Early Monday morning cold and windy spin upto Consett and down to Hamsterley Mill n back

 

The weather is just about holding out here in Co Durham. On Saturday we had a good medium length walk around Low & High Shincliffe inc Maiden Castle 6.25miles. Yesterday was about getting some outside jobs sorted before the rain started at 11am. 

Today the morning was forecast to be dry but cold and windy. The van windscreen was frozen with ice and the sun was popping through so time for another ride. I hoped onto the old railway line at Langley Park then straight up to Consett. It was lovely and quiet and I hardly seen a sole. At the crossroads it was straight over to pick up the old Derwent line and down the hill. You can only get so far as the council have closed the via duct again. I turned and headed back up to Consett then back down to Langley Park. It was way busier on the return leg which slowed me down a little. The lines were not too muddy and reasonably fast going under tyre. If it was not for the 25+mph gusting winds it would have been faster and easier going on my legs and lungs! All in 32.6 miles in 2hrs 25mins with 1500ft of climbing. Below are a few snaps from the ride, enjoy and hopefully more soon- 

A local spin down to Durham on the Trek Marlin+ emtb hardtail

 

I have not used this bike for a while so thought I would give it a local spin out down to Durham, Maiden Castle and Houghall woods loop. The wind was unreal so thought I would keep it local for a short blast out. The tracks n trails have started to dry up lovely again until the next batch of rain lands. The bike not need much prep, just knock the dust off and pump the tyres up and she was ready for the loop. It was lovely and quiet, not sure where everybody has gone but all the better for me! Below are a few snaps from the ride. All in 17 miles with 1200ft of climbing, enjoy and hopefully more soon. 

Fresh Goodies - Topeak Tubi Valve Cleaner, G16 Tubeless Repair Kit & Cannondale KnurlCork Bar Tape

 

I don't carry a tubeless plug kit with me but times have changed. I have opted for this one from Topeak who make three different sized kits for road, gravel and mtb. I opted for the gravel size. I don't use the Topeak Tubi mounting systems but the cartridge size is an ideal samll size to keep in my Silca Bora Americano pouch. The only down side it does not have a small knife to cut the excess plug off. 

RRP £21.99 and I paid £20.88 from Westbrook Cycles inc 24hr P&P. Merlin Cycles now have them in for £14.99!  

Next on my list was a valve cleaner tool as some of my tubeless vales are blocking up with old sealant and hard to pump up the tyres. This tool is stop in my tool box at home, I cannot see any need to carry it out on the bike. The quality looks to very good and I have a valves to try it out on. The actual size is tiny. 

RRP £12.99 and I paid £12.35 from Westbrook Cycles inc 24hr P&P. 

Last but not least is another roll of Cannondale bar tape. I am not sure who manufacturers the tape for them but I have been using this model for many years now and is by far my favourite bar tape. I have gone for plain boring black again. This is going into my spare stock as I only had one roll left. 

RRP £18.00 and I paid £17.09 from Westbrook Cycles inc 24hr P&P. 

As ever there will be a follow up Fresh Goods Sundays when I have fitted / satrt using the items. 

A lovely sunny ride up to Parkhead / Crawleyside & Waskerley Reservoir n back

 

Finally the weekend and time to get back out on my bike. The forecast was wall to wall sunshine for the whole day and they did not get that one wrong. I waited until around 8am to go out to let the sun burn through properly. I hoped onto the old railway line at Langley Park and headed for the crossroads at Consett. It was a fresh start (-5 degrees) with plenty of frozen puddles from the previous days rain. I like it when the tracks are frozen solid, makes it much easier going. On the downside when its sunny and temperatures rise it turns the frozen tracks to pea soup / black freezing cold slop. At Consett I turned left and over the viaduct up to Parkhead, its was lovely and quiet up there with patches of snow left at the sides of the track. I continued on through the old quarry to Crawleyside where I turn and head back. I had a quick drink and a energy bar and headed back down. By now the temperature had risen to +7 degrees with a slight tailwind. I called in past the reservoir for a look around and it was full to the brim and over flowing. The tracks were a lot busier going back down and softer under tyre now. What a great day for a spin out. All in just over 40miles in 3hrs 3mins with 16000ft of climbing. 

Enjoy a few sunny snaps from the ride and hopefully more soon.