Hello, finally back out on the bike but steady away after double man flu

 

I thought I was over the first man flu then after about a day and half of feeling a little better I was struck down again. I have set up my old turbo trainer and did a couple of short sessions before the second bug kicked in fully but I have been bad as a dog really since Christmas and still no where near 100% right. We had a heavy snow storm where we had over 6" of snow then freezing conditions with no thaw for another six days following that which was miserable to say the least. 

Today the sun was shining so dragged myself out to see what I could manage. The old railway lines are still frozen / icy  in numerous places where they just never get any winter sun. Then the overnight frost had melted in the sun leaving a lovely freezing cold, black inch deep, hard going slush top. Not too worry as its all part of the fun. I did one of the regular old railway lines loop inc a short road section which was dry with the salty grit dust coming up off the tarmac. All in 26 miles in 2hrs 1min with 1300ft of climbing. Below are a couple of snaps below, enjoy and hopefully more soon- 

Sunny but freezing cold ride through to Bishop n back.

 

Hope you all had a good time over the festive period. As for me well I caught the bug that most people have been bad with. Been to the doc's and on tablets and today is the first day my body left like it could do anything more physical than walking a couple of miles on the flat! 

So I waited until after sunrise and headed out along the old railway from Langley Park to Broompark, then I turned left and and ended up at Bishop Auckland. The vast majority of the line was frozen solid after the temperature dropped through the night and with previous two days of heavy rain. It was mainly lovely and quiet with just a few others out and about enjoying some sunshine for a change. The Garmin never got above minus -1.5 degrees for the whole ride. I had plenty of layers on so was not feeling the cold. The wind was making it feel even colder on the way back. All in 22.5miles in 1hr 57mins with 750ft of climbing. Below are a few sold looking snaps from the ride, enjoy and hopefully more soon- 

Spin upto Parkhead & Waskerley Reservoir

 

Hope you all had a cracking Christmas Day and received a few cycling goodies! The weather was fantastic and was certainly not a white Christmas. This morning I needed to get a few miles in so checked the forecasts and the weather cameras on Durham County Councils website and as I suspected higher ground was a lot more warmer and sunnier than in the valleys. I parked up at Delves Lane and headed for Parkhead. Coming through Lanchester it was reading minus on the temperature gauge and was around 4 degrees at Consett. Off I set up the Waskerley way and it was mainly quiet with just a few others out n about. By the time I reached the last open moor section the Garmin had gone from 2.5 degrees to 8 degrees and blazing sunshine. By now I was over dressed and took my gloves off. On the way back down I turned right down the hill and had a look around the reservoir. The water was a like mirror with no wind causing ripples / waves. On the way back down the temperature plummeted again and I was cold and back on with the gloves. There was quite a few more out n about around Consett way. All in 22 miles in 1hr 40 mins with just under a 100ft of climbing. Enjoy the few snaps below and hopefully more soon- 

Fresh Goodies - Rough Stuff Fellowship Volume 70 Journal & Cyclist Issue 159 Magazine

 

Some of you might not know about or heard of the Rough Stuff Fellowship so here is a LINK to their website. I joined just after the York Cycle Show where they had a stand. As part of the membership £13 per year you get six copies of their Journal every year. It is always a good read if you are into some non tarmac riding. 

I also bought a copy of the Winter 2024 edition of Cyclist Magazine for a read over the festive period. There are not many cycling magazines which are publish now so I try and support them when I can by buying a copy if there are any decent articles in them.  I have attached a photo of the contents page - 

ps hope you all had a good Christmas - time to enjoy some riding now - 

Fresh Goodies - Jo Burt - Lost Summers and Half-Forgotten Afternoons & Silca Ultimate Tubeless Sealant

 

A couple of Fresh Goodies from last week or so - I checked my stock of tubeless sealant and I am down to my last bottle of Stans so I was going to order a couple of new bottles but the tubeless sealant from Silca was 50% off. I opted for the biggest bottle 32oz and paid £21 each inc 48he p&p from Saddleback direct. I have always used Stans so this will be a new product to trial once I run out of my last Stans. 

I also come across this book by accident when I was searching the net the other week. If you are old school and used to buy MBUK then you will know all about Jo Burt's famous sheep cartoons. 

After a quick google I got a copy for £32.11 inc 48hr free p&p from Condor Cycles in London. 

enjoy your Christmas break and try not consume your body weight in food & drink!