Thanks Geoff :D

@@GrasmereHikeAndFly thanks! Yeah the batteries definitely add some weight ;)

Haha I didn’t catch that bit. Did you sort the camelbak in the end? I found that my long flasks didn’t fit into my pockets when full and wobbled around so I’ll look for different shape ones for the next race. I thought the small ridge would be enough to get up but next year I’ll make sure I get straight to the best highest takeoff

The filter was a great addition. It also removed the fiddly step of threading the camelbak through the harness

Drinking from the flask in flight is not so easy but possible on glide as I have it in my harness side pocket

Glad you enjoyed it :)

Yeah although some amazing options when the weather is good there. Proper mountains IMO

Amazing event. I was so happy to achieve the goal this year. Next year I can start thinking about speed around the course!

Yes! I might have seen you on sports track live.

@@BenBowlerAdventures what watch is it you’re using Ben. And what nav app. I ran out of phone battery (and backup battery). So am considering a watch for hike nav.

@@dellybeanhead Apple Watch Ultra, the app is TopoGPS which works on the iPhone as well and allows you to buy squares of OS maps which is really great! Route planning features are ok, not the best but good enough to give you an idea of where to go. I also suggest taking a massive batter, I took the Anker 737 and had more and enough battery the whole weekend.

Do you have any events like it out your way?

@@BenBowlerAdventures There are, but they're quite scarce.

Thanks Carl, keep up the training for next year and you'll get further I'm sure!

Glad you enjoyed it!

It really was, I felt the temperature change and tasted the saltyness in the air. It's still vivid today!

Thanks, it was an adventure and I'm excited for future adventures too!

Hey I missed your comment! How are you both? Let me know your plans with the narrow boat

Thanks. I hope to share more. I’ve been having some adventures but not had the time to edit them. If you’re keen I will share!

Yes I’ve had lots queued up but not had the time to edit

That's interesting, I tended to stick to roads on this trip so it was very good. I'm planning an upcoming gravel trip and will need to do exactly what you mention. Google Earth is good for getting a better idea of the terrain.

@@BenBowler Yeah, the routes Komoot finds here are usually really picturesque compared to other apps. But there’s often little difference between what it displays as “Bike Tour” vs “Mountain Bike”, “Road Bike” etc. Sometimes the Mountain Bike route takes main roads whereas the Bike Tour doesn’t. Inexplicable. And the maps inside the mobile app often don’t clearly show stations or distinguish “green” areas from regular urban areas, which Google does very well. Also Komoot might show me a regular road even though a hundred meters away there’s a small path alongside a river (which I’d always prefer). So I have to manually add waypoints to force it to go along the river path. Maybe this is because there are fewer Komoot users here so the routes aren’t so well established? In any case, I hope in future updates the app allows more personalization so one can for example choose options like “include short steep gradients”, “avoid main roads”, “prioritise natural features” and so on.

@@pavinder My feeling is because it uses the Open Street map dataset it's always going to be less precise than something like Google especially when you can use the satellite view mode. What I've always thought is that, as they have the data from hundreds of thousands of cyclists and runners they can use that to build a better model for routing for each activity type. It's a chicken and egg situation though because if everyone follows a Komoot route to start with they won't improve. Also if you're doing a tour through some remote region that only a few people have every cycled through then there will never be enough data and it's down to us and Google Earth and plotting points manually. One think I'd also look at is if there has been an existing adventure race through that region, find the GPX for that event and import it to Komoot (or find it on there, most already are on there). I did this for my recent TransWales trip and am looking at a few of these for a Morocco trip coming up and they have been really really useful, although again, in Wales there was a segment of the route that chose a busy A road over a parallel road in a deserted valley...

I have a spreadsheet because I love doing those! That said my ideas evolve over time. Since getting back to the UK I've switched to more of the api-dura style bags and smaller kit to make things lighter and more aerodynamic.

Ah yes, it's a critical part of any aviation dicipine IMO

So true!! What are you using? I've switched to a MSR tent for mid length tours and an British Army bivvy when I'm really roughing it.

@@BenBowler a basha.

:) They know!

:) tents are crazy small these days too

@Will Swift I've become spoiled since I made this video and I take my MSR Hubba Hubba everywhere with me. I have a British Army bivvy but comfortwise having the space, the porch to keep your bags dry and the bug net to keep the flies and mozzies out is so nice.

@@BenBowlerAdventures wow Ben, thank you so much for your detailed response, among with the video, now i have a great info. i used to live in London for many years, last place was in Crystal Palace, now i am living in Oslo. My plan is to start in Goa, cycling to the south quite the same like you, then to Bengaluru, Chennai and i like your comments about the roads to Delhi though the interior of India, then i am really interested on Rajasthan area, to follow the road to Gir National Park and the Lions to ending Mumbai, i would love to do Ganges, Punjab, Kashmir and the Himalaya but i dont know yet, i have to investigate about visas, traffic, India is so huge and i know the trip could change in terms of stays, covered distances per day and so on, but seeing your fabulous experience push me to do it even more, without thinking too much about details, thank you Ben, good fortune on the road

I’m one of those users who stubbornly hangs back on the most stable OSX (currently the lightning fast High Sierra) until I get forced to update. From what I have seen the move from iTunes to Music with the Finder window seems really great.

This is helpful for this with initial questions about switching - kzfaq.info/get/bejne/i7Oip7KGudemlH0.html

Dan Formless Thanks a lot!

@@formlessuk I've got another issue with iTunes.. I have set the "Keep my media folder organised" to UNchecked, and still, it won't stop creating separate folders for artists and albums, even after I changed the storage location to a dedicated iTunes downloads folder on my SD.. have been looking for solutions on the internet, but I haven't found anything covering that topic. Can you help?