Rallycross @ Croft Racing Circuit

We have been to a few Rallycross events at Croft now over the years and they are a fantastic action packed day out. The forecast was not looking the best but that was good as it made the circuit very testing for the drivers and there was plenty of crashes in the practice laps & Round 1 & 2 in the morning. After lunch it had dried up but the gravel sections were chopping up & very bumpy making the cars come off the ground along the back straight. Below is some photos of the days action, and a gallery here

One of the pit areas

These were mental flying around the circuit

A retro classic from my era! I remeber watching this going through Hamsterley Forest one year

580bhp beast of a machine

Something alittle different as well

Check out the size of this rig

Best pit bike of the day

Angus had his own BBQ! this was the most expensive horrible looking takeaway food i have seen

Who forgot to fasten their bonnet down!

This was on his first practice lap, they were coming off like skittles

Typical Croft weather

This was the loudest car of the day, popping and banging, not to mention the flames coming out of the exhaust

Paul from Coronation Street & Andy from Emmerdale

Clipped a tyre bundle



Local company but not racing on Saturday

League2000 Presentation Night

The Presentation Night for the League2000 2013 Series was on Friday night @ Southlands Sports Centre, Middlesbrough. It is always a great night for the kids and the hightlight is the slide show then followed by the presentations, oh and the juice / biscuits at the end. It great to see all the kids getting rewarded for all there hard effort they have put in over the series. It was a record breaking year in terms on number of riders and cash paid out. Well done to all @ the League2000.
Angus & Arran both got 3rd in their age cats - here they are happy as larry with their brown envelopes! happy spending boys.

What a difference a day makes, sunshine at last

Well after heavy rain all night and most of Wednesday afternoon the sun finally came out today and it was lovely to see instead of overcast cloud. I had a few hours to spare so decided to have a ride along the lines to try and keep reasonably free of mud! I decided to head up the C2C line / Waskerley to Park Head cafe, turn and burn then straight back down. It started off canny but by the time i got near the moors i could feel the wind and what a headwind it was. The last 6 mile of the 15mile out leg was a full on head busting slog and too top it off they had just laid a new subbase surface on the last 3miles to the cafe and it was like riding through glue. The cafe was closed when i got up there so had a quick drink and straight back down again. Still cool at times but for a change it was hotter at the top than it was at Consett and further down the line. As in the post below its was time to put on the winter boots so my feet were not cold or wet this time.  

Its time for Winter Boots again (45NRTH Fasterkatt)

Its that time of year again to drag out the winter boots, the weather was just starting to change last week and was cooler but still dry most days but this week is cold and a wash out. I have used winter boots for my offroad cycling for many years and have two pairs of Northwave Artic's. They have been performed well under the worst conditions apart from when we hit minus 12 degrees my toes were still cold and in very heavy rain it penetrates down into the boot through the ankle area and takes about a week to dry out properly inside. The market has several updated models from many manufacturers and some new models as well. I decided not to purchase a thrid pair of Northwaves but to try something alittle different for a change. Last winter i bought a skull cap manuafctured by a company called 45nrth and has performed very well. They have took out a less extreme boot this year and is probably more suited to my type of riding / conditions than there full blown extreme boot. Full info can be found here and are due into the country hopefully next week. Press relaease info here. I have a pair pre ordered so hopefully should be on my feet end of Oct / early Nov. Below are some photos of the boot.

Rally Cross @ Croft Racing Circuit this weekend

Also this weekend is Rallycross at Croft Racing Circuit, its on both days Sat 19th & Sun 20th Oct. We have been to a few Rally Cross events at croft and is a fantastic day out. Full info here and there will be Emmerdale & Coronation Street Stars driving as well. They have also booked stunt driver Paul Swift to appear. Wrap up warm as its also a cold and windy day down there.

For the third year in a row Croft will host the British Rallycross Championship finale and British Rallycross Grand Prix all in one weekend. Julian Godfrey came, saw and conquered in 2012 in his 550bhp Fiesta but he’ll be hard-pushed to defend his titles this year with stiff opposition from the likes of Andy Scott, Pat Doran and local hero Kevin Procter and probably some new challengers as well as rallycross starts to go through something of a boom period in its history…

Gates open: 8.00am Sat & Sun 
Price: Adults £10 Sat/£13 Sun
FREE accompanied children 15yrs & under
Website: www.rallycrossuk.com

Neccl Rd 4 this Saturday

Front Light - Lupine Report

I have been mid week night riding for many years now around Durham and the outskirts. My first proper light was a Cateye Stadium, now then who can remeber them! what a beast they were and the first of proper bright lights. Since then they set the standard for many other manufacturers to better. Westbrook Cycles started stocking Lupine so when the battery on my Cateye was not upto a couple hours of riding time i purchased a Edison 5. I used that for many years and still have it. It performed without fault and is an excellent light on both low & high beam settings. When a Betty 7 model come up for sale for half price i could not resist it. It has LED bulbs in the head unit so produces a more whiter/cleaner light compaired to the older style buld in the Edison which has a blue / yellow tinge. The Betty is very easy to install on the bike and only takes less than couple of minutes to set up. It is charged with the same Charger One and pumps out 1680 lumens on full power mode. The one thing i will say is when its on low beam setting it is not as bright as the Edison low setting but is ample for road use with street lighting but is too dull for offroad unless it is dusk. I have not mouted to my helmet so cannot comment on that but the performance from the handlebars is excellent offroad at high speed and just taking it steady through singletrack or bridleways. The overall weight of the light inc battery is just over a pound and burn time is more than enough for my average night ride. I will be using it offroad most weeks now until spring next year. Below is some stock photos of the Betty 7. I will do report on rear lights soon as well.

Fat Biking Weekend @ Berwick Upon Tweed

Spent the weekend at Berwick upon Tweed and took the Fat Bikes. We stayed in a Wishbone at Ord House, just on the outskirts of the town. We havent been to Berwick for a few years and the site had just been bought out the last time by a big national outfit when we were camping. There is no camping now but have put in 10no Wishbone Lodges (Wigwams/pods) £35-£30 per night. The on site facilities are top notice and could not ask for more. Plenty for the kids to do and the club house does food / drink as well. When I was a child i used to go to Berwick for nearly 10years on holidays in our caravn and not much has changed since then. Its a shame the town has so many empty shops now but its tough going out there. The butchers is still on the corner down the bottom of the town and does a cracking haggis, neeps and tattie pie with a cracking bakers over the road for cakes. Spittal is still great fun for a walk along the sea front/ beach and pop into the cafe / amusment arcade to spend a few quid. The swimming pool is great value for money on a wet day for some indoor entertainment. Here is a gallery of some photos of the weekend, the weather was very windy & cold at times but it stayed nearly dry until we left to come home. We had a ride along the coast on the Coast & Castles route from Berwick to Holy Island inc some beach riding. Enjoy.