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; Â 04h 16m 05s