Cycling UK Forum

Of course... It would be as a last resort, but well aware it could be pretty desperate by then. So we'll do our best to avoid any confrontation - which would mean we'll retain the sprays for later use.
But at least we'll have something which would hopefully help if things go badly.

Thanks - I'll take that risk! I'm assuming it's cleared for use in UK, being supplied by a UK company? But I could be wrong. It's probably sole use is on foreign tours, especially (having read several reports of problems there) in Greece.

AFAIK, it's not a pepper spray, uses something else to confuse the dog. Frankly, the more noxious the better, if some vicious dog is attacking one of us!

I don't know, but it's sold by what I assume to be a British company. Will check this tho.

slowster wrote: ↑29 Jun 2024, 11:02am I've no personal experience of it, but unlike pepper spray I think the spray in the links below is legal in the UK. The fact that a police supplies company is selling it suggests that it is used by police officers and is effective.

https://www.police-supplies.co.uk/k917- ... rent-spray

I've just ordered a couple of these for imminent trip to Albania, Macedonia and Greece. The latter does seem to have dog problems. Has anyone used these? The blurb says replace after first use as you need to be sure you have sufficient spray for the next contact. Has anyone used one more than once?

Thanks,

Rob

I imagine you mean the Lake Komani ferry? It's seriously awesome. Did it in 2018. They let us sleep on one of the ferries the night befoe, had a very early start.
The road from it to Shkoder was bad, very poor surface. And more ups than expected for a downhill run.
We're heading out there in 2 weeks, Shkoder, Skopje, Athens, Crete.

Ah, of course, missed that in the original post. But the Nallo does have a huge porch, which allows us to stash panniers, helmets, bar boxes etc to each side, with plenty of room for access.

One thing I've realised about the side entrance type tents (should that be considered) is that they probably wouldn't work for us. We share cooking stuff, then eat from the same pot, lying side by side. But this may not concern the OP, if only wanting the tent for solo use.

FWIW, my wife and I use a Hilleberg Nallo 2, for backpacking too. Love it, on our 2nd one now. Plenty of room for 2 + kit in the huge porch. Tough tents. You can double-pole them too, if expecting horrendous conditions. I also double-guy, too, if thought necessary.

But I'm not sure about the height for sitting in. I've never wanted to. And of course they're not cheap...

Cyclothesist wrote: ↑25 Sep 2024, 9:36am It's a beam TW so you can zero it by bending the pointer to align with zero.

That's exactly what Park Tool say you should do on their beam TWs. I've just bought one, so many thanks to everyone for their advice here and on other threads - was planning to get a digital/clicky one until I read Brucey's words.

jimster99 wrote: ↑25 Sep 2024, 10:13am

Rob D wrote: ↑25 Sep 2024, 7:43am The battery life on the Inreach Mini 2 is massively improved from the original model. I think Garmin claim in can be used for tracking for two weeks - whereby someone can follow your progress. That's pretty good!

What Garmin claim may of course differ from reality...

The v.1 claimed reasonable battery life but my one (purchased brand new) only lasted 3-4 hours. The v.2 claims better battery but google suggests it might not even last 24 hours see e.g. here: https://forums.garmin.com/outdoor-recre ... the-mini-2

Thanks, Jimster. I did say that that was what Garmin claimed...

Useful link, thanks. I'll try to go through mine to make sure it's not wasting power. I've not used it for tracking, but have for the occasional text and forecast. It's switched off until needed. But so far, I've found that the battery retains its charge extremely well under these conditions.

Rob D wrote: ↑25 Sep 2024, 7:43am The battery life on the Inreach Mini 2 is massively improved from the original model. I think Garmin claim in can be used for tracking for two weeks - whereby someone can follow your progress. That's pretty good!

Just checked. Garmin claim:
'Battery life: up to 14 days in 10-minute tracking mode.' So that's pretty good for something so small and light. I also really like being able to get weather forecasts when out of coms. Maybe not so useful for the OP but it can be very useful if in a remote area for several days - issues such as whether to bash on and cross a river before heavy rain makes it impossible, etc etc.

The battery life on the Inreach Mini 2 is massively improved from the original model. I think Garmin claim in can be used for tracking for two weeks - whereby someone can follow your progress. That's pretty good!

On one Norway trip, I had a new and infuriating rattle from somewhere... It happened only at certain speeds. Eventually found it was the front mudguard. The adjustability of the fork crown mounting had allowed me to refit the mudguard (after the flight) in just the right place to allow it to vibrate against the underside of the crown. It was such a joy to stop it!

I have a Garmin Inreach Mini 2. Appears to be pretty bombproof, widely used by mountain folk. Also used by people on round the world tours - we sometimes follow someone on a motorbike, and another couple in a Landrover. Their Garmins are always present, accessible.
The drawback is the cost. But it only weighs 4 ozs, very compact.

Richard, thanks VERY much! Interesting. I wonder why the hotel we had planned to go to said we couldn't ride bikes on it?

We ended up cancelling the booking and they were so nice about it. In the absence of anything else, and with very limited opportunities for wildcamping, I'm tempted to re-book it and hope for the best... It was also incredibly cheap.

Thanks again,

Rob