Ride through to watch The Man Machine @ Willington

On Friday when I was touring Co Durham in my van for work I seen some signs going through Willington for the Man Machine, not a clue what it was so when I got home a quick google brought up THIS and it is the only time they have come North and was the last event of the year. So me and Angus had a spin through on the bikes along the hot and dusty railway line to watch the event. There was a parade of local school kids, banners, brass bands and local choir. Then the beast fired up and it was excellent. The bloke on the mic was fantastic and locals were loving it. At the end there was some fireworks and we had a ride back. Below are a few pics from the show, could not get any closer as it was rammed with bodies all over the place.

Red hot, sunny ride on the E Cube to Bishop / Spenny loop

What a bloody heat, we had a very long winter but its making up for it now! Yesterday was red hot and sunny, same again today. There was more windy today and slightly cooler? the Garmin nearly topped out at 26 degrees. Anyway I took the E Cube out for a spin and tried to stick to shaded sections of old railway line / woods etc where it was a lot cooler than baking in the direct sun bouncing off the tarmac. There was quiet a few others out and about in the sun, enjoying the heat. I also called in past Marks garage at Willington Ind Est for a 2nd year service price on the car. The car has covered around 600 miles this time in a year! think we need to sell a vehicle lol. Below are some sunny snaps, enjoy and hopefully more soon -

 

Yesterday this beast come in for rear brake fix, lever back to the bars.Worked out to be not enough brake fluid in the system. Also all the gears were a mile out of index so turned into nearly a full service -

 

Sunday Morning spin down to Roker beach and back

Yesterday we all had a day out to Hexham, Corbridge, Brockbushes farm shop then called in past Morrisons / B&M at Consett. By the time we got back in we were all shattered.
Today the forecast was looking good to say the least so time to dig the bikes back out and head for the coast. Arran was on the Dale Super X Hi Mod again, I have still not managed to sort a Reynolds internal nipple out for the front wheel. I did have them order from a bike shop in London but they did not have them is stock even though their website said they did and they were not willing order any more in so they cancelled my order. I took the Dale  slate and was a joy to ride again. Jane took the Cube E mtb for the first time so I had to swap the seatpin / saddle back to the original as its shorter and i have the saddle right forward on the rails ready. Also swapped the pedals over to her flats, wish she would try spd, save alot of  hassle! She enjoyed the 28 miles and was bombing up the hills shouting see ya later luv! whilst i was churning away it the boiling hot heat / sun. Me and Arran had a plan on the way back when we hit flatter sections to pick up the speed to 16-18 mph because the e bike tops out at 15mph then its pure leg muscle. The lines were quiet and did not have any hassle, Sunderland was bad with glass again but not as bad as the last time i went down there. They have had a clean up of dog doo, only a semi mine field this time. Below are a few sunny snaps from the ride, enjoy and hopefully more soon. Forecast is looking good all week with Thursday topping out at 25 degrees, too hot for me!

The van temp when we fired up the air con earlier in the afternoon.