Local e mtb route down and around Durham / Maiden Castle / Houghall and back

 

Yet another cool, overcast and cloudy local ride today. The best thing is the wind has finally died down so it was much more pleasant going out on the e mtb. It was one of my usual loops down to Durham, over to Maiden Castle, then some singletrack fun through Houghall woods, up The Trod, back around Durham then home via Frankland / The Sands. All in 16.5 miles with 800ft of climbing. The tracks n trails were mainly lovey and quiet. 

I am going to give the mtb a good wash, degrease, dry, charge, lube and buff up later. The front brake calliper needs adjusting as the new pads are rubbing on one side of the rotor. 

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

Canny walk up and down Seaham beach / sea front and harbour & a catch up

 

It has been a busy week as Arran has been looking for a new car for a few months now and he is after something very specific. There has been none in the North East until the last week then there was four all turn up around the same time. He has had my head spinning but a deal was done on Saturday morning at a local garage. That took up most of Saturday morning but we managed to nip over to Bishop for breakfast and some shopping. 

Today (Sunday) I was feeling rough and head still spinning for all the car business so me and Jane had a trip over to Seaham for a walk along and back the beach / sea front. The wind was crazy yet again but it was sunny for nearly all the walk. We had a cuppa down at the harbour area before popping over the shops for some shopping. We called in past Dalton Park on the way back. Jane had a look around the shops and I walked up / down and around the hill on the opposite side. My legs were tired after nearly 3 hours of walking. 

Hopefully the wind will die down this week and we will get some warmer temperatures and I can get out on my bikes for a few spins. 

NE XC MTB - Gypsies Green, South Shields 10th June

 

Steady spin up the old railway line to Lydgetts junction n back

 

Todays short spin was an out n back along the old railway line from Bearpark up to Lydgetts junction at Consett. The lines were still damp and muddy in the shaded wooded sections. The dust has gone for now but we are getting some heat tomorrow by all accounts. Today it was usual overcast, cloudy with a gentle breeze. Not too warm and not too hot, in fact ideal really. There was plenty of others out and about - walkers, dog walkers, cyclists and horse riders. I was steady going up but opened the taps up a little on the way back down. Overall just under 22 miles with 900ft of climbing. A few snaps below, enjoy and hopefully more soon- 

Short spin up the C2C to Parkhead n back from Consett

 

Yet another cold, overcast and cloudy ride here in Co Durham. We have now been the coldest place in the UK for the last three days according to the BBC weather forecast. Even Lerwick next to Norway / Iceland has been warmer! But on the plus side very little wind to day or so I thought. I was in the Consett area so headed up the C2C / old railway line to Parkhead. My feet were barley turning the pedals on the last long open stretch across the open moorland to the café. When I turned I could understand why, I had tailwind most of the way up = a headwind on the way back down. The line was reasonably dry after last nights heavy rain. It was lovely and quiet going up but a few more users on the way back down. Below are a few snaps from the ride. Just over 20 miles with nearly 900ft of climbing. Enjoy and hopefully more soon - 

New chain, crank arms and pedals are going well 

Sun just trying to burn though when I got back to Delves Lane way

Local road loop - Burnhope & Pontop Pike and a Catch Up

 

Well what a week of weather we have had in Co Durham. It rained for nearly two days solid and very heavy showers for the next two days. We have been off work this week and nipped over to Penrith for the day as it was better weather on the West side on Wednesday. It finally dried up on Thursday so I have been catching up with outside jobs on Thursday and Friday. 

This morning I decided to have a local road loop after my over bars moment during my last ride. I was sore and bruised a few days after and took days for all the nettle stings to finally calm down. Luckily there was no excitement during this mornings road loop. I took in the three transmitters - Pontop Pike, Burnhope and Broom House. The bike is going well with the new tyres fitted and had no issues of Stans spraying 8ft in the air. The extra width from 32c to 35c is very noticeable and a lot more comfortable running them at lower pressure. The roads were lovely and quiet first thing before most people come out for the Bank holiday weekend madness. Below are a few snaps form the overcast, cool ride but the sun did come out for a very brief period of time with less than a mile to go. All in 32.5miles in 2 hours 8 minutes with 2300ft of climbing. Enjoy and hopefully more soon-