G-Zero
Über Member
- Location
- Durham City, UK
Well that’s the new Cube Cross Race broken in with a nice little, if somewhat testing afternoon 23 miler.
I decided to take a Christmas card across to a friend, who’s a very keen roadie, via a scenic route and wrapped the card in a small plastic bag in my jacket back pocket and headed towards NCN14, which I was planning on following to Consett, to pick up NCN7 east, then breaking off the route to my friend’s place just outside of Chester Le Street.
As I got on to NCN14, I soon realised that it wasn’t going to be as straight forward as I’d planned, as the track was still frozen solid from yesterday’s snow and the overnight freeze.
In places the snow had turned to slush, but had refrozen and large swathes of the track were nothing but rough sheet ice or compacted snow.
If I’d been on my trusty old Scott MTB, with its full suspension and big fat tyres, I wouldn’t have been so bothered about the slippery conditions, but being fastened to a brand new bike with SPDs, getting used to a totally alien (to me) method of changing gears and trying to get the general feel of the new bike, with its brake levers not instinctively where they’ve been for the last 13 years, made it a tentative and twitchy ride.
Oh, and I wouldn’t have dared gone home if I’d damaged the new Altura NV Evo jacket that Mrs G-Zero had allowed me to wear, seeing as it’s supposed to be for Christmas.
By the time I reached Lanchester the track condition was slowly worsening and as I was only travelling at about a third of the speed I had planned, I decided to use the minor roads to cut across to my friend’s via Burnhope, rather than risk finishing in the dark.
What I hadn’t anticipated was a climb out of Lanchester that nearly tore my lungs out and turned my legs to jelly !
When I got to my friend‘s place, he fell about laughing when I told him which way I’d come, as apparently that route (known locally as The Peth) is a regular training circuit of his; and according to him it “sorts the men from the boys“.
I was honest though and admitted grinding to a halt near the top when I crashed my gears and pushed the bike a little way ‘cos it was too steep for a restart. Only problem now is that I’m going to have to go and do the entire climb to prove to myself that I’m not just a 49 year old boy !
By the time I got home, I was over the moon with how the bike performed and it was much more comfortable than I had been expecting, but with a couple of little niggles that are probably down to my riding style:-
I need to be more aware of the diminished ground clearance and can’t pedal through all of the bends that I could have pedalled on the MTB; and when turning tightly, such as when pulling away from junctions, my shoes make contact with the front mudguard.
Overall early verdict = Love it !!
Edited to add - PS. Fortunately I didn't lose any air from the tyres as I totally forgot to transfer my pump across
I decided to take a Christmas card across to a friend, who’s a very keen roadie, via a scenic route and wrapped the card in a small plastic bag in my jacket back pocket and headed towards NCN14, which I was planning on following to Consett, to pick up NCN7 east, then breaking off the route to my friend’s place just outside of Chester Le Street.
As I got on to NCN14, I soon realised that it wasn’t going to be as straight forward as I’d planned, as the track was still frozen solid from yesterday’s snow and the overnight freeze.
In places the snow had turned to slush, but had refrozen and large swathes of the track were nothing but rough sheet ice or compacted snow.
If I’d been on my trusty old Scott MTB, with its full suspension and big fat tyres, I wouldn’t have been so bothered about the slippery conditions, but being fastened to a brand new bike with SPDs, getting used to a totally alien (to me) method of changing gears and trying to get the general feel of the new bike, with its brake levers not instinctively where they’ve been for the last 13 years, made it a tentative and twitchy ride.
Oh, and I wouldn’t have dared gone home if I’d damaged the new Altura NV Evo jacket that Mrs G-Zero had allowed me to wear, seeing as it’s supposed to be for Christmas.
By the time I reached Lanchester the track condition was slowly worsening and as I was only travelling at about a third of the speed I had planned, I decided to use the minor roads to cut across to my friend’s via Burnhope, rather than risk finishing in the dark.
What I hadn’t anticipated was a climb out of Lanchester that nearly tore my lungs out and turned my legs to jelly !
When I got to my friend‘s place, he fell about laughing when I told him which way I’d come, as apparently that route (known locally as The Peth) is a regular training circuit of his; and according to him it “sorts the men from the boys“.
I was honest though and admitted grinding to a halt near the top when I crashed my gears and pushed the bike a little way ‘cos it was too steep for a restart. Only problem now is that I’m going to have to go and do the entire climb to prove to myself that I’m not just a 49 year old boy !
By the time I got home, I was over the moon with how the bike performed and it was much more comfortable than I had been expecting, but with a couple of little niggles that are probably down to my riding style:-
I need to be more aware of the diminished ground clearance and can’t pedal through all of the bends that I could have pedalled on the MTB; and when turning tightly, such as when pulling away from junctions, my shoes make contact with the front mudguard.
Overall early verdict = Love it !!
Edited to add - PS. Fortunately I didn't lose any air from the tyres as I totally forgot to transfer my pump across
