A few days working away and changeable weather predicted this week, so I wanted to get some miles on the board early.
Ride 1 – Around Bishop
I waited ’til after the school runs and set off for a ride through the villages around Bishop Auckland. Checking off the Etherleys, Toft Hill, Evenwood, West Auckland, South Church, North Bitchburn, and Bishop itself. It was cold and drab out, so I was glad of my Crudguards and lobster gloves.
Ride stats: 24.8 miles, 1,345 ft, 01h 48m 37s
Ride 2 – Around Bishop
The rear tyre was flat as I went to set off and it took a while to fix. I found I didn’t have a single new tube in the house, and one had been patched so often it looked like a string of sausages. I picked the best, fitted it and set off on a route that would give me the chance to buy some more.
Choosing an urban route at lunch time on a Saturday was a mistake, I needed only 15 miles to meet the week’s target but most of those were on roads filled with shopping traffic, so it was slow going. Back into Bishop, I stopped at the fabulous Inspiral Cycles for a couple of Continental tubes and decided to head out of town away from the traffic through the Etherleys, Toft Hill and Hamsterly to finish the ride.
Ride stats: 20.0 miles, 1,106 ft, 01h 36m 28s
Week three total: 44.8 miles, 2,451 ft, 03h 15m 05s