Saturday morning short gravel loop from Bishop with Jane

Well no cycling or any form of exercise really this week. Managed a 2+ hour steady walk on Thursday also went up the docs to get all the bandages, stiches, strips etc off and cleaned up. They are happy with progress so far. My back looks like its done ten rounds with Frankie Bruno and lost! Anyway needed some gentle exercise / fresh air to clean the lungs so headed out to drive through to Bishop to park up. Me and Jane then went out and did a short steady loop. The lines were damp from the two days of continuous rain midweek but not too bad. The lines were also lovely and quiet. It started out sunny but clouded over and there was a real nip in the air. The Garmin was reading 5 degrees for most of the ride but got up to 7 to 8 near the end. The only mishap was my Garmin come off its munt when I was opening a gate and did not notice until 1/2 a mile later so had to track back but found it lying on the ground!
We also came across a couple of swimmers in the river Browney, one had a wet suit on but the other one just a swimming costume! must have been bloody freezing to say the least. Everyone to there own and they looked like they were enjoying it. Below are a few snaps of them and a short video clip.
Once back to the van we had a walk around the town centre for some shopping, breakfast in spoons, food and petrol from morrisons then down to Pound Stretcher then over to Bolmans in Sedgefield then over to Brandon to see Janes mum and dad then back home, what a day!

And a short video clip of the swimmers in the Browney

Bike Shield + Gore Delivery

Last week I also received a delivery direct from Gore, Belgium. I have bought some new shorts to go with my new Gore short sleeved jersey I bought last year in the sale, I have not worn yet. It was free p&p and only took 3 days and that included a weekend, I also had a 15% off voucher. My Merlin parcel the week before took 5 days from Yorkshire to Durham via the Royal Mail, its just unreal!

 

I have also bought some Bike Shield, off the roll this time from Inspiral Cycles. I got 50cm for £15. The down tube on the Cannondale Synapse Neo E bike has no protection and as I also use the bike as a gravel bike I want to protect the paintwork. I have the full shield kits but they were not wide / long enough due to the down tube size for the battery. I cut it down to width and cleaned the paintwork and on it went. There was a couple of air bubbles but not too bad. The strip I had left was long enough for the top tube so cut that down to shape and cleaned the paintwork and applied in the same method. This time there was loads more bubbles and looks like the glue / adhesive has caused the problem. I have tried heating them up with a hair dryer etc but not made much difference.. I will see if they disappear naturally over time. It does not look the best at the mo but does protect the paintwork.

Fresh Goods Sunday - MET STRADIVARIUS Road Helmet

I have used MET helmets for nearly all of my cycling life. I have always used the Stradivarius model for the road, not that you cannot use it off road. Met have not changed the deign very much over the years which suits me as they always feel comfortable on my head and I have never had any problems with them. This one come in the sale at the back end of last year as it was an old model / colour but brand new with box etc. The gel pads are far better than the old cloth ones. It is very easy to adjust with the adjustment wheel at the back. The straps, once set up for your ears / chin never need much adjustment. The only time I adjust the length of the strap if I have my ear warmer on. Talking about that due to my head being fat I cannot wear my full winter hat underneath as there is just not enough room width wise. On the other end of the scale my head never over heats in the summer as there are loads of vents. The stickers on the helmet are also reflective if using on darker evenings / nights. All in I could not go wrong for the money that I paid. Hopefully this will last as long as all my other previous Met helmets which I still have scattered around the house / loft / garage / van!
RRP £130 and I paid £52

Manufacturers blurb -
CONSTRUCTION.
IN-MOULDING INTELLIGENT FUSION / Different densities of material, depending on the characteristics of each model.
FULL WRAP / The polycarbonate shell wraps the bottom of the helmet towards the inside of the shell.
HOMOTHETIC EMBEDDED SKELETON / Spreads the pressure built up at the impact point, and thus dissipates the force of impact over the whole shell.

SIZE ADJUSTER  
SAFE-T ADVANCED / Lighter with broader contact area, the pressure is distributed in a homogenous way.

STRAPS
AIR LITE STRAPS / A revolutionary technique of weaving polyester fibres aids sweat evaporation and provides greater tensile strength with less weight.
AIR LITE LATERAL DIVIDERS / Their ultra-flat design helps reduce aerodynamic drag.
EMBEDDED STRAPS ANCHORING POINTS / Improves the aerodynamics and the straps' tensile stress is more evenly dissipated in case of impact.

COMFORT
FULL GEL O2 PADDING / Hypo-allergenic, anti-bacterial, made from thermo-stabilising polyurethane morpho-gel. Keeps the head cooler.

BE SEEN!
REFLECTIVE STICKERS / At night or in tunnels, they make the bike visible to drivers approaching from behind.
REFLECTIVE LOGO/ The MET logo on each side of the helmet is reflective too.

Weekly catch up + Sunday morning local road ride on Cannondale Synapse Neo E

Well what a week it has been, two busy days at work then I packed my bag on Tuesday afternoon ready for the hospital on Wednesday. I did not sleep much the night before, if fact I have not slept properly for a weeks, anyway I was up and out the house by 6.30am after two slices of toast. The waiting room was quite so thought to myself I might be in the operating theatre a little quicker today even though I am always last on the list due to having MRSA in the past at Dryburn. After more form filling, questions etc I was marked up, clothes off, gown on and ready to go by 8.15am. I hate going to the tiny back waiting room as its very small, no fresh air, red hot and just awful to sit in for 5 hours or so. They also don't like you taking any magazines, food / drink etc into the room. I call it the torture room. So after some discussion I went up to the massive lounge area right next to the window which was open and the tv was on. Nearly six and half hours later they called me to go down to the operating theatre, they were not ready so waited another half hour then it was all systems go. Both the surgeons were happy with the operation and just waiting for the lab test results coming back. I was back home and feet up by 3pm and shattered / in pain.
Well after two weeks off the bike I decided to go for a local road loop this morning. It was cold, windy, overcast & cloudy. The gritters had been out and some roads were pure white with salt. My legs felt empty from the word go, not a good start but I kept plugging away and felt slightly better after they had warmed up. I did not stop too often for photos so there is only a few below.
Enjoy and hopefully more soon -