The week started with the 8th of February. That was significant only because it’s three months until the Etape Caledonia, which I challenged my sister to ride with me when she bought her new Specialized bike in January. Riding suddenly gained a purpose other than the weekly mileage and height targets needed to get me to my 2016 target – I need to get fit enough not to disgrace myself with a performance poor in comparison to my little sis! So two new rides this week – one for distance and one for hills.
Ride 1 -Chatterbox run
It was a lovely morning and I planned to get going early, but it was very cold out and Durham Council’s brilliant weather cam service showed that the road and air temperatures in Weardale were hovering around freezing. My route up the dale uses back roads to avoid the A689 as much as possible, so I used the need to let the roads warm up as an excuse to stay at home for a while longer. I changed the plan from brunch in St John’s Chapel to lunch in St John’s Chapel.
Out of the village and up the A68 to Harperley to drop down into the dale proper. There’s a great view up the dale from part way down the hill and I always think “I should’ve stopped to photograph that,” as I speed past. This ride was no different. Good progress to Wolsingham where a Lafarge tipper truck needlessly overtook me on the sharp left bend on Durham Road bridge, then held me up through the town out toward the school. Grumble. Mutter.
At Frosterley the back road to Stanhope had been closed, because part of it had slipped into the Wear during one of the storms. Between Frosterley and Shittlehope the A689, in all its narrow, hedged bendiness, is less than pleasant for cyclists as cars treat it like a stretch of motorway. My hyper-vigilance relaxed as I rode into the warm and welcoming arms of Stanhope. Stanhope is a splendid North Pennines town and I don’t believe I’ve seen it look more splendid than it did in that bright winter sunshine. It took some considerable personal resolve to cycle on, rather than take refuge in an inviting cafe.
The ride from Stanhope to St John’s Chapel on the back road through Brotherlee is never an easy one. Into a cold headwind, the sharp climbs on this sometimes exposed lane made parts of it a torture. I ground out the six miles and 350ft slowly. St John’s welcomed me with a British Cycling banner draped across the gable end of my target destination: the fabulous Chatterbox Cafe. Today’s offer proudly displayed on the chalk board outside the door – FREE WARMTH – I ordered a double portion.
Chatterbox is a meeting point for locals, tourists and travelers alike. Dog walkers, cyclists, hikers, drivers, photographers, and twitchers among others frequent this friendly place. You’re immediately welcome and part of a hidden community. The food is delicious and the coffee and flapjack in plentiful supply. After a few minutes in the place you know the name is spot on.
It had taken me 1hr 44m to reach the cafe. I jumped back on the bike setting myself a target of an hour to get the 20 miles back home. The first 15 miles drop 600ft to Bradley, then a 275ft climb back up to the Harperly roundabout – I didn’t even think to look back to see if the photograph was still an option. I could see the minutes ticking away and knew I had to push hard to finish in an hour. And push hard I did, but in the end to no avail. When the Strava results uploaded the return leg had taken me one hour and one second. If it was high jump, the bar would have wobbled and fallen. It’s my target for next time!
Ride stats: 41 miles, 1651ft, 02h 42m 13s
Ride 2 – Better than hill repeats?
All the sportive training plans say riders should seek out a good hill for hill repeat training. A tough hill you can cycle up for at least two minutes before turning round, rolling to the bottom and starting all over again. I’ve done this before and I was thinking which of the many suitable local hills I should choose for this repetitive exercise when I wondered if I could achieve the same effect by stringing a few local climbs together. I set the target at 2000ft in 20 miles and an hour or so on Strava route builder later, I had my plan. Saturday morning was foggy to start with – not a time to be out on rural roads on a bike – with rain forecast for later, so the window was tight.
20 miles with specific climbs of 300, 100, 200, 250, 175, 120, 150, 250 and more gentle uphill. the wind was biting. When the rain started, it was so cold it stung my face. I reached home freezing cold and waited for the Strava results… only 1805ft climbed. The route builder had let me down – a lesson t be remembered in future.
Verdict? Riding a loop ismuch more interesting than hill repeats.
Ride stats: 20.4 miles, 1805ft, 01h 38m 25s
Week’s total: 61.4 Miles, 3,456 ft, 04h 20m 38s