Author: Paul

It’s getting to that time of year when I’m not sure what to wear out on a ride. The difference of a few degrees can mean the difference between freezing and sweltering. And its far to cold to be stopping to remove a layer if the latter is the case.

Ride 1 – Some easy midweek miles – no need to rush

It was on the last and steepest of the big climbs looking down at my GPS bumping along at 4.2 mph that I named the ride. This was hill chasing at its best.

Work done, it was 3pm when I set out and the cloud was low over the hilltops. I took my regular climb into Hamsterly and then down across Bedburn Beck at Howlea. I was last here in January on the mountain bike, so the climb up to the top would at least be quicker today.

Cycling climbs are categorised according to difficulty. There’s a range:

Category 1 - From 8km at 8% to 20km at 5%
Category 2 - From 5km at 8% to 15km at 4%
Category 3 - From 1.5km at 10% to 10km at 5%
Category 4 - From 2km at 5% to 5km at 2/3%
Category 5 - Greater than 500m at 3%

Because the French own cycling they have another category HC for Hors Catégorie or beyond categorisation. What you might call RRLS. Really Leally Long and Steep.

I’m lucky to have a cat 3 climb so close to home – 2 miles at 5%. It’s nice to dash up and over on a warm summer evening. In the dank of winter, it’s always harder. And to get there, I’ve got to warm up on a cat 4 – 3% for 1.5 miles. So I don’t have to chase very far for hills.

 

At the top of Howlea Lane, the view over Weardale is worth every pedal stroke and there’s the excitement of Wear Bank to look forward to: A descent of 500 ft in just over a mile. Woosh! Don’t enjoy yourself too much though there’s a sharp turn at the bottom followed by another onto a bridge over the Wear.

Out of Wolsingham towards Tow Law the road strings two cat 4 climbs together, rising 400 ft in a mile then giving you half a mile off before climbing another 300 ft in another mile.

After the A68 there’s a nice long descent to Satley and turning right down Pan Lane it continues down to the bottom of the valley, where there’s an enjoyable roller coaster, big dipper ride over a bridge and back up the other side climbing just over 150 ft. Looking across the valley ahead of you, Headley Hope wildlife reserve looks wonderful. The wonder slowly turned to apprehension as I descended the 200 ft into the valley. The reserve slowly tilted in front of me to become a wall of scrub and heather with what had to be mountain sheep clinging to the near vertical surface.

Boy, was it steep. I stepped up out of the saddle and pranced up around a slow right-handed bend. I saw the opportunity for a break, I mean a photo, half way up and instantly regretted stopping. It felt much harder to get going again and grind the strokes out up to the top.

Back along Headlyhill Lane through the wind farm to Tow Law and then a six-mile run back home down the A68

 

Ride stats: 24.8 miles; 2,262 ft; 01h 53m 42s

Ride 2 – Ride away from the hills. If you see a hill, ride the other way

I fancied a flatter ride than the one I had on Wednesday and the wind was up, so I headed out on the main roads around Bishop Auckland. Through Bishop’s picturesque market square and on out to South Church, before doubling back to join the A688. I put my head down and decided I’d go for a good average speed on the ride. On out through Evenwood Gate, then down through Esperley and up through Cockfield and Burnthouses to rejoin the A688 back into Bishop Auckland.

I was cycling directly into wind and it was hard going, but I had a target: a rider up ahead. It took much longer than I’d hoped to catch him. A victory that was short lived, because he overtook and kicked. I didn’t have the energy to go with him, but I pressed on as fast as I could.  I arrived home with a 16.5 mph average. My fastest ride of the year so far.

Ride stats: 27.9 miles; 1,230 ft; 01h 41m 40s

Week’s total: 24.8 miles; 2,262 ft; 03h 34m 22s

Five whole days without riding left me with a big weekend gig and luckily the weather was unseasonably fabulous.

Ride 1 – Some new roads and a familiar route home

Riding the same roads all the time is getting the better of me. I’m sure I wouldn’t make a good regular cycle commuter. The sun was out and I fancied exploring some roads I’ve not cycled before; answering the question “I wonder where that lane goes.” So I did.

I took the quickest route into Bishop Auckland and out to South Church. There at the mini roundabout by the river is a road that climbs the hill to Auckland Park I know where it comes out, but I’ve never been up there before, so I went. The road passes under the railway and emerges by the roundabout at the bottom of the Auckland way. Just before I got tot he end, I turned right, taking the lane out to Coundon. In total the road climbs 300ft in just a mile and a half. Through Coundon a last-minute decision took me to along the A688 to Rushyford, passing two cyclists using the footpath on the way, and turning right through Woodham and past Aycliffe to Middridge and out through Shildon to Redworth.

 

At Redworth I took the back lane to Royal Oak on the A68. It’s a narrow, hedged country lane, but that didn’t stop a post van squeezing past me with millimetres to spare. I appreciate the man has a job to do, but I passed his parked van and son he was forcing past me again. Twice isn’t a joke, so as he was getting out of his van I shouted something polite meaning that I wouldn’t let him pass me again. He didn’t.

 

I crossed the A68 at Royal Oak onto the roman road that goes all the way down to Piercebridge and on to Barton. It’s a road I’ve wanted to cycle for a long time and I really enjoyed it, getting up t speeds of more than 40 mph on two occassions. I followed the road down to the B6279 and turned for Staindrop.

I caught a guy out for a ride in the sunshne and rode along with him for a few miles chatting about training, this summer’s sportives and the weather. At Ingleton he suggested I motor on, so I did. I stopped to take photos of Raby Castle and he caught up. We rode into Staindrop together.

I had coffee and flapjack (how would I ride without them?) at the Laurels Coffee Shop on the green and made my plan to cycle straight back up the A688 to South Church again. From there I turned into Bishp and retraced my outward route home.

 

Ride stats: 41.0 miles; 2,049 ft; 02h 43m 55s

 

Ride 2 – The Bat

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Standard ride on a non standard day, he weather was beautiful. probably a minute or so faster than my last bat, because of the GPS failure that time.

Ride stats: 15.2 miles; 976 ft; 01h 00m 45s

Week’s total: 56.2 miles; 3,025 ft; 03h 44m 40s

The end of February, week eight already! Two rides planned, then another squeezed in on Sunday, because it looked nice out. Furthest I’ve ridden in a week by a good way and the kind of distance I need to keep up every week through March and and on to September, if I’m going to meet my target.

Ride 1 – The bat

Second bat of the year. I use it as my measure of fitness. First one was in week five. Slow and cold it took very nearly and hour and a quarter.

This time, after swimming a mile in the morning, it took an hour. GPS missed a couple of hundred metres, so the stats are slightly out. I’ll give it a go again soon.

Ride stats: 14.9 miles, 891 ft, 01h 00m 21s

Ride 2 – Tow Law, Durham loop

Cold day and I was left with 25 miles to do for the week, so I headed out. Starting with a seven-mile, 700ft climb up the A68 to Tow Law, which I’m told is the highest town in County Durham. Then across a freezing Headley Hope moor watching dozens of majestic turbines turn slowly in the light wind. The view did nothing to warm me up and by the time I got down into Deerness Valley making my way towards Durham my thighs were numb with cold.

The seven or so miles from Cornsay Colliery to Stonebridge at Durham is a good, fast run. And the difference in temperature made riding tolerable again. For the first time this year, it felt like I was cycling quickly. Then Southwest on the A690 to Willington and through Hunwick to home. Bit of a scare down Green Lane, probably the steepest part of the Sustrans W2W route, at 40mph my brakes weren’t doing their job and I had a bit of a hairy moment bringing the bike to a stop before rolling out onto the A689.

Ride stats: 28.4 miles; 1,337 ft; 01h 54m 53s

Ride 3 – Pity Me loop

It was really sunny when I woke up on Sunday, so I got some bonus miles in. I used the opportunity to get on some roads I’ve not ridden before. So up to Crook and over to Deerness Valley via Billy Row bank – I knew there was a hill, butI wasn’t expecting it to be 530ft of pedal-grinding pain.

Then a 250ft climb over to Langley Park, made all the more interesting by an ignorant Iceland delivery driver and finally on the outward trip, a 300ft climb through Witton Gilbert to Sacriston and down into Pity Me.

A quick run on the A167 to join the A690 and back home using the same route from Stonebridge home as this week’s ride 2.

Ride Stats: 31.4 miles; 1,949ft; 02h 20m 51s

Week’s total: 74.7 miles; 4,177 ft;  04h 16m 05s

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

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

Gale force winds left only one day that I could ride on this week, so I made the most of it

Ride 1 – In search of lemon top

I took the time to get the bike ready on Wednesday evening, so getting out on the road would be easy. I shoved two bananas and a couple of gels in the back pocket of my rain jacket and got going.

The first ten miles took me along the Wear to Bishop Auckland, then up Dene Valley to Newton Aycliffe. The wind was strong and gusting more heavily than the 21 mph predicted by the forecast. As an hour ticked by I crossed the border from County Duham into Darlington Borough and started to make my way South and into the wind.

One of the many joys of riding is that on the back lanes you get to see things that you miss on car journeys. On this eight-mile windy slog, I’m treated  to Sadberge and Middleton One Row to picturesque little places that are a delight.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A welcome change in direction along the Tees sped me to Yarm and a stop for lunch at the wonderful cafe run by the inmates at HMP Kirklevington Grange. I first came across this place on a voluntary sector visit to the Prison in 2013 and was impressed. Kirklevington is an open prison with the purpose o preparing inmates for life on the other side of the fences. They run a number of enterprises including the cafe, a valeting service and sell garden ornaments, furniture and plants. My double espresso and barbecue chicken panini lunch came in at an unbelievable £3.90.

Fired by lunch and caffeine my legs took me out of Yarm and up the Leven Valley. The new energy soon ran out as I climbed toward the Hills of the North York Moors National Park crossing the Leven and the Tame before joining the Leven again at Great Ayton. I turned left in the centre of Great Ayton to pass under the peak of Roseberry Topping – I’ve always thought that sounds more like the name of a pudding than a peak – which I’d been able to see for more than five miles growing slowly on the skyline.

I passed through Newton under Roseberry just after the 40 mile mark and my lack of long training rides was beginning to tell. I was grateful for the tailwind, which powered me onto a garage stop to fill the water bottles at Guisborough. The last six miles to Saltburn included three climbs that I felt were entirely unnecessary for a fat bloke at the end of a long ride, and I couldn’t wait to see the sea. I passed the Saltburn sign by Saltburn Golf Club and rolled on down to the clifftop by the upper halt for the cliff railway. It was closed for winter maintenance.

Ride stats: 50.4 miles, 1,674 ft, 03h 38m 12s

Week total: 50.4 miles, 1,674 ft, 03h 38m 12s

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