Spin down to Durham / Maiden Castle n back on the E mtb

 

Well after yesterdays disastrous attempt at a bike ride I dragged the Cube E mtb back again for another go. The temperature through the night had risen to 5 / 6 degrees so there was not much snow left, well that's what I thought. Some parts of Durham / Shincliffe side still have solid sheet ice with water on the top. This makes for very dangerous riding over. It was a steady loop and was pleased to get back out in the fresh air again and stretch my legs again. I called in past Durham city centre / market place on the way back just to see how busy it was. There was still quite a few people milling around doing there shopping / banking etc. No where near as quiet as lockdown no1, by a long way. The trails / tracks / paths are up the eyes in clarts / water etc. 

Below are a few cloudy / overcast photos from the ride, enjoy and hopefully more soon- 

Fresh Goods Sunday - AMG hub caps, with AMG emblem - A0004003100

 

My boys bought me some new AMG logo dust caps for my crimbo so I decided to buy the matching hub caps. I ordered them from a Merc dealer online and they arrived in a couple of days. Fitting is simple enough, just knock out the old cap from behind and push the new ones in. To do this you need to take the wheels off the car! I wanted to take the wheels off anyway as I like to copper grease the bolts and where the back of the alloy wheels meets the steel hub. I have had some dreadful experiences in the past trying to remove seized on alloy wheels from steel hubs. The AMG caps come in presentation box where i keep the original caps that come off the car. The quality is excellent as you would hopefully expect. 

RRP £148.80 and I paid £143.45 inc p&p. 

Manufacturers blurb - 

Exclusive design in aluminium, embossed with the traditional AMG emblem – a highlight for your AMG light-alloy wheels.

Information for retailers:
– for all light-alloy wheels with standard hub cap
– can be fitted without the use of tools

Item number: A0004003100

More on the dust caps next week - 

Weekly Catch Up and a snowy/wet slushy short ride

 

First full week back at work after New Year for me, Angus & Arran. Jane had a few extra days off as she had to work right up to Christmas Eve. The weather has not been good at all this week with lots of ice / rain / wind and cold. The snow finally landed during Thursday night / Friday morning and it is our first good covering for a long time. Arran was working at Catchgate on Friday and he measured nearly 8" when he had his dinner at noon. Yesterday the sun was forecast, first time all week and it was beautiful. The temperature was minus -5 degrees but did not feel like it. I serviced my sisters second car ready for its mot and swapped my hub caps on my new car. More in Fresh Goods Sunday later. By the time we got finished and tidied up the sun had gone for the day and it was back in for food / drink and some heat. 

John Davidsons photos on Facebook of the line going up to Consett yesterday inspired me to get back out on my bike today but I knew it was going to be hard going. When I left home it was 5 degrees and the snow / ice was melting fast. The lines were un rideable as the snow / ice was just too soft / slushy and the wheels were just washing out so I hit the tarmac and did a short road loop before going back to the van / shop for our weekly shopping & post office. 

Below are a couple of snaps, enjoy and hopefully more soon - 

Colder up in the Consett area compared to Durham! 

I also decided to treat myself to some new mtb winter booties. I have used Northwave boots for a very long time and my current pair are getting a little tired. I found these in the sale on Sigma Sports website and they landed this week. They are a different design now compared to my the old ones. They are a lot harder to get your feet in but once they are on they feel lovely. I have not fitted any cleats etc yet, i might keep them for next year, see how the rest of this winter goes! 

Goodbye 2020 and into 2021 with some more walks

 

New Years day was a complete wash out in the morning so I went around Angus's house and did some more decorating / tidying up. Over five hours later I got back home for something to eat and drink and that was most of the day gone. Yesterday me and Jane had a drive through to Bishop Auckland to pick up some shopping so parked up at the end of the old railway line / farm to have a hike up the line towards Spenny on the way back. It was tough going with solid sheet ice- 2 to 3" deep then a covering of icy / hard compacted snow on top of that. It was hard enough walking and trying to keep upright not about on a bike. After 2 miles we turned and headed back so covered just over 4 miles / 1hr 28mins. 

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On the way back we called in past the Crem to see my mum and dads plaque and Janes sisters. 

Today I woke up to lashing rain yet again but checked the forecast over on the coast and it was looking better. So me and Jane headed off over to Sunderland and parked up at the National Glass Centre and walked down to the back of the building and followed the c2c cycle route around the marina and along to Roker pier where we had a lovely hot cuppa then headed back, just over 2 miles. There was a freezing cold wind in places but stayed dry for the walk. On the way back we called in past Morrisons at Doxford Park for our monthly big shop. Morrisons was stripped, shelves were empty and hardly no stock or no stock at all in some products / ranges. 

Below are a few photos from the walk, enjoy and hopefully more soon- 

Well lets see what 2021 brings us. We have not made any holiday plans as we are in Tier 4 and is a complete waste of time at the moment. I need to get back out on my bikes and try and loose some weight / gain some fitness. Angus will be moving out this year. Arran will continue with his apprenticeship and hopefully start his new college course in September one day a week. Me and Jane are working from home but I have my site visits nearly every day to keep me sane. I am not enjoying my work anymore and it may be time to move onto somewhere new / different where I will get some sort of  job satisfaction. Nothing really to look forward at the moment but hopefully that will pick up when the weather picks up and the restrictions are lifted.