A morning out to Derwent Reservoir - Duathlon (sort of) - Bike then Run

 

I am off today so decided to have a spin up to Derwent Reservoir. I have rode around the reservoir many times inc the Derwentside CC 10 mile TT. Them days have long gone now but thought I would take my gravel bike up and do some exploring on the tracks around the bottom end of the reservoir. There are a couple of gravel tracks joining up carparks and the stretch over the dam wall. Not very long but similar to the Lakeside way at Kielder. I did the road section on the top end of the reservoir and only seen one car. The weather was very mixed from heavy drizzle showers to light drizzle showers to dry and windy. 

All in 14 miles with just under 900ft of climbing. 

Once back at the car park I changed into my running gear and set off on the same lakeside way track I rode along earlier to the dam head, along the full length, turned and headed back. 5K on the nose with 105ft of climbing. It was slow going as my legs were still sore off yesterdays run. The weather picked up and the sun even tried to get out. Once back I changed again and put my new stove on and boiled some water for a cuppa and had a read of Cyclist magazine whilst it was cooling down. Enjoy and hopefully more soon- 

Fresh Goodies - Cranked CC Magazine & Park Tool DW-2 Spanner & 5k Trail Run

 

Following on from one of my previous blogs re Cranked CC Magazine I decided to order the last ever Edition (34) of the magazine. It is a real shame to see another great publication stop printing but its the way the world is going. It will make for some good reading over the darker / colder months to come. 

I also order a new Park Tool, probably one of the smallest tools they sell! I will use the 3mm open end when adjusting the headsets on my Creo's. 

And this afternoon I did another 5k trail run up the old railway line from Brandon towards Brancepth village and back. I had a huge headwind going out and a tailwind back. It looked like it was going to start raining a few times but then the sun came out a couple of times. I did just over 35 1/2 minutes this time with 89ft of climbing. Must try out my new Inov 8 trail shoes next time! Below is a screen shot of the route. Enjoy and hopefully more soon- 

Trek Marlin+ 8 E Mtb Hardtail - First trail centre outing - Hamsterley Forest

 

Yes I am back at Hamsterley Forest for another ride. This time it is the first outing for the Trek Marlin+ e mtb at a trail centre. As it is the first time the bike has had a shake down on some proper singletrack trails I did not venue too far "out the back" or "over the moors" and kept within the central forest / valley area. The weather was dry and no wind but it was freezing cold and very wet and muddy under tyre with the heavy overnight rain. I started off going out on the black route then mixed it up a little and joined on to the red back to the visitors centre. The bike felt ok and took the first few sections steady but built up some speed later on, on the more flowing / smother red sections. I might fit some riser bars as the front end feels too low. As I expected the 400w battery drained quickly compared to the Cube but I did have it in Auto nearly all the way around. I covered just under 15 miles with 2100ft of climbing and had 18% left when I finished the ride. The stock tyres are very good apart from the rear did not like dry muddy silty puddles for some reason. I probably had too much psi in them. I will also look into increasing the travel on my Fox forks from 100mm to 120mm to lift the front end up. Below are some rather damp, wet and muddy photos from the ride. Enjoy and hopefully more soon - 

Fresh Goods Sunday - Silca 1972 BMW 2002 Team Car T-Shirt (Red / Grey)

 

This weeks Fresh Goods Sunday is nothing too exciting. When I was putting in order directly with Saddleback this Silca T shirt was in their sale so decided to add it to the order. There is nothing special about the material or fit etc just a plain cotton T shirt. Yes if you are into your cycling you will recognise the logo / brand name on the front. It wears, washes and dries well. The quality is ok, not too thick or too thin / see through. It is on the lighter weight side so spot on for summer or under a sweater / hoodie etc when it gets colder. As the rrp will it is just plain crazy and defo not worth the money. What I paid was about top dollar for it. 

RRP £26.00 and I paid £16.38 inc 48hr p&p from Saddleback. Discount 41%

Manufacturers Blurb - 

This awesome throwback t-shirt is Silca's most popular casual design ever. The artwork was hand drawn by former professional triathlete and Ironman World Champion Tim DeBoom and printed by Endurance Conspiracy on an unbelievably soft enzyme washed, tagless, American-made t-shirt.  

As an absolute conversation starter in roadie circles, this shirt features a team car recreated from images of Silca and Castelli sponsored teams in the early 1970s. Show off your passion for the sport and knowledge of its beautiful history in the most comfortable shirt Silca has ever made.

• 100% Cotton
• Made in Nicaragua, Printed in the US
• Machine wash cold
• Do not use bleach
• Tumble dry low

Update inc this weeks Fresh Goodies - Garmin HR strap, Lezyne Zeco Drive 250+ light, Stans Sealant, Inov-8 goodies

 

As mentioned in my previous Blog I have ordered a replacement Garmin heart rate monitor strap which arrived yesterday from Wiggle £44.99 in 48hr p&p. It is exactly the same as my current strap which is playing up. 

I also ordered a replacement front small Lezyne LED light and that also arrived yesterday from Merlin Cycles. It is a updated version of the one that have Zeco Drive 250+ £30 inc 48hr p&p. As I have mentioned my old one is working again so will keep this for a spare or use it on another bike. 

I also collected a bottle of Stans No Tubes Tyre Sealant - Quart from Team Cycles as I used up some of my Loyalty points. So would have cost me £23 but it was FOC. I was getting low on stock, using my last bottle so plenty spare now. 

Last night I decided to look out my running kit again and checked back on my Garmin Connect - last 5k run was 5th Oct 2021! The forecast was looking dry with a gentle wind so me and Jane parked up at Willington and hoped onto the old railway line and headed towards Brancepth village for 1.60 miles, turned and come back, 3.2 miles (5K) with 88ft climbed. It was boiling hot and I was over dressed on the top half. I did think I was going to struggle but I was ok and managed to keep plugging away and felt ok at the end. To be honest I could have easily run further. Yes it was a slow pace but I did not stop. When I dug out my old kit last night my trainers need to go in the bin so we had a look through to the new outlet shop they have formed at the front on the Inov-8 warehouse at Crook. I bought some new trainers, T shirt,, hoodie and socks! more on these soon but I got some good bargains.