I was away working in the first part of the week, so it was Thursday before I could get out on the roads. The days are still short and weather unpredictable, so I’ve kept my weekly target at 40 miles, 2,000 ft, and 3 hours in the saddle.
Ride 1 – Barney and back
Chilly and a decent westerly, so I decided on another 40-mile cafe run for lunch. The temperature was barely breaking 2 degrees when I left and a decent westerly was making it feel really chilly. I didn’t fancy the straight run into the headwind I’d get in Weardale, so decided to head to Barnard Castle over in Teesdale.
A quick run with the wind down to and around Bishop Auckland, then churning the pedals into the wind up the A688 and then down through Hilton toward Ingleton and the B6279 into Staindrop. A few miles west, a few miles south, a few miles west, and so on. Cycling south was easier, but colder than cycling west. From Staindrop down to Winston, then along the A67 for a few miles, then join the Sustrans W2W route south to Whorlton and west on to Barnard Castle.
Barnard Castle is a gem in any weather and it looks stunning in today’s winter sunshine. I choose the cafe at The Witham – the town’s theatre and community creative centre – because it has covered, dedicated cycle parking and I know it serves seriously good coffee. All the tables are full and there’s a queue at the counter. I wait my turn ready to chuck my stuff on the first table that becomes free. As I’m ordering a family gets up leaving a table free and moments later a couple come in happy to see a free table. They make the mistake of looking round to check if anyone owns it and I catch their eye in a way that dares them to sit down – they don’t.
My order of coffee, enormous flapjack, hummus and  roast pepper sandwiches, and a banana arrives – to the astonishment of the people at the table net to mine – and is delicious. I have another coffee as an excuse to staying the warm for a little longer, then head out into the cold. The sun has raised the temperature to a balmy 3.5 degrees.
Riding with the wind makes a massive difference to speed and warmth. My hands get uncomfortably sweaty in my lobster gloves, but better warm and sweaty then dry and cold. As much as possible I take different lanes on the route back, there are only a few miles of crossover. I’m happier adding some bigger climbs on the way back, so take the cross-country route through Evenwood and climb the steep bank to Toft Hill and hit my top speed for the day, 40pmh, on the A68 back to the village.
Ride Stats: 41.3 miles; 1620 ft; 2h 52m 31s
Ride two – Hell repeats
After last week’s post including Better than hill repeats, I had some comments that suggested I was wrong and should try hill repeats properly. So I did. I chose the hill in the village and challenged myself to climb it ten times in an hour. I failed.
A 210 ft climb over 0.6 of a mile. That would have meant 12 miles of cycling and 2,100 ft climbing in the hour. 14 and  a half minutes at the top of the second climb, I knew i wasn’t going to make it. It was a good power practise though and a good challenge to achieve at some point as I get fitter.
Ride stats: 10.2 miles; 1679 ft; 1h 06m 53s
Week’s total: 51.5; 3293 ft; 3h 59m 24s