gizza5 Posted February 22, 2007 Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 Some advice for this years event..................... Your rucksack can never hold everything you want, but they CAN hold everything you need. Wear Heavy Boots. You can't kick ''Rocks'' when you're wearin' yer Wellies You'll get farther down the road if you learn to back her off a bit. Never ask your bike to scream before her throat is good and warm. If you ride like there's no tomorrow-there won't be. Daily maintenance should never be neglected, and is advisable If it take more than 2 bolts to hold it on, it's probably crucial. Maintain your bike well: motorcycle boots are NOT comfortable for walking. If you can't get it goin with bungees and electricians tape-it's serious. A friend is someone who'll get out of bed at 2am to drive his van to the middle of nowhere to get you when you're broken down. Never ask ''Kinell'' for directions if you want to get there. Don't lead the pack if you don't know where you're goin'. Burgers and Coffee at the lunchtime check are as important as petrol. A cold hamburger can be reheated quite nicely by strapping it to your exhaust pipe. A good rider has balance, judgement, and good timing. Thats us knackered then! If you don't ride in the rain-then you entered the wrong event. Overconfidence can be supported by your tools in your rucksack................and a roll of toilet paper. Advice from and ''Old Timer'' is free and worth every penny. More sections were cleaned in the pub than on the actual day. New riding gear dosn't make you ride better, and Lycra ain't waterproof. You gotta be smart enough to understand the no stop rules, and dumb enough to think when your on your A*se you will get away with a '3' Everyone crashes. Some get back on. Some don't. Some can't. Any other advice that may be useful? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kinell Posted February 22, 2007 Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 (edited) If it take more than 2 bolts to hold it on, it's probably crucial.Don't lead the pack if you don't know where you're goin'. Advice from and ''Old Timer'' is free and worth every penny. More sections were cleaned in the pub than on the actual day. My favourites Any other advice that may be useful? From me? Edited February 22, 2007 by Kinell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jordan80 Posted April 21, 2007 Report Share Posted April 21, 2007 This will be my first Scottish and I'll need a Camelback to suckle. There are FIVE pages of different style Camelback's. Can anyone advise on the best type? Cheers Bignose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ishy Posted April 21, 2007 Report Share Posted April 21, 2007 Get water at the fuel stops, only thing you need on your body, waterproofs, fiver, route card. Dry feet are worth a lot more than the ability to kick rocks, have Gizza do that for you. Less you carry, the more time you have to go a little slower and avoid punctures and missing route markers, taking all that crap off you back and putting it back on at every group takes time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gizza5 Posted April 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2007 It is personal preference how you wish to get round each day in the SSDT, whether it be strap the lot to your bike or carry a camelback/rucksack. The rucksacks came in several years ago, everyone was in those days strapping most to their bikes and carrying a bumbag, but the first to carry a rucksack did get some strange looks How things have changed. One of the problems with strapping everything to your bike is that your bike is not what you are used to riding week in week out, this can be a bit off putting when you tackle the first few sections on Monday. Personally I go for the Camelback option as you need plenty of fluids out there and the last thing you want to be is de-hydrated, tools and spare gloves in it and the bike with nowt on it Watch the regular riders and look where they dump there camelbacks as you can save youself a load of time on some groups by picking it up on the way out. Good Luck on your first SSDT, you will wonder what you ever let yourself in for at times, but you will enjoy it............... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ishy Posted April 21, 2007 Report Share Posted April 21, 2007 That's the whole Idea of riding the Mont Gizza, if I wanted to carry a tool shed round with me, I would have rode a different bike Look at Carlos, only thing he has carried round with him in 17 years or so, is a smile, I found the more I carried the more I hurt, last year I carried nothing but a few things inside the seat, without a doubt! it had the least toll on my old bones of any previous year I had ridden. I'm down to being able to repair a puncture and remove the spark plug, because the amount of things that could go wrong if !!!! you would need a tow hitch to pull the tool box round. I agree you have to do what works best for yourself, main thing for me is how can I enjoy it the most. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jordan80 Posted April 21, 2007 Report Share Posted April 21, 2007 I really appreciate the advice, many thanks. I have an xc-ting camelback thingy that I use for hare and hounds, that should do the job. I have a seat like yours now Ishy, you say you put stuff in it. Where? Have you chizzled out some space? If I could get a front tube stuffed in it.... Just ridden for 2.5 hours at Hawkes Nest. This is the nearest thing to Manchester that is anything like Bonny Sotland. Bignose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ishy Posted April 21, 2007 Report Share Posted April 21, 2007 1.5 inch back from the front mounting hole, I cut a 3.5 x 3.5 inch hole, you can stuff a tube in and a tyre lever, then I make a flap that just tucks in and covers the hole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overthehill Posted April 21, 2007 Report Share Posted April 21, 2007 (edited) Any other advice that may be useful? Look after your bike - especially in the sections where you could break levers/bars mastercylinders etc - if you dont break it you wont have to fix it. - also on the road - if this is your first scottish you will never have ridden your bike for so long on the road - back it off, its got to last all week remember. next the routecard - it has a load of information on it including a rough map - note the section group letters as you go through them and the mileages between them - if you miss out a group your out of the awards. some of the most experienced riders carry little more than a spare tube, some dogsh** and a little pencil. - the pencil is to tick off the groups they do and work out their times. - get your time wrong and you could regret it - ask Dabs!! finally - enjoy it - as Gizza says, you will at times wonder why you are subjecting yourself to this and vow never to come back again, but your first scottish it is an experience you will never forget, take a few moments to look around you as you ride through some of the most remote and wonderful parts of Scotland, we are priveliged to be allowed to ride our bikes over these mountains - appreciate and enjoy them. and lastly - watch out for the green bits (photo E Kitchen) Edited April 21, 2007 by overthehill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jordan80 Posted April 22, 2007 Report Share Posted April 22, 2007 Cheers GIZZA5, Ishy and overthehill, Your advice is like gold to us first-timers. Half of me is excited, the other half filled with dread. The beers are on me I think! I'll be carrying some malt loaf and energy bars to knor at too. Bignose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highland lassie Posted April 22, 2007 Report Share Posted April 22, 2007 This one's worth a quick scan... SSDT Newcomer's Guide Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jordan80 Posted April 22, 2007 Report Share Posted April 22, 2007 Thanks for that HL. I think I've read that guide 50 times already. I'm going to get a plastic sleeve that has a seal to put the timecard into. What size is it? Cheers Bignose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perce Posted April 22, 2007 Report Share Posted April 22, 2007 why? it's on waterproof paper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jordan80 Posted April 22, 2007 Report Share Posted April 22, 2007 Thanks PERCE, didn't know that. Bignose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gizza5 Posted April 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2007 why? it's on waterproof paper. Yes they are now, but if it is Pi**ing down with rain (happens quite a lot up there), it is better to carry your time card in a plastic bag. This will help the observer write any delay timings clearly so there is no dispute later. You will not be happy if you look at the results the next morning to see you have incurred time penalties through a time card they struggle to read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.