Road ride around upper Weardale inc Burnhope Reservoir.

 

I was in upper Weardale today so it would be rude not to get a ride in the sun! I parked up at St Johns Chapel on the way back home and headed for the hills, well what is flat in Weardale. I have been looking at a few country back lanes on maps for a while now that I have never ridden so today was the day to start exploring a couple of them. One was up to Burnhope Reservoir, by god it was windy up there in fact the whole ride was windy but had a tailwind all down the valley main road from Daddry Shield to Stanhope. On the downside I had a massive 20+mph headwind all the way back to St Johns Chapel from Stanhope along the back road. There was very little traffic on the roads and I went for miles without seeing a sole. Below are a few snaps from the 23.5mile loop with 2200ft of climbing. Also there is a short video clip at the bottom of the blog, enjoy and hopefully more soon- 

Fresh Goods Sunday - Shimano Dura Ace R9100 SPD-SL Pedals

 

I wasn't really looking for a new pair of road pedals but when we called in past Evans Cycles at Gateshead a while ago, I seen these in the cabinet where the till is. I thought to myself by they are cheap! Well I could not resist so I am back onto Shimano road pedals again. I have been using Time for many years now, the major disadvantages with Time are the replacement cleats are sometimes hard to find, the cleat are made from very soft plastic so don't last long if you do any walking in them. The engagement can be hit n miss at times as well but there is plenty of float if you like that. Looking at the Shimano SPD-SL range of pedals it does not look like the technology or design has changed much if anything since I last used them. As with all Dura Ace components the quality is second to none and the bearings are silky smooth. Fitting is simple enough with an allen key in the end of the axle spindle. I did not check the weight of them before fitting, but Shimano is never far away. The Dura Ace models comes with the Blue cleats. More on the cleats in the next Fresh Goods Sunday. One thing that has changed is there are too different axle lengths, normal and +4mm. These are the normal width model but the extra 4mm would come in handy when wearing my Northwave winter boots which will be coming out soon after this morning very cold road ride. In use the engagement is smooth and easy to find. Clicking out is stiffer compared to Time but after a few rides I am used to it now. There is a tension adjuster on the back of both pedals. I have mine set to minimum tension. As they wear in I may have to give it a couple of turns, will see how it goes. As ever with all cycle components shop around and you will probably get a better deal than the rrp which as ever with Dura Ace is eye watering to say the least! There is one thing for sure they are defo worth £115 that I paid for them. 

RRP £235 and I paid £115 from Evans Cycles, Gateshead. Discount 51% 

Manufacturers blurb - 

FEATURES

Optimized balance of weight and rigidity

Injection-moulded carbon-composite body

Extra-wide platform for stability and power transfer

Wide bearing placement for uniform load distribution

Customize the entry and release tension settings

SHIMANO 3-year limited warranty

4 mm longer axle model available

PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS

MODEL NO	PD-R9100
SERIES	DURA-ACE R9100 Series
Color	CFRP
Average weight	228 ( /pair)

Remarks	4 mm longer axle available, Hollow cleat screws
Wide platform	✔
Road clearance (deg.)	35
Binding	Single Sided
Cleat included	SM-SH12
Cleat retention adjuster	✔
Optional cleat	SM-SH10, SM-SH11
Type	Road
Reflector	SM-PD63
Sealed mechanism	✔
Stack height (mm)	14.6
Pedal center (mm)	52

Sunday morning Durham Villages Road route & Fresh Goods delivery- 45nrth Greazy Cap

 

After a day out a glorious day out at sunny Berwick Upon Tweed yesterday I was feeling tired this morning, but the sun was out again, so I jumped onto my road Creo for one of the regular road rides around Durham's surrounding villages. Ii was cold to say the least with the Garmin hovering around 4 degrees and only got up to 6 degrees on the way back in. The wind was a bugger as well just to make it feel even colder, but the sun kept me going. I had to get back home sharpish as I had loads of jobs to get on with so did not stop for many photos, so apologies for that. The roads and country lanes were lovely and quiet but nearly every set of traffic lights i hit were on red for some reason. Apart from that my legs felt fine and did the 31.5mile loop 1hr 58 mins with an average speed of 15.9mph and 2000ft of climbing. Below are the few snaps that I did take, enjoy and hopefully more soon - 

I also had a delivery this week from the Bikemonger in Ripon. I have a very old 45nrth Greazy cap and comes out every Autumn through to Spring. I thought it was time for a new one so ordered it online. The comments / ratings / feedback are right. The material has changed and is alot thinner and nowhere near as warm / windproof. On the plus side the drops on the sides are lower at the ears. More on this in Fresh Goods Sunday after more chilly rides over the coming months.