Gravel + tarmac loop on the Cannondale Slate plus a catch up

Sorry its been a while since I have posted up a blog. We have had no or very little internet over the past two weeks but its finally sorted with a new speed of around 1.5mb instead of less than 1mb. On top of that the weather has been fowl to say the least. Work has just been totally crazy, bought a newer car from Evans Halshaw at Peterlee. I have been to some poor dealerships in my life time, well these lot have topped all of them, they are hopeless and would not recommend them to anybody. On top of that I have sorted road tax, putting our private plate on retention, insurance, breakdown cover and going to banks / building society.
Took a day off on Monday to get some jobs sorted. Arrans I phone has broken so had no joy with Stormfront where we bought it so they sent me to Apple. We went to Apple and they said go back to Stormfront, long storey its still not fixed.
Then Angus sent me a message on Monday afternoon saying Andy Oliver has passed away, I could not believe it. I remember when he was working for Halfords and riding for MBUK before going to Zyro. He has always supported me in my race series / events over the past 20 years and always found time to come and thank me for the effort of organising. Andy was the down to earth and a very pleasant lad to chat to. He will be missed in the ne. On that note enough is enough and booked some more holidays to get back out on my bike.
Todays route was up the old line to Parkhead then onto the road down to Whitehall carpark then back on the line. It was cold to start with and foggy on the way up but after the wooded section near the old station the sun was blazing away with fantastic views over the moors.  
As for the Cannondale Slate well its back from Westys again. Further investigation into the rear mech not shifting have discovered that it was not the mechs that were failing but the internal corner on the handlebars is too tight and nipping the inner cable on the outer. So my handlebars are not compatible with Sram 1x shifters! They have fitted a red outer and inner and not pulled it too tight to the bars but its still not the best. I will change the bars when I get a mo to see if that solves the problem.
Once back after the ride it was time to wash the van and bike before going out for a 5 mile walk. Below are a few pics from todays ride, enjoy and hopefully more soon -