I'm willing to pay a bit more for convenience and quality e.g. hotel pick-up and speedboat to save time. There seem to be a lot of companies doing this transfer and I'm just looking for first-hand recommendations from people who have done this trip? I'm looking to avoid getting scammed or dealing with unreliable or late transfer as time is critical on this trip.
I'm willing to pay a bit more for convenience e.g. hotel pick-up and speedboat to save time. There seem to be a lot of companies doing this transfer and I'm just looking for first-hand recommendations from people who have done this trip?
I'm considering renting a car from Rio and returning at Sao Paolo. The reason for that is that I've heard that the coastal drive is really beautiful and relatively safe and it would give me greater freedom to explore the places along the way.
Main things that I'm worried about are:
Parking - are there parking apps is it fairly straightforward to pay at parking machines at a beach for example with card? Same question for tolls, are they easy or not for a tourist.
Cost/hassle - is point to point renting common and any specific companies which are better / more trustworthy than others? Should I book the car ahead or just figure it out when I'm there?
Safety - I'm an experience driver from UK, I'll get an IDP for this trip as well. Besides for that, is the drive relatively straightforward?
I'm fine with taking the various shuttle buses as well but I feel that having a car would be more fun. Would appreciate any help to make up my mind!
So I bought this Heritage 530 Custom Core manufactured in 2025 2nd hand from a reverb seller. I'm using the truss rod key which came with the guitar. At first I tried loosening it out of caution but it only moved a tiny amount and made some creaking sounds. I then tried tightening it which was my original aim to decrease the relief - same result, barely any movement and some creaking sounds. Any ideas on how to go forward from here? I've left WD40 overnight on cheaper poly guitars which mostly fixed the issue however I'm nervous using it on this guitar as it's nitro. I did contact the seller who said that they tested it before shipping so I'm confused how it could be so hard to turn a week later..
Sharing a quick report of my first marathon in case it helps anyone. Ran the 2026 London Marathon this Sunday in 4 hours and 46 minutes on a ballot place.
I had walked ca. 20000 steps on the two previous days sightseeing around London which meant my feet were slightly sore, otherwise I had done short <1 hr runs the 2 weeks leading up to the race. I had started serious training in January and in total ran about 600 km, averaging 50 km per week, my peak week was 100 km just 2-3 weeks before the marathon. Strength work in the gym 2-3 times a week and I did interval sessions sparingly, typically my training pace is from 7-8 min per km and my typical race pace is 6 min per km. I've accepted that I'm a slower runner which is why I enjoy endurance events more. My longest run was a 20 miler as part of an organised event in Scotland running over the Forth Bridge where I managed to run the first 30 km in exactly 3 hrs but then crashed in the last 20 min owing to going too hard and not eating enough. So I was conscious to not repeat the same mistakes in the London Marathon.
Arrived 2 hours early to Greenwich because I'm naturally a paranoid person, even then the train was already quite full with standing space only. Pro tip is to avoid the London Bridge exchange and use the Southeastern train starting from Cannon Street instead. A nice perk of the event is that you get free public transport across London on the day, all you need to do is show your bib. I had about 2 hours to kill in the Red start area before my wave (8) started. Queues for portaloos were miles long but it was only about a 2-5 min wait for the men's urinals which I made good use of. The weather was nice and sunny so I didn't mind waiting the 2 hrs which I mostly spent snacking whilst sitting and doing a bit of stretching.
Once we were going, runners were spaced out sufficiently that I felt that I had enough space. My first hour was just over an 1 hr which felt like warm up. To be honest the majority of the race went past in a flash, the crowds were so loud it was hard to listen to my own thoughts which might have been a good thing because I barely felt any fatigue, pain or tiredness in the first 3 hours. Around the Canary Wharf my watch went a bit crazy and added a km or to my distance in a 3 min timespan. I realised when I ran past one of the mile signposts and realised that my watch was out of sync, at the end of the race my watch (Garmin Forerunner 645 Music) read 45.5 km which was slightly frustrating and slightly threw off my pacing but no big deal overall. Overall I enjoyed the energy from the crowd, it was unparalleled compared to any of the other events I had done. In hindsight it would've made sense to leave my Shokz at home as I barely managed to hear the playlist I had carefully curated earlier.
The most painful part was definitely the last stretch next to the Thames when the London Eye and Big Ben came into view. My watch read 42.2 km by that time but I obviously realised that I still had a lot of distance to go so I just ran as fast as I could ignoring my watch from then. My overall pace was closer to 7 min per km than my hoped 6 min per km, however I felt that I didn't want to go test my limits on my first marathon and this sort of steady cruising speed felt very sustainable to me and as said before I had zero pain or discomfort on my knees/ankles which surprised me. There were also some sections towards the end which were tighter meant I had to slightly slow down at times or overtake slower runners and walkers. I definitely noticed that the % of people walking seemed to increase from 27 km onwards which meant that I had to navigate around them at times as well.
I took 8 x 22g SIS gels which I felt was sufficient because they were also giving out Lucozade gels twice (really sweet tasting ones like honey). There was an abundance of water stations and approx. 3 x Lucozade electrolyte drink stations which were useful. I also took a 3 x caffeine pill / salt pill combo during the race as that has helped me in the past. All of that stuff plus my phone fit in the pockets of my shorts, I like to race as light as possible.
End of the race, I still had to walk about 15 min to Piccadilly station to take a 10 min tube and then walk another 10 min back to my hotel which felt manageable. I took a nice long bath with magnesium salts which is another pro-tip for recovery, and didn't feel like doing any more walking that day. The next day though I walked about 3 hrs around London before taking the train back to Scotland, felt like quite an active recovery and I'm pretty much back to normal today. The main thing I struggled with was walking down stairs or any type of downward slope for the first 2 days.
Overall had a really enjoyable first marathon experience, I felt that it was the right choice to just enjoy the event and run it a bit slower taking in all of the atmosphere.
I'm already thinking of signing up for my next marathon which I'd like to be a trail marathon for the added challenge and a different experience. I'm currently thinking of either the Coniston Marathon in June or the Kielder Marathon in September, both of which are not that far away from me.
Sharing a quick report of my first marathon in case it helps anyone. Ran the 2026 London Marathon this Sunday in 4 hours and 46 minutes on a ballot place.
I had walked ca. 20000 steps on the two previous days sightseeing around London which meant my feet were slightly sore, otherwise I had done short <1 hr runs the 2 weeks leading up to the race. I had started serious training in January and in total ran about 600 km, averaging 50 km per week, my peak week was 100 km just 2-3 weeks before the marathon. Strength work in the gym 2-3 times a week and I did interval sessions sparingly, typically my training pace is from 7-8 min per km and my typical race pace is 6 min per km. I've accepted that I'm a slower runner which is why I enjoy endurance events more. My longest run was a 20 miler as part of an organised event in Scotland running over the Forth Bridge where I managed to run the first 30 km in exactly 3 hrs but then crashed in the last 20 min owing to going too hard and not eating enough. So I was conscious to not repeat the same mistakes in the London Marathon.
Arrived 2 hours early to Greenwich because I'm naturally a paranoid person, even then the train was already quite full with standing space only. Pro tip is to avoid the London Bridge exchange and use the Southeastern train starting from Cannon Street instead. A nice perk of the event is that you get free public transport across London on the day, all you need to do is show your bib. I had about 2 hours to kill in the Red start area before my wave (8) started. Queues for portaloos were miles long but it was only about a 2-5 min wait for the men's urinals which I made good use of. The weather was nice and sunny so I didn't mind waiting the 2 hrs which I mostly spent snacking whilst sitting and doing a bit of stretching.
Once we were going, runners were spaced out sufficiently that I felt that I had enough space. My first hour was just over an 1 hr which felt like warm up. To be honest the majority of the race went past in a flash, the crowds were so loud it was hard to listen to my own thoughts which might have been a good thing because I barely felt any fatigue, pain or tiredness in the first 3 hours. Around the Canary Wharf my watch went a bit crazy and added a km or to my distance in a 3 min timespan. I realised when I ran past one of the mile signposts and realised that my watch was out of sync, at the end of the race my watch (Garmin Forerunner 645 Music) read 45.5 km which was slightly frustrating and slightly threw off my pacing but no big deal overall. Overall I enjoyed the energy from the crowd, it was unparalleled compared to any of the other events I had done. In hindsight it would've made sense to leave my Shokz at home as I barely managed to hear the playlist I had carefully curated earlier.
The most painful part was definitely the last stretch next to the Thames when the London Eye and Big Ben came into view. My watch read 42.2 km by that time but I obviously realised that I still had a lot of distance to go so I just ran as fast as I could ignoring my watch from then. My overall pace was closer to 7 min per km than my hoped 6 min per km, however I felt that I didn't want to go test my limits on my first marathon and this sort of steady cruising speed felt very sustainable to me and as said before I had zero pain or discomfort on my knees/ankles which surprised me. There were also some sections towards the end which were tighter meant I had to slightly slow down at times or overtake slower runners and walkers. I definitely noticed that the % of people walking seemed to increase from 27 km onwards which meant that I had to navigate around them at times as well.
I took 8 x 22g SIS gels which I felt was sufficient because they were also giving out Lucozade gels twice (really sweet tasting ones like honey). There was an abundance of water stations and approx. 3 x Lucozade electrolyte drink stations which were useful. I also took a 3 x caffeine pill / salt pill combo during the race as that has helped me in the past. All of that stuff plus my phone fit in the pockets of my shorts, I like to race as light as possible.
End of the race, I still had to walk about 15 min to Piccadilly station to take a 10 min tube and then walk another 10 min back to my hotel which felt manageable. I took a nice long bath with magnesium salts which is another pro-tip for recovery, and didn't feel like doing any more walking that day. The next day though I walked about 3 hrs around London before taking the train back to Scotland, felt like quite an active recovery and I'm pretty much back to normal today. The main thing I struggled with was walking down stairs or any type of downward slope for the first 2 days.
Overall had a really enjoyable first marathon experience, I felt that it was the right choice to just enjoy the event and run it a bit slower taking in all of the atmosphere.
I'm already thinking of signing up for my next marathon which I'd like to be a trail marathon for the added challenge and a different experience. I'm currently thinking of either the Coniston Marathon in June or the Kielder Marathon in September, both of which are not that far away from me.