Got Myself A New Ride...

So following on from Tango my old Smart car deciding to die on me last week, I have spent a somewhat stressful and what I thought was going to be a fairly depressing week searching for a replacement car.

A good few months ago I had toyed with the idea of thinning out my fleet of cars and getting rid of both Myrtle my old 65 VW Bug and Tango my wee Smart Car. I had been checking out the Abarth 595's. I know the little hot hatch isn't for everyone, but I really liked the styling, and the small form factor, and it would have suited my purposes ideally, a big bonus being that the little car was available in an automatic, something I need due to the whole missing leg situation.

Anyhoo I put the idea on the back burner, that was until Tango became poorly, and then the decision was kind of made up for me. And so my search began. I thought it would be easy, just locate the exact model I was after, which was the Abarth 595 180 bhp Competzione MTA, I mean come on there would be loads of them for sale right? Errrr wrong. I wanted as new a car as I could possibly afford, and when I began searching, I discovered 5 on Autotrader. Yeah! That's right 5. I contacted 3 of the dealers, all of whom gave me a courtesy call back and went on to send me various video's of their cars. Two of the dealers were way off from me and their cars were a little out of my budget. There was no movement whatsoever on the cars. Plus, I just couldn't get away with the colour of the interior of one of the cars, a kind of dirty brown.


As I write this, did you know the 2nd hand car market has seen a 32% hike in prices. It's a case of supply and demand, I guess.

Abarth 595 Competzione MTA

Mangoletsi, Knutsford Cheshire, Manchester

One of the dealers, I contacted, was Mangoletsi who have a showroom in Knutsford, Cheshire. They were also the closest to me with a car in stock and at a very good price, when compared to their competitors. I recieved a very friendly courtesy call from the manager George and he arranged for one of his salesmen Isaac to take a few videos of their car and then contact me.

 

 What I liked about Mangoletsi was that there was no pressure sales, and when I asked about the car the sales team were open and honest. I didn't want to jump straight into making a car purchase just for the sake of it, so following watching the video's Isaac had sent over I mulled over my options, admittedly there were not many, these automatic Abarths are a lot harder to get than I thought. That said, the car I had been shown looked in really good nick, so the best thing was to see it in the flesh, so to speak.

 

Abarth 595 Competzione 70th MTA

Ern checking out the wee car when we got home

 

After some consideration, when Isaac gave me a call back, I told him I would like to come down and have a butchers at his car. Isaac suggested putting down a £250 deposit. Informing me that if I was not totally happy with the car, the deposit would be returned. And so I put in a little annual leave from work and my dad and I drove down to Manchester to view the car today, which is the 19th July.

Abarth 595 Competzione 70th MTA

 

As we arrived at Mangoletsi's showroom, Isaac was just pulling the Abarth around, and he immediately came over to greet me. I guess the leg gives away who I am. It was absolutely sweltering on the forecourt, so we went indoors to the showroom, whilst Isaac grabbed some trade plates. A quick check of my driver's licence, then Isaac handed me the keys to the car, and we went for a test drive.

Little Abarth

I have sat in an Abarth before, however never driven one. It didn't take me long to get to grips with how the car felt. I pretty much knew after having a quick look around the car and the first few auto-gear shifts that it was the one for me. I love the colour it is not in your face, the car sounds awesome with its Record Monza exhaust and the engine, although only a 1.4 turbocharged 4 cylinder, is punchy. The car's seats will take a bit of getting used to, they offer great support, however as many motoring journalists have said they are pretty firm, and you also sit up high in the car. Saying that, my head doesn't touch the roof and I think it is just a case of getting used to a different car. That goes for the suspension too. It is very firm, however the car feels planted. I am quite used to a firmer ride as Grandma my VW Beetle GSR is running on coil overs and quite low.

Interior

Sabelt Seats

After the test drive, it was back into the showroom to pay for the car and I had to sort my insurance out. I must have been on the phone to Adrian Flux for well over 1 and a half hours today, probably 10 minutes of that actually speaking to someone, the rest being on hold.

Fun little car to drive

I opted to take out a further 1 year's warranty for £400, a  bit of a no-brainer really. The car is registered on a 69 plate, however it is a year 2020 car. Oh! And a very neat touch was that when I viewed the car I asked could Mangoletsi source some Abarth carpets, as when I checked out their video the car didn't appear to have any. That is one of the first things Isaac pointed out, when I went to actually look at the car. As a customer, when details like this are taken care of, well it just makes you feel like you are being looked after.


All the paper work done, Isaac went through what was provided with the car, such as the spare keys, the car's service book and manual and the locking wheel nut in the boot.


My dad and I said our farewells, thanking Isaac as he had looked after us from arriving to leaving and the car was exactly as he had described it. Fantastic service, with a very friendly team and the car I think was at a really good price.


After filling up the wee Abarth... I have yet to think of a name for her, it was off homeward-bound. As I was driving, I recieved a few test messages via my phone. Now I never use my phone whilst driving, what was really cool though was when I was stuck in traffic the Abarth's radio informed me I had some messages. I clicked on the "read" button on the 7-inch touch screen, and the lady hiding in the car's radio actually spoke my messages. Wow! Anyone from a younger generation will think so what, it's old tech. I just thought it was pretty cool, LoL.

Farwell to an old friend...

 It has been pretty hot weather the last week or so, I am sure you will all agree. Well on Sunday after finishing a rather warm and sticky day at work I jumped in Tango and headed home. I had both of her windows open as she was roasting inside. I mean, she had been waiting patiently all day for my return in the glaring sun.

I popped her air-con on to help with cooling. I know you shouldn't have the windows open with the air-con on, it was just until things got cooled down as we drove home.

Wow this was 7 years ago the day I bought Wee Tango

 

So off we set on our usual route, with no dramas, Tango running perfectly smooth. It wasn't until I got real near home, just about opposite Humber Hill, when I smelt a burning smell. I thought it was something from outside somewhere.

As I pulled up outside our house and parked over the road on the grass verge and went to get out of Tango, that is when I noticed a small amount of smoke. I originally thought it was coming from my rear drum brakes, however as I inspected my wee car, it soon became apparent it was more of a burning oil type of smell.
 

I had turned her off at this point and went in to get Ern's opinion. Ern came out and suggested we leave Tango to cool, saying "come on, we can go up to the tip and drop off all this garden stuff". We had been on cutting the hedges you see, so had loads of cuttings, in a dumpy bag and wrapped in a tarpaulin.

When we arrived back home, it was still red-hot and Tango was still warm. My dad popped Tangos tail gate and lifted the carpet and protective sound deadening, then released the clip that holds the metal engine tray. We then got a rag and pulled out Tango's dip stick, checking her oil. The oil was up to the recommended level and looked lovely and clean, I mean she is serviced by my dad regularly. We then replaced the dip stick and went around to the front of Tango and checked her coolant level, again it was perfect.

We then had a go at starting Tango, and she just gave off a pitiful little groan... Oh! Dear!

My dad suggested leaving her until the following day, and whilst I was at work, he would investigate further. Upon picking me up from work, my dad let me know that Tangos engine felt "Tight". He had put a socket and wrench on her and tried turning her engine over by hand. She wasn't exactly seized, however she was poorly.


I have had Tango 7 years, and she has been a great little car, ideal for what I needed her for. I was gutted, however at this point I had had enough of spending money on her, I mean just last month I had spent over £500 on new suspension parts a tyre, then had to get her tracking re-done. I decided pretty much there, and then it was time to say farewell.
 

Tango when I first saw her and fell in love with her

I will miss my little Tango

I no longer have a Facebook account, so I used my dads and banged Tango up for a £1,000 on marketplace. Within minutes of the ad going up, I had 9 people contact me. So I was furiously trying to answer everyone's questions. I hate selling stuff, as you either get some numpty trying to bid you down or asking ridiculous questions. Not just that when someone really wants something, and you only have one, it's difficult trying to not come across as a complete dick when someone else buys your gear, and it's gone. Maybe I am too soft, LoL.

Anyhoo within about half an hour of the ad being out, a guy informed me he would be at our house the next morning with cash, and true to his word he arrived, paid for Tango and took her away. I wasn't in, as I was at work. I said my final farewell that morning, which was really sad, I loved that little car and had some good times in her. I hope Colin, her new owner, can repair her, and she sees many more miles of bringing a smile to someone's face.

And so what to do for a car for a run about and for work. I can't possibly use Grandma as she costs a fortune to run, plus she hopefully will be a future classic. I don't want to use Myrtle as well she uses just as much fuel as Grandma, however annoys a lot of people on the road as she is soooo slow and there is the fact she is not ideal to park, and I am still on the fence about her semi-auto clutch adaption. I still get anxious on hills and at junctions at times. Sometimes I can pull away smooth and on other occasions she either cuts out or, like when I was a learner, as if she has kangaroo petrol in her.

Sometime ago I had debated selling both Tango and Myrtle and was checking out an Abarth 595 Competzione. I'd actually love an EsseEsse, however they are hard to get in an auto and a lot more expensive. It sucks being an amputee as I am limited to an auto, and you always seem to have to pay a premium.

Abarth 595 Competzione

Obviously not in the market for a brand-new car, my budget won't extend to that, but something a couple of years old would do the trick. I am also trying to resist the urge of getting a car and modding it. I have already noticed there are loads of nice bits of gear out there for the Abarths Lol

Grandma ... My What Big Brakes You Have !

Well we have finally got around to fitting the bigger brake mod to Grandma, my 2013 Volkswagen Beetle GSR, which happens to be #240 of a production run of 3500 worldwide. Of those 3500 cars produced only 100 were brought to the UK. Of that 100, there were 70 Yellow and Black's and only 30 Platinum Grey and Blacks, so Grandma I suppose is quite a rare car, plus Volkswagen are no longer making the Beetle, so she may become a bit of a collector's car.

Grandma is now 9 years old, approaching ten, and she is in canny good nick. Stone chips are my biggest annoyance with her, but hey, show me a car without the odd bit of road rash after 10 years. She still turns a few heads, and I think quite a few people get a surprise at just how pokey she is. When I bought her, she was remapped, with a Revo stage 1, and pushing out 264 Bhp. I then got her remapped to a stage 2, along with the Race Cat and DSG gearbox map, so she is now pushing out 290.6 Bhp. Grandma is also running a Revo cold air intake and a Miltek unresonated Cat back exhaust, which sounds pretty good, however can get on your tits when travelling between 50'ish to 60'ish as it drones, so much so at times it makes my ears go funny. The DSG mod is quite fun as when you boot Grandma she has a sort of fart when chaging gears in sport mode Lol.

Anyhoo moving along I will now give you a run down of the brake mod with as much detail as I can, who knows it may help someone out there if, like me, you run into a few teething problems with mixing and matching bits of gear. I will write a complete list at the end for reference purposes, so you can skip to there if you don't want to read my blog... Shame on you, Lol.

OK so the 2013 VW Beetle I think is based on the Mk 6 Golf chassis. I am sure this is correct as I recall the Miltek Cat back system as being off a Mk 6 Golf and also the Revo 200 cell Race Cat from a Golf Mk 6 fitted when i had it fitted down at BTG Performance. Following much research and still being a little unsure, of what exactly would fit, I just decided to bite the bullet and purchase a pair of MK 7 Golf R front calipers, which I got from Flea Bay. They came complete with the carriers and the R badge side plates. I opted for all black to go with my stealth theme.

Grandma about to be elevated

Had her 4 years now and still love her

 

I will write this whilst I remember...

This is just a little post, it contains no pictures, and you may not find it interesting.

In March, the 27th to be exact, I caught Covid. Pretty bad timing as I was already off on the sick, due to my socket not fitting, however I was due to return to work and then required a few more weeks off.

Well ever since then I have struggled with fatigue, a very annoying dry cough and the most worrying symptom concentration.

Now normally I would just laugh it off, the forgetfulness, however over the course of the last few weeks it has got considerably worse. 

An example, I had arranged to go and see one of my good friends on Thursday, she lives up at Felton near Alnwick. I have made this trip loads of times, it is easy to get to Felton, as it is straight up the A1 North bound. So how come I ended up 34.4 miles away from Felton, almost in Scotland. I had to call my friend and ask for her postcode. I only realised I was in the wrong place when passing Haggerston Castle and going around two roundabouts, before turning around and heading back South, pulling in to a lay-by and calling my friend.


Travelling back South, for some reason I had it in my head that there was a section of dual carriageway, went to pass a car, and it wasn't until I saw on coming traffic in what I thought was my lane I had to stamp on my brakes and swerve back into my lane. I believe in thanking the Universe for its help and assistance. I gave a big thank you that evening, I can tell you.

Today has been a catalogue of memory and concentration errors. Things like putting my keys in the glovebox of my car, then looking for my keys immediately after to start my car. Putting my disabled badge in its usual place on the sun visor, kept in place by elastic bands, then going shopping with Ern and looking in my glovebox for said badge. Putting a teabag in my cup, going for the milk, then putting another tea bag in and discovering I had put two in when I poured the hot water in. Making a cup of tea without boiling the kettle this morning.


Last week I had a complete mental block after seeing a patient and going to write up my notes. I knew what I had done, but couldn't find the words to type it out.


My dad lost his wallet today, however with some detective work I managed to find it, it must have fallen off the footstool and gone down by the sette, so at least I discovered that Lol

Myrtle's Manifold Malfunction

As I wrote the other week, poor Tango has been laid up after breaking a spring, and then requiring some extensive TLC. She is getting on a bit now, so replacing almost everything suspension wise was the best option, as after all she is my daily go to car for getting to work and back.

So whilst Tango has been out of action I have really enjoyed using Myrtle, my 65 Bug, to potter about in and get me to and from work. I am still getting used to her clutch, so have been experimenting with different routes, not so much going to work, but on my return. So far I have not been brave enough to tackle Watergate Bends LoL.

Anyhoo the other day whilst arriving at work and parking up on Richardson Road I decided to air Myrtle out. It's fun seeing the wee car sitting on the deck as she looks tiny compared to more modern cars, and she gets some admiring glances.


I used my mobile phone and the Airlift Performance App installed and selected my low height preset, which is "0" psi in all four corners. This is when I noticed that 3 of the bags had completely aired out, however my driver's side rear was still reading around 20 to 30 psi. As I had to go into work, I just had to leave Myrtle.


When I finished work upon getting in Myrtle, I used the AirLift controller which I have situated inside Myrtle's glovebox. I selected my high preset, which is roughly 95 psi all around. I noticed that the two front bags went up to the preset pressures, as did the passenger rear, however the driver's side bag was bobbing up and down on the controller screen, going way past 95 psi and then dropping back down to a lower pressure.


Fortunately I was able to drive Myrtle home and upon arriving at our street get over the giant speed bumps...fucking hate those things.

I then had a little mess around with the controller as Myrtle stood in our backyard, to no avail. That driver's side rear bag was having none of it. I then went on to try different fixes, such as recalibrating the system. Resetting the manifold, by removing the plug on the manifold. Removing and replacing the fuse. Releasing all the air from the tank and then trying to reinflate the bags. Well nothing worked.

Following all of this I went online to try and get in touch with AirLift Performance, however I couldn't find an email for them upon their site, just a telephone number.

Fortunately, I had an old email address from when I had a problem with my phone connectivity through the app, and the guys at AirLift were trying to help me. It was something to do with the Samsung updates and the Bluetooth connectivity. So I fired off an email, keeping my fingers crossed that someone would reach out.

I tried calling the supplier where I got the Airlift system from, Limebug, however there was no answer and I also emailed Limebug, that was on the 31st May, and they still haven't responded.

I got a pretty quick response from AirLift, so was well pleased, as like I say I wasn't even sure I had the correct address. So over the course of the last few days I have been corresponding with a very helpful guy named Kevin. Kevin has gone through my problem and suggested I try a few things to establish the fault.

My dad and I swapped the RR & RL lines on the manifold as Kevin suggested, and immediately I got a pressure sensor fault.

Upon sending Kevin a few small video's of the fault and what was happening, he asked me to send my original receipt and informed me a new manifold would be sent out under warranty.

So that is where I am at with Myrtle. Hopefully it will just be a case of fitting the new manifold and jobs a good'un.

Getting back to Tango, what a nightmare with delivery of parts. UPS, better known as "Useless Parcel Service" has fucked up yet again. The last 4 deliveries we have had off them, we have had issues each time. This time they haven't even bothered delivering the parts, instead they have decided to send them to some Amazon delivery depot. That is after sending 3 emails of course to say that the parcel was at a local pickup point down at Tanfield at some shop. Go down to the shop and guess what, no parcel.

Back in August of 2020  my mate Brian, the designer of the Bartlett Tendon, sent me a knee over to trial for a few weeks. It was delivered by UPS, well kind of. Now, this knee is probably in the region of 8 to 10K. The delivery driver thought it would be a good idea just to leave it at the back gate.

 

Oh! I will just leave it here, should be safe???

It's soooo far to walk all the way to the door, I will just leave it here

 

A week earlier, he had not delivered a parcel, or even bothered to slip a notice in through the letterbox, so I missed a parcel and the sender was not happy as they then had to pay the import duty. Oh! And he also came back with another parcel and decided to leave it on the spoiler of Grandma, my Beetle. The DPD man who was delivering actually saw it, picked it up and delivered it to our door. I mean, imagine if I had gone out in my car, I would never have known it was there.

The bloke down at UPS now knows my dad by sight and just sights when he sees him, LoL.

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 :/