My first tour oh and Hi

[treejamie]

First up hi all i'm the new kid.

I'll give a wee bit of background first im male 26 and live in Edinburgh, i work as a tree surgeona nd my bike is one of my babies (my other is my camera, and the other is my van which is broken ).

I used to cycle everywhere then i got a car. Since my van broke i once again cycle everywhere.

My bike is a Specialized rockhopper pro 06. i've now switched the tyres from the speshs fast tracks (which seem like nice bits of rubber) to some conti gatorskins which roll mega fast in comparison. I've got avid juicy 5 hydraulic brakes and i currently only have a rear rack which is an old man mountain.

I've always wanted to go a cycle tour but never really did anything about it. Until now. I plan to replace my old panniers as the back has cracked on the right one (7 year old Vaude waterproof jobs). My plan was to get some altura drylines front and rear. camping wise a one / two man tent of some kind and use my existing sleeping bag and bed roll till i can get some better lighter kit.

My first trip i intend to be around Perthshire for a weekend to figuire out what i could do with and get the hang somewhere not too far away. I intend my first proper trip to be train to Thurso boat north and tour Orkney and Shetland. I'm undecided if i should then go for Norway or the north of Scotland, just now i'm edging on saying the north of Scotland but tomorrow that will change.

Anyway chances are i've given you all too much information.
I'll say from the outset that i normally forget capital letters as i became lazy using word and i always normally miss spell the (teh) again this is down to word and auto correct.

Thanks for listening

Jamie

[Mick F]

Hi Jamie!

I often spell "the" as "teh" or some other combination! My fingers are undisciplined, get things in the wrong order! Maybe it's a "boy thing".

Good luck with your plans for touring.

Regards,

[Jac]

My spelling is rubbish and I get teh letters in the wrong order - so dont think it is a boy thing Mick - (perhaps its a disjointed brain thing)

touring on a bike is the best most enjoyable holiday possible -

my tip would be to get the best waterproof tent you can afford with space to sit up and large porch area for your kit - panniers can always be lined with a plythene bag - but your tent is the only thing between you and the rain wind snow sleet (and for us once in Denmark in June even a hailstorm)

hope you have lots of great holidays Jamie

[treejamie]

Thanks for the tip on sitting up, I have had many 3 man tents and a jumbo 6man tent (always of the cheaper build quality) but they were never used for long periods, a weekend and being used for mountainboarding events were expected to get absolutly manky inside and out. it was just a matter of how long you could hold off the advancing muck.

I was looking at a small single man tent without thinking of sitting up in it to cook etc.

I know its an open ended question with many variables but what is a good weight to expect a tent for touring, obviously the lighter the better. I would normally ask my flatmate but he is currently at Base Camp on Everest at the moment and he wont be back until mid June.

Jamie

[georgew]

For a single then 1.5 kilos would be a good target. Keep an eye on this forum and also ebay as they do come up.

[dodger]

Depends how much you want to pay.
I got a reasonable tent in Decathlon for £40 ish, which weighs 2.3 kg. That's about the max weight you want.
For a really lightweight one you will be paying well over £100.