Quick spin down the C2C from Annfield Plain to the new A1M tunnel n back

 

Well I was passing through Annfield Plain today and it had stopped raining, sleeting, snowing with hail stones mixed in. I had a bike in the back of van so jumped on to the C2C and headed down to Birtley. My plan was to go down the line for 5 miles then back 5 miles then up to Consett for 5 miles and back again so if the heavens did open yet again I was not too far away from shelter. Well I headed off down the C2C with a good tail wind enjoying the sunny spells but it was getting darker and darker. Then it got brighter again so headed down to the new tunnel under the A1M which has reopened after being closed for a very long time. To be honest I was not impressed with the design or the quality of the engineering so turned and headed back up. Now I had the headwind and incline. On the plus side there was very few people out and about. The few that was out some were just plain ignorant, they would not move over an inch when I rang my bell and said excuse me! Dogs were running wild and the amount of dog doo on the line was unreal around South Pelaw area. Anyway I was just spinning past Beamish woods area and the heavens opened so I hid in one of the tunnels for 5 minutes or so until it blew over. By the time I got back to Annfield Plain I was rather damp and cold. The Garmin was reading 2.2 degrees and we are nearly into May, unreal. 

Below are a few snaps from the ride, enjoy and hopefully more soon- 

Time to ride down the Lambton Worm today

and off its tail 

Full winter kit back on again today! 

This is the Lambton Worm on my Garmin map

Local loop down to Durham / Maiden Castle on the Cube E mtb

 

What a weekend we have had, never stopped. Saturday we has a spin through to Dalton Park for some food shopping at Morrisons then for a walk around the retail side. After that it was a full loop of the park land inc the climb right up to the top where we once did a cx race. Then it was over to Seaham for a walk round shops / sea front. 

Yesterday we had a spin up to the toon for a walk around the quayside market, that was disappointing compared to the last time we were there then a walk around the shops. Both days we covered over 12000 steps each day. 

Today the sun was out early again and so was I. Overnight frost and the Garmin was reading 0.7 degrees so a nippy one! It was my usual down to Durham, around Maiden Castle, The Trod and back home via Frankland loop - 14 miles on the Cube e mtb. I was feeling rough with empty legs so was hard going but nice to get out. I was 3 miles or so away from home and it started clouding over and it turned real cold in the headwind. The tracks and trails were lovely and quiet with hardly a sole kicking around. I climbed nearly 700ft in the 1hr 10 mins. Below are a few photos from the ride, enjoy and hopefully more soon-