Lovely local spin down & around Durham / Maiden Castle

 

I was up and out early this morning and it was cold. The North East wind was baltic again but on my way around to the bottom of The Trod the sun started to come out and warmed me up nicely. Still no students around Durham but loads and loads of dog walkers. The tracks n trails are still running well as we have had no rain. The blue bells have started to come out in Houghall woods which is lovely Spring sight to see in the sunshine. There was also loads of spring lambs in the fields at Frankland farm enjoying the sun and jumping around. All in just over 14miles in 1 hour 8 mins with 650ft of climbing. Below are a few photos from the ride, enjoy and hopefully more soon. 

NE XC MTB Series RD1 - South Shields Velodrome

 Round 1 of the NE XC MTB series - same venue as we use for the CX. Main race 7.45pm for 45mins. 

Catch up on the Easter bank holiday weekend

 

Well that was probably the best weather we have had for a long time for a bank holiday weekend! On the Friday I went out for a 45 mile gravel ride. Saturday me, Jane & Arran had a day out down to Northallerton for a walk / look around. Sunday I washed and cleaned out Arrans car then swapped over 4no sets of car / van winter wheels to summer wheels. Monday I decided to fit some new front discs / brake pads to my van and also fitted new rear brake pads . I also gave all the brakes etc a good clean and greased everything up. Just needs the front tracking checking now and that's it. I also had to dropped Angus's van back off at Sherwoods Citroen Gateshead as they failed to fix the addblue problem the first time around so popped my road Creo in the back for a ride back. All was well apart from a Thompsons tipper wagon ran me off the road coming out of Low Fell. It was a fast 12 miles home averaging 17.5mph with only 500ft of climbing. 

Me and Jane also had a walk around Seaham and did some shopping. It was lovely and quiet and had a lovely cuppa from the ice cream café down at the dock. 

I also managed to get out on the bike today for a quick loop which was mainly gravel with a inter linking road section. The lines are still bone dry and dusty. Not many others out and there was a freezing cold Northerly headwind as well. All in just over 19 miles with an speed of 14mph with 900ft of climbing. Below are a few sunny and cloudy snaps. Enjoy and hopefully more soon- 

Fresh Goods Sunday - Schwalbe Tubeless Valve Extensions (Black 30mm)

 

Again following on from my DT Swiss 27.5” wheel set purchase I always carry a couple of spare inner tubes just in case the tubeless sealant does not seal the hole, cut or tear. I have some super light Schwable inner tubes but the valve stems are not long enough now to come through the deeper section carbon rim and get a pump attached. I have tried numerous different valve extenders over the years and some have been a complete fail and some slightly better than others. To be honest I found these by mistake and did not know they even existed on the market. They work different to normal valve extensions which you screw on top of the existing inner tube valve. If you have removable cores on your presta tubes these should fit and work. You remove the valve core with a removal tool, screw in the extension with the tool provided to the part that is on the tube then screw in the inner valve core to the extension. I opted for the 30mm version so gives plenty of length now to pass through the rim and get a pump head attached. The quality looks and feels spot on. The rrp is high but as ever shop around for a deal. 

RRP £10.00 and I paid £6.53 from Merlin Cycles inc 48hr p&p - Discount 35%

Manufacturers blurb - 

For high pressure (Presta) valve with removable valve core. Aluminium. 2 per set. Valve core removal key included.

17 mm, silver, no thread, Art.-No. 3453
30 mm, black, threaded, Art.-No. 3461
65 mm, black, threaded, Art.-No. 3462

The valve extensions in 30mm and 65mm are tubeless compatible.

Good Friday local longer gravel ride on Specialized Creo

 

Well the forecast was looking good for a bank holiday so last night I got my bike and kit ready for an early start before it got too busy and hot. I was out and on the saddle by 6.15am before sunrise but there was not really a sun rise as it was misty and overcast. The sun did eventually burn through and the temperature gradually rose from 4 degrees. The lines were lovely and quiet first thing and so were the couple of interlinking road sections. It was a combination of a couple of my regular loops with a extra leg at the end to get the distance up to the 45 mile mark. The sun was in and out for the whole ride and was rather warm by the time I finished - Garmin was reading 13 degrees and there was no wind. I fitted my spare battery for the ride and when I got home I checked on the app and it had 77% left so there would have been plenty on the main battery only. All in just over 45 miles in 3 hours 17 minutes with 2200ft of climbing. Enjoy the photos below and hopefully more soon-