Posts by JimRidesThis!

So, California is just like the Highlands (but not quite as good, obviously) 😂

Thanks for the RR Philip. Very enjoyable 👍

Beautiful 🤩

Quote from jonikaye

at the minute it's pretty hard to get anything round here. I have 88 miles in the tank so hopefully will find something on way up. we are having to isle of arran on Thursday then across and up the coast to the corran ferry on Friday, so will be there Friday evening at some point. looking forward to it.

The fuel situation seems okay in the Carlisle area if you’re coming over the A66, and my mates in Sunderland say there’s little problem finding fuel over that side of the country. Both within your 88 mile range!

Hope you all have a great time. I’ll be thinking of you as the rain pelts down on my nice warm chalet nr Inverarnan 😉

Hello. Also from south of the border 😁

Bugg3r, I’ve double-booked!

I’ll be at Inveranan that same weekend (on the bike but in a luxury cabin 😁), so could you take me off the list please Craig, and apologies for the mess around.

Jim

I have a back issue that means somewhere to sit in camp is absolutely essential. I’ve had a cheap Helinox One copy for some years and it’s been brilliant. The small pack size and light weight (1.1kg) make it ideal for slinging on the bike.

The negatives for me are that I do find it a little low for comfort and you do have to find a way of stopping the legs penetrating soft ground, but there are plenty of diy fixes for both issues. For me the pros far outweigh the cons.

And, I’d still be more than happy with it if a mate hadn’t recently bought a ‘high back’ Helinox chair. As well as the high back it also perches you further off the ground. I found it very comfortable and it improved the height issue. Hmmmn 🧐.

The knock-off copy I bought off Amazon weighs 100 grams more (1.2kgs) and is slightly more bulky, but it’ll still easily fit in a pannier. The ally poles are a slightly thicker diameter but other than that the construction seems to be very similar. For £31 it seems like a bit of a bargain!

Here they are side-by-side…

I’ll post a photo of them packed and give you the vital statistics in an update!

To give a balanced review, Mrs. JRT prefers the smaller orange chair, she finds it more comfortable saying the cut of the seat material is more supportive. The headrest on the high back chair was in the wrong place for her too. Trouble is, it’s not removable and it’s not adjustable.

Quote from philipbarrett

I was a medium grade fan until I got to work with them on the Work Tour, a very impressive bunch of guys & an amazing live show. The wife has seen them many times, including the night before she gave birth to ur 2nd! She tells him that his love of music was due to his almost appearing at an REM concert.

I like a lot of their music, also the fact that they held their egos in check right through their career as a band. They never fell out over ‘musical differences’, shared the money equally and remained friends from to end. Or so the story goes.

By coincidence I was listening to their ‘Out of Time’ album on my bike trip yesterday 👍

… as well as Primal Scream’s ‘Give Out But Don’t Give Up’ and ‘Screamdelica’ 😁🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿😁

On the A6 north of Kendal. I think I was up to ‘Come Together’ (one of my favourites) about then. 😂

There’s a special space for sausage entries? (oo er) 😐

Snugpak Navigator Update:

I have now used the sleeping bag in camping manoeuvres. My initial thoughts informed by one nights use…

Pros: Thoughtfully constructed - no snagging zips; box-baffle construction, so no cold spots; warm enough for 3 season use.

Cons: It’s a bit bulkier and heavier than I would like.

Verdict: It’ll do until I find or make my perfect ‘bag or blanket. I’ll probably go with down for lightness and compressibility.

There does seem to be some talk of a larger displacement Himalayan. Whether that’s a larger single or based on the 650 twin I don’t know. Could be interesting 🧐

Says here non-members are welcome - https://www.campsites.co.uk/se…and-caravanning-club-site

Quote from LargeWayRound

Last day to get a picture on this thread ......

Classic! 😂

Bends, you can’t beat bends to lighten the mood 😁

Looking across the border 👍

Add me to the Master List please Craig. Something to look forward too!

Well, at last Wee Jimmie Krankie’s set out a plan. Flyfifer can book in for bouffant and hopefully Three Dawg’ll get some bookings in his holiday gaffs 👍

More importantly, I can now plan a camping trip somewhere up on the west coast 😁😁😁

Keeping with the Scottish bands theme, I'm back on to...

Primal Scream in their let's be Rolling Stones era.

Though this is back on my regular playlist too...

Good news about your insurance Three Dawg, that takes some of the financial pressure off 👍 and I totally agree on the efficacy of Boris’ words ... or any other politician north, south, east or west of the border for that matter.

I don’t think the plan to ease lockdown is particularly ‘cheery’, but it has given businesses and the public with some dates to tentatively plan around. Whether things go to plan, we’ll have to wait and see, but driving that stake in the ground is probably responsible for the increase in bookings in England. A colleague who has a rental property in Keswick is now booked solid until the end of June - every booking coming after the release of the ‘roadmap’ last Monday.

Sturgeon’s plans seem much less clear (have any been publicised?) and the general tone seems to be that visitors are not welcome. On the local news (SW Scotland & The Borders) it seems that the Holyrood power base is more focussed on another referendum and squashing any suggestions of complicity in the Alex Salmond affair. 😂

Quote from Three Dawg

I think this year is going to be a rerun of 2020. The south west of England is reporting good forward bookings, especially self catering, but we're seeing absolutely nothing in our sector up here at the moment. So brace yourselves for campervans clogging up the NC500 and yobs shitting in hedges and leaving their 'disposable' camping gear all over the shop.

Chin up Three Dawg. I think the problem is that while there's a well publicised outline of what will open when in England, but the information about Scotland is less clear.

My usual spring Scotland trip with the Sunderland Posse has been rebooked for October (keeping my fingers crossed for that one), so I've been organising a summer long weekend camping to keep us going. We're looking at the Peak District rather than north of the border because we have all the information about when campsites should be able to reopen. I guess we'll just have to see what happens.

Quote from Three Dawg

We've reinstated the weeks we blocked out. Doesn't look like foreign travel is going to be easy any time soon.

One big problem is how quickly they roll out the vaccine in less developed countries - how can accommodation be open when the disease could still be rife in the local population, even if we are protected by the vaccine.

From what I’ve read the thinking is, that until there’s a high level of vaccination world-wide, we’re all still vulnerable to new virus mutations that are vaccine resistant.

I’ve shelved my plans for a Scandinavian trip this year, my contact over there tells me that Norway has hardly started a vaccination programme yet and he doesn’t think they’ll be opening the borders for tourism any time soon.