New kit

Winter - time to shed a skin. Upgraded the drivetrain and new wheels: 36 hole Sputnik rims with LX670 hubs and double butted spokes - £180. I'll be recycling the old wheels/hubs for use on my town bike. Despite the Alex DH19 failing on the Panorama I have managed to locate a replacement in Germany for €15 plus €14 del. My LBS will happily swap the rims for £30.00.

Comfort and sleep are often neglected when camping.  After all, the mission is the ride and the bike and not the snug-as-a-bugness of your tenting gear. One of my cyclo-buddies doesn't get a wink of shut-eye in a tent and so after the three days of a dash, he is not a happy chappy and any kind of eye contact or attempt at communication is best avoided. However, I am striving to get my tent stuff to be comfy. I can't be doing with the claustrophobic confines of mummy bags. I'm not the only one. The worldwidewebbernet is collapsing under the weight of the confessions of anonymous, secular camper types who are rejecting mummy bags: they want freedom! They want to be able to hang a leg out if it gets a bit warm! They have had enough of unzipping!

And so I have gone for a quilt.

There are not a lot to choose from. There the Thermarest offerings: regulus, vela and auriga. These are either too heavy or not warm enough. Then there are the sleeping bags that unzip to become a quilt or blanket. I wanted something to come in at less than a kilo, less than 30cmx20cm compressed, and season 2/3 ish -12 to +3 to +9 (this temperature range should not be confused with your chainset teeth configuration). I checked out the North Face Aluetian range (too bulky), the Deuter treklites(not bad but a wee bit bulky), RAB explorer 300 - fantastic but discontinued. Exped - good but pricey. Then I came across this by accident - on sale. A bit pricey even with the sale price but otherwise it exactly fits the bill - except, being a quilt, it does not have a temperature rating. But, by going by the fill weight, it must be reasonably warm and it is advertised for use in spring/summer:

Mountain Equipment Helium Trekker Quilt.

I managed to find this at Hill and Dale and on sale very briefly for £141. It weighs 600g - less than one of my sandwiches - and the pack size is 14x18cm, again, less than one of my sandwiches.