Frosty morning from Cox Green around the coast to Souter Lighthouse n back

 

After yesterdays blow out on the rear tyre it was time to have another go on the Creo 1 gravel bike. A new Gravelking tyre fitted, tubeless rim tape repaired and fresh Stans sealant in and the old girl is ready for a few more miles yet. 

There was a good overnight frost with the temperature dipping down to 1 degrees. There was plenty of frost on the windscreens and the grass was white but the sun was blazing away. I missed nearly all the freezing patchy fog and bit burned through to a lovely morning. I parked up at Cox Green and hopped straight onto the C2C do to Sunderland, Roker and up the coast to Souter lighthouse. I was steady away enjoying the weather and there was no freezing cold wind eithe which made a huge difference. There was loads of others out n about early doors enjoying the sun. No mishaps on the Creo 1 on todays ride thank the lords. There is still a diversion half way along the new resurfaced track at  the back of Washington/A19, still no signs of fully reopening but looks completed. Shame it is not a smooth ride, very bumpy considering it is band new! Anyway all in just over 25 miles in 1hr 59mins with just under 1000ft of climbing. Enjoy the snaps below and hopefully more soon- 

Disaster on my Original OG Creo 1 Gravel bike

 

Yesterday I spent a good half day going over all my bikes making sure everything was mechanically sound, all cleaned and charged up. I also gave all the bikes a coat of AutoGlym Ceramic Spray. All the bikes were all ready to rock n rock. 

This morning after a meeting the sun finally come out so I took my OG Creo 1 gravel bike out for a local spin. I hoped onto the old railway line behind Meadowfield sports centre and headed for Bishop. Just outside Willington I could hear a hissing sound, looked down and the bike and myself was covered in Stans yet again. It was sealing then re squirting so I stopped and checked it out. A big branch/twig had gone straight into/through the tyre. I decided to pull it out and plug the hole. With the hole being that big I lost all the air in the tyre and it had come off the bead. I could not air it back up as the beads would not snap back on. Plan B fit an inner tube, this worked and I left the plug in place to stop the tube going out through the hole. By now I was sick, everything covered in sticky Stans and had no second spare tube. I opted to continue to Bishop, did a lap of the market place and headed back to Meadowfield. The tracks are bone dry, rock hard and dusty. No many others out either. All in just over 17 miles in 1hr 16mins with 400ft of climbing. 

When I got home it took twice as long to re wash the bike, strip the inner tube out, refit the tubeless valve, fit a new spare tyre, pour new Stans in to discover the rim tape was punctured so had to strip the everything back off the wheel to repair the tubeless tape and start all over again. No to worry these things happen, there is always tomorrow. 

Back out for a local road ride - Burnhope and Pontop Pike Transmitters loop

 

A few weeks ago I dug out my Creo 1 road bike and gave it a spring clean / once over. I gave it a wash to get all the build up of dust etc off, dried and charged the main battery. I also charged up the Di2 battery, front and rear lights at the same time. Mechanical wise it I topped up the tubeless sealant, pumped up the tyres lubricated the chain and rear mech and that was it. Then she was ready for a spin out on the country lanes of County Durham. 

Today the forecast was for wall to wall sunshine from 10am so went out later than normal. Expecting some lovely warm and sunny weather for a local road ride. Well it was cold, overcast, cloudy, sunny intervals and a savage strong wind. I opted for a loop which takes in three transmitters around Pontop, Burnhope and Broomhouse. The roads were were not too busy with traffic and only a couple of close passes. In a way I was pleased to be back out on my road bike and have missed the quiet back country lanes. I certainly have not missed the busier road linking sections. All in just under 30 miles in 2hrs 5 mins with 2100ft of climbing. enjoy the mix of photos from the ride and hopefully more soon-