Turn Night into Day on the Beargrease

With the evenings starting to draw in quickly its time to charge your lights up again. This is the second night so far on the Beargrease set up for the dark nights. On a Wednesday I drop Angus off at the CX training at Meadowfield then i head off along the lines in the darkness. This week was an eye opener to say the least. The temperature without the baltic gale windchill factor was just over 6 degress and you could hardly stand up on the open field. Once onto the lines and through the woods most sections were sheltered better from the wind but still hard going. I was going to head for the hills but kept it simple and went aalong the old line to Bishop Auckland, over the Newton Cap Viaduct and into Bishop. Quick drink, 180 degree turn around and headed straight back. Last week there were a few walkers, horse riders and animals about inc an owl & a bat, this week i only seen two people over the 19 miles and no wildlife, they had more sense than me! I took the camera but i think it was suffering from the cold like me, got a few snaps of the Lupine Betty 7 and Smart R1 lights in action. 

On the way out still some daylight as it was a clear sky

Just over 6 degrees compaired to 16 degrees the day before

Lighting up the bridge underpass

R1 on full power, dont use this option offroad but is excellent for road sections

Turn night into day on full power option

This was just before i set off and you can see the floodlights were on

Camera was just not having it tonight

Upgraded last year from my old Edison 5, which is still going strong

A test report on the lights will be on the Blog over the next few weeks after some more night rights.

Autumn Riding at its best

What fantastic weather we are having at the mo in the NE of England. The leaves are falling from the trees, very little rain and the sun even comes out sometimes. Strong winds are the only problem and on the exposed open sections its tough going. On Sunday i was up early and the forecast was looking good so time to drag out the Cannondale Super X Hi Mod for some offroad mileage.
I headed from home down to Chester le Street, zoom around the riverside then straight to Gateshead. Down to the waterside then along the cycle track to the Metro Centre. From there turned left and headed up hill all the way to Consett coal truck junction. The climb is long but gentle but was hard work with a headwind. It was blowing a gale at Consett but no signs of any snow up there yet! it will not be long though lol. A quick drink and rest the legs for a few mins then turned left and down the line to Langely Park where i bumped into Richy just heading out in the opposite direction on a mission to cover 100 offroad miles on his Super X, after a chat it was time to get going again and on down to Bearpark farm then home. Garmin route details here
My Cannondale Super X has performed in all conditions with no major problems over the past year. I have changed the lower bearing in the headset and greased the bb30 up a couple of times. Apart from that the bike has been excellent on tarmac and offroad. 1 1/2 hr niht ride planned for tomorrow night so off to charge up my battery and get the Beargrease ready. Might take the camera and see if i can get some photos.

Washed and ready for some more offroad action

Ian's Splitting & Cracking ride @ the 3 Peaks CX

This is Ian just before incident no2. It was Ians 9th 3 Peaks Cyclo Cross and with some training and better weather this year he was flying. The wind on the tops made it very interesting riding just trying to keep on the bike. He had less cramp which is one of the major problems on the third hump and forgot his gels but completed in 4.47.25.
If you have a look at the photo to the right he is not riding his new Scott CX Carbon Addict because it developed a crack during training just before the event. Good news Westbrook Cycles have sorted him out a new replacement frame now. Problem no2 was the tight arse had run his rims to the limit of wear and the front one split. A lovely lady loaned Ian a replacement wheel so he could complete the Peaks. So all in it was an expensive outing but defo one to remember.

  

The World of Fat 2014 Bling has started

2014 is going to FAT MASSIVE, its going to be mental with new gear getting designed and tested for the masses (if you can afford it!) here are some photos of some recent Trade Shows. It will not long before the first Carbon Fat Bikes hit the UK shores. Im not saying anymore but technology and new designs are appearing every week from designers/manufacturers. Hopefully there will be a greater choice and more stock available in the UK for its riders. Dont think it will be long before On One have a set of carbon forks on the market then followed by a frame !


I think this is a lovely looking bike, not sure if its coming to the UK market

oh yes this is the one, check out the sample rims, mega bucks

I just love a nice TI, not many of them about

Wonder if there is going to be a frame to match the forks ?

Time to work hard, play hard

Winterisation of road bikes

Yes its that time of year again and time to start getting the bikes ready for the cold, dark and dirt/grime. I have an old Litespeed which is converted for winter riding which stays the same spec all year but after dragging it out of the cave it was time for some new rubber. I fitted some Conti GP 4 Season 23c tyres on it back in July 2010. Since then I havent swapped them from to back or even had them off the rims. The rear was getting flat in the middle but the front still had a small ridge of rubber. The only problem i found was they were a small section tyre and with the amount of pot holes it was time to up date to the 25c version. Shop around and there are some cracking deals on them at the mo. The new ones have exactley the same tread pattern just alittle wider and i mean alittle. I fitted them to the rims, pumped them up and could hardly notice any difference in width to the 23c's. Since then they have done approx half a dozen rides and are scuffing in nicely with no problems.
Now on to the mud guards these are full guards and remain on the bike 12 months of the year. I normally get the SKS models but Westbrook Cycles recommended Tortec which were cheaper to purchase. The section of the guard etc is the same as the SKS inc fittings etc. I had some tweaking to do for the front mech but apart from that no problems. In use they are very ridgid and i get very little tyre rub even with the 25c tyres on. In the wet you get very little spary and do a very good job of keeping your rear dry on a stinker of a day. They come in silver and black option inc reflective side strips, more info here they also come without the reflective strips if you want to save a fiver.

Onto the boys Caad10, now this is a different kettle of fish. He uses this bike on and off all year and he dosent have a seperate winter road bike. With this beig a full on race bike tolerances are tight and you can only fit a couple of designs of mudguards. I used to use the Crudracer Mk1's but they dropped to pieces after a year or so and didnt give much protection but it was better than none. The MK2's came out so time to give them a try. They offer alot better protection but are still very flexy and fragile. They take a long time to set up on the bike and need adjusting after the first two or three rides after they settle in. With them being very flexi they do suffer alot of rim/tyre rub at times. One trick we have learnt is to glue the plastic nuts/bolts together as they are always coming apart and you can easily over tighten them. We will see how they last over the winter. Angus took his Michy Pro Race's off and got the my old Conti 4 seasons, swapping the back to the front and vice versa. Still plenty of miles left in them.   
Blog to follow on the Winterisation of the Fat / Offroad bike fleet and yesterday adventure on the Super X.

The old 23c version

The new 25c version

Front MK2 Crudracer

Just starting to run flat in the middle, they are wearing very well or should that be slowly

Rear MK2 with longer extensions on both ends of the guard

My Brooks is still going strong on my winter bike and is super comfy, will probably last longer than me !

Outskirts of Durham on the Fat Bikes

Not many rides in this week due to workload, so decided to have a chill out ride this morning with kids looping around Durhams out skirts then call in past the City Centre on the way home. The forecast was fantastic but the sun never came out and was overcast & chilly. The tracks are starting to get muddy now and puddles after yesterdays storms. We covered 24 miles and nearly 1500ft climbing but was steady away riding. Below is a gallery of some photos of the ride. The camera battery was flat and is it was not playing ball, apologies.

Farmer has just left enough to ride along

Ploding along the lines

Just rode up this !

Following the boyos

Angus having another practice lap from Wednesday night

Time for a quick break under the tree

Head for the middle arch boys

Waiting for the electric gates to open

Found these en route

Four of them stacked up

Wonder what the cow looking over the gate was thinking?

Also come across another bike

Very bright front wheel

No ice cream today

Dont you just love the local kids sense of humour



CX Spotive & Etape Pennines This Weekend

This is a new Cyclo Cross Event for the North, Sunday 6th October and looks like a right good hard route as well. There are two different distances / routes on the day, Massif 62 miles and Min Massif 44 miles - both leaving from the beautiful town of Keswick. Full information on the event is here and on line entry is here from a very reasonable £25. The route map is below as well.
Also this Sunday is the BIGGEST Cycling Event taking place in Co Durham Etape Pennines. There will be loads of local roads closed for the event and starts / finishes in Barnard Castle this year. Full info here and full route map here