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How are people this hard? Is there some kind of regimen I can follow that will allow me to do this kind of shit? I rode a fixed gear bike for about 2 weeks a few years ago. Just going 20 flat miles was exhausting and I will never forget the absolute panic of going down a big hill.

Thanks!

The website wont let me save the route I've spent a good hour or two adding to but the rough outline is here:

https://cycle.travel/map/journey/420391

I get the ferry to Rotterdam on Monday.

Essentially my entire trip depends on this happening to me. I'm relying on my body to adapt or I'm fucked.
I'm currently adding heaps of cols to my route and cackling at the idea that Im somehow going to have the energy to do them. I know it doesnt make sense but Im gonna try anyway. Hopefully after two weeks of not sleeping I magically become superman.

I ended up driving to Alpkit Hathersage and getting another mat for 55 quid that has double the R rating. I slept in the garden last night and could still feel the cold coming up through my hip. Then I woke up an hour later so hot that my organs were failing so I stripped down to my crackers. A while after that I woke up freezing.

Damn I envy you people that can even consider a good nights sleep minimal camping to be possible.
Hasn't happened to me yet. Ranges from zero to "actually that wasn't completely horrific, just really terrible"

I only managed an hour or two of sleep each night on my first tour. I was determined to make good sleep a priority this time round especially as I'll be away a long time. Not really sure I've managed it. It's such hard work trying to sleep in a tent I feel like I'm awake every 40 mins to spend 5 mins fucking about trying to roll over and get comfy again.

It takes up a huge amount of space. I quit my job to go on a tour but I've had 2 weeks off before I start and I think it's just too much time to overthink things.

Anybody got any thoughts on if it's a really shit idea to lug a closed cell foam mat around europe this summer because my inflatable mat has fuck all insulation and I think it will make a huge difference in the Alps and mountains in France in may?
I want to take it really badly but I equally really don't want to carry it.

What did you sleep in? Nobody wants to carry loads of weight

This project is back up and running again. I got covid around this time last year and it fucked me up a fair bit. I was okish after 3 or 4 months but was completely unmotivated to ride my bike for the rest of the year. Cycling is definitely back in my life as I want to go on as many trips as I can this year.

None of my initial plans for this bike have changed. I have recently bought a bunch more second hand parts and some cheap new bits and I should just about have everything to make a working bike.

I'm hoping to get the frame powder coated ASAP.

I don't really want to talk so much about parts and thoughts because it just goes on an on. Hopefully will have some quick progress from here and some photos.

Yeah writing easy to read sentences is definitely not one of my gifts.
I will have 2x 12.5L panniers on the rear with a dry bag on the top of the rack.

Thanks for the advice everyone :)

What can you do to fix the seat tube clamp?

I forgot to add that there's some slight marking on the top tube where a tyre was leant against it when transporting it in a car. It will probably come off easily if you know what you're doing but I never tried because I didn't want to scrub against the finish and make it worse.

I tried to sell this bike around 2 years ago. I changed my mind and put a steel fork on it and converted it to mechanical discs and then never rode it. It's a really weird situation that I need to be over now.

54cm Soma Double Cross frame with purple forks
Wheels made by Spa Cycles - Kinlin rims, hope rs4 rear hub, SP dynamo front
New bits:
Tiagra 10 speed mechanical levers
46/30 GRX crank
GRX derailleurs
Juin Tech R1 calipers
FSA Headset

this is the geometry: https://bikeinsights.com/bike-geometries/5a5909e6ebb67a0014327c6c-2017-soma-fabrications-double-cross-disc-54?buildId=5ecc507923cdd4001773c0aa

There's a really short stem on atm that you will likely want to change for something else.

I have a price of £1,500 in my head. It's not really based on anything.

I'm in Doncaster, South Yorkshire

Would anybody say it was a shit idea to do this in the middle of a 3 month long European tour? I would have a much heavier setup than if I was packed just to do this route on its own.
Were talking rear rack with 2 ortlieb front panniers (25L) with a tent strapped on top kind of jobby.
I could probably do the whole trip with 2 inch tyres and I've got pretty low gears.

Well if you reckon it matches up to these numbers that would be a massive help

https://bikeinsights.com/bike-geometries/6217aafb1e1ee100236b9551-2017-holdsworth-bikes-stelvio-base-m-53cm

Thanks

Do you know if this is branded with a L or M size? Im looking at the geo on bike insights and wondering if they match up. Cheers.

It's complicated. The power usage doesn't stay constant and it depends on hash rate and other things. I cant find a source for it but...

Forbes is saying here that the average carbon footprint of a bitcoin transaction is 369.49 kgCO2eq.
A return from London to New York is quoted at 986kg here. So yes it's within the same ball park definitely.
I also just came across this claiming that one bitcoin transaction produces the same e-waste as binning two iphones.

So if you must invest in bitcoin do it through Paypal where it's just a number on your account and you're not in danger of locking yourself out of your wallet. Ethereum is also similarly terrible.

There are benefits to having your crypto in the care of a custody provider like Paypal. You cant lose it by accident. When you say getting an understanding of how it works you mean transacting and each transaction has the carbon emissions of a transatlantic flight (fuck bitcoin).

I absolutely loved my DFAM. I'm all about sampling when I make music and my kit is essentially a bunch of sound makers and then a bunch of samplers to record, resample and sequence the sounds. The DFAM does spit out techno but you have to capture the sounds and manipulate and sequence.
I sold it to buy plane tickets like 4 years ago and I'm still paying it off somehow.

I just took delivery of a Pendle this afternoon. It's a beauty and I'm so glad that I have just enough tyre clearance with it strapped to the seat post. It fits my 1 man tent, footprint and sleeping pad and no more. I took days of deliberating over which one to get and I went through pretty much every page of this thread.
Does anyone know if there's a reason why I cant mount a Nitto M18 on the back as a support with P clips on the seat stays?

Also if anyone is here from =~tHE FutURe##- looking back for info on saddle to tyre clearance give us a message and I'll get the tape measure out.

No I actually wanted to make music lol

I went from making all my music on Ableton to hardware only (then mixing in Ableton). It was a long journey and cost me a lot of money. A lot cheaper than a bike habit though. I had a spare room just for music for a year and a half and it was such an enjoyable way to create after years of trying to reach a satisfying setup. The space went and I haven't made any music since.

Hooooly shit! There's no mucking around here at all! It looks fantastically odd. How does it ride? Can we see more photos? Can you put a dog in there? get a dog maybe? ha

oh wow that's very generous and open of you, I appreciate that a lot thank you. Yes I'm in South Yorkshire for the foreseeable future. I will get it done for sure even if its a very agricultural finish. Don't worry if there's one thing I'm going to do this year it's ride my bloody bike! Cheers

ah thanks mate. My dad's buzzing now. I've sorted all the problems listed except the hole in the roof. It's me I'm worried about haha no idea what I'm supposed to do now. Anyway yeah I'm going to have to wait for better weather. unless anybody reccomends just going for it? I've thought about simply getting some hammerite from Halfords but I dont think I want to go through the arse ache of chucking on a temporary finish and then have to strip it and do it all again a few months later.