I suppose there is always a stats page and stuff

Broken front derailleur, was a real pain, and it did throw me off my mental rhythm a bit. The back tyre is nearly bald, but they have had to work hard, I’ll get another pair of these, Zipp G40.

The tent poles are sticking and in need of some lubrication. One of the mesh attachement point on the tent is seriously, possibly terminally, ripped. There are now multiple holes in bottom of the tent. It is with great regret i will probably have to replace this possibly with a Zpacks Duplex.

The small rack that supports my seat pack broke and is still welded together fine 🤞but it is with great regret that i will probably have to replace this, but they still make an upgraged model.

My Atticus Shorts lycra dying fast. The Thermarest mat is squashed and needs replacing. My cooker is not screwing onto the gas cannister, replacement needed.

The Reilly Gradient frame is spectacular.

The Stayer All Road wheels are spectacular

The Zipp G40 tyres have been great.

The new Di2 GRX has been a dream to use…… of course except for the broken front derailleur. I use an XT 28/38 mountain bike crank (26/40 would probably be perfect)

I was in UAE/Oman for 31 days and i rode on 25 of those.

I covered 2392 kms so 95.7 kms/day. It is interesting (well to me) that i say to people i do an average of 100kms a day. But to actually hit that average you really do have to have so few lesser days.

I gootta say Ramadan changed the perspective of the trip a fair bit as well. 🤷‍♂️ just another hurdle.

I met Nicola at Tom’s house at the beginning and then again 6 days later in Hatta. I said to him then that the trip had been so good to that point i could go home the next day and be happy. So the next 20 days really were a bonus top and they were fantastic as well.

An adventure trip for me is having to work for the pleasure, i suppose classic type 2 fun. I do like a bit of suffering. I do like it when things go wrong and i have to make an effort to fix/organise things. Of course it’s a bit of a hassel. I am going to say the wanky phrase that Brett will berate me for which is, Adventure begins when certainty ends. When the outcome is already a foregone conclusion its hardly worth doing.

To cycle 900 kilometers through a flat featureless desert in the middle of ramadan in the blazing sun. Some people may question the joy in this 🤔 (yep Brett again) But when i booked the trip that was in my mind. And the whole thing played out exactly as i desired. I was stretched physically and mentally. And that can only be good.