Looking at the forecast it is going to be the hottest day of the year here in Co Durham so i decided to go for a spin on the bike as i had a few hours saved up on my flexi leave. I parked up at Broom Park and headed up the old railway line to Consett. It was lovely and cool in the wooded sections but also still muddy. Once at Consett I turned left and headed straight up to Parkhead then to Crawleyside. The wind was very strong but could not work out its direction. The last long leg over the moor towards the cafe was a killer to say the least. I thought i would have had a tailwind all the way back down but no i was still struggling with a strong headwind on many long sections. The bike was going well but my legs were not feeling it today for some reason. I was hoping to get in a 60-70+ miler but that was looking like it was out of the window. Once i got back down to Broom Park the heat was starting to ramp up and the Garmin was reading 27 degrees! I forgot my spare water bottle so only had 600ml with me. I had planned to going up the old railway line to Stanley Crook / Crook then back again and possibly do a third leg down the old railway line to Bishop n back. I had an energy bar and thought well i have 44.2 miles in at least i should manage 50 miles. I set off along the line to Waterhouses and my legs felt ok'ish but i was not looking forward to the climb up to Stanley Crook. This line was a lot quieter than the Consett line so kept my head down and went for it. Once at the top i decided not to drop down to Crook to climb back up again. The return leg was much faster from the top and i was back to Broom Park in no time. That was 60 miles, 2300ft of climbing with an ave of 14.2 mph and i had no water left and it was getting even hotter so called it a day and headed home in the van with the air con on full belt. Below are a few snaps from the ride and a couple of video clips at the bottom, enjoy and hopefully more soon -
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