Tiny rides of 2023

[a.twiddler]

30/10/25
Tiny Ride Today.
A Pootle round the Paths on the Spirit.

After the last adjustment ride on the Spirit I needed a couple more laps to fine tune it. With all the recent wind and rain there was a lot of leaf litter about which made the local paths interestingly slippery in places.

There was rather a lazy wind which wanted to go straight through me so instead of following the lanes I decided to follow the local paths for the shelter from the high fences.

Today I would rather risk sliding about than be a test pilot for the wind chill factor.

The Spirit was noticeably more agile in the tight spaces with its small wheels than the Rans, and its suspension bounded over the bumps very satisfactorily. There was good knee clearance too when in the nadgery bits. The bars didn’t make any contact at all. I need to see what can be done with the Rans in that department.

Although it doesn't have the presence of the Rans, it is quite fun to ride.

Distance 2.11 miles. Max Speed 13.1 mph. Average 5.5 mph. According to Garmin.
Ascent 63 ft. According to Bikehike.

 

[a.twiddler]

6/11/25
Tiny Recumbent Ride
Autumn Ride on Spirit

I needed to nip into town to get some stuff. It was cloudy but mild today so I decided to go on the Spirit now I’d got the mud off it. It actually has a lot of mudguard clearance so I can’t see that anything short of mountainbike guards could have improved on its performance during my recent rather muddy ride. Certainly any other bike with conventional mudguards would probably have had the same problem. Whatever the other attributes of recumbents, a mudguard is a mudguard is a mudguard.

The autumn colours are very pronounced now. Even the acer shrub in our garden seemed to glow red behind the Spirit which normally looks yellow but develops an orange tinge in some lights.

So, right out through the back gate, to Swanlow Lane to turn right at the lights then left a little further on to enjoy the shortest route via the long downhill to the town centre. No delays, just easy rolling today. I turned into the precinct initially to do a bit of shopping before coming out again via the war memorials and benches. It was a reminder that it was Remembrance Sunday soon. I took some photos.

I called in at a supermarket on the way back.
Once out again I followed the path alongside the dual carriageway uphill to Over roundabout.
Quite a bit of damp leaf fall on the way back but the bike tracked straight through it all.

I stopped at a wayside bench to photograph the dense leaf litter

before continuing along Swanlow Lane, downhill through Townfields Road lights then up my uphill turn off before trundling through the lanes to arrive at my back gate.

A pleasant, stress free tiny ride today, though a pretty low average speed.

Distance 3.19 miles. Max speed 21.5 mph. Average Speed 6.5 mph. According to Garmin.
Ascent 134 ft. According to Bikehike.

 

[a.twiddler]

13/11/25
Tiny Recumbent Ride
Trip to library and Helicopter High Jinks on the Spirit.

It was a sunny afternoon, though cool. What better than a tiny ride to the library on the Spirit before all the schoolkids came out? I was tempted to use the Rans but as all my gear was on the Spirit, that one it was. I wanted to avoid the traffic where possible so went left out through the gate then across to an estate road.

It was deceptively downhill to start with, and I was soon in top gear rolling easily until the road levelled then began to climb. Down through the high range gear by gear. The road curved right and steepened and I went to the middle gear range. I followed the road to the left, it levelled and up I went through the gears again. I was soon right turning uphill at a T junction then sharp left into another estate road.

I wound about uphill and came out at another T junction. Left downhill then right after a few yards onto a path alongside a playground. I passed an oncoming woman with two shopping bags who filled the width of the path, then downhill and left on to Handley Hill then Oak House Lane.

At the end of this an underpass sloped damply and leafily downhill to pass under the A54 dual carriageway. As I came to the other end there was a mini lake a couple of inches deep. I turned sharp right to climb up the other side. A couple with a dog coming the other way took one look at my bow wave and did an about turn. Presumably they went in search of another route which didn’t risk getting their feet wet.

I came out on Woodford Lane and turned right, then left on to Delamere St. It didn’t take long to reach my downhill right turn, then a left turn into a downhill damp leaf strewn lane.

The lane came to the exit barrier of the sports complex playing fields. An awful lot of leaf litter around this barrier so I wriggled through rather than ride round it. Then a long downhill in high gear, changing down to climb the last bit, a couple of right angled turns, then across the car park on to Grange Lane.

Just before the town centre lights I turned left on to the pavement cyclepath. As I was about to turn the corner of a building the shadow of a cyclist appeared. I stopped. A surprised looking mountain biker appeared and stopped too. “Oh! Er, sorry” he said.

I carried on, past a bus shelter then decided to use the nearby underpass for a change. I hoped that it would be be drier than the last one. People were coming through to collect kids from the nearby primary school but were using the steps to get up the other side of the underpass from me. Downhill I rolled, braking squeakily. An old guy on a mobility scooter came round the corner (Old! Probably younger than me!) where it turned sharply. I went round, and it was clear ahead with a straight ramp up the other side. There was some work going on outside the Library with a mesh barrier to keep pedestrians away so I locked the bike to it.

Once I was back out I took a photo then feeling a bit peckish popped into a nearby supermarket to get a sugar boost. Under way again, I crossed over the nearby road and turned right towards the town centre lights. Left up the long hill to Over roundabout, I was passed by a woman on a mobility scooter. I was doing about 6mph at the time, she must have been doing about 8mph.

A police car came screaming past up the dual carriageway, and by the time I was turning off to Swanlow Lane, a couple more. A helicopter then passed overhead. Some incident was obviously occurring nearby. During my progress along Swanlow Lane the helicopter circled several times, becoming lower with every pass. As I came to Townfields Road lights it passed over again, very low and slow. I turned right here and at the end of this straight stretch of road, beyond a T junction the helicopter was descending on a grassy area. A white car with flashing blue lights was visible, with a police presence. I could see that it was an air ambulance. I took some photos as I waited with the traffic before moving on.

A crowd of people from the local houses, plus the recently arrived schoolkids, was looking on. Not something you see every day. It didn’t take long to get home.

About 15 minutes later the helicopter took off and headed in the direction of Manchester, but soon afterwards reappeared and landed again.

It went away again later. I looked it up on Flightradar but it didn’t show up, so it was all a bit mysterious.

Distance 5.19 miles. Max speed 17.4 mph. Average speed 7.2mph. According to Garmin.
Elevation 146 ft. According to Bikehike

 

[Windle]

My first ride in a few weeks and just a local trundle down Scotland Lane, the railway path and Cockfield Fell. I'd ummed & arred and felt like I couldn't be bothered but ended up telling myself to just get the hell out and b#ll#x to the winter lethargy. Everything is wet and there's a lot of mud and fallen leaves about now, I haven't been down here for ages, preferring remote rides from West Auckland to Shildon & Heighington station or up to Jarrow for a run through the tunnel & around the wagonways (the last one from a few weeks ago ending in the dark with my lights getting a bit of use). Five degrees C but almost windless, although dull. The end of the wood where the felled old trees have been replaced with new 'uns..... pity they're tightly packed conifers replacing an old deciduous woodland, which I thought wasn't the done thing these days, but it's not my wood is it!

The railway path is geting clarty again, although to be fair I've seen it much worse at this time of year.

I left the fell and rode up into Cockfield for a change then back down the fell and returned to the railway path. There were a couple of well kitted out walkers heading up across the fell as I went down, that looked like they were doing more than a day stroll.
The dip where the old bridge is blocked off (looking back where I've just come from). I barely managed to get up the other side for wheelspin in the mud, 38 mm gravel tyres maybe not the best choice for this time of year.

A stray pink balloon stuck in the gate at the end of the 'navigable' railway path.

A decent ride that reminded me that it's not too cold to ride and that I need to get my ar#e out more often. 6.6 miles at just under 10 mph with 367 feet of climbing. I had to wash the bike off on the patio when I got home, whilst being loudly tutted at by a disgruntled woodpecker, who I'd apparently disturbed from his tea.

 

[Windle]

6/11/25
Tiny Recumbent Ride
Autumn Ride on Spirit

I needed to nip into town to get some stuff. It was cloudy but mild today so I decided to go on the Spirit now I’d got the mud off it. It actually has a lot of mudguard clearance so I can’t see that anything short of mountainbike guards could have improved on its performance during my recent rather muddy ride. Certainly any other bike with conventional mudguards would probably have had the same problem. Whatever the other attributes of recumbents, a mudguard is a mudguard is a mudguard.

The autumn colours are very pronounced now. Even the acer shrub in our garden seemed to glow red behind the Spirit which normally looks yellow but develops an orange tinge in some lights.



View attachment 792315

So, right out through the back gate, to Swanlow Lane to turn right at the lights then left a little further on to enjoy the shortest route via the long downhill to the town centre. No delays, just easy rolling today. I turned into the precinct initially to do a bit of shopping before coming out again via the war memorials and benches. It was a reminder that it was Remembrance Sunday soon. I took some photos.


View attachment 792316


View attachment 792317


View attachment 792318


View attachment 792319


I called in at a supermarket on the way back.
Once out again I followed the path alongside the dual carriageway uphill to Over roundabout.
Quite a bit of damp leaf fall on the way back but the bike tracked straight through it all.
View attachment 792320

I stopped at a wayside bench to photograph the dense leaf litter
View attachment 792321


View attachment 792322


before continuing along Swanlow Lane, downhill through Townfields Road lights then up my uphill turn off before trundling through the lanes to arrive at my back gate.

A pleasant, stress free tiny ride today, though a pretty low average speed.

Distance 3.19 miles. Max speed 21.5 mph. Average Speed 6.5 mph. According to Garmin.
Ascent 134 ft. According to Bikehike.

My drive was looking like those last two photos up until last night in the dark, when they mysteriously all blew away onto the road .

 

[joeegg]

My first ride in a few weeks and just a local trundle down Scotland Lane, the railway path and Cockfield Fell. I'd ummed & arred and felt like I couldn't be bothered but ended up telling myself to just get the hell out and b#ll#x to the winter lethargy. Everything is wet and there's a lot of mud and fallen leaves about now, I haven't been down here for ages, preferring remote rides from West Auckland to Shildon & Heighington station or up to Jarrow for a run through the tunnel & around the wagonways (the last one from a few weeks ago ending in the dark with my lights getting a bit of use). Five degrees C but almost windless, although dull. The end of the wood where the felled old trees have been replaced with new 'uns..... pity they're tightly packed conifers replacing an old deciduous wodland, which I thought wasn't the done thing these days, but it's not my wood is it!

View attachment 793569
The railway path is geting clarty again, although to be fair I've seen it much worse at this time of year.

View attachment 793570
I left the fell and rode up into Cockfield for a change then back down the fell and returned to the railway path. There were a couple of well kitted out walkers heading up across the fell as I went down, that looked like they were doing more than a day stroll.
The dip where the old bridge is blocked off (looking back where I've just come from). I barely managed to get up the other side for wheelspin in the mud, 38 mm gravel tyres maybe not the best choice for this time of year. View attachment 793571

A stray pink balloon stuck in the gate at the end of the 'navigable' railway path. View attachment 793572
A decent ride that reminded me that it's not too cold to ride and that I need to get my ar#e out more often. 6.6 miles at just under 10 mph with 367 feet of climbing. I had to wash the bike off on the patio when I got home, whilst being loudly tutted at by a disgruntled woodpecker, who I'd apparently disturbed from his tea.

I was up around the top of Cockfield Fell today on my road bike making my way back to Ramshaw.
First part of the ride was up to Woodland and on to Egglestone.It was miserable in the heavy drizzle and i didn't really see much sun today on the ride.

 

[Windle]

I was up around the top of Cockfield Fell today on my road bike making my way back to Ramshaw.
First part of the ride was up to Woodland and on to Egglestone.It was miserable in the heavy drizzle and i didn't really see much sun today on the ride.

That's a tough route even in the summer! I sometimes head up the bridleway past Gibsneese farm (to the right of my last photo) and up to the Folly Top - Woodland road, then up through Woodland, down through Copley and up the Slack bank to home, but I don't think I'd atempt it at this time of year.

 

[Windle]

Another tiny Saturday ride, it was supposed to be longer but, well, weather. I'd almost written off a Saturday ride as it was supposed to pittle down today but having been down to Richmond in the car this morning with the wife the weather seemed OK, even bright on & off. I'd intended to drive down to Langton and do a ride from there, including a look to the remains of Forcett railway junction and to see an old bridge over the Tees at Gainford, which I thought I might get across. Just after I'd left in the car it started to rain, b#ll#x. But, whatever, I'd already set off by then. I had my rain jacket in my pannier bag so put that on before setting off from Langton, down the lane then along a clarty winter bridleway which was decidedly slippery.

After detouring through Headlam on flooded roads in steady rain I headed for the bridleway that leads down to Gainford, which was even worse. After a bit of an explore down there I found a path that ran alongside the long closed Darlington to Barnard Castle railway route. This is a filled in bridge where a farm access road runs down to the A67.

I retraced back to Gainford and headed east out of the village and to the start of the cross-field footpath that leads to the old junction of the Forcett railway, a branch line that came off the Darlo to Barny line and headed over the A67, crossed the Tees then wound around the fields to a quarry near Forcett village, not far off the A66, passing the boundary wall of Forcett Hall on the way (we'd crossed this line on the way back from Richmond this morning). I learned about this railway relic after reading one of Paul Atterbury's books many years ago (he of the Antiques Roadshow). I've been once before in early 2010 and although there wasn't much left it still had that magical derelict railway charm (if you're into that sort of thing). Not to be today however as I hadn't brought my wellies. The start of the path looked like a herd of cows had had a mosh pit going on it. Maybe in summer then!

Back into the bonny but very damp village of Gainford I headed down a lane past the school to where the track to the bridge turned off, a sign warning that it was impassable. They weren't kidding!

This must have been a farm access bridge at one time but bugger knows how long it's been closed. So, that was the end of that. Two destination fails. I headed back up to Langton on the road that climbs out past the old Gainford railway station, which I neglected to take a picture off, the wet now dulling my enthusiasm. Not a bad ride after all, I was warm & dry enough with the right kit on, the bike was sheet up to the eyeballs though and needed a swill down once home. A mere 6.9 miles and about 320 feet of climbing in 40 odd minutes. I'll have another look down to Forcett junction when it's dryer and I keep meaning to go back up to see Broomielaw station just outside Barnard Castle (another from Paul Atterbury's book), which is like something out of a fairy tale. Well, it was last time I was there about twenty odd years ago, what's left of it now I've no idea.