The suns out again

so was back out again for a 15 miler today on the Beargrease again for third day running. Todays route was onto the Lines at Meadowfield - broom park - langley park - turn left up the offroad climb & come out at Old Esh - through the farm and down hill to join the esh line - left then to ushaw moor - brrom park - right then back to Meadowfield / work. When i got home there was goodies landed - Deda blue bar tape for Arrans Cannondale road bike, Deuter saddle bag for Arrans Scott Scale mountain bike & a new pump for myself to go onto the beargrease. The spring had come out of the twinhead lever on my old Topeak one and rattled like buggery. I spotted this pump called Blackburn Mammoth Stage 2 in a couple of cycle shops when we were on our hols but was £25. Shopped around and when I got home and got the pump for just under £11 inc p&p. 

I shall report back on how it performs on the 4" tyres, cannot be any worse than any normal mini pump. Looks beefy enough for the job.

Repair night number two - Cannondale Super X this time - two new tyres fitted, both front & rear hubs greased/serviced & adjusted. The rear gears were not changing properley so spent nearly an hour checking cables, adjusting rear mech & cable tension but it must be the Ultegra 10 speed shifter. It just dosent want to work so will be heading back down to Westys for a warranty job. Thanks Richy for washing your bike before dropping it off, not like normal !

The last time it was an open heart surgery job to get a Cannondale Disc CX bike back on road for him, check out the BB in the pic to the left, it took some getting out i tell you.

One last thing if you are planning a ride along the lines tomorrow dont go near Diggerland to Malton stretch as its completely closed to all users and there will be a road diversion in place. After that there will be still works going on for five weeks but should be open but take it steady.

Tweed Butchered

I forget to mention that when ever we head for the Scottish Borders we never take any meat as we always call in past a couple of Butchers en route and fantastic. First up is in Selkirk town centre opposite the Market place is Halliwells. His mint lamb burgers are so full of flavour, special sausages and three different types of chicken kebabs are very tasty on the barbie. Best of all for me being a pie eater is his chicken curry pies, i could eat them all day.

Next one is in Peebles itself on the High Street called Forsyths & Sons, there is also a cracking bakers next door as well. We normally spend a small fortune in here at least a couple of times each time we go up. You always have to queue but its worth waiting for. His Haggis cheese fritters slip down a treat not to mention his pork pies & lasagne pies. No mush wonder i have to ride my bike every day im up there to try and burn it all back off but theres nowt like that down in here in Durham.

If Tweedlove is over a school hol next year in 2014 we will defo be back up  for more action. Fantastic festival of cycling events.

Events & things

This weekend sees the Selkirk Mtb Marathon Event take place. Looks like the new local team have it sorted and there is free camping etc @ the Rugby club. There is going to additional attractions / events on the Friday night inc the pump track & rides with the locals on the Sunday. There is entry on the day for the 25k, 50k & 80k full course. Full details are on the website here

Later in the month is a new event down in Swaledale - Fremington on Sun 30th June. Its an Mtb Enduro but they are also doing a one lap 40k Sportive event for £20. Not sure what they have planned for the Saturday but there is camping in the field on the Sat night. Having ridden the Nutcracker events down there on the edge the terrain will be very technical, steep & stoney. Full details are on there website here not sure if there is going to any entry on the day so better get pre entered now.

After unloading and sorting out / gardening all day Sunday it was a rest day on Monday in the sunshine. The sun was still out onTuesday so was going to go for a road ride but ended up on the Beargrease along the lines loop for a lovely dusty 16 miler and nearly 1000ft quick blast. Today it was too good to be true back to overcast & cloudy with a cool breeze so Beargrease again covering a fast 17miles blast along the line to Bishop & back due to time constraints.
Also two days of sorting mates bikes. First up in my workshop was a Cannondale Rize 140mm, converted to 10 speed and a wheel change. Fitted a Shimano clutch rear mech, not sure if my type of riding requires one but a very good idea. Its away to fortwilliam to mix it up the World Cup crew!  Next one to land is a Cannondale Super X which has had its poor life ridden out of it so will have to wait and see whats worn out.

Fat Bikes hit Tweedlove / Glentress & Inner's

Yes it was holiday time again for the bikes. Van packed to the roof off we set to Peebles for four days. Longterm forecast was cloudy, cool & dry. It was cracking weather with sun and plenty heat with no rain at all through all the days of riding. The new cycle track from Peebles to Inners is open and has a link to Glentress so just used that all the time. Saves paying the £3 every time you park up and warms the legs up before you get there. Plenty free carparking at both ends and was very popular with cyclists, walkers & horse riders. The new bridge wasnt fully open but you could still cross it. The tunnel at Peebles end is very dark and the road crossing at Glentress is not the best and you must take extra care as the traffic is very fast. We took part / watched all the Tweedlove Bike Festival Events whilst we were there inc Kids Dirt Crit, Film night, Photo gallery, Short film comp, Dual slalom, Glentress seven, Nat British Downhill Series. What a fantastic Festival and wished we could have seen more. We did Glentress Red, Green, Skills, Blue but ran out of time to do Black & Freeride area. The ride i enjoyed the most is Inner's Red. It was baking hot, clear skies and could see for miles from the top of Minch Moor. Both Fat bikes lapped up the trails with no probs but Glentress is getting very rough in some sections and my wrists were sore at the end of some of the sections. Some photos of the enjoyment below and here is some more

May Bank Hol means Richmond Grass Track Racing

Normally we all go down for the parade and activities in the Gardens but had jobs to do in the morning and Angus had to have a fixed track bike to race this year which hasent got so we did things alittle different. Angus & me got dropped off at Scotch Corner so we could ride to Richmond via the Stang. Whislt Arran went straight to the track meeting. We have done this route before but todays weather was not the best. We started with overcast cloudy skies and a cold wind. By the time we weaved our way through many singletrack country back lanes and onto the moor heading for the Stang it was blowing a gale straight into our faces. Temperature dropped to 8 degress and raining. It was a struggle to get over the top, quick stop to put our coats on, few quick pics then had to pedal down hill to Reeth. Called in past Dales Bike Centre shop for a quick look & warm up then it was a blast down the road to Richmond. My legs were gone by the time we hit the last climb going into Richmond Town Centre. Arrans race was just starting when we landed so timed it to perfection. There was a few good crashes on the track as it was getting greasy with the rain. Rest day tomorrow for my legs but taking the car for its MOT.

Route map from todays ride is here and some photos are here

Ride through to Raby Castle Run

The sun was out again so i decided to have a ride through to watch the Raby Castle 5 & 10k run. The ride through was ok but still a cool headwind in many places but the roads were very quiet at that time of morning. Just over 20 miles + 3or4 riding around Raby Estate. The 5k run started at 10am sharp and the set up was fantastic with loads more marshalls out this year and a pa system with pre warm events. Jane, Arran & Angus were all running and had pb's to try and beat. Arran is just a little whippet and never even broke sweat and did very well. Angus just loves the crack and had to beat 30mins which is not bad as its a very undulating course. Jane dosent enjoy the hills but was on full power. All three are sitting waiting for their official times. There was a big field in the 10k with some very fast runners. Great day out.  Below are some pics of the mornings action -

Over the top on the road bike

With no miles since last Sunday it was time to drag my arse out for a good kicking. The sun has finally come out again and the wind has dropped it was time to drag out the big speed gun Dale Supersix. Pumped the tyres up and she was ready to role up & over Weardale Dales. Had a few hours to get a ride in so headed to Nevilles Cross, turnerd right and straight upto Stanhope. A quick half energy bar break then turned right and up and over Crawleyside. Once on the top there wasnt much speed / freewheeling as I had a headwind. The one section after the pub on the top where you can get a good freewheel there was a sheep right in the middle of my side of road and a car coming the opposite direction at exactly the same time left me to lock up my rear brake and scrub some speed off my 39mph, it didnt give a monkeys just stood there and stared at me. By the time i got back down to Lanchester it was time for another quik half bar break before turning left after the church for a steady climb up the Peth, it dosent get any easier. Cracking views from the top of Burnhope but didnt have time to stop & enjoy them. All in i covered 50 miles of lovely sunny / clear sky riding. Forgot to take my camera so no pics of the ride but here is the route map .

Due to no photos i will do a quick follow up review of my Sram Red X Glide 1090 cassette that i have been using for approx five months now. I originally fitted to the cross bike but found out it was no good in the mud but perfect for the lines etc. I swapped it over onto my road bike and has performed with no problems what so ever. Crisp changes and quiet in operation. It was expensive but its light and lasting well. Im also using a Sram chain but Dura ace shifters etc.