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Setting up my Tripster ATR for riding at -20

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Setting up my Tripster ATR for riding at -20

The practicality of riding at extremely low temperatures takes a lot more planning than you might have thought. I am heading off to ride a loop in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan where temperatures it’s fair to say may be pretty cold. I was just out on a test ride in a cold and snowy Scotland so here is how I’ve set up my Kinesis Tripster ATR to cope.

1. Tyres
There were two options for me;
Continental Top Contact Winter that are soft rubber winter tyres. I was looking at 650b with my new Reynolds ATR carbon wheels in a wider size would be a good option but a bit tight fitting at 650×2″.

Schwalbe winter tyres with metal studs in 700x42mm

I went for the latter because they look better on hard ice and they were half the price! Initial testing seems to suggest they drag a fair bit but grip well on snow, slush and ice. They also make a lot of noise, like riding on loose gravel, which I like so I guess that’s a positive!

2. Gearing
In snow and slush it’s much harder work so the gearing needs to be stepped down on the front.
I went for a 38 rather than normal 42 on the front and a 10:42 on the rear.

I stuck with the Praxis Alba cranks, the praxis bottom bracket has now done a year and is silky smooth still, that’s a new record for me on one BB. I bought a cheap narrow wide Blackspire chainring as it won’t be used that much after this trip

3. Lube
Normal lub freezes or rather goes really gloopy at about -8, the Flaer auto lubing system I have been testing freezes at about -2 as it is water based, so I replaced that system Muc Off -50 lube. This should do the job but I don’t normally like Muc Off lube, I find the dry stiff disappears and the wet stuff bungs up the drivetrain, like this stuff has done in the picture above already, I’ll see how I get on when it’s colder!

The Dot fluid in the Hydraulic brakes is good to -40 so will be fine. Shimano Mineral oil apparently freezes at lower temperatures but unlikely to be an issue here.

4. Keeping it simple
The Lauf forks that I love for gravel riding in scotland has been taken off, the riding will be slower and they’re not really needed for the road miles. I want to stick with kit I’ve used a lot before rather than try new kit, so the original Tripster ATR fork goes back on.
In the same vein I stick with the Ritchey WCS Venture Max Bars and WCS stem, Brooks Cambium saddle and Kinesis CX Lite HD wheels, I know these are all comfy and reliable. Essentially I made as few changes as possible to what worked in the Altai in 2017.

5. Battery life

Batteries die quicker in the cold, they can be stored cold but must be warm when in use to not drain fast. To avoid issues I will record data on my Lezyne Super GPS that has a great battery life (24hrs) and this means I don’t need to use my phone at all. Likewise I’ll take my Garmin E-Trex with replaceable AA batteries too for location checking on open source maps.

6. Water Freezes

You’ll notice the absence of bottle cages because I will use a full frame bag but also because water on the bike will freeze so it needs to be near the body in a jersey pocket. The down-tube bottle cage will hold my MSR Stove 1litre petrol bottle as normal.
Things like nuts, cheese, Mars bars all freeze too so need to be stored near the body when they’re going to be eaten. To stop water from freezing and to treat it, I will mix it 50:50 with vodka.

7. SPDs versus Flat pedals for winter boots

Tough call this one and we’ll see if I was right. I went for SPDs and Northwave Raptor GTX winter boots.
I’ll also use them with a neoprene boot cover to keep the extreme chill out on the descents.

The other option was flats and winter snow boots. These won’t bung up with snow like the SPDs and are easier for walking, but the soles are soft and will slip on the pedals a lot more. I guess I’ll report back if this was the right choice.

I’ll do a full kit list when I get back, so I can report back if the crazy amount of down filled products I’m packing are too much or too little!

Bikepacking around the Altai – Pt 2 China to Mongolia

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Bikepacking around the Altai – Pt 2 China to Mongolia

China was an “interesting” challenge on our Altai bikepacking trip. All adventures need these sections; those challenging, tough days that question why exactly are we doing this?

Western China is facing issues that we don’t see much in the press over here. The strategic and mineral importance of this region has seen it receive vast investment in roads and police, but all I’ll say is that the Uighur and Kazakh populations aren’t super happy about it all.

In Jeminay, the border town, we stopped at the first hotel we saw, we were tired and exhausted after a couple of short rides and a very long and very hot border crossing. My Lezyne Super GPS measures temperature and had recorded 43c with an average of 40c!

All the hotels here have guards outside and metal detectors upon entry. I left Marion and Jack with the bikes and ventured inside. After a lot of passport viewing and discussions it seemed we could stay at a decent price. In the time it took to agree this, Jack and Marion had become surrounded by a police SWAT team. About 10+ armed officers were milling about and looking at passports etc. I rushed over to see what was going on – it was more than a bit intimidating! Another police team turned up and piled out of a minivan. Marion and Jack seemed bemused but calm, it was the most armed police officers I’d seen in one place.
One officer was now at reception talking to the receptionist. What was going on I ask?
It soon became clear, not much happens here in the desert town of Jeminay, we were a novelty. There were a lot of police all over the place, with a station on each corner and even Segway patrols; a desert police state. Thephones were out and selfies were being taken with us cyclists, guns in hand. A translation was made by phone to say “don’t worry we just want to chat with you!” We calmed down, they waved and eventually disappeared. By now we were even more exhausted.

The sheer number of phone pictures, questions and passport checks by the police and undercover police tested our patience over this China leg of the trip. It would spur us on to cross China quicker.

More good food that evening and we’re ready to cross the first desert stretch tomorrow. The flat sandy landscape is a challenge in its monotony and the wind turbines are here for a reason; it’s relentlessly windy and a struggle to reach the minimum 100km we need to get water.
The good thing is the wind takes the edge off the temperatures that still AVERAGE 40c On the way we stop at the only village in the desert, the police swarm us again. By now we were taking pictures of anyone taking pictures of us;

These guys stopped us for a selfie; they had guns so we didn’t argue;

We make it to Burqin in the Altay region of Xianjiang, we’re totally destroyed by wind and heat. Although just before the town a van stopped, I missed it but the guy flagged down Marion and Jack. He had seen us on the desert roads and felt sorry for us and he had a van full of pastries; you can’t make this stuff up! They both rode off loaded to their eyes in free cakes!
We collapse on some anti car barriers and drink lots of water, we’re soon surrounded by kids.These kids were on a massive sugar high and talking constantly to us in Chinese, with no idea why we couldn’t respond!

The town has a street food market and after many, many litres of water, we wander along starving. It’s a mix of breads and food from Kazakh cuisine along with traditional Han Chinese food.

The market is a fascinating place and well worth an evening stroll. It offers that stark contrast in culture that is modern day western China.

Riding here gives an insight into a region that you’d never normally visit. We met people who’d never seen foreigners here before. No one visits because there’s just very little between the standard modern Chinese towns.

The heat, wind and flatness drags motivation and energy but the bikes perform well with the drop bars being used a lot on my Tripster ATR. The riding is very much type 2 fun but I am in my element, relishing the challenge a lot more than the more sensible Marion and Jack!

The silver lining is that the food is always good and we certainly deserve a feast each day, here we stock up on dumplings;

As you might have got, the whole China experience had been stressful and we all question if it was worth it, when we reach towns the hotels turn us away, it’s so restricted no one knows if foreigners are allowed so they simply refuse us. Those that don’t refuse us charge a fortune, we traipse between hotels most nights.

Just as we’re ready to leave China we have the most remarkable evening that justifies the hardship. The road goes due west as the sun sets. The air is filled with rain and the result is this;

I’ve never seen light like it before; surreal and mesmerising and we’re buzzing like kids. We aren’t using hotels if we can avoid it, so we camp near an abandoned building that the rainbow pointed us towards;

If you like long, leading empty roads then the final road towards Mongolia was perfect;

China had been interesting and a true challenge but Mongolia was set to be to be amazing riding. The border was easier and soon we cover the first 20km without seeing a car or person on the road. We exchange US dollars for local currency and stock up with food in a town called Bulgan. We’ll need it for the days ahead. The only traffic we see are mining trucks on the horizon continuously driving tonnes of Ore to China on a dedicated highway in the far distance.

As I sit in the shade and eat a watermelon and inquisitive cow starts eating he left overs. “Can cows eat melon?” we all ponder, surely it destroys their stomachs, either way it’s not complaining. Much like this trip it’s destroying us but we can’t stop riding to see what will happen next.

As we turn north from Bulgan we lose these mining trucks and enter the wilderness, genuinely unsure if we’ll reappear.

Bikepacking the Altai – Pt 1 Kazakhstan to China

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Bikepacking the Altai – Pt 1 Kazakhstan to China

The road we bikepacked through Kazakhstan towards China was partly constructed by Arnold Schwarzenegger’s father – we had high hopes. However we had to get there first and that in itself proved to be an adventure, even after we had the 9 visas, 12 restricted zone permits, 9 flights etc we sorted out…

This trip was probably the most ambitious, bureaucratic, stressful and beautifully epic trip we’ve ever done. We rode between snowy mountains, crossed deserts, raced from bears, got sick, fed watermelon to cows and discovered something pretty life changing. We would start in Kazakhstan, cross China, Mongolia then finish in Russia, if all went to plan. I could probably write a book but you’ll just have to read these blogs for now.

We all rolled into Heathrow T4, bikes on trolleys excited to meet up. A quick chat and we’re all buzzing. It’s going to be Marion, Ed and Jack Chevell is joining us too.
I reluctantly pose for a picture with Mr Adventure at T4 he just keeps badgering me for a selfie, he’s a big fan of the WeLoveMountains blog….

Air Astana whisk us to, unsurprisingly Astana, where we watch through the window at the luggage trucks dropping and dragging bags along like some kind of sick torture. “Check out that bag it’s actually wedged under the back wheels” Jack pointed out. It didn’t bode well for our bikes. The flight to Oskemon was short, the plane shorter, the airport was just a small building and a pick up truck for bags. We had earlier discovered that the plane scheduled was too small for 3 bikes, but with some persuasion via email we had confirmation of them being booked on.
In the small arrivals room we waited, waited and then some more, the airport emptied. Our bikes were nowhere to be seen. We spoke to the staff who called up Astana Airport. The bike boxes had been entered then deleted from the system with no trace. This was bad, we discussed theories as to why? A lost and found description written and submitted we could do nothing but check into the nearest hotel and wait.

Now Oskemon is not the kind of place you want to nervously wait. The town made us nervous enough on its own. Rows of Soviet apartment blocks and few amenities. We went for beers. At the restaurant I noticed a large blond guy sitting, staring at us. It was unnerving. Finally he strode over. “Hello I am Sergei” he said, 6″5′ and a jawline that the bond villain Jaws would be proud of; there was no missing Sergei. We chatted for a while, made our excuses and slipped away. Almost clear of him, he ran towards us shouting. Myself and Jack fearfully stopped, he bizarrely asked us if there were any black people in England, then offered us hashish. Welcome to Oskemon, Kazakhstan folks.

If Sergei was unique then our hotel was one in a million. The entire places was painted in murals from classical periods in history. It was actually incredibly impressive, if tourists ever stayed here it would be quite an attraction. From China to Japan then Samarkand to the Romans every civilization was covered.
Egypt anyone?

The next few days were stressful, the trip hinged on the bikes, we had to get to Russia to fly home, we had to have images too as the trip was to feature for Strava. To pass the time we toured the open air museum of culture, whcih was actually really interesting, the lady was so surprised to see us she shut the ticket office and spent a couple of hours guiding us around the 10 houses representing the cultural corners of the USSR, it was like someone drove around the USSR and picked up a house then dumped it here, maybe the did! Two days now wandering abd the bikes were still lost, we knew the local bus routes already, best watermelon stand etc. This was the helpful museum lady;

We went to watch the latest flight from Astana arrive and the staff told us to go away, “the bikes not coming”. We waited peering through the one way glass, “there’s 3 boxes on the truck, look” I shout, then as it came into better view we waited and boom there were 3 bike boxes!!! We jumped and danced!
Running through immigration the wrong way we grabbed the boxes and confused the guard and German Shepherd on passport duty. The bikes had still never entered the system but it seems the error was at Heathrow not Astana!
The bike boxes;

We now needed to catch taxis to make up for lost time, the riding schedule was going to be tight before the delay.
We blagged two taxis, one for the bikes and Jack, and one for Marion and myself. We were ready to head to the mountains and fingers crossed we both arrived at the same place. The problem with using two taxis is that one driver can’t be slower than the other, we literally raced our way east. At 100mph, around a corner into a herd of horses was a particular moment I’ll not forget in a hurry. We even got a ferry across a lake…

Having survived and made it to Katon Karagay in the foothills of the Altai mountains we unloaded bikes, built them up and rode into the fading light of East Kazakhstan. The village sign was pretty large with some suspect spanner usage.

The Austrian road through the mountains is an engineering marvel, built by Austrian prisoners of war including Arnold’s Grandfather in WW1 for the Russians.

We knew very little about it from our research other than it was very remote and also impassable due to collapsed bridges and as a result it was never used.

We rode on because Jack had seen a You Tube video of someone balancing on a partly collapse bridge and riding it in 2015 – for me that’s enough to ride 400km on. We showed our first restricted border zone permits at a checkpoint, the guards implied the river was so deep we’d need to swim. I implied that I was about a foot taller than him so I’d probably be OK but the others, we agreed, had no chance. With a wave, the barrier raised and with a smile we set off, we knew they expected to see us back tomorrow.
The climb was pretty much as one might expect 1800m of vertical on steep rough gravel would be.

We reached the top of the first huge climb with heat an altitude it was tough going, we sat down and met a man on a horse; one eye was fixed on us, the other checking his horse to the left. He offered us a ride on his horse, fearing it was a paid attraction we declined. A soviet style jeep turned up and 4 guys bundled out. Cheery and chatty with no mutual language we all discussed something, possibly along the same lines but who knows. Either way they were nice chaps.

They drove off, but only after rolling backwards and stalling their Soviet jeep a few times.
An hour later we saw civilisation in the form of a farm, I lent the bikes against their fence and promptly got stung by a bee on my index finger. Jack was invited in for tea and Marion was off somewhere riding a horse. There’s never a dull moment in Kazakhstan. We all convened in the farm kitchen for rancid butter on fresh bread. The jeep was now heading off and as it backfired away a baby goat went mental and bolted into the kitchen and smashed into Marion’s legs.

That would be the last and only farm or house on this road as we cycled on into the unknown. The ‘road’ became fainter and fainter. We knew there were 4 river crossings to come; with or without bridges. The river alongside was indeed chest deep and would be a swim to cross, this didn’t look promising.

The next stop would be Lake Makakol, we would get there thanks to a stroke of good fortune. After the bikes being lost it was refreshing to get lucky. As we rolled up to the first bridge the Kazakh military had just finished laying the last log of a repaired bridge. It was the last of four they had repaired. For the first time in a decade the Austrian road was repaired and we were literally the very first people to ride it.

The trip would turn out OK we thought. Well soon after saying this we reached a section of track by the river. A pile of animal dung stopped me in my tracks. Marion knowingly looks at me and says “It’s bear isn’t it?” I reply “yes, and it’s very fresh, steaming fresh.”
A second later a slightly concerned Jack arrives, “I just saw something huge bashing through the bushes over there, really big”, “I guess that’s our bear freaking out” and with that we rode off quite fast. We were far from help out here!

Makakol was a combination of mosquitoes buzzing in the air, barking dogs and wooden houses. The lake of the same name was beautiful though as we rolled in at sunset.

We stumbled across a guesthouse with a banya in the garden and we could relax for the first time in a while.

The winters here are cold and bleak so the wood insulates the houses and fires the banya saunas/washrooms in the gardens. The locals were very friendly, this guy lit the banya for us;

We rode onward headed for the Chinese border, we had to follow it south for a few days to reach a crossing. The locals continued to be very friendly here, we stopped for lunch on the roadside and a car stopped in a real hurry, it then rapidly reversed up to us. I think we all expected some bad news when the doors opened but these two got out and wanted a photo with us.
Occasionally the locals were a bit too friendly;

We weren’t quite prepared for the border itself, a pure geographic boundary, it was literally a line in the sand. The desert rose up into great dunes from the foot of the Chinese border fence. I hope this picture shows it clearly;

The hills and steppe of Kazakhstan ended under the watchful eyes of Chinese guard towers and CCTV so we took less photos. The riding into the sunset was pretty cool though.

It was here that we realised that we had a bit of an issue. With the delay we’d exceeded our allowance of days without registration in Kazakhstan. We had to try to find a police station to register. The one we found wasn’t having any of it though. It was an odd place and we felt it best not to argue, they said we needed to go to the border. The border was too far away still.
That evening the wind blew. It blew hard, the only shelter on the road along the border was an abandoned farm. It was an eerie place but inside the old walls the wind was calm. I’ll be honest I stood peering through the wall at the Chinese border watch towers in the distance and the flashing red and blue lights patrolling it was a bit uncomfortable, like fugitives stowed away.

I was getting ready for bed and Jack called me over “Er, I’ve found something and it’s not nice” he says. “OK, what is it?”, “I dunno see what you think”. Cautiously I followed him and we shone torches on a creature so alien I could see what he meant, “Is it a scorpion?” “nah, no tail, it’s something else”. It turned out to be a Camel Spider, almost 6 inches in total and brown/transparent body with pincher jaws strong enough to pierce through your leg. I’ve never seen a creature like it and I hope I wont again. This is from Google and similar size if not a bit smaller than ours we saw in the dark;

The next day we awoke to a perfect sunrise.

We pushed bikes back to the road and cycled a day closer to China. We visited a ghost town, bought bread from a shop filled with wasps and tried to battle the head wind.

The next night we stayed in a camp for government workers laying a gas pipeline, how we ended up there is a long story but it was an interesting experience as we shared communal dinner with them all!

Finally we were in reach of China and rolled to the border. A Kazakh guy in the queue spoke English and we chatted. As we left the registration question came up. “Why no registration?” The border guards asked. “We don’t need to” we hopefully replied and the guy in the queue translated. It took a while but we got away without a fine and into no mans land with China!
CCTV cameras were everywhere, side by side with infra red cameras and guard towers. It was intimidating. The Chinese border gate was closed. The guard saw us but did nothing. It was 40c and we were stuck. We squeezed into some shade and waited, and waited. Finally the gate opened. The guard came over and said 4 hours. What?? it opens in 4 hours? We waited more. Then seeing us suffer in the heat the gate opened and we left bikes by a large dog and walked into a small room. A young soldier sat with us. He spoke little English, but asked questions, he brought water for us. Then more questions, things about IPhones, tales about his family in Sichuan. We waited more. It was clear the full 4 hours were needed because the Chinese side operated on Beijing time! Strangely the kids English got very much better, we realized this was likely a soft interrogation and part one of crossing into the police state that is Xinjiang province.
The border opened and we were marched upstairs to a fancy room with sofas and a fridge. An older man in uniform walked in. He used his phone to auto-translate a surprisingly fluid conversation. The Chinese voice app worked much better than Google or any I’ve seen before or since.
Then 5 hours after leaving Kazakhstan we entered China. Tired we stayed in a hotel in the next town and ate good Chinese food to celebrate!

China was going to as much a mental challenge as physical it would seem…..

Quick Bike Setup List

Ed
Kinesis Tripster ATR Frame and Fork
SRAM Force Hydro 1×11
10:42 Casstte 40t front
Ritchey Venture Max flared drop bars
Praxis Alba cranks
Continental Travel contact in 700x42mm
Kinesis Cross Lite Wheels
Apidura bags, larger bar, saddle and full frame

Marions Bike Setup
Kinesis Tripster AT
Shimano XT drivetrain 2×11 speed
Flat Kinesis Strut Carbon bars cut down to 720mm (Flat for comfort and to fit Apidura bag easier)
Ergon Grips
Praxis Zayante Cranks
Continental Travel contact in 700x42mm
Kinesis Cross Lite Wheels
Apidura Packs large saddle and bar.

Jack’s Bike
Condor Bivio frame yellow and fork
Sram Rival groupset

On the search for gravel routes in Madeira

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On the search for gravel routes in Madeira

The general theme of this blog about gravel and road riding in Madeira will probably be steepness. There’s no getting away from the fact that Madeira is never going to be the most well rounded nor easy riding destination because gradients under 10% are rare, rarer still are sections of flat track or road. Those flat sections you find tend to be traversing cliff faces and have vertiginous drops.

Do you like tough climbing and type two cycling fun? Then read on, I have a feeling you’ll like this place….

The maps indicated that Madeira has lost most of it’s old gravel tracks, EU grants have funded a boom in infrastructural improvements across the Island. As a result paved roads prevail here now to help cars get up and down. However I would still suggest a gravel bike would be handy even if you stay on tarmac. The steepness of descents mean skinny tyres just lock up under braking, tight hairpin corners lead to wipe outs etc….
When you look a bit deeper into the island there are ancient cobble lanes, steep tracks and paths that link the terraced hillsides and forested mountains together all still there, they just need paved road to link them up

The first route I rode was along the north coast from east to west, starting near Santana I just followed the coast as closely as possible heading west. It is an interesting option because a lot of the old road hugs the coast, and takes you away from the newer tunnel filled highway. It’s worth carrying a good rear light as you’ll encounter some tunnels still and some pretty long.
With the gravel bike I could detour onto some of the Islands cobbled tracks that the wine producers used to get barrels onto boats.

The coastal roads were closed because of countless landslides. Therefore riding this road is a bit like Russian Roulette, dodging rocks as they roll done the cliffs above. Still I survived and the Lauf fork with 40mm tyres helped smooth the ‘gravel’ road out! I wasn’t hanging about to take photos but some rock falls were huge.
The route ended in a town called Porto Moniz where I road to the end of the track and faced the Atlantic.

Then despite being January we went for a swim in the salt water pools. It wasn’t warm but compared to Scotland it was good. No one else was swimming it’s fair to say.

The next gravel ride was one that I had been excited about. On the map a huge switchback gravel road rises from Sao Vincente to 1650m on the central plateau of the island.

A relentless climb from sea level into the forest then on into the clouds. I was running a 42 front ring and 10;42 rear, the mech was struggling to get into the 42 on the back. It proved to be a tough climb! In fact it took so long I hardly stopped for pictures because I was worried about it getting dark.
It was also getting loose, really loose and steep near the top.

Once up on the plateau it was zero visibility and cold. The track emerges among the wind turbines near Bica de Cana, I could hear them all around me but not see them! Then onto the road ER110 which has been closed to cars for a few years. I was told bikes could still use it though…..
Having passed concrete barriers I had the road to myself and hit 69kph apparently as I sped down on wet roads. It soon became clear why this amazingly scenic road was closed. All along its length rocks from cricket ball to TV size were scattered, the road is cut into the cliff face and above it is pretty unstable. It was another game of Russian roulette!
I took it easier on the wet roads here, a loosely guarded 400m vertically drop tends to slow me down.


Finally after a few pictures taken I arrive back at the junction back down towards Encumeada pass. We were staying in Agua Serra so it wasn’t a long loop over to Sao Vicente but the vertical was pretty impressive!

The final ride was an explore nearer capital Funchal. The first climb was set to be even bigger than the previous record.

From sea level to 1820m in one climb, at 16km the gradient averaged more than 10% for the duration. It was the sort of climb that I probably won’t do again in a hurry, but plenty of waves and thumbs up from motorists along the way!

After the road climb to the peak I explored some of the off road tracks on this side of the island. It seems that many are just too steep as climbs but for descents there were a few fun options.

Good views guaranteed at every turn;

The legs certainly got a work out!

Not a bad sunset looking towards Funchal on the last day either;

Houses in the old part of Funchal on my way back.

2017 – An awesome 12 Months of Bikepacking, Splitboarding and Exploring

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2017 – An awesome 12 Months of Bikepacking, Splitboarding and Exploring

January – Strathpuffer 24hr Solo MTB race

The Strathpuffer solo is one of the toughest bike races in the world with 24 hours of riding in the far north of Scotland in winter. It gets cold, really cold and there’s 17 hours of darkness. My water froze, the track turned icy and I was sick so went to sleep. I awoke to find I was still in 6th place. Unfortunately I missed an entry for 2018….

February – Cairngorms
Splitboard touring in February in a dramtic looking mountain backdrop…



March – Touring on the Isles of Mull and Iona

Bikepacking on the isle of Rum was an awesome trip;

We also explored the bothys of the Scottish Borders in March too.

April – Splitboard Touring in the Lyngen Alps, Norway


Stunning views of the Northern lights from the Arctic circle;

May – The 300km Jeraboam ‘Gravel’ race in the picturesque Italian Alps

Ed was pleased to be 3rd back in the first edition of this 300km and 6000m of climbing challenge, having ridden right through the night.

DCIM100GOPRO

June – Bikepacking across; Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia and Bulgaria

Just a quick tour across the Balkans that was amazing!


Marion also won the Glentress 7 hour solo MTB race in Scotland for the second year running!

July – Touring to England from Scotland via a side trip to Tibet

August – Tour of the Altai Mountains – Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia and Russia

An epic loop that rates as probably the most interesting bike journey to date…watch the blog for more details in 2018!
The sand dunes mark the border between Kazakhstan and China, one of the most remarkable border lines literally drawn in the sand!

Kazakh eagle hunters in Mongolia;

September – Germany, Austria and Switzerland

For Eurobike and testing the new Lauf Grit bike and a MTB journey in Switzerland.

October – Trans Scotland Bikepacking route

First was Aviemore to Glasgow off road in amazing Autumn colours


General Wade’s military road.

November – Trans Scotland Bikepacking route number 2

Bikepacking from Inverness to Pitlochry via Loch Ossian SYHA was a fun trip

December – Getting big on Gravel

Finding new day routes in the Scottish Borders on endless gravel and forest tracks.

And then exploring the lake District…

Altogether not a bad 2017, it seems we’ve kept busy. I expect 2018 might be busier but maybe with less countries visited……

Practical Guide to Bikepacking in Kham, Tibet

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Practical Guide to Bikepacking in Kham, Tibet

Tibet is an amazing place for adventurous bikepacking. However it has changed rapidly over the last decade and unfortunately it’s harder than ever to ride bikes there. If you want to join  a tour group then that’s fine, but to me that’s too expensive and not the best way to explore the country so read on about how to take a bike independently and just explore….

Tibet, when an independent country covered a much larger area than the current Chinese Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) which is the area closed for independent travel by China to most foreigners. However there are still areas outside the TAR which were in Tibet and are still free for independent travel. Interestingly enough the Culturally Tibetan area extends to a size roughly the same as Western Europe – it’s not small! These other regions are called Kham and Amdo and they are just as fascinating and beautiful to ride through but without the hassle of the permits and far less police checkpoints. The map below hopefully illustrates the TAR that is essentially a pain to ride in and those two areas open for independent travel;

While people try to enter the TAR from Nepal or Lhasa and hire a guide who they then leave after a few days when away from check points. This works better in touristy places but it is a gamble I’d not bother taking. Therefore this blog explains more about the practicalities of riding in Kham the area to the east on the map above.

1. Getting there
Flying into Chengdu in Sichuan, China is the cheapest option by far to access the region. From here you can book onward flights to Ganzi or Yushu. But if you do book onward flights then check if the planes are big enough to take bikes and also bank on weather interrupting schedules that are already infrequent

2. Getting about
Public buses will take bikes, the bus from Chengdu to Kangding is a good easy option, stay in a hostel in town and they can give you up to date details of times and even store your bike box for you. Going from main bus station it takes about 10 hours to Kangding.
Taxis can be arranged in most towns but these are not cheap options at $100 for town to town rides as you’ll need the entire taxi. We heard hitching is not super easy and the Chinese won’t offer rides as easily as Tibetans do but then most Tibetans are on Yamaha motorbikes! However when Ed got sick we hitched a ride pretty quick in a Chinese truck back to Kangding.

3. The riding
The roads are some of the best you’ll find…..if you like super smooth tarmac ribbons and enjoy tunnels. The Chinese are on a serious mission creating new roads across the region and seem to have got a good deal on tunnel boring machines, but not so much on ventilation for their tunnels, so take some lights, face mask for the dust and go fast to get the tunnels over with. Otherwise if you avoid the main through roads towards Lhasa or east to Chengdu you’ll find quiet smooth roads for the most part.
Essentially it’s hard to get off the tarmac because that nice gravel track has recently been paved and there are lots and lots of domestic Chinese tourists in the major towns, but you are unlikely to see any other foreign tourists here. There are lots of back roads so there are quite a few options for getting off the beaten track. We opted to stay on tarmac because Marion had recently had shoulder surgery so it was much smoother.
While Tibetans are the friendliest people (to non-Chinese) I don’t think many Chinese want to go too deep into the remoter Tibet villages alone so you’ll quickly leave tourists behind.
I would expect that most riders can use touring/gravel/adventure bikes with 35-40mm tyres to cover almost all eventualities. If you are planning going on a particularly wild route to remote villages then take something fatter, but you’ll be pretty experienced already if planning a trip like that! Don’t underestimate the size of the climbs, too the roads often drop and climb 1000s of metres.

Here is our rough route plotted on a map in link below, but bear in mind not all the roads and tracks are on the map so can be a bit confusing;
https://www.strava.com/routes/11458554

4. The Altitude
It’s high, very high, for large parts it’s over 4000m on the main roads that cross the plateau, so don’t rush up the climb onto the plateau or start off fast without a few days acclimatizing. We got caught out be how quickly the road climbed from Kangding.
Don’t forget to drink more at altitude too and ride downhill again if feel like not acclimatised, medical help is complicated, and probably many miles away.

5. Food
It is a combination of Chinese food and traditional Tibetan fare.

Tibetan food is dumplings, fried bread but in homestays (nothing official just people’s houses who invited us in for few yuan) we often had Sichuan Hotpot served to us! You can pick up dried food like yak meat, fruit and even some veg can be found in Tibetan shops/stalls. In Chinese shops you’ll find a good selection but it’s hard to work out what lots is. For cooking meals rice takes too long to boil at altitude so you’ll eat a lot of noodles and noodle soup! With tofu (pronounced dough-fu) easily available in Chinese shops and Buddhism it means vegetarians will probably get on OK.

If cooking your own food be aware that petrol for cooking on multi-fuel stoves is restricted in sale into fuel bottles due to risk of self immolation by protesting monks. We paid a lot to a mechanic who drained a tank for us.

6. Climate
It’s pretty good for cycling in Kham; being cool in summer due to the often high altitude, in summer it is wetter than winter with July/August being rainiest and it can snow any month of the year with September often seeing snow so don’t be unprepared. In winter it is a great time with clear visibility, if it snows it blows away in stronger winds. Essentially in winter it is dry and very cold being below freezing in December, January and February!



7. Wild Camping
The region felt very safe for wild camping and it’s a cultural acceptance as Tibetans live in tents, however the main concerns are wolves and clean water supply when you are up high. If you are on the plateau then the stars are amazing but it will get cold, water may freeze overnight or there simply is no running water so plan your route/water carried accordingly. Don’t expect to be given a place to sleep in monasteries while not unfriendly places they are busy places and not hostels!

8. Mystical beasts and how not to find them
Huge Tibetan Mastif dogs are seriously scary we saw a few tied up by tents and they are huge, we had no issues but I would recommend a rabies jab to buy some more time as they are renown animals… here’s a picture of one below.
We heard and saw wolves in the remote parts not far from villages so be aware but they’re probably more scared of you!

9. Sights
Monasteries, there’s a lot of amazingly interesting monasteries to explore. We visited 19 we think, but lost count. Some are modern but many are really old and fascinating places. In one particularly remote one up a huge winding climb we were met by silent stares from young monks. We camped nearby and later they arrived carrying packs of noddles for us! You may find a mixed reception at some because they don’t want to be tourist attraction or don’t really know why tourists are calling by, so be respectful and don’t impose. Stop and chat with the monks and maybe you’ll be invited for a guided tour, if not there’s probably another one up the road! Many are just pleased to see non-Chinese visitors. Although some modern ones are Chinese backed monasteries so bear that in mind too – China seems to be funding some huge new Buddhist complexes – it’s a complex part of the world.
The towns and cities are changing fast with police stations, army barracks and hotels being built rapidly at the expense of traditional Tibetan houses and shops, however most towns still have interesting parts completely in tact, normally near the monastery. For example Litang, Dege (Derge), Baiyu etc. all look concrete but are interesting places to explore behind the recent construction.

The printing press and the library of Tibetan engravings in Dege was particularly worth a visit.

Yarchen Gar the largest Buddhist monastery (10,000 monks and nuns) is also an amazing place but was restricted to foreigners last I heard so check carefully.

10. Permits, Visas and bureaucracy
You just need a Chinese visa, no extra permits for this area unlike the TAR. Bear in mind that the visa requires an itinerary for your stay and evidence of flights or train tickets in and out of the country. If you are riding in or out of China then you’ll most likely not get a visa if you state this you on the form, you really do need to provide evidence of plane/train tickets. This has changed over the last few years and is now much stricter. In reality the itinerary doesn’t need to match what you end up doing and putting an exact itinerary down that includes Xianjiang or Tibet/Kham may result in not getting a visa.

Get your visa in your home country too, it makes life a lot easier and most EU countries will now get a 2 year visa as standard, we asked for single entry and still got a 2 year multiple entry visa from London which has been handy!
Getting into the country overland is always a bureaucratic pain but if you have a valid visa you’ll get in despite a LOT of questions. Flying in and out is very easy and straight forward.
Police checkpoints in Kham never stopped us and basically ignored us on bikes unlike tour groups in vehicles, in the TAR or Xianjiang where you’ll be stopped a lot.

I hope that helps, any more questions drop them below…..



A gravel cycling loop in the North Lake District

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A gravel cycling loop in the North Lake District

The English Lake District isn’t immediately thought of as a huge gravel riding hotspot with tracks tending to be rough, steep and straight up and down, while the roads are normally paved along the valleys. However on closer inspection there are a few hidden gems to be found….

To be fair some of the country lanes are so rough I am glad to be on a gravel bike, combined with mud and thick leaves the chunkier tyres on my Tripster ATR in 650b mode it give a lot more reassurance when cornering at speed.

It was a testing day to say the least as I set off on a festive gravel spin. The ride started with a loop of Skiddaw trying to find an all weather route through the tracks lurking among the old mine workings behind Skiddaw.

With wet ground or rocky surfaces I was on the right set up with the Lauf Grit fork soaking up the rough stuff and 1.9″ tyres getting me traction when it got muddier.

Here is the route and I’d recommend it, in drier weather it would be super fast as it’s pretty flat just 1250m of climbing over 76km. In mid winter and gale force winds it was a fair bit slower…

Even the sheep were looking cold and miserable as the wind battered them. We saw these multicoloured HErdwicks keeping warm together;

After leaving the ancient mining tracks I joined one of my favourite lanes to ride in the Lakes that skirts from Mosedale to Latrigg. From Latrigg the road is closed to cars now but a lot of fun on a gravel bike with mud, gravel and pot holes to dodge!

The descent down to Keswick allows for a refuel at about 45km into the route.

The cycle path to Braithwaite is along the A66 before the climb up to Whinlatter begins. Soon after the road climb starts you can detour off into the forest and onto gravel. You canstay on gravel for most of the remaining ride too. After crossing the main road there track is rough having had harvesting machines digging it up and leaving debris, I rode it all but it was hard going, you might want to drop down and link up with the lower track on the map.

The forest was fun and I did the other half of the Blue MTB trail after doing the first half on the way up. THis is smooth at the moment and perfect on the Tripster ATR.

Then it was down towards Bassenthwaite lake and along the brutally steep cycle network path that detours up a good size hill in the direction of Whythop Mill and Embleton.

Altogether a fast ride off any busy Lakeland roads for its entirety. Well worth a loop in 2018 when the weather is maybe a bit better!

Kit List

Flaer Revo Terra

Lezyne Macro Drive Duo – This is new light is awesome because it has a day flash rear light and front in the same helmet based unit. I am loving it this winter and is bright enough to ride off road at night.

Lezyne Super GPS (24hr battery life on a GPS lasted the weekend on one charge!)

Praxis Works Alba Cranks (Alba for those that don’t know is the local name for Scotland so appropriate!)

Gore – Power Trail Gore Tex Jacket

Gore -Power Trail Gore Tex Shorts

6 Pros and Cons of Cycle Touring V’s Bikepacking

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6 Pros and Cons of Cycle Touring V’s Bikepacking

Why do I choose bikepacking bags over traditional cycle touring panniers?
This is still something I get asked a lot so I thought I’d write a blog to explain my experiences. The answer is subjective depending on what you value from riding a bike, I hope my answers below give an interesting insight into why I ditched panniers for my longer tours and what situations might see me using them again.

What is the difference between Cycle Touring and Bikepacking?
To me cycle touring is the concept of riding a bike loaded with racks and panniers and riding a route without going off road much nor with much consideration to speed or efficiency.

Bikepacking is not new because the concept of strapping bags to the bike is as old as bikes themselves. In the last 5 years new ways of attaching kit with improved bikepacking bags has seen it become massively popular and I was quick to adopt them. Why? You’ll have to read on…..

Five benefits of bikepacking

    1.  Aerodynamic

The frontal area and associated aerodynamic drag of a bike and rider accounts  for up to 90% of all resistance when pedaling a bike. If you look at the frontal area of a bike with bike packing bags it is hardly any different to a normal bike with a rider. If the rider tucks in behind the bar bag it is even better. The impact of cross winds can be more noticeable  but overall the impact of drag is much less than with bulky panniers sticking out like sails.

2. Weight evenly spread

With bags at the rear, front and middle, the weight of kit can be really well distributed so the bike’s handling isn’t impacted. This is may be more important off road but also lets you ride gravel and paved surfaces more comfortably too. The wheel traction is much more consistent for cornering fast rather than with uneven distribution which can cause the front wheel to drift or under-steer. The risk of mechanical failure by over-weighting the back wheel/rack, which is a common touring problem, is also reduced.

3. Lighter

This is a huge difference for going lighter. While some people may not care, I do. Based on the market leaders for each type of setup I will compare weights between Apidura and Ortlieb;

Bikepacking bags;

Apidura Saddlepack dry 17l                    420gms
Apidura Frame pack full large 14l            390gms
Apidura Bar bag 14l                               275gms

Total luggage space                               45litres
Total luggage weight                             1085gms

Pannier setup;
Ortlieb classic 20l rear pannier                   975gms each
Ortlieb Classic front 12.5l                          800gms each
Std rear rack e.g. Zefal Raider R70             1100gms
Std front rack e.g.Blackburn Outpost          550gms

Total luggage space                                65litres
Total luggage weight                              5200gms!!!!

Therefore before you add anything else you are already lugging uphill an extra 4.1kgs of empty pannier. To me that is just crazy and the main reason I ditched panniers. This is also before you are forced to cut back on your total kit by using smaller bikepacking bags. The total difference between average setups is normally over 10kgs. My bike and kit weighs around 22kg on longer trips. Below is a super light and fast weekend setup;

      4. Better off road handling

Panniers always flap a bit, bounce and make a lot more noise than bikepacking bags which are strapped tighter onto the bike. I am happy to blast down singletrack with bikepacking bags but as yet I’ve not found a pannier setup that lets me do the same. The movement when bouncing around often leads to a rack breaking after prolonged off road usage. There are few racks that survive weeks of this abuse see point 5….


5. More reliable

If a pannier breaks it’s often much harder to fix up. The attachments normally fail first and these can be hard to bodge back together well. The most common issue is the rack breaking, a screw working loose or the mount on the bike frame failing. All of these have happened to me on trips before when I have been using a variety of different panniers and racks. Sometimes I have fixed them and other times I have been in places where can buy replacements but still a pain.
Bikepacking bags can normally be easily repaired by using a spare strap to wrap around them or a dry bag inside. If a seam goes it won’t be hard to get it repaired by someone or you can carry needle and thread with you for clothes anyway. I have never had more than a zip fail on my Apidura bikepacking bags in 4 years.

6. Works with any bike

Bikepacking bags don’t need any fixings on the frame, no eyelets on the front nor back so you can use any bike. They also work with full suspension mountain bikes without issue which is one of their key selling points.

Five benefits of Cycle Touring and pannier

  1. Plenty of space for kit

We met lots of people on the Pamir highway with so much kit. To me it was simply crazy to lug so much stuff up to 4600m altitude. I asked a few of them what they actually had with them. The response was cold weather kit, which I had, but then they started listing things like a phone, a tablet and a laptop. Jeans, shirts and leather shoes. Coffee, coffee grinder and cafetiere, a dog, pot plants for fresh herbs. Basically if you like taking the comforts of home with you like these guys do, then you’ll need panniers because bikepacking bags won’t work for you.

2. Cheaper

Decent bikepacking bags are normally £50 – £120 each but some can be picked up more cheaply, but I’ll be honest I’ve not seen a cheaper seat bag yet that won’t badly swing, sag or break. However compared to panniers and a rack they are about the same price…..so why is it cheaper?
Because the main investment to consider is not the bags but the cost of upgrading your general gear to light and small items that perform just as well but fit into the reduced space of bikepacking bags – this is not cheap. Sleeping bags will cost £300 tents £300+, sleeping mats £100 etc. With panniers it is much easier to pop out to Decathalon and buy cheap, bulky and heavy kit and then just load the pannier space up and head off.
Essentially with panniers you can load up and go and save a huge amount on everything else.


3. Plenty of space for food and water

When bikepacking you need to find clever ways to take water and food for long remote sections of any route. It is hard to do and needs careful thought. With panniers you have space to just bung anything you fancy in them including spare water bladders. Easy.

4. Good for family travel

If you travel with kids you’ll probably need racks and panniers again to get all the kit into them. Bikepacking is very minimal and could increase the risk if something goes wrong. With panniers you can have more spare kit to cover your back and even toys for kids to be entertained!

5. Dropper Post compatible
A problem with bikepacking bags is that it can be hard to fully drop a seatpost on more technical descents. It takes a bit of fun out of technical mountain biking. You often see bikers use bar bags but a backpack and this is probably the reason why.

   6. Panniers are easier to pack and unpack

Bikepacking bags are a faff to pack and you have to leave some things behind that you’ll probably wish you had, no two ways about it panniers make life easier in that regard. In the morning you need to squeeze everything back in the bikepacking bags in the right order and very tightly. If you need those gloves you put in first everything else comes out to get at them! To stop the seat bags swaying you need to pack tightly and with structure. It’s easy once you get the hang of it but it’s more work than just dropping kit in a pannier.

If you need to take bags off the bike to cross a border checkpoint it is much easier to unclip panniers too to get them searched, having cross A LOT of borders it gets tiresome strapping and unstrapping!

Conclusions

You can always use a combination of setups. For example rear panniers with a front bar bag works well if need extra space with less weight. Many people use a seat pack and front panniers to spread the weight out better. I don’t get this set up personally as the front panniers are pretty small and add a lot more weight themselves. The picture below is one setup I experimented with. Essentially the panniers had empty bottles because I need the space for water for long stretches of desert in Uzbekistan.

Also be creative to add space for bikepacking; use tape to strap kit holders on, use snack pouches on the bars,  bolt bottle cages to spare parts of the frame like the rear stays or down tube. There’s no rules other than these ones.

I still own panniers because occasionally I still want to use them. For example a weekend where I want to take some beers, picnic rug, firewood etc. Then I’ll dig them out and load them up. Recently we went on a tour to collect plastic rubbish on remote beaches, we took panniers for this.

However for anything else get some bikepacking bags, you can live without that extra laptop or pair of jeans, leave the real world behind and cycle with an even bigger smile on your face. Get to the top of that climb quicker than you expected or travel 20 miles further than you thought!

I hope that helps any questions then please add them in comments below;

10 tips for wild camping when Bikepacking or Cycle Touring

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10 tips for wild camping when Bikepacking or Cycle Touring

While cycle touring or bikepacking around the planet it’s often necessary to sleep in random places. So far I have enjoyed the comfort of sleeping in places as diverse as a bus shelter, a mosque, a Buddhist monastery, outside petrol stations in Turkey and Chile or on the tops of mountains in Tibet. Why you ask?

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Gravel Heaven – A new route in the Scottish Borders

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Gravel Heaven – A new route in the Scottish Borders

I was already over 2000m of vertical climbing into the ride as I headed uphill further, the rough tracks had

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Bikepacking and the advent of winter in the Highlands

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Bikepacking and the advent of winter in the Highlands

Riding past the forest fringes my lights pick up a bar code of black tree trunks, then suddenly four sets of yellow eyes reflect menacingly from the depths beyond.

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Riding bikes in Switzerland – A photo Journal

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Riding bikes in Switzerland – A photo Journal

It’s easy to forget just how dramatic the roads in Switzerland are as it has been a wile since I was last here. The alps have so much character and charm and it’s great to be back here as we headed south across the Switzerland towards Zermatt last month. Switzerland’s renown all around the world as

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