Yet, many people "alternated" from the main route this year... and that is one of the main issues we are discussing here.

OK, I don't know the exact details of any of those, so can't comment.

Over here if you want a recorded time for an ITT, you must provide an entire .gpx file of your route.

If you have deviated, you need evidence as to why.

Sure.  But the idea is to try to codify that and give people a respectable and accepted way of not following certain rules to the letter.  It's an idea.

All the rules in one place would be a start. The last couple of days I've waded through pages of threads on here, and I've learned a couple of things that aren't obvious to someone who has read the rulebook.

There are jibes at the Euros in threads. Where are the rules written in other languages?

If you don't have to have a GPS or a SPOT how on earth to you know who has completed the route?

I find it interesting that the Google Doc of the start list didn't have everyone on it. Did everyone even know the rules? They certainly don't all read the stuff on here.

There's the film, magazine articles, and if you pop over to Google, there are plenty of pages that say "Leaving 2nd weekend in June" and "Unsupported" . Buy the map, they're good to go?

So back to what Christopher said then.

It would seem best that we accept that there are always going to be two groups of people riding each year. Those who are going to try and strictly follow the rules, and those who for a myriad of reasons do not. The former need to acknowledge and respect the decisions of the latter.

Thanks fo the replies.

Great pictures. Thanks for posting.

Seems like many recent posters don't care if others in the race cheat, since they are out there for own personal reasons.

I think for most people doing the TD or similar events is for personal reasons. Other than a bit of sponsorship maybe for the best riders, what else is there in it for them. I'd be surprised if anyone lined up at an underground race so that they could be told they were awesome by somebody on the internet.

I for one when I line up for the TD, like with other events I've done, will have my achievements in mind, and not that of others.

I find the attitude of some posters here detrimental to our pastime / sport to be honest, and can't help but think instead of trying to prescribe what others should do, or berating them for what they have done, that maybe their time would be better spent riding their bikes, improving their games and doing more events.

One thing I note in the various sports that I participate in, is that the majority of people who spout about ethics, the rules etc on forums are not those at the sharp end of the sport.

My son and I recently borrowed an off road tandem with a view to buying one to do the TDR.

My original thinking was that the tandem would allow our differences in speed on solos to be averaged out. I've found though that we are actually a bit slower, and that's without luggage. It's not the lightest but even if it weighs 5KG more than our solos I'd expect different outcome.

We've only done ~200 miles on the tandem,  so the speed could be down to us being new to tandeming, but I think we work together on it well.

I was wondering what other tandem folk had found?

Cheers

Rich and Tom

Nice write up Tom.

Interesting about the dynamo. I thought that would be the case with the low speeds, so didn't take mine.

Nice journal Rich! Way to push through. I swear you and I had a ton of the same experiences because I could hear my own voice in your words. I have 2 of almost the exact same photos from 2013

Thankyou. I reckon a lot of riders would have sore feet, it was only the last day that I managed to keep mine dry.

My Highland Trail race in words and pictures.

http://sometimesridesbikes.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/highland-trail-550-race-overview.html

How does the weather change in that part of the world over the course of the summer? Maybe more importantly, is there a time of the year that I DON'T want to do it, other than winter?

Early September can be good in the Highlands like the week gone. Mid summer can be very wet, and the midges this year are foecast to be epic.

Just south of Tarbet on the A82

http://m.trafficscotland.org/incidents/ha/c57877

My lad rides with me and rides at his own pace, he'll pass some people, and others will pass him.

If anyone ran into the back of him, or me for that matter it would be their fault.

I regularly see adults out on bikes who not as skilled as my son. That doesn't mean they are "out of their" depth though. They're folk on bikes hopefully enjoying themselves just like us.

Back to your original question, I've done a few 24 hours solos on a rigid bike. Somtimes it took weeks for the numbness to disappear from my hands. My descending speed was only limited by how fast I could turn the fixed gear though. I'll probably do the HTR on a rigid bike too, though I've since learnt to hold the bars much looser, and let the bike do its own thing a bit more.

 

And good luck on highland trail. Beware the clegs!

Thanks Chris, looking forward to it. The bug repellant is packed.

Wanted to give them a better test and went down some nasty red run at glentress that most ht would have to carefully negotiate. THESE 2.4 DONT SUCK! What did suck was the twat who had his six year old walk down a thirty five degree slope, straight after a blind corner on a red run!! I only had two options. Take out the kid or test a rigid 29er with 2.4's down a 60 degree cliff.

The red at Glentress is tame. Where are the nasty bits?

As for the kids comments. Get a grip. Maybe you should ride your bike with respect for any other peeps on the trail.

I guess it depends on if you can do without the comfort

I used to 24hr events on a rigid  bike. My hands would take a couple of weeks to recover.

I'll most likely take a hardtail to Scotland.

I was toying with the idea of not taking lights.

It's daylight from ~ 5am through to 10pm

I enjoyed reading that, thanks for posting.

Thanks for the suggestions.

I'm looking for a very lightweight camera support.

I've got a metal table top tripod which is OK, and not too heavy, though it's a pita to compose pictures, and one can quickly get bored of compositions shot six inches from the floor.

So sub 500gms/ 1lb is there anything good that packs small, or even better does someone do a clamp and ballhead. so I could use the bike as the "legs"?

I'm sure I read once of someone having a threaded spigot brazed to their BB, though that approach is not for me. 

Rich

I just got a Exposure dynamo and Revo light set up. Quality seems top notch. I have yet to wire it up and use it since I had a few questions before doing so. When I bought the light I also got their boost cable which plugs into the output of the light with a female USB as the output. With plans to use that as my charger for my Garmin 810 and smart phone. But I am not seeing anyone using this setup?

It seems to be a trend here for people to use a catche battery and a usb hub of some sorts. This seems to be to isolate the electronics(GPS, phone etc..) from the dynamo. And to create a power buffer to keep electronics from cutting and fading out. From reading the Revo seems to be designed to not fade out at low speeds or quick stops. Can I expect this from the output as well? Since the USB output is not direct from the dynamo and should be a clean signal from light should I be concerned about damaging my electronics?

The USB werks seems like a sweet set up. But I would like to keep things as simple as possible.

Thanks in advance

The problem with wiring a Dynamo direct  to the Usb is a) at low speeds you will not generate 5v. Plus at v low speeds the current is very choppy. b) Lots of USB products (eg iPhone) require a constant voltage of 5v.

When I was a kid I turned a room light switch on off on off etc. It eventually blew the fuse.