Cycling UK Forum

I'm in Chester, taking a rest day. Tomorrow I continue North, I'm thinking if going through Liverpool (might even stay there even thigh it's less than 20 miles). After that north to the lakes and possibly the Yorkshire Dales.

Any suggested routes to avoid big traffic and major roads?

- Tim


I'm a trendy consumer. Just look at my D5803 using hovercraft full of eels.

Emonda wrote:3rd day done. In Bristol. Weather so far has been dry but head winds the entire time!

Some good riding but hard!

You're going way faster than I - I'm in Bude. Also caught a bad cold the day I left, which had slowed me down a bit.

I'm a trendy consumer. Just look at my D5803 using hovercraft full of eels.

I'm on my way by train from Eastbourne to Victoria. Just called Evan's Cycles near Paddington, they're going to do a quick adjustment (reassembling the bike cocked it up a bit). While there I'll check for replacements.

- Tim


I'm a trendy consumer. Just look at my D5803 using hovercraft full of eels.

Bonefishblues wrote:You were lucky...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YGc4zOqozo

Heh, I guess so [emoji2]

- Tim

I'm a trendy consumer. Just look at my D5803 using hovercraft full of eels.

By the way, where are people getting their bad-weather predictions? Up until the weekend, most services I look at show no or little chance of rain through the weekend.

- Tim

Emonda wrote:How many days are you doing it in? I am staying in St Just - taxi to LE and then I start! I'll be looking to be at LE for around 9. Wind direction and precipitation seem to be against us but a lot can change between now and then tbessie.

I'm planning about 3 weeks, give or take a few days. Going fully loaded, camping some of the time. I'll be staying in Penzance tomorrow (Tuesday), starting the ride Wednesday (I'll bike to Lane's End, then double back and head north, first night at a B&B in St Agnes).

Yeah, I've heard the weather may not be the best; not happy about that, but what can ya do? :-/

- Tim

I flew United from SFO to LHR; I put my bike together today (going to London tomorrow, then Penzance the day after). In my bike box (S&S coupled bike in its case) I had a bunch of small, loose items that wouldn't fit anywhere else.

Apparently, somewhere along the line they opened the box to inspect it. The bike itself appears to be fine, but I noticed 3 small items were missing - a rear view eyeglass mirror, a personalized emergency contact bracelet, and an emergency repair spoke.

Though not crucial, these were important items for my trip. I don't think they sell the (very well made) brand of mirror that I brought with me from the states, here in the UK. I'll look for one, hope I can find a good one (anyone have a recommendation?). Probably the repair spoke as well (it was non-metallic variety). The bracelet I can get another one of, but that's kind of useless since it's from a company in the US. I'll have to made several paper contact sheets tomorrow, but the bracelet was high visibility and easy for emergency people to find.

Grrr. I hate stupid airlines.

- Tim

Emonda wrote:Setting off on Wednesday next week - weather forecast currently looking terrible.

Hey, me too! Starting in Penzance, going to Land's End then heading north.

I'll need to check out that weather

- Tim


I'm a trendy consumer. Just look at my D5803 using hovercraft full of eels.

mattfen wrote:

tbessie wrote:3) Pitching the tent as a single unit like that meant that event if I was dry enough during the rain, when it came time to break camp, I had to roll up a big, floppy wet tent to pack it up. Water could easily get into the inner tent from the wet fly. With a tent that has separate tent and fly, I can at least roll up the fly separately before wrapping the inner tent around it .

Hillebergs are prone to getting higher levels of condensation (those models that have outers to the ground for snow protection) than other options. When I did LeJog I had the big floppy wet tent issue most days due to dew and condensation. I just made sure I dried it out the next evening before sleeping - fortunately the weather was good for me and I could do that !

There is no such thing as the perfect tent but Hilleberg (Nallo 2) is darn close - those that say otherwise can't admit they bought the wrong tent !!

One of my requirements was that the tent be fully freestanding, which most of the Hillebergs are not. I don't always feel like staking or guying my tent (especially if the weather is nice and the went has enough space inside without it). One of my requirements was that I didn't HAVE to do either, which is why I chose the Unna. Though that Nallo 2 looks good.

- Tim

Lucky me, I reserved a seat and a bike space for my train to Penzance.

- Tim

Vorpal wrote:+1 If I had that tent, I couldn't see buying anything else to take on a northern European tour I can't imagine a Hilleberg with either condensation, nor leaks. I would look to set-up.

We'll see... the semi-leakage is a worry, but yeah, probably water that came in under the top vent, I'm guessing.

I still may choose another tent with a more familiar "inner tent first" setup. Hopefully I won't have to set it up in the rain, whichever tent I use.

I have a bunch of tents I've bought over time. Besides the ones I've mentioned, I also own a Marmot Monarch (or Den, can't remember which one) (reasonably large 3-4 person tent, good for car camping and events and such) and a Marmot Zoom (2-person tent). Both are from late 90s or early 2000s, I think; I'm going to get the Zoom out of storage and see what shape it's in, and if it's worth taking it instead of something else.

- Tim

PH wrote:I think you're just having some teething problems with the hillie, I wouldn't give up on it, gets great reviews so maybe get some opinion on a camping forum.
But I have a preference for an inner first pitch, I saw it as a drawback when I bought the tent but it matched all my other criteria, now I see it as a feature, I wouldn't want an all in one or anything that didn't have crossed poles. Mine packs in two stuff sacks, no folding required, I've never timed it but the inner is only exposed for a very short time, never enough to be a problem.

Possibly - I usually find that my first instincts are correct, but I'll check on some forums that discuss this tent to see what folks have to say.

I *did* just go out to REI (national chain of outdoor retailers here in the US, which has a "return any item any time, even after you've used it" policy) and got the REI Arete tent. Since I can return it any time, I could return it before use (my preference, if I do, I hate returning things, feels unfair, even to a large national chain), or decide it's what I want to use.

I'm starting to think I should go to some kind of national Tent Designer Conference or something, so I can talk to tent designers about their reasoning, see if something like what I want exists, etc.

What kind of tent do YOU use?

- Tim

I took all my gear on a camping trip this past weekend, and it rained part of the day and all night before clearing up in the morning; this was a good test of the gear I had.

Though the tent I have (the Unna) is big and cozy, I did find that:

1) Rain got under the fly and onto the inner tent, which meant there was some water inside the tent, though minor. It may have been due to condensation, though I'm not sure. I was a little concerned that the fly was not as waterproof as it should have been, perhaps; either that, or I hadn't set up the top vent properly.

2) The fly goes right down to the ground if you don't guy it out (I didn't), so mug got all over the bottom part of one side of the fly.

3) Pitching the tent as a single unit like that meant that event if I was dry enough during the rain, when it came time to break camp, I had to roll up a big, floppy wet tent to pack it up. Water could easily get into the inner tent from the wet fly. With a tent that has separate tent and fly, I can at least roll up the fly separately before wrapping the inner tent around it (or wrapper the footprint around the fly to keep the wet off). I'm thinking of getting (yet another) tent for this trip, or using the one I got last year (which is quite small and I felt a little squished in it, but at least it was light and packed up tiny).

I don't like the trend in modern tent design to have all the poles attach to a star-like holder (or more than one), with lots of new types of attachments, etc. to make it all work. I prefer the old, 2-pole (or maybe 3-pole) simple style setup. The first tent I ever bought is still my favorite, but it's 30 years old now and doesn't keep the wet out well and is a bit heavy by modern standards:

For reference, here's that first tent I ever bought - a Moss Starlet:

http://www.wanderwheels.com/site_ww/wp- ... 20x410.jpg

Here's the Unna I used this past weekend:

http://us.hilleberg.com/EN/tents/red-label-tents/unna/

Here's the tent I used last year, a Marmot Tunsgsten 1P:

https://marmot.com/products/details/tungsten-1p

And here's the two tents I'm looking at now... the Big Agnes Copper Spur (a bit too complex for me, but I may use it):

https://www.bigagnes.com/Products/Detai ... perspurul2

... and the REI Arete ASL 2 (a bit beefy, it's a low-cost "expedition" tent, but it looks like classic tents of days past, which I like):

https://www.rei.com/product/794283/rei-arete-asl-2-tent

- Tim

gobybike wrote:I use a long cable lock too (if it's too short you will struggle to get it around posts etc with the panniers on). It's a combination one, which is a little less secure than a key I'm sure, but there's none to lose. Locking wheel skewers are a useful deterrent, but the most vulnerable are the panniers with all your gear and I'm not sure there's much anyone can do there. I have a theory that my rattrap SPD pedals help too, because they are damn near impossible to ride a loaded bike away without cleats, which I'm sure your average hoodlum isn't wearing.

Wet feet are the worst - I've tried overshoes, Goretex shoes everything. When combined they were even worse, as they seemed to trap a layer of moisture between. The best I've found is SPD closed sandals made by Lake, which dry really quickly but with dark socks look like trainers down the pub, rather than Geography teacher. Elastic laces are rubbish though. If the worst comes to the worst, that's what the hand driers are for in campsite/pub toilets, though the stench is something else.

I got a pair of these...

http://www.shimano-lifestylegear.com/us ... ontentsPro

... and found them a bit clunky for a long ride (though they are VERY solid; main problem was the top of the shoe didn't close completely, you'd need really thick ankles for that), so I'm going to look at these (their little brothers):

http://www.shimano-lifestylegear.com/us ... ontentsPro

- Tim

gobybike wrote:I did it fully loaded with just rear panniers on an old hybrid with full camping gear, the lot. Didn't see anyone else doing the same, everyone I met was hostelling/B&B, although quite a few were carrying far more than me regardless!

Mine was a leisurely 4 weeks via the Scottish Islands, so the tent gave lots more freedom to stop at will. The only blank area was around Manchester/Lancashire, where sites are few and far between. If I did it again, I think I would head through the Peak District because there are loads there.

You might find my site useful, as there are hundreds of sites on the interactive map.

http://www.gobybike.co.uk

Thanks much, good insights!

I tend to mean both front/rear panniers and something on top of the rear rack when I say "fully loaded", though I guess just rear panniers could qualify.

- Tim