Back out in the cold gloom of Co Durham's gravel

 

I finished early today so decided to have another spin out on my Creo 2 gravel bike. There was no frost or ice today as the temperature was higher but still felt really cold as there was no sun. The Garmin was hovering around 1.5 degrees for the whole ride. It was one of my regular loops taking in two of Co Durham's old railway lines and two short tarmac inter linking road sections. There was not many others out n about and I only stopped a couple of times to take some snaps. most of the snaps were from the saddle. All in just under 19.5 miles in 1hr 23 mins with an ave speed of 14.2mph and 800ft of climbing. Enjoy the few snaps below and hopefully more soon - 

Back out again for a very cold and icy local gravel spin.

 

Well my biking mojo has well and truly gone. I have not been out on my bikes much over the last few months but hopefully it will come back and I will get back out more enjoying some winter miles. 

The weather has been a real mixed bag from dry, overcast, cloudy, sunny, freezing cold, wind, warm, rain and snow. 

For this ride the frost and ice never lifted much all day so tried to stick to the gravel sections of Co Durham's old railway lines. The valley / lower parts was below minus -3 degrees then on the higher parts it was like riding from the freezer into the oven. There was a few other out but too not many. Below are a few cold looking snaps. Enjoy and hopefully more soon - 

A hot and cold ride up the old railway line on the Specialized Creo 2

 

Back out on the Creo 2 gravel for a local spin up the old railway line. I joined onto the line at Langley Park and headed towards Consett. It was mainly overcast and cloudy with a strong headwind all the way up. There was a few others out but not that many so was easier going. The lines were still mainly dry and mud free which was a bonus. It was really cold down in the Lanchester valley, less than 4 degrees but when I started climbing it was 9 degrees. Once at the crossroads I turned left and over Hownsgill viaduct and headed toward Parkhead. Once I reached the A68 I turned and headed back down again, this time with a tailwind! All in 20.5 miles in 1hr 31 mins with 750ft of climbing. Enjoy a few snaps below and hopefully more soon- 

Back out in the gloom on Co Durham's old railway lines on my Creo 2

 

Early finish today so decided to hit the trails again as there was no frost / ice today. There was also no sun so even though the temperature was higher it felt colder. The Garmin never got above 1.7 degrees the whole ride. It was one of my regular loops taking in two of Co Durham's old railway lines and two short inter linking road sections. The lines are still in canny good nic considering the crap weather recently and were pretty fast going. I only stopped a couple of times for photos and the rest were taken when riding. All in just under 19.5 miles in 1hr 22mins with an ave speed of 14.2mph and 800ft of climbing. The bike is going well and I felt ok as well. Enjoy the few snaps below and hopefully more soon- 

Spin through to Bishop for a sausage buttie and Sram battery died mid ride.

 

Another sunny day and I finished work early and went out for a spin on the Creo 2. I hoped onto the old railway line at Langley Park and headed to Broompark Picnic Area where I turned left towards Bishop. Again the lines are still mainly lovely and dry with little mud. Couple of things you have to look out for is dips / holes which are covered in leaves so hard to see and also soft sections of mud / the edge of the track. Over the last couple of rides I have had a few scary moments losing the front and or rear wheel in soft sections under a blanket of leaves overtaking / passing other users. Once I reached Brnacepth village my rear mech had stopped worked. I tried pressing the button to see if it would reconnect to the shifters but no flashing from the light. I was just thinking on the way out when I last charged the battery but I have not been using the bike much over the last few months. Anyway I decided to turn and head back to Meadowfield and over to Infinity Cycles. The lad in the workshop whipped out the battery and put it on their fast charger. I had a look around the shop before heading back over to the workshop. He refitted the battery back in the mech and pressed the button and it went into service mode then synced back to the levers. I was back up and running but for how long? I decided to continue on my original route through to Bishop Auckland but did not change the gears as much! I had a lovely sausage buttie from Fifteas tearooms before heading back. I must have had a tailwind all the way through as the wind was straight into my face all the way back to Langley Park. It was hard going and my legs felt empty. On the plus side the Sram battery did not die again.  All in just under 33 miles, ave 13.7mph with 1050ft of climbing. Enjoy the couple of snaps below and hopefully more soon-