A winter sunny spin around Durham / Maiden Castle n back

 

The weather has finally picked up and managed to get caught up with a few outdoor jobs yesterday and the sun was out again today so I decided to have a quick spin down to Durham before the forecasted 50mph winds were due back. I pumped up the tyres and the mtb was ready to rock n roll. I have not done this loop for a while now. It was not that busy and was a very enjoyable but cold ride. There was an overnight frost so the grass was still pure white in places. Nothing has changed much on the route, the trails are running bone dry and hard at the mo. All in 14 miles in 1hr 15 mins with 750ft of climbing. Below are a few snaps, enjoy and hopefully more soon- 

The Trod is still blocked off

Old boat house burnt to the ground on the riverside

Loads of lambs enjoying the sun at Frankland farm 

NECCL RD3 Lintz Hall Chicken Farm Sun 20th Feb

 

A cool and cloudy local road ride around Tow Law way

 

After no cycling at the weekend and a day in the van yesterday driving nearly all day it was time to get out and spin my legs again. The weather was ok, dry but overcast and cloudy and no ice today unlike yesterdays roads. The wind has finally died down to around 15mph instead of the 40-50mph it has been for the last few days. I took my Creo e bike out which is set up for the road and it was flying unlike me. It felt I was using middle power more than normal and used max power on a couple of steep sections on a few climbs. Its time to get some more miles/ fitness back again! Shorter loop today with less climbing but still managed 27.5miles with 2500ft of climbing. Below are a few photos from the ride and a short video clip at the bottom. Enjoy and hopefully more soon- 

Fresh Goods Sunday - Specialized S-Works Hover Carbon Handlebars 42cm

These are my second pair of replacement Hover carbon handlebars. If you follow my blog I fitted a pair onto my blue Creo gravel bike and have been lovely and comfortable since the day of swapping them over from the standard alu version the bike come with. I have been meaning to by a second pair for my second Creo road bike for a while but a shortage of stock in the uk and full rrp prices have put me off. The design has not changed since my first pair but the rrp has gone through the roof! 

This swap was not so easy as the last time as my other bike have manual GRX shifters but on the road Creo it has Ultegra Di2. I had to remove the changing port from the bar end, pull through the cable from the left shifter and pull out the cable from the right shifter. The carbon bars have the Di2 holes at the bottom of the under side of the drops. I tried to feed the cable through the bars to the right shifter from the left side but it was impossible even with the Park Tool wire feed kit. I made the decision to run it under the bar tape then under the stem and under the tape on the right side. I don't really use the left shifter to operate the rear mech so could have just left it out. I refitted the charging point and connected all the cables and everything was working a treat. I have gone for the same size as previously 42cm which are measured centre to centre at the hoods. The quality of the bar is fantastic and cannot find fault with any of the details. There are measurement marks on the drops and an anti slip coating for the shifters. Marks on the centre section and amore anti slip coating for the stem. All the bar info is printed on the outside of the flat drop part. The torque settings are printed on the underside of the middle section of the bars. 

I have had a couple of rides on the bike and you can feel a difference compared to the alu version with the carbon tacking out some of the road buzz. I will re torque the stem bolts again and jobs a good'un. 

RRP £205 and I paid £154.50 from Sigma Sports (25% discount) inc 48hr delivery. 

Manufacturers blurb - 

In terms of both comfort and performance, anywhere that your body touches the bike is of the utmost importance. That's why we designed the S-Works Hover Carbon Handlebars to excel on both fronts. Starting with the construction, they're made from our FACT carbon fibre for a light overall weight, vibration absorption, and high rigidity. And for comfort, much of it boils down to fit. Along these lines, they feature a shallow drop & bend that's extremely comfortable, while they also have a 15mm rise to help accommodate a wide fit range.

• FACT carbon construction offers an optimized blend of durability and light overall weight.
• 15mm rise for additional rider fit range.
• Shallow Bend Drop: 123mm drop x 75mm reach

NECCL RD 2 Sunday 6th Feb at Thoneyford Farm, Ponteland

 

A dry and warmish spin through to Bishop n back along the old railway line

 

Apologies for the lack of blogs over the last few weeks but the plasterer finally turned up at Angus's house and plastered the utility room out. From there it has been none stop for me with every spare hour I had working. Well its finished apart from a couple of small jobs. I will post a blog with some photos just to show you what a difference can be achieved in such a small area. 

The weather has been very dry and warm here but the wind has been unreal. Today was the first time I have managed to get out on the bike for a short spin. The lines are bone dry and running very fast. I set off from Meadowfield to Bishop along the old line. The council have been down and cut back all the fallen trees along this stretch and they have done a cracking job. There was quiet a few others users and about inc some real deaf people who cannot hear my bell or me shouting excuse me! The sun did try and get out a couple of times but it was mainly cloudy and overcast. I had a headwind on the way to Bishop and a tailwind back. The Garmin was reading around 7 degrees. All in 17.5 miles in 1hr 16 mins. Below are a few snaps from the ride, enjoy and hopefully more soon-