPhone and only partially tracked by the NSA.

Thats Phil in the image:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/12617230@N03/14280985824/in/set-72157644457186738

Looking at the other pics shows a pretty bleak picture of how my race was going to go. I love the bag piper guy and Andy waving as I'm puttering up the hill.

Phils time is crazy! I only wish I could remember which guy he was as he should, obviously, be wearing the cape of a Super Hero! As I sit here wondering when/if I can get back for attempt No. 2 at some point in the future.

I gang... I'm not sure where I'm actually supposed to "officially" scratch but please put my name on that list. I'm now home in Switzerland with a horrible cold which might help explain why I had no energy leading up to and during my only two days of the event. Maybe I'll be back next year, maybe not. Good to meet a lot of folks and sorry to see so many others go as well. It was beautiful country and I will say that the people of Scotland are some of the nicest I've ever many anywhere.

Hey James... thanks man. Just got through packing my bike, etc. I also just sent you a PM since I didn't see David's email. Oh... an addendum... if possible, lighter is better. I started off with Sapim CX-Rays... but beggars can't be choosers.

That's kind of my fear that no one will want to do it even if I can find a shop. No, the spokes I have are too long and no one around here seems to have the right length... oddly, they all have the length that I already have. I think something might be coming together via the FB Endurance forum.

Hey guys.... a long story short.... the dyno wheel I was building for the HT550 this coming weekend is not going together (spokes are too long) and since all my electronics are USB, I need it. Anyway, I'm flying out early tomorrow morning (May 21) to Glasgow and I'll be there till Friday morning. Anyone know of a good shop that could build up my wheel for me if I brought the hub and rim with me? Oh... I'll be using taxi and public transport so it's got to be somewhere I can get to. Thanks....

There are quite a few built into the website but I haven't found any sets online, yet. I know a number of the participants and if I find any, I'll share them.

It probably depends on what you are used to riding (keep in mind, you're on the bike for 12+ hours a day) and as ittaika mentioned how much abuse you're willing and/or able to take. Only you can make that decision based on your experience, fitness, stubbornness and stamina.

I'm riding a rigid 29+ but I always ride rigid bikes. I'm actually using a 1x10 setup just because my time for training this year has limited and I really want to finish. Normally, I also run singlespeed as it's easier for me, mentally.

The descent into Bridge of Orky is ... interesting at speed with no real lights

That brings back memories of the TDR and descending 25 miles or so down the mountain into Salida next to cliffs, etc. with no lights. Made it to town about 1:00 in morning. I now have two lights. :-)

Hi all, I know that this is late in the game but I'm flying into Glasgow on the 21st so I can look around the city for a day and then I was planning to head up to Tyndrum on either the 22nd or 23rd. However, I wanted to see if anyone was going up in a car/truck/van and had room for a wayward bikepacker. Thanks in advance.

Rockywoods is the official retail outlet for Xpac Stateside and even I order from them, shipping to Switzerland. I wanted to mention the 07 vs. 21 thing and that Dyneema, while strong is pretty floppy, hard to cut (dulls scissors in an instant) but is good for things where you don't need structure.

Positive anticipation. Keep it just that way, stay stubborn and it'll be good 

@wunnspeed: Interested in a bike packing trip traversing the swiss jura in two weeks time?

Interested yes, but I'll be in Scotland for the HT. Sounds like it'd be a really great trip though. Thanks for asking.

As I mentioned in DJ's blog comments... extremely well written (per normal) but it kind of freaked me out. Having said that, it's a great wake up call for those thinking it'll be a 'walk in the park'.

I'm glad to see the electronic versions out. Now, if only we could get V3 (the year I rode) in electronic form too my reading life would be nearly perfect.

2nd question... how do people find out that the contributions are open? I completely missed out my year but might ride it again in the next couple of years and would like to contribute when I do.

I'm with Paul... my bags are generally X21 like him and 1000D Cordura on the tube side. One other thing I do is to add some vinyl reinforced poly fabric at the bottle mount and cable stop locations. It works well for me thus far and no one has ever come back claiming their bags have worn through.

well as far as shoes, i'm on old pair of shimano m162 for the most part...they were a pain until my extra wide feet stretched them out, and the tongues tend to split, but i can walk all day in them. otherwise i use giro privateers...which have a more flexible sole than most xc type shoes...if the terraduro is similar to the wide/high volume giro last id be interested...but i reckon it got the standard last....

in terms of kit issues, my main one is whether to bring coffee making stuff or not!....without that, i can ditch stove, cup and a bag of grounds, but man, i *love* a good cup of coffee.... :-)~

I'm soooo with you on the coffee thing... there's a reason I have a coffee cup tattoo. If nothing else, I'll probably bring the espresso 'tubes' as they're better than nothing and easy enough to pack in and pack out and they still have 'Go Juice!'.

It was the X-Project shoes. They fit me really well considering I have a narrow foot and most bike shoes seem to be made for people with flippers (in comparison) for feet. Color-wise, I liked them in the Orange. Considering my new bike will be Orange, Pink and possibly purple, so colorful is not a negative for me. The Privateers look pretty nice too and I'd probably take those if I could find them but alas, the Giro shoe selection seems to be pretty scarce.

I thought I'd bring the "what shoes" discussion over here. I don't think you are ever going to keep the water out given that there are rivers to wade across, so I'd favour well ventilated shoes that drain well. I used the Specialized Rime which has a Vibram sole and was excellent for the hike-a-bike in HTR, CTR and Lakeland 200. Remember there may be a fair bit of walking but there's around 500 miles of pedalling too.

I've been working on that very thing. I used the Rimes on both the TDR and Grenzstein but really think that the tread is too shallow and any time I had to walk for extended periods, mostly on snow, I had pretty badly bruised feet the next day. Mine are Gen. 1 and I seem to remember they were rated 8 or 9 for stiffness at that time. However, for singlespeeding I also thought they were a bit too soft (I know, it's a delicate balance). I tried on the high end Pearl Izumis today but they're 300 Swiss Francs which is pretty steep for a shoe I'll wear once or twice a year and I already have Spez. S-Works that I normally wear but they suck for walking. Lately, I've been looking for a place to try on the new Giro Terraduros but it's looking more and more like I'm just going to have to buy them off the web and send them back if they don't fit as I can't locate anyone that carries them around the Zurich area.

Used to use an old 3/4 Thermarest (never slept well) and now I have an Alpkit Numo and now I sleep great.

I started riding mtb exactly 20 years ago this year. I always enjoyed XC longer courses where you depended on yourself to get to the end. I was also an IMA rep. for many years in Missouri and love being outdoors. I also spent most of my youth as a single child so I don't mind being alone. Pit all those things together and you kind of get a bikepacker. I've followed the TD route since it was first established and the beginnings of people riding/racing the route. It took a long time but I did the TDR in '12 for my 50th birthday and Grenzstein last year. Since 2012 I've made and sold bikepacking gear as SpoK Werks and it's slowly growing. This year I am doing the Highland 550 and then bikepacking Alpencross with another member of this forum.