I was expecting to get another round of the Friday Night Summer Series MTB racing in this Friday but home improvement projects got in the way. However I've still been out on my bikes and got some great riding in. The weather has been great again so I really can't complain.
On Saturday I went out with C&D Cycles CC for one of our favourite routes. I've said before that we're lucky in Northants to have some great road riding. It's true we have a pot hole epidemic right now with some road holes having their own postcode but we still have plenty of quiet roads, rolling hills and stunning countryside.
The route starts with a lengthy spin down the A43 into Corby. After that though the countryside starts and we enjoyed the delights of the Welland Valley.
In ride selfies are now mandatory
On the ride we enjoyed the fast descent into Harringworth. We stopped and regrouped on the corner where two amazing things happened. Firstly another club zipped past us with some of our cycling buddies in it. Then the second group caught up with us. This wasn't a surprise, we hadn't gone out as fast and banter groups we just split in two for safety reasons. At this point Richard Golding made the first of the two funniest comments of the day. This man has banter of the very highest quality!
During our break I noticed Ken's magnificent jersey. One of the many he has collected whilst on holiday.
Harringworth is home to a magnificent viaduct. It's a famous landmark which has featured often in this blog. Most recently the Top Gear team went for a spin round here. If you want to know more here's a link to it's wikipedia page
Viaduct Selfie
The ride finished with a bit of a quick blast along Glendon Road. As we headed into Ketering we were heckled by a pedestrian convinced we were going the wrong way down a one way street. At the risk of sounding a bit Dom Jolly...it's a cycle lane mate!
Back at the shop we got a good look at Andy Ferguson's 'blingdacious,' new chainring. It's a beauty isn't it? What certainly isn't blingdacious, is my badly messed up bar tape. However Andy sorted that for me too.
There he goes sorting out the tattiness. After Andy's attention it was all good again, well except my white bar tape was very grubby indeed.
White bar tape used to be very desirable until everyone caught on that it gets mucky very quickly. This video from GCN is helpful for keeping your bartape clean...
Or is it? In the comments they point out that it's more of a promotional video for Muc Off
Dirty bar tape
Much better!
What the video doesn't show you is that the best and easiest way to clean white bar tape is baby wipes. It took me 5 minutes to get my tape clean using about 6 wipes!
A while back Andy P and I decided we needed to do a Summer CX ride. No one else wanted to join us, well no one else who had permission from their SWMBO. So Andy and I set off together to rediscover he routes that were thick mud in the winter.
First stop was Geddington and a spin down the chase. I had never taken my Forme Calver down here before and it certainly was a different experience from a MTB with suspension. I was also worried that not having tubeless tyres was asking for it...I was about to be right!
Good off road track
practising those CX skills
At the bottom of the chase I had my first puncture. This was a pinch flat on my rear tyre. The new tube went in and off we set again. Andy was very patient as I made the change.
At the Brigstock end of the chase we made our way to Lyveden New Bield. I upset a National Trust volunteer by riding on the grass before putting more air in the rear tyre and we set off again. On the track heading towards Aldwinkle I joked with Andy that we had lots of tumbles on this bridleway before. I even taunted Andy as I picked a better line and shot off own the hill. Pride does indeed come before a fall and I overestimated my ability, dropped into a big tyre track rut and went flying over my handlebars. I smashed my front wheel into the rut and caused yet another pinch flat! I had to borrow a spare tube off of Andy but remarkably my wheel was undamaged. Clearly these Hunt wheels are sturdy hoops!
We then opted to go a different way to previously and found a challenging but fun track. In places the track was a very tricky (see below,) and this was good for me as I'm still learning how to ride this awesome bike.
After the track we headed back to Kettering via Cranford. We did a lot of these tracks earlier in the year and I have to say it's a lot easier on the Calver than my Ripley MTB. Possibly the only time I felt I was on the wrong bike was the rocky sections in Geddington Chase. The other thing of difference was the sticky mud has been replaced with hard rutted ground which you can't see properly due to all the vegetation!
It was overgrown...
Really overgrown...
Andy brought some vegetation back with him!
This final pic is actually in the middle of Kettering on Ise Lodge. Moments later we were back on tarmac and despite seeing the pothole my wheel was drawn to it like a moth to a flame. Bang! Another pinch flat. Luckily Andy had another spare tube which I put in to make it the final two minutes back to C&D Cycles!
Back at the shop we enjoyed some banter with Andy F and I very much enquired about getting my tubeless set up sorted. I also made use of the shop track pump because I wanted to get home without further incident! Big thanks to Andy P for splendid company, patience and those spare tubes!
It was a quick spin home and a clean of my bike before heading off to Mum and Dad's for dinner. That was very welcome because my house currently looks like this!
The remains of the old kitchen
This wall is about to be knocked down!
It's going to be a very hectic few weeks at home but we're heading towards what will feel like a new house with some very cool features. To stay sane I will need to keep cycling though!!!
Happy Pedalling
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