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I'll even take Kop Hill out of the route if that can tempt more people along

Anyone looking to move on a turbo?

Looking for a Wahoo Kickr Core or similar. South London collection would be great

I'd be up for next Saturday (14th) if others can make it

I'm in

Conditions looking ideal, can't wait!

I've got a mini abus chain lock for this. Feels like one slight step up in security from the cable tie ones but still light enough and packs into bags or pockets pretty well

I'm in but will probs meet you top of College Road

Who's in for next week? Autumnal lanes guaranteed

gone

Been given this to pass on to someone who can use it. There is roughly 500ml of sealant left in the bottle.

I don't use tubeless so can't comment on if it's any good but it's free

Collect from SE26

I've got some Sram S500 levers and probs a brake calliper you could use if you're stuck. SE26 based

I'd say it's got a lot to do with your start time. Get a 5am start and you could probs avoid any night riding and keep a somewhat normal ish sleep schedule.

• Start each day between 4am and 6am
  
• Start planning for a stop late afternoon and figure out where you might be around 9pm to 11pm
  
• Repeat
  
  

I'd caveat that though and say I haven't rode LEL before

Will be there and will do whatever route!

2nd for the g-ones if they don't go. I can collect

Anyone for tomorrow?

Yeah also out, looking at the weather I think getting wet is inevitable which I cba with today

I'll be there!

Just back from testing the route and biblical rain aside it's all look good!

Sort of, I tried a bunch of shops but couldn't find anything that worked.

I used a needle and thread to stitch a diy zipper stop looking thing which I covered with a dab of rubber cement (from a puncture repair kit) to make my own stop. It doesn't look great and a bit fiddly to use but works fine and seems to be lasting for now

Yep!

Might be jumping the gun a bit but very up for getting some dates down to try and keep some days free for this years rides!

@youramericanlover, et al. any chance you have some dates in mind? Happy to throw some out there for Oct/Nov/Dec, can also help sort routes etc as well

Dynamo lights back on to hopefully get me riding this for longer rides again

Thank you, very kind! I would add that was 7th finsher in what was a small event with an even smaller pool of people treating it as a race but i’ll take it! So much happened over the 2,400km, far more than a post, but will give a bit of a summary. For anyone who has it on their to do list, I’d highly reccomend it!

Ireland definitely delivered and the west coast certaintly lived up to the ‘Wild Atlantic Way’ name. On the occasions where I could lift my head up without getting battered by wind and rain the scenery was incredible with more variation than I was expecting. Passing through 10 counties you could really see the changes in the coastline, plants and animals as you contiuned further south.

The first two days were a tough start, plenty of punchy climbs, horrednous headwind with sideways rain and a longer gravely/off road section. The headwind was making some 3% climbs feel more like 20% and I walked a few short sections as it felt like a more conservative use of energy while maintaing essentially the same speed. It wasn’t all doom and gloom though, I think almost everyday I would go from wearing almost full winter kit to getting sun burned with the sunny sections standing out way more in my memory now its over. Gap of Dunloe was pretty character building with some truly atroicus weather. I was pretty envious when I saw photos of riders having a great time with no wind and blue skies in the hours either side of when I went through. One plus is the wind helped keep the clouds moving so if you did get stuck in a downpour you knew it wouldn’t last all day.

My plan going into it was keep it fun and get round safe. To try make this happen I wanted to ride all day while allowing enough time to chill a bit at the end of each day and get a minimum of 6 hours sleep. This kept me averaging not far from 300km a day, sometimes less, sometimes a bit more. All going to plan until the 6th day when I crashed in the morning losing my front wheel in a sea of deep potholes and gravel (I was too busy watching a deer in the field next to me). This left me and the bike a bit battered, no more front shifting and a slightly less functional body. Feeling sorry for myself that night I checked into a B&B to have my first night in a proper bed and a bit of a reset. After a longer sleep and a decent breakfast I got the bike working again and was able to continue just at a slightly slower pace.

Overall, I was super happy with my bike set up and packing. Tent and mat in a rubble sack strapped to the top of the rear rack. Then two ortleib fork bags on either side, one for clothes and one for sleeping bag. Felt sooo much less faffy than typical bikepacking bags and think I saved a noticeable amount of time each day not playing tetris to get saddle and bar bags properly packed and secured. Rubble sack and velcro starps is the future! Used the tent a good few nights, audax hotels, a hostel and a B&B.

Oh and the amount of random loops and out and backs down peninsulas was actually less soul destroying than it looks on paper. The detours were mostly worth it and it was a great opportunity to visit dead end car parks with the occasional lighthouse, what a treat.

Me and @jmg412 will be there

keen for that