Walk into Durham & back

What a difference a day makes, I went to work and it was 3 degrees, come home and it was 7 degrees, same time yesterday it was 17 degrees! by the time we walked into Durham the sun came out and was red hot, it didn't last long and soon clouded over again. Jane had to pick up her new ipad and I had some banking to do. Oh and I called in past Bells chippy in the market place. On the way back we had the chilling headwind, not too bad. We walked 6.53 miles in the end so not too bad.
A few pics from the trip out, enjoy and wrap up for the weekend if your going oot n aboot

gone, that will get me back up the hills on the way home

May edt landed today

 

and this is on this weekend @ Bishop

Local off road ride on the Beast of 'N' East

Change of bike for todays ride - Cannondale Beast of the East for a quick spin down to Durham for a loop then back home for a walk.
Just where has this good weather come from? don't worry its back to normal at the weekend for the Bishop Auckland Food Festival so make the most of it tomorrow. There was no chilling wind this morning which made it feel even warmer but it came back late in the afternoon. The Garmin was reading 21 degrees at some points in the direct sunlight. Durham's river banks etc were packed with people enjoying the good weather, don't blame them just like I enjoyed the ride.
The new Rocket Ron 27.5"+ tyres were flying on the gravel tracks / tarmac lanes. I didn't venture too much off road into the woods etc as the mud is still very wet / deep.
Below are a few pics so enjoy the sun and hopefully more soon -

the sun fetches out some lovely views

and down I go

sheep/lambs sheltering in the shade

reopening 2018? who knows

Rocket Rons blasting along the lanes

heading for home

along time since the bike has seen dust

flies were out today sticking to my suntan cream

Sunny gravel / tarmac ride to Pontop pike transmitter on the Bowman Pilgrims

Todays rides took in the route up to Pontop Pike transmitting station, I have passed it hundreds of times in the car/van and seen it from the old railway line tracks but never ventured up the lane until today.
The sun was out but there was still the chilly wind again, its the first ride of the year with shorts on! still had my thermal long sleeve top and gilet on to keep the chilly breeze off my chest. It was a ride of two halves as I headed up from Birtley direction on the old railway line then once at the road junction to Pontop I crossed over onto tarmac for the second half. I didn't see any other cyclists out the whole ride, thought there might have been some roadies out in the sun or some plodders along the line.
Below are a few pics from the ride, enjoy and more soon - hopefully the sun will keep on shinning ;-)

Evans Durham / Gateshead store rides

Evans are trying out some mini sportives / rides from there Durham and Gateshead stores.
DURHAM INFO-

About the ride - Saturday 14th May 2016

Come and join us for a short road ride with likeminded cyclists from your local store. This mini sportive format features a fully way marked route just like our regular RIDE IT sportives but to keep the cost down the events are manually timed and with the shorter distances there's no feed stops on route. You can stock up on FREE High 5 energy products at the start and we'll welcome you back with FREE hot drinks when you finish along with your finishers in store £5 discount voucher.
We head east from the store and over to the coast at Seaham, the route then follows the coast road for a short while before turning back in land, through Houghton-le-Spring and onwards to the finish.

Routes

• Short

  (31m / 50km / 2030ft Climbing)
  Adults: £10.00
  Children: FREE

Venue

Evans Cycles
Abbey Road Business and
Trade Park
Abbey Road
Durham
County Durham
DH1 5HB

GATESHEAD INFO

About the ride - Sunday 15th May 2016

Come and join us for a short road ride with likeminded cyclists from your local store. This mini sportive format features a fully way marked route just like our regular RIDE IT sportives but to keep the cost down the events are manually timed and with the shorter distances there's no feed stops on route. You can stock up on free High 5 energy products at the start and we'll welcome you back with free hot drinks when you finish along with your finishers in store store discount voucher.
Leaving the Metro Centre behind we head out past Spen Banks then over the River Tyne at Bywell. We then head further north following the course of Hadrians Wall for a short while through Heddon-on-the-Wall and then wind our way through some more urban surroundings to bring you back to the finish.

Routes

• Short

  (32m / 51km / 2030ft Climbing)
  Adults: £10.00
  Children: FREE

Venue

Evans Cycles
Unit 2
Allison Court
Metro Centre
Gateshead
NE11 9YS

 

Fresh Goods Sunday - SRAM XG1090 Red Cassette - Powerdome X

I have been using a Sram Red Powerdome cassette on my good road bike for many years now and never had any problems with it. I also run cheaper models of Sram cassettes on my other bikes with just the same performance as an equivalent Shimano cassette. I find them smooth & quiet running even under pressure on steep out of the saddle climbs. Yes the powerdome probably wears quicker than say an Ultegra or Dura ace model.
Since I replaced the chain on my Nano Black it has skipped a little on a couple of cogs under full power. I was hoping after the chain had settled in / stretched alittle that the jumping would stop but that was just wishful thinking. With Spring here and no more road salt it was time for a replacement cassette. I bought just the same again XG 1090 11-28 model. They are not cheap but they are a piece of artwork in machining terms and weight - 156g
Fitting is very simple- take the wheel out, skewer out, cassette lock ring tool on, cassette remover tool in and turn, clean and re grease the freehub body, slide on the new cassette and nip up the lockring with cassette tool. Check the gears and jobs a good'un. This should last me another few good years as I don't do mega miles on the Nano as I have that many bikes to choose from! I don't have any interest in upping to 11 speed at the mo as the goupset i have has enough spread of useable gears that I need.
The rrp is a eye watering £262 but as ever shop around as I paid £145.50 inc p&p. Interesting that the new XG1190 rrp is £232.

Here is the manufacturers blurb-
The new SRAM Red components have been designed with the twin goals of eliminating the superfluous while focusing on an overall synergy. This is a new groupset with a fresh new approach to everything, 6 brand new components make the new SRAM Red the pinnacle of road racing technology.
The new SRAM RED Powerdome X cassettes eight cogs in the middle are machined from a single block of high grade tool steel, increasing stiffness while weighing even less than a titanium cassette. Between each cog in the block is a StealthRing elastomer to reduce vibration and noise.

Hollow steel dome makes for the stiffest gear cluster ever at the lightest weight

Heat-treated, high-grade tool steel provide superlative durability and a beautiful finish

StealthRing elastomers and advanced tooth profiles eliminate vibration and noise for a smooth, silent ride

Aluminium cog: lighter, stiffer, stronger due to the choice of design, material and production process

Technology: Powerdome X, StealthRing, X-Glide cogs

Weight: 135g (11-23)

Material: High Grade Tool Steel Cog Cluster, Heat Treated Aluminium, Lowest Range Cog, Elastomer Rings

Speeds: 10 rear

all done n dusted - ready for some miles now

old one needs a degrease and set aside for spares