Finally got Myrtle's Steel Smoothies done.

Well, that is another job done on Myrtle, having just got her steel smoothie wheels powder coated and new tyres fitted over at The Wheel Specialist in Durham, more on The Wheel Specialist in a moment.

Myrtle with her Smoothies all coated

 

Those following Myrtle's progress, here upon my blog, will know I bought a brand-new set of 17 inch SMA alloys for Myrtle and the chew on my dad and I had fitting them.  I also wanted a set of steel smoothies and waited ages for Just Kampers to get the 8x15's for the rear. I would have preferred 8x7's but hey they were not available. I bought the new wider wheels, way back around the November of 2020.

8x15 Smoothie

 

The wider smoothies came in a silver colour. I wanted them gloss black, so always had this as a to-do job. I was unsure of what size tyres to pop on the new rims. When I was on Facebook and using the VW forums, a few people recommended 195's and some others 205's. My dad popped over to a local scrapyard and managed to pick up some second hand tyres, one of each in the sizes, and we experimented with how they looked on the rims. To be honest, I wasn't best pleased with either size, they just looked way too stretched.


Anyhoo over two years passed by with both my old front skinny wheels and my new wide wheels lying in our shed. I then decided to bite the bullet and ordered some Kumho Ecowings for the front and rear. Getting 145/65/15's for the front and 205/60/15's for the rear. Once the tyres arrived, I was again dragging my heels in getting the powder coating done, other financial things occurring, so I kept putting off getting the wheels done. Eventually, after having a good look around and getting various quotes to get the wheels coated, and the tyres fitted, I opted to take them to The Wheel Specialist. This was after a recommendation from Ash over at the General Garage at Anfield Plain.

Little black & white shot of Myrtle

Firstly I visited the Wheel Specialist's website and got a custom quote, and then the following day I got a courtesy call to inform me of my nearest dealership. As I spoke to the friendly lady on the phone, she transferred me over to the Durham branch and as I explained what my wheels were and what I would like done the helpful advisor informed me that the quote would change slightly as steel wheels require a lot more prep work. I was happy with the quote, which was £278, this was to powder coat the wheels gloss black and then fit the new tyres that I was going to be providing, along with new valves and finally balance the wheels.

VW Beetle 1965  steel smoothies

My dad and I dropped the wheels off on the 8th of April and I awaited eagerly for their return. Unfortunately I had to wait a little longer than expected, however this was not the fault of The Wheel Specialist, as when I spoke to the advisor he informed me that he had been having a nightmare getting a hold of new valves for the old 65 rims. Apparently the holes in the rims for the valve are larger than newer type wheels. The new valves are also quite  expensive, at £18 pounds each.

The Wheel Specialist

The Wheel Specialist

 

So a little longer waiting, and then  I received a call to say my wheels were ready to pick up, my dad and I headed off to collect them. I was over the moon when I saw the wheels. They look like new, with a very shiny gloss black coating, not only that the tyres I opted for, for on the wider back rims, although stretched look far better than the trial ones my dad and I experimented with from the scrapyard.

Wheels now coated in the back of Ern's mobile skip

New hubcap clips to rivet in place

Upon getting the wheels home, I had to order some new hubcap clips. When these arrived, my dad pop riveted them in place. This was instead of using the rivets that came with the clips. Just meant less trying to tap the rivets in place with a hammer and accidentally chipping any of the coating. Wow! Getting the hubcaps over the new clips was a right pain. Originally, we didn't think they were going to fit. You see, we have secured studs into the hubs of Myrtle, rather than using bolts. It just makes it that much easier to mount each wheel when changing them. What we were concerned about was that the wheel nuts would prevent the hubcaps from sitting in place, as the studs are that bit longer than an original wheel bolt. I am also running 1-inch spacers on Myrtle, and she has the short axles which came on the swing axle 65's.

Much happier with the Kumho and how they look on rims

Full set of wheels coated

Myrtle can air up and air down, and there is no catching of the inner or outer wing lip, with the 1-inch spacers and the 8 x 15's fitted. 

We had a few technical issues on today's drive to get some petrol from Cost Co and when parking up at Waldridge Fell to take some photo's, in that Myrtle appears to be a lot lower on her driver's side rear. I think it is because she has been standing so long, not getting used, the old girl is just a bit stiff. I will try and get out in her a lot more and work on getting used to this clutch adaption I have had fitted, so that I can drive her as an amputee.

Myrtle VW Beetle, 1965

Myrtle aired out on the grass

Myrtle 65

Myrtle 65

Myrtle 65

Almost the end, a little feedback about The Wheel Specialist. They offer a first class service, the staff are very friendly and know their stuff. The quality of their work is first class and as mentioned their turn around is quick, it was just unfortunate that the valves for my wheels were hard to source. I was pleasantly surprised that the quote remained the same, and that I didn't get charged for any extras, as in the valves. Oh! And a very nice touch is the aftercare, you get a 12-month warranty and I also got 2 friendly reminders via email to check my wheel nuts, after driving my car, as the wheels need to bed in with the new coating applied.

If I require rims refurbished, coated etc I will most definitely be visiting these guys again.


Oh! And to finish off, to save me writing another blog.... Poor Tango, my Smart Car is unwell. After driving along the front of the RVI the other week when I had finished work. Approaching the roundabout near Exhibition Park, poor Tango broke something on her front suspension, following falling down a huge crater of a hole or bump in the road. I have spoken to lots of my colleagues at work, and they all say the same about this stretch of road, it's a nightmare, and know the exact place.

Oh! The Wheel dear poor Tango

New wishbone fitted

Poor wee Tango

 

Anyhoo Tango is laid up in our backyard...disassembled, as my dad and I attempt to reconstruct her. Tango has snapped her driver's side front spring, and it has gouged her tyre. So I had to get a new one, Grrrrrr! Still loads of tread on the old one. Upon closer inspection as she is getting on a bit, 11 years old now, we decided to fit new dampers/struts, a damper rebuild kit, new springs, drop links, ball joints and bottom wish bones, oh and brake dust backplates, so quite a tidy sum.


Going to have to use Myrtle for work tomorrow, so hope she behaves herself and not too cold in the morning as no heaters, LoL

A Buzz over to Hedley Hall Woods

 The weatherman said it was supposed to rain today, so when I eventually woke up, after having yet another restless night, I was quite chuffed that the sun was shining through my bedroom window.

I immediately formulated a plan of attack. Casual garb and a venture out on my Buzzraw, with her new battery. I hasten to add, I had forgotten to put the bike back on charge, so there were only 4 of the 5 charge bars showing, but I figured this would be enough for a relatively short ride.

I retrieved my two Alpkit dry bags from the cupboard, thinking they would be ideal to carry some gear. I had decided to take a light jacket, just in case the weatherman had got things right, a pair of gloves and my GoPro Hero 9, along with my mini tripod and a little stand I had bought for my camera a while back. It is handy as I can just place my camera in the stand, and it offers me the choice of tilting the camera either 30 or 40 degrees, quick and easy. I also made sure I had a spare GoPro battery and of course my mobile phone, so that I could use the quick app. Oh! And as I am now pretty much blind without my gigs I popped on my old specs... I know it ruins my street cred, and I look like a geek. I figured it was better to be able to see where I was going. Hedley Hall woods has quite a few trees and I have had been attacked by them in the past.

 

Coast Cycles Buzzraw

A little pic of my Buzzraw across the road and then I was off, away up the farmer's trail. The first pictures, I tried to get, were by using the GoPro's Time Warp feature and then editing them using Wondershare Filmora and the snapshot feature. It is so difficult trying to take action shots when you are on your todd.

 

Out on the Buzzraw

 

I followed the same route as the other day when I went out on the wee bike. That day it was Brassic. I crossed the Chester Road, amazingly getting straight across, and headed down to Shield Row. Cutting under the C2C and taking a little trail down by the houses at Causey Drive, making sure I shut the gate after I went through.

Causey Drive and a little cut through at houses

This wee trail brings you out at the rear of the Bluebell pub and from there it was down the Beamish Burn bank, my speedo reading 26 mph. As I reached the bottom of the dip, I had to then climb up the bank past the Black Bull and the Aston Workshop. This required me to pop the Buzzraw to level 5 and maximum assist. I can normally ride up this bank on a regular bike, however on the Buzzraw as I am so cramped it really fatigues my good thigh, on level 5 I can get up nee bother.

Coming out at the back of the Bluebell

 

At the end of the road, I was at the Causey Arch Road and took the footpath up the hill, following a guy on a cyclo cross bike. He was out the saddle grinding away, I was sat down in level 5 mode and cruising behind him.


I then turned at the top of the bank, right and followed the Hedley Lane road (just used Google Maps to establish the name of that road). I once tipped a pickup truck on its side along this particular stretch of road, losing control of the car in the wet. The wee Morris Marina pickup was my first car, after passing my test. As I recall after getting the car Hiab'ed out from the field, it cost me £8 at the scrapyard to repair the damage LoL.

 

Hedley Hall Woods and the car park

 

Turning into the newly constructed car park at Hedley Hall woods, I got my GoPro out and set it up. I had to wait a little while for various folk to vacate the area, mostly dog walkers. This was a common theme throughout filming, however, I just waited until they were out of shot and I could set up each of my shots.

 

Car park all been done up, and you can see new trails been put in

 

 

The sun kept going behind the clouds, so this made shooting footage difficult, and I spent a great deal of time waiting for just the right moment when the sun would appear again. Looking at the display on my mobile phone whilst using the GoPro app, at certain times the picture looked really dark, yet when the sun appeared it became almost too bright.


It takes quite sometime to keep going back and forth for the camera. Although I was out most of the morning, I knew the majority of footage would be of my riding backwards and forwards to pick up my camera. The end video would only be a few minutes long. To be fair, that is long enough, people get bored watching anything over about 5 minutes on YouTube.

 

Buzzraw & Sculpture

 

Pretty Cool

I discovered another new sculpture today, of a lady with a horse, it looked pretty cool, so I took a few pics. Just after this as I was messing around trying to set my camera up, being lazy as I didn't want to get off my bike, I lost my balance to my right-hand side and fell over. Part of the reason I  didn't want to get off is because I have different clipless pedals fitted to the Buzzraw, and man they are a real pain in the arse to clip in and out of. As I picked myself and my bike up, checking around to see if anyone was laughing, I noticed my foot had gotten twisted beneath my Bartlett Tendon, good job I brought an ickle FWE multi tool. A quick unloosen of the Allen bolt on my pylon, and then I straightened up my wonky foot and re-tightened the stud.

 

Wonky foot

fwe multi tool

 

As I popped back on my bike, I noticed my battery had dropped to 2 bars of charge, so I decided to make the next shot the last before heading back home. As I was following the newly constructed path, it came to an end, with a barrier in place. This meant I had to follow an off-road trail through the wood, knew wearing my gigs would come in handy, as I managed to avoid getting twatted by various tree branches. Eventually I found my way back onto the proper trail and was soon on my way back home, again heading along the Causey and onto the Beamish Burn Road. This time I cut along to Beamish as if going towards Beamish Hall, trying to conserve my battery for the big hill and climb up to Beamish Museum." Oh! Crap" it's gone down to 2 bars now". Level 5 to get up to Beamish and a combination of level 4 and 5 up towards No Place, cutting up the trail to take me home via the Farmer's trail. I was now on level 1 LoL!

Just as I was coming through the new estate almost home, I heard a “beep” and my bike's display was telling me No Battery  left. Managed to just get home. Only covered just over 11 miles whilst out playing. My bike wasn't fully charged, and I had pretty much used her on level 5 all morning, plus whilst filming and fannying on with my camera, and chatting to various folk my bike had been turned on.

Love this wee bike, it is so much fun, just wish I had either been smaller or the bike was a bit bigger.

Random biking shit!

 Over the last week or so, I have really been enjoying my biking, and I actually mean in the real world, not just spinning indoors on my turbo whilst watching music videos on YouTube. In fact, I have been having so much fun that I have not really stopped to take too many pictures or concerned myself about relating a story to you all.

That is why I have just decided to call this particular blog post random biking shit! It's a bit of a hodgepodge of my week's adventures in no real particular order.

So, as you will all know, I love my new Orbea Gain gravel bike. It's so easy to ride, especially as when I ride this bike I don't wear my tendons on my Bartlett Tendon, so no additional resistance. Well, I decided to go for a blast sometime last week, even thinking I would try taking a few shots with my GoPro.

Time Warp, then took a snapshot

Now GoPro wise, even though I have a Hero 9 Black edition and I have watched hundreds of video's on how to set the wee camera up, no matter how hard I try, photo wise they always come out looking naff. It is particularly hard as an amputee, setting up the camera and trying to use the 30-second timer to grab a shot. By the time I press the GoPro button, get re-clipped back in and set off on my bike, trying to time a shot I have either missed it, cut some part of my body off or failed in some other way.

Well the other week I did a Time Warp video whilst out on the Orbea and using Wondershare Filmora I was able to grab a snapshot. I thought "Hey that doesn't look half bad" so decided to try using the time warp feature more often for grabbing images.

I had intended to take a few more, however as I was fannying on with my camera someone rode past me whilst I was checking out my camera. Then I heard a voice call to me on the lines of "Hey Glenn, how are you doing". At the time I didn't have my glasses on so shouted back "Oh Hi, sorry I can't see who it is, I am blind as a bat, without me gigs". The rider approached me, and it took me a little while to figure out it was a lad I know very well, however had not seen in years, Tony Banks, we used to go to Kung Fu, back in the day. After a brief conversation, Tony mentioned he was heading up to Waskerley, "Oh I am heading up that way" I said, so we rode together all the way there and back, stopping to have a lovely cup of coffee at Parkhead Farm. Cheers for getting the coffee's in Tony. Really enjoyed seeing Tony and reminiscing about the old days and what we have been up to since, we exchanged numbers, so hopefully we can get together for some more rides out.

Next thing I can recall...Oh yeah, the new battery came for the Buzzraw. My dad and I had to change the battery mount as the new battery has a 5 pin connection, it is also a much sturdier mount and wasn't a big deal to fit.

Old Battery Mount

New Battery Mount

New Battery Mount fitted

I charged the new battery overnight, with a plan to head out the following morning early and shoot a GoPro video of me just playing about on the bike. Well after setting off up the Farmer's Trail to No Place then crossing the busy Chester Le Street road and taking the trail down to Shield Row and dropping down to Beamish I was bloody freezing. "Sod this" I thought, summer is bound to provide a warmer opportunity. So I turned and headed towards the road that would take me to Beamish Museum, headed up the bank and got onto the C2C and rode home. I covered around 9 miles. The Buzzraw is such a fun bike, however a wee bit small for me, so I could properly feel my good leg cramping up as I got home. I also have to be aware of my prosthetic knee when turning the bars right, as it is easy to catch my knee under the bars and come a cropper. When I got home I loosened the 4 studs holding the bars in place and also loosened the brake levers, shifter and power button. I then adjusted the bars so that they would give me a bit more clearance by angling them slightly forward. If I had the cash I would buy a Buzzraw X as I believe they are a bit bigger, plus they look so cool. Never mind, the Buzzraw is still fun for shorter, playful adventures.

And so to my Specialized Turbo Levo. Man, it was so weird jumping back on this bike after the Orbea Gain gravel. The Levo felt huge and so plush when riding up the Farmer's Trail. Something else I really noticed was just how much extra work I was doing now that I had my tendons re-fitted. My socket was being drawn up, right under my thigh, due to the resistance in the tendons, and was a bit uncomfortable, my socket isn't fitting great. Now that I am an amputee, I can really appreciate just how amazing our own two legs are. It didn't take me long to become accustomed to the extra resistance, I mean I have been riding on this knee since 2009. I don't even have to think about standing and peddaling out of the saddle, it just comes naturally. I still love this knee and over the years what it has allowed me to do.

Tendons fitted and up the Farmer's trail

Out the saddle for a bit of a climb

I decided to head over to Hedley Hall Woods, as it had been ages since I was last over there. And onto one of my "bug bears". In days gone by, I would have ridden along the trail at East Tanfield, heading towards and over the Causey Arch Bridge, now however signs have been put in place to say "NO Cyclists". This means I now have to ride on the road, something I am not keen on doing, especially along the Causey Arch Road as cars often break the speed limit and go flying past you way too close. The alternative is to go the back roads up past the Aston Workshop or the long way around and head towards Tanfield Village, again on the road. Some public footpath legislation is so outdated and has not moved along with the times. I don't want to go flying along a public footpath like a man possessed, I would just like to be able to take a more scenic and safer route.

Heading down towards Shield Row

 

Smile for the Camera

Over at Hedley Hall Woods..."WoW" there has been a lot of work done. There have been proper footpaths put in, and I am so pleased to say that cyclists have not been prevented from using the beautiful area. There are also some sculptures and numerous trails to follow.

 

Woodsman Sculpture

 

I thoroughly enjoyed myself exploring the area. I discovered the Ancient wood trail, which loops around and is a natural place for wildlife. No dogs are allowed in this particular section.

Ancient Wood

I enjoyed my ride out on my Turbo Levo so much visting Hedley Hall Woods that I visited it again the following day.

A few indoor spins on my De Rosa and then today which is "Errrr Thursday" I am all out of sync, having been off work for 4 months and then returning this week on a phased return. Anyhoo today I thought no way am I going to be caught out by the cold. So I got wrapped up and took my Silverback Synergy Fat Bike for a ride. Upon getting on the Synergy, I noticed my Raceface dropper was sticking. "Ah well, sort it when I get back".

Boy, the ride up the Sandy Lonnen was tough, going up to the windmills on Wagtail Lane. No electric to assist me this morning, just relying on sheer determination and trying to motivate myself. Oh! I almost forgot to mention, at the very bottom of the Sandy Lonnen, near to Reiver Boats, I had to stop, drop me shorts and take my leg off. The socket was absolutely crushing me, right at the front of my thigh. I had put two seals in place, as normally my leg drops off, after loosing suction, however for some reason that extra seal was killing me this morning. I removed it, popped it in my pocket and replaced my leg, then carried on, and it felt much better. By the time I got to the top of the hill I checked my Fitbit, my heart rate was only at 107 bpm, I thought I would have been into peak or at least cardio, as I could hear my heart beat in my ears..."bump, bump, bump!

I am a creature of habit, so those who read my blogs will know "Oh he is off to Chapman's Wells" Lol. Love this place as it is quiet, off the road, and you don't see too many people. Wish it had more trails and routes like. I love looking around at all the stuff people just take for granted, it was lovely seeing the newborn lambs in the field with their moms, bleating and scampering about.

A roundabout loop of Chapman's Wells, and I decided to whip out my GoPro and see if I could get some pictures using the Time warp feature. Upon editing the footage at home I am quite impressed with the quality and think this may be how I can capture stills when out by myself, with no cameraman, other than myself.

Happier with these few shots

Silverback Synergy Fat

Silverback Synergy Fat

Another fun bike to ride Silverback Synergy Fat Bike

 

I should also really comment on just how many trees I have seen down, whilst out on my adventures just this week, following that really bad weather we had. When I rode in Beamish Woods, I was on and off my bike, as huge trees had fallen across the trails. Today at Chapman's I had to go under a tree. I tested it first, as didn't want the thing falling  on me.

Oh! And all the wild garlic is out in Beamish Woods...

 

Tight Squeeze under tree

 

Upon my return to home, coming back via South Moor Park, my dad and I had a look at my Raceface Turbine dropper seat post. We firstly removed it and then went and watched an online video to see how it operated. My dad went up to Stanley and bought a new cable, and we discovered from the video, that the post has an air valve under the saddle. When we checked this out, there appeared to be no air in the post, so I used my shock pump and filled up the post to about 25psi. It is the first time the post has ever been looked at, and my bike has stood sometime, so hopefully this will solve the problem.

Dropper lever

Air Valve on Raceface Turbine Dropper Post

Following this, I gave my Synergy some love and washed and cleaned her thoroughly before putting her to bed.

Tomorrow I think I am off to pick up Myrtle's 15" Steel Smoothies which have been powder coated gloss black and new tyres fitted. I will take some pics and show them off. May need to get some new clips to keep the hubcaps in place as the guy at the Wheel Specialist said the clips may dissolve in the acid dip process :/