Redbridge Cycling Centre

Lovely day for a ride so I headed off into the Essex countryside with Christophe for a few hours. Went past Redbridge Cycling Centre and as we were in no hurry, popped in and had a look. There was only one person on the circuit and apparently that's often the case during work days. I didn't have a go round as I would have needed a helmet (not going to happen!) but it looked like an excellent facility. We were supposed to come back through Chigwell Row but somewhere along the way I missed a turning and we ended up doing 39 miles instead of the 32 I'd planned, but it's all good.

Back to the Fixed

Saturday 21st March - Normally I find switching between my racer with it's gears and freewheel and my fixed bike pretty easy, but I did find myself getting caught out a couple of times in the first 5 minutes of my ride into Hyde Park to play hockey. Guess it must have just been the length of time since I rode it and the amount of mileage I'd clocked up in between using it, but fortunately it was nothing serious and I was soon back in the swing of things. Just as well really as, having played hockey for about 4-5 hours, I rode the 11 miles home, grabbed something to eat and then headed straight back to Kew Bridge to go on the LFGSS bridges ride that was starting at 10pm. Had my doubts that I'd actually make it in time but made it with enough time to have a quick pint before the off so that was pretty pleasing. The ride consists of crossing every Thames bridge and this time we were heading from West to East and although the pace was higher than the last one (which we did in the opposite direction) it wasn't too tough. There were some fun sprints and we had a bit of a regroup by Battersea Park so some could mend punctures. I found that my legs were stiffening up a bit so I decided that I'd try to finish the rest of the ride without stopping so I found myself on my own after Vauxhall Bridge. No matter, I knew where I was going and crossed Tower Bridge at 12.15 before heading home. 66 miles for the day which was pleasing and leaves me another 150 miles to complete my first 1000.

Fountains Abbey

Tuesday 17th March - A lovely day for a ride saw us up early in an attempt to catch the 7.43 train from Durham to Northallerton but not quite early enough and we ended up on the 9.12 instead.

After checking on return trains we set out on this route through some lovely countryside to Fountains Abbey which we reached around 1pm. We then spent about 3 hours exploring the abbey and the surrounding landscaped gardens, including a selection or the scariest trees I've seen in ages.

The ride back was slightly less hilly and we easily made the 7pm train, getting back to base at 8.15. It also saw my racer notch up it's first 1000 miles. Now I'm going to work on getting my fixed through the same barrier.

More walking than cycling :(

Sunday 15th March - OK, so I'm a bit behind in updating this blog so there'll be a week's worth of entries going up right now. Sunday was supposed to be an easy ride to South Shields via Sunderland so that Chris could buy a track pump to leave at her parents, and the out bound leg went well, although Chris's first selection of a pump proved less than easy to use.

So having changed it for one that could pump to 120psi without the user needing to be Mr Universe, we got to test it in earnest as Chris punctured after hitting a pot hole just after the mini-Tyne Bridge.

Having checked out the beach at South Shields it was my turn to run into inflation problems as, whilst eating lunch, I noticed that the sidewall of my rear tyre was failing and at one point the tube was bulging through. After using all our gadgetry to locate a nearby bike shop and then finding them to be closed (or at least not answering the phone),I decided the best option would be to ride back to Halfords (about 7.5 miles) but before I even got started the tube burst and I got to undergo a 2 hour hike instead.

One new Continental Gator Skin and a second test for the track pump later and we were able to make our way home safely.

A Long Day (Thursday 12th March)

We set out at 6.15 on what seemed like a lovely morning, but as we headed West the wind started to pick up which proved a big hinderance to our speed and to our energy levels. It took us until 11 to reach Westgate where we stopped for a sandwich before turning South and climbing up to the Pennines' last remaining snow at 2100ft. The views were fantastic and the descent at up to 40mph with a scary cross wind was invigorating to say the least.

Once down the other side, we turned west again and climbed for about half an hour to get to High Force, a huge single drop waterfall on the River Tees.

After this we were heading east and for a while enjoyed the benefit of a following wind to race along the undulating roads at around 25-30mph (hit 42.5 at one point!) over to Barnard Castle. For a town that has the castle in it's name, it wasn't too easy to find the actual castle and it wasn't that impressive when we did.

We still had about 40 miles to go at that point and it was already late afternoon so we didn't stop at the more impressive looking Raby Castle and instead continue making our way back towards Durham. The dark country roads proved a good test of our lights and our bravery as descents became quite scary. Aside from a puncture somewhere around Witton-le-wear though, it was largely uneventful but I think we were both relieved to see a sign saying Durham 1 mile, and the 7 miles on the A690 back to Houghton seemed very easy all of a sudden. We finally got back at 9.30pm and were asleep very shortly afterwards.

Angels and Devils

Day 1 up North. Having arrived at Durham station at 12.30am this morning and got through the 7 miles to Chris's parents complete with a 50kg backpack, today's ride was only going to be a short warm up. I needed to go to a bike shop and get a spoke wrench as my front wheel was a bit buckled so we headed to Chester-le-Street. Unfortunately that bike shop was closed, so we continued on towards Gateshead, stopping for some obligatory photos at 'The Angel of the North'. We found a bike shop a little further along the road and then decided to pay Newcastle a visit. 

The weather forecast for tomorrow is good so Chris (the Devil) has decreed that we'll be getting up before the crack of dawn to tackle a ride of 96 miles,  so it's off to bed for me.

Oop Norf

We're heading up North to County Durham for a week where I'm told there are some real climbs. Our exact plans will be a bit weather dependent but one route Chris wants to do is this epic . At just under 100 miles it's a slight reduction on her original choice but still quite a step up.

Can we make it? Only time will tell, Chris is confident and I'm far too stubborn to give up before she does so maybe we will.

Anyway en route we get to see High Force and Barnard Castle which will provide welcome breaks from the ride and will hopefully provide some good photos.

Updates on this, and any other rides we do whilst we're up there, will hopefully be posted while we're on them, as long as the whole mobile blogging thing works this time.

52 mile training run

My trusty steed at Mountnessing Windmill after about 23 miles.

Shortly after this we stopped for lunch and while we were eating, the lovely day seen in the picture turned into a horribly cold, rainy affair. As a result the journey back was a little less pleasant with the pair of us losing the ability to feel our toes.

Route can be seen here http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2590165