We have been battered with near gale force winds on Friday / Saturday so no riding done. Yesterday i spent most of the day cleaning / sorting out my man cave and fixing bikes whilst it was raining / blowing a gale outside. Today the wind has died down a little to approx 40mph gusts and was forecasted dry. Up and out with a beautiful sun rise with icy paths / frozen tracks etc. After an hour when we reached higher ground the wind was picking up with sleet showers battering our faces. Disaster, changed the front inner tube due to a putcture we were away again trying to build some heat back up, approx 4 miles later another puncture. Time to call the wife with the van, two tubes, three patches, one co2, mini pump and track pump later we were away again for the second time. Now stocked up with fresh tubes, more patches/glue and replaced the co2. By now we were both frozen cold but head down we dug in for more miles. The sun never came back out and we were blasted with freezing rain/sleet showers ever 15-20mins. 30 miles and just under 3hrs (running time) 4hrs overall! 2000ft climbing we were back home, cold, wet & muddy. Below are a few photos from the ride, time to go and wash the bikes and dirty kit now, oh the joys of riding in the winter, more soon.
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| Frosty hard ground at sunrise |
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| did not last long, ground is starting to thaw |
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| pleased we fitted the Nates to the Beargrease |
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| just after this we were greeted with a blasting of sleet in our faces |
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| flurry of snow on high ground |
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| just one of the tress that has come down in the recent gales |
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| some skills practice in the woods |
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| puddle of doom filling up again |
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| enjoying some mud free singletrack through the woods |
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| top of the trod, Durham Cathedral in the background |
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| Cathedral running relay event on the old race course |
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| Chopped up nicley ready for the cx event next Sunday here |
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| finally home ward bound, just another 3-4 miles and mostly up hill ! |
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