Tomorrow I head off for a short five-night trip to North Wales, via Ludlow where I have a lunch appointment with my old PhD supervisor who is approaching ninety.

Its one night in an inn in Tenbury Wells followed by four nights under canvas in two campsites, booked on PitchUp which I had never heard of until this trip. I have some Best Bike Routes to try to follow and a map of the Snowdonia route. This is my first time in north Wales and first time on a bike in that country. After the ACT in Portugal in 2022 and the arctic circle in Norway last summer, this is a rather muted trip, mainly for some domestic, animal related, reasons. But if the weather is fine, then I will be happy.

On the bike, I have just installed a Puig screen extender. It looks pretty unattractive fixed to a rally style windscreen but I am hoping for a quieter journey on the long stretches of motorway and trunk road. I also have reinstated the connection for my old Garmin Zumo XT and I’ve taken the time to learn a few things about how it can be properly connected to my mobile phone. I also have a new bit of Mosko Moto luggage to try out and a newer much more robust Leatherman Wave+ multitool – although it doesn’t include a corkscrew. I am also not taking a camera for the first time and using an iPhone 15 Pro to take pictures probably better quality than my old Sony. (In fact I am on the waiting list for a Fujifilm X100VI). I am taking a Rollei lightweight tripod which I think I took to Norway but never used. These are the only new bits of kit I am trying out.