Retrobike Touring.

[Joe_Rides]

Re:

The campsite owner had stables so let me put it in one of those overnight.

To save weight I didn't take my U-lock, instead I took 2 very cheap & thin cable locks, just as a deterrent really. There wasn't anything to lock the bike up to in the stable so I just locked the front & back wheels to the bike and hoped for the best (they didn't lock the stables over night).

I had originally assumed that I would have to rig the bike to my tent overnight - I'm a light sleeper so any movement would wake me up.

 

[xerxes]

Re:

When I went, my friend and I both had cable locks. We camped in the corner of the site and locked the bikes to a fence just a few feet from the tents.

I'm thinking of getting a folding lock, some are a bit lighter than my long cable lock, they can't be cut in two seconds with wire cutters and, importantly, they fold into a much more compact and easier to stash shape:

No where near as secure as a beefy U lock, but fortunately, the countryside isn't as full of thieving scum-bags with bolt croppers and angle grinders as inner city London.

 

[Joe_Rides]

Re:

I like the idea of the Litelok, however they're £100!!

https://www.litelok.com/

No where near as secure as a beefy U lock, but fortunately, the countryside isn't as full of thieving scum-bags with bolt croppers and angle grinders as inner city London.

Yeh once I got into the quiet area's, any paranoia of thieves pretty much dispersed. My bike is pretty old and not in any way fashionable, it's dirty & very heavy with the panniers etc, so I try not to get too worried about it.

Obviously location is everything though I guess.

 

[hamster]

I'm with you Joe - a light cable lock deters the casual thief, the rest of the time I'm close to the bike. Would I park it like that in a city centre? No.
But I don't tour in city centres.

 

[xerxes]

Re:

I like the idea of the Litelok, however they're £100!!

At ~1.4kg, they're not that lite(sic) either.

This is the one I was looking at, half the price and a third the weight and a nice small shape that should be easy to tuck away somewhere: https://www.rosebikes.co.uk/abus-bordo- ... er-2662628

 

[The History Man]

I have a mid weight combination cable lock sold secure for touring.

 

[was8v]

You went over cross o greet on a fully loaded touring rig!?

Also that climb from gisburn mtb trail centre up over the moor towards bentham I am sure is vertical in places.

Well done, you didn't do it by halves.

 

[Joe_Rides]

You went over cross o greet on a fully loaded touring rig!?

It would appear so

Also that climb from gisburn mtb trail centre up over the moor towards bentham I am sure is vertical in places.

Lots of pushing required!!!

Well done, you didn't do it by halves.

Thanks! I feel quite proud now :mrgreen:

 

[Trebz]

Bump...because I know some of you are out there doing stuff hehe

 

[hamster]

I'm just back from a quick overnight run out onto Dartmoor for a spot of bonding with No.2 son.
We left the car at the free park and ride in Plymouth, then rode up the Plym Valley trail. A short hitch across by road (and some killer hills) took us to Barrator Reservoir and an ice cream.

From there we picked up another railway to King's Tor, well inside the Dartmoor wild camping area. The weather forecast was good, so I skimped on taking a tarp and trusted to the eBay Belgian Army bivi bags bought a few years ago. Dinner was rapidly brewed up on the Jetboil and then we snuggled down into our bivvys.

I woke a couple of times between midnight and 3am, catching a beautiful view of the Perseid meteors with the dark sky and lack of light pollution. In addition there were the the usual naked-eye sights of the Andromeda Galaxy and satellites passing overhead. A splatter of drizzle woke me later, but I rolled the bivi bag over and went back to sleep, after adjusting my son's.
I woke to the trickle of cold water down my neck at 0500...the weather forecast was not exactly right - and it was raining half-heartedly. At 0540 my son suggested we got up as things were not going to improve - at best it would be lying in damp sleeping bags. It was the right call, and we packed quickly and were off 20 minutes later. But the early start saw a lovely ride back to Plymouth with dawn sunshine drying us off. A stop on the Plym trail a few miles out of Plymouth to brew coffee and riding over the three viaducts in the sun cheered us.
Next time I'll bring the tarp regardless of the forecast!!!