Daycycle - Romans and a river

This ride starts at the Tyne cycling tunnels. There is plenty of car parking, and it's not too far from Jarrow metro station and the town centre too.

Ride through the tunnel

Once back above ground head to the main road then turn left and follow NCN72 west along the path beside the A187.

When it rejoins the road, cross at the crossing and then turn right into Cumberland terrace.

At the end through the bollards turn left into Norman Terrace.

At the next junction turn right then left to dogleg into Armstrong road. At the end turn right onto the path, through the barriers.

at the end of the path, rejoin the road and turn right heading downhill into Willington Dene.

The route heads left over the river, but it's always worth spending a few minutes admiring the splendor that is Willington railway viaduct. Now carrying the Tyne and wear metro. It was originally built in wood on top of the stone pillars in 1839, but was rebuilt in iron in 1867 matching the original design.

once across the bridge over the stream, there's a short but noticable climb out at which point the route joins the path along the road again for a short while.

Once past Hadrian road metro station, cross over the road at the toucan crossing and carry on until you reach the arch 

Follow the cycleway as it continues to follow the route of an old railway heading west.

after a while there is a left turn as NCN72 leaves the line and joins St Lawrences road to head down to the riverside.

The cyclehub is always a very good place for a pitstop and to take in the river views towards the city whilst enjoying some of their excellent drinks and food.

Continue west along the quayside towards the city centre. It can be bust with pedestrians along this stretch.

The Gateshead millennium bridge is one of only three tilting bridges in the world. Between May and September the bridge tilts every day at noon. If you've not seen it when it's worth timing your ride to watch it.

Cross over using the millennium bridge then turn left and follow the riverside path beside the Baltic art centre, which used to be one of a number of flour stores and mills along the tyne. After it was closed in the mid 80s it was converted into the world class arts centre it is today

Once past the hotel, join south shore road. At the end of the road join the path to bypass the bollards and carry on along a quiet riverside path.

On your left is the kittiwake tower, which is an artificial breeding site for kittiwakes , which was built for them when the refurbishment of the Baltic flour mill displaced them. 

The path will bring you to Friars Goose. It's so named as monks in the 11th century used to gather gorse, known as goose, hereabouts. It's also the site of an old ferry crossing across the Tyne.

Follow NCN14 through the car park and join Green lane heading uphill. As the road bends to the right head left then take the cyclepath.

Follow this path for quite a while until it joins Nest Road.

Turn left onto Nest road and follow the road until the junction with Abbotsford road where you turn left. At the end of the road continue on the path to Low Hedworth road.

At this point you can either turn left and follow the signed NCN14 route down to the river and along Tyne street.

Alternatively turn right, and then left into Gosforth terrace. Follow the road until the sharp right, and take the path to the left which leads to Bill Quay farm. The locals are friendly.

Once through the farm follow the road until you pass the Wardley arms and take the path adjoining the bus circle. Take a minute or two to soak in the view along the Tyne here

a little further along the path, the two alternatives merge again with some more impressive views of the river Tyne before dropping back down to the riverside at Hebburn marina

follow the road along the marina until you see the large blue sign when the road bends to climb away from the river.

Take the path which will keep you alongside the river for a little while longer before joining Ellison street.

Once at the top, take a left turn onto Lyon street then follow this back to the start at the Tyne cycling tunnels in Jarrow. The route at this point borders several old shipyards from when the Tyne was famous for ship building.

There are still some relics, such as these rails across the road which would have linked the shipyard with more works across the road.

Dayride - Tyne and Wear circular ride - 27 miles.

This is a 27 mile ride taking in the mouths of the rivers Wear and Tyne and the North east coast linking them. 

It is almost all traffic free, and approximately two thirds of it is on signed NCN routes. However some of the paths, especially along the coast can get busy and congested when it's busy. There are options to use the road in those circumstances although I won't mention them. There is also a possibility to short cut the southwestern corner of the route which will shave two or three miles of the route, but it's not all traffic free. Below is a map of the route and if you have komoot, then you can find the route here

The route starts at the southern end of the Tyne cycling tunnels which are one of the best bits of dedicated UK cycling infrastructure. If you've never walked or cycled them then it's well worth a few minutes to explore them. There is plenty of parking at the tunnels if you're using the car to get to the start.

If you've never experienced the tunnels, it's well worth spending a few minutes to ride through and back as they are unique in the UK.

From the tunnels follow NCN14 south, which takes you down a wide cycleway which is actually on the top of the vehicle Tyne tunnel. If you want refreshments or other supplies then Jarrow town centre is just a few metres to your right. It has supermarkets and other food outlets as well as a cafes. There is a rather wonderful statue commemorating the famous Jarrow march of 1937 just outside of Morrisons with cycle parking right alongside it. 

The first part of the route follows a new Cycleway which runs parallel to the A19 and is mostly traffic free shared use paths with a couple of short on road sections though quiet 20mph residential roads to the crossing at the A194. At the time of writing it still hasn't been signed so it may be best using a map or relying on a navigation app. Once over the A194, follow Edinburgh road, Glasgow road, and then Perth ave to the footbridge over the A19. Known locally as the banana bridge due to its curved profile, it is ridable, but has tight corners. Once across, follow the cycleway to the left, cross Hedworth lane, recross the A19 and then continue to follow the Cycleway south.

When you get to the bottom end and meet the A184 keep an eye open for the swans which take up residence every summer at the pond beside the road.

Once over the A184 you continue to head south on a bridleway which is the trackbed for the old Pontop and South Tyne railway which started above Stanhope in the Durham Dales and carried coal to the docks on the river Tyne in South Shields. Most of the railway is now NCN 7 heading west.  Use the large NMU bridge to cross over the A19 and follow the A1290, again on the route of the old railway pass Nissan, which is on the old Sunderland airfield. An interesting diversion at this point is the North East transport museum and it's collection which includes a Vulcan bomber. From Nissan follow Washington road and then Cherry Blossom way. After crossing Nissan way at the toucan crossing follow Barmston lane and then cross the A1231 at the footbridge. 

Once over the footbridge you'll join NCN7 which is part of the famous coast to coast route from Whitehaven to Sunderland. When the road dips down to the river, you'll be at the location of the old Hylton ferry which has history going back to the 1300s and possibly back to Roman times. 

Head east and keep following the NCN7 signs towards Sunderland.

You'll next pass the wreaked hulk of the Cretehawser which was a concrete boat built on the Wear in 1919.

As you carry on along NCN 7 you'll pass under the Northern Spire bridge which was completed in 2019. 

 As you pass through the centre of the huge roundabout at the north end of the Queen Victoria bridge, possibly without realising as the only signs are the two underpasses, check out the underpasses themselves as one is beautiful Victorian dressed red stone and the modern one is ugly brutal concrete.

Shortly after the second underpass, you have an option to keep straight or take a right down to the riverside. That's the path this guide takes as it's much more interesting and quieter. 

Once on the riverside keep an eye on the ground as there are numerous cast plaques set in the path surface commemorating the areas mining history. Below is one showing the main seams from Wearmouth colliery.

There's also other bits of Industrial heritage including the remains of coal staithes used for loading ships with coal from wearmouth colliery the site of which is now Sunderland's football stadium. 

Further along the path you'll pass under a short stretch which is roofed to protect against falling rocks and then under the twin rail and road bridges into the city centre.

Tucked away sheltering between the bridges is this. 

No, it's not a Martian war machine from The War Of The World's, but it's named Second Sun and is part of a wider installation. As you head east to the sea keep your eyes peeled for smaller signs illustrating the distance between the planets and the sun.

Once under the bridges it all opens out nicely and there are a number of pieces of public art as you pass the University of Sunderland.

Once past the National Glass centre which has an excellent cafe and a bike workstation, there's a short gentle climb away from the river. Once you meet the road at the top, turn right and head down to Sunderland marina. Where there's more public art. There is an excellent blog here which highlights more pieces and some background.

Follow the route skirting the marina. You can the first road on the left and shortcut straight to the seafront. Whilst the run around the shoreline is interesting, it can become congested with sea anglers. Be careful and alert if you head that way.

There's plenty of places for refreshments along the Roker front. 

The official C2C finish point is on the right just past Fausto Coffee.

Continue past the pier and there's a cycleway which zigzags up a gentle gradient  to Roker terrace. Once at the top head north along the cycleway which continues all the way along the seafront to Sea Lane.

Here there is an excellent seafood cafe and delicatessen, and also a coffee and ice cream kiosk.

Opposite the car park, If it's a clear day though, pause and look behind you as you'll be able to see Teesside and the North Yorkshire Moors beyond. Then take the gravel path which follows the cliff edge for a while before turning to pickup some back streets through Whitburn before popping out and joining the main road. 

Follow the cycleway north passing Whitburn windmill on the left. You'll then pass Souter lighthouse. The adjacent country park can be pleasant for a short walk or cycle, and the lighthouse has another good cafe for refreshments. 

The large grassed area just to the north of the lighthouse used to be Marsden village until it was abandoned in the 1960s and demolished.

On the right are the Marsden lime kilns which are grade 1 listed. 

Continue to follow the Cycleway north. The large grassed area is known as The Leas and is owned and managed by the National Trust. If the weather if good you can see north to Blyth and even the Cheviots in the distance.

If you want to avoid roads, then at the New Crown roundabout, NCN1 crosses and continues through the park before heading west on a traffic free path to join NCN14 at the other side of the town centre. 

My recommendation unless it is extremely busy is to turn right and follow the road along the South Shields sea front past all the usual seaside attractions including amusement arcade, fair etc. Both of the sea front parks have been extensively and expensively brought back to their Victorian splendour over the last few years and are well worth a visit.

Follow the road north. Just where the car parks end, there's another piece of public art just near the beach. This is Conversation Piece and is several groups of cast figures in small groups. It's affectionately known locally as the Weebles

Head the road around to the right as it now hugs the riverside. At the foot of the climb take the right fork onto Wapping street.

At the end of the row of buildings, stop as this is Comical Corner. So called as there used to be a tricky bend in the river for captains to navigate and crowds used to gather to watch.

You'll then pass through some old shipyard areas which have been revitalised and turned into housing. To celebrate the maritime history of there area, there is another piece of public art in one of the old docks called Fleet.

The terminal for the Shields ferry is then on your right. 

Follow the ncn signs to use the paths to get up beside the BT building and then across the roundabout. NCN14 takes you around the the back of some stores to Crossgate before crossing Station road and picking up a traffic free path.

Once at Laygate, NCN14 follows a road to Tyne dock where you will see more art. This time  statue of Sarah Milligan, alongside Norman Fay who ran a long established local cycle shop for many years and a Roman centurion.

Follow NCN14 as it skirts along the boundary of the Tyne Dock facility along the A194 and then the A185 back towards Jarrow.

If you have time take a short detour when you reach Church Bank and visit St Paul's monastery, which used to be the residence of the Venerable Bede.

From the monastery, there's not far to go to get back to the starting point. My recommendation would be to cross the road after leaving the church grounds and follow the path opposite. Which will then bring you to this lovely and almost secret mosiac. 

Take the right hand path, and this will lead you back to pick up NCN14 beside the A19, and follow it north back to the starting point..

 

the tyreglider

The tyre glider is a new product and is pitched as being revolutionary for changing cycle tyres. Shown below with an SD card adapter for scale

We all know some tyres are easy to remove and fit and some are absolute monsters. The tyreglider is designed to make that process a lot easier.

When removing the tyre it's basically a wide tyre lever with an easy to grasp handle. It's quite easy to use.

1. You get the removal part under the bead.

2. Grasp the tool and pivot it over the rim bringing the tyre bead with it.

3. Still grasping the tyreglider, you basically shove it around the circumference of the rim.

Below is a short clip showing the removal process

Refitting the tyre is a different process.

1. Clip the tool horizontally onto the rim with the pointy end in the direction you want to go.

2. With the bead of the tyre on top of the tyreglider, basically shove it with using the blunt end as a handle. The bead will just zip on.

3. If it's a tight tyre, then it will get harder as you meet resistance. Make sure the bead is as far into the rim well as it will go and shove. It is easier than trying to use one or two levers to get the bead over, and no chance of pinching the tube. The design of the tool allows you to give it a good push though.

There's a short video below showing how to fit a tyre using the Tyre glider

I've tried it with a couple of different tyres on a spare wheel I have.

The nutrak I tried was a doddle but I can just about manage to do that without tools, so not much of a challenge really 

The 20*1.35 Marathon Plus is notoriously tough though, but the Tyreglider made it a lot easier and quicker.

For me the the hardest part was getting the wider lever under the bead for removal.

Whilst this tool makes it easier, I reckon it will most help when you have gloved hands in the winter or possibly if you have reduced dexterity as for the most part you can use it just by grabbing it with the hand.

Whilst there are other tools to make tyre fitting easier, every one I know is larger and bulkier than the Tyreglider. I think it's verging on genius, and could be one of the best innovations I've seen in a long while.

It's definitely earned a place in my on road toolkit, although I haven't removed the tyre levers yet.

The only downside? That I didn't buy a second one for my home toolkit! 

Dynamo lighting. Why and how

A few years ago I wrote a post about dynamo lighting on a budget. A few things have changed, one of which is Brexit, which means that purchasing cheap ready build wheels and lights from Germany is largely no longer an options for people in the UK. So time for an updated post. 

Why run dynamo? what's wrong with battery lights

If you're someone who just nips out on a sunny afternoon, then this probably isn't for you. If you ride all year round and cycle for transport and commuting as well as longer rides then here goes.

• Dynamo lights are always available, either at the flick of a switch or via a built in light sensor that switches them when the light levels drop. This is useful when heading through bridges, tunnels or even on a ride with lots of tree coverage
• You don't need to remember to charge them or worry about batteries dying
• They are bolted to the bike, so you don't have to take them off at end of your trip.
• They generally have a more effective and focussed light spread than a lot of battery lights which just spray light everywhere.
• On longer day rides with the right extras you can charge phones and battery packs

Oh and Dyno lights have a bit of trickery inside which keeps them on for a few minutes after you stop. This is so you still have light if waiting at a junction, and is known as a standlight.

That sounds great. How do I get it?

You need three things. A wheel with a dynamo hub, a front, light, a rear light and some cable to connect them.

For hubs there's 3 options.

• Base Shimano hubs are cheap and reliable but a bit on the heavy side. £30-40 quid
• SP are good, mid range and light. £75-£100
• Son are high end but very well engineered. £250 or so.

Decathlon sometimes have basic ready built wheels. That can be a good option if there's any in stock, otherwise it will be a case of getting an online or local shop to build you a wheel or build it yourself

If you have a Brompton, then there is a dynamo lighting kit you can buy with all the bits.

I have a Shimano hub on one bike, and an SP PV-8 hub on the other. 

A SP PV-8 before building into a wheel

The same hub built into a wheel and on the bike

As for lights. Stick with Busch & Muller. It's the most widely available brand in the UK. Axa and Spanninga are also decent quality lights. Again Son Edelux are fantastic, but expensive.

Dynamo lights are usually measured in Lux which is better than lumens. 

Lumens is the amount of light a lamp produces, but just everywhere (like a house lightbulb). 

Lux though is the light output measured onto a square metre. Most dynamo lights are made to german SvTZO standards and have directed & focussed beams. It is the focussed area of the beam which is measured in Lux

<40 lux is good in urban and lit roads.

High as you can for unlit roads and paths. Mine is 80 lux and it's superb for riding along unlit roads and tracks. 

A basic front light will cost from about £25, and a 60-80 Lux will be around £50.

My front light is a B+M Cyo Senso

For rear lights, again you won't go wrong with Busch & Muller, Axa or Spanninga .

You can get lights to fit a rear rack, seatpost, or even mudguards and stays. £20 will get you a decent light.

My rear light. A Spanninga Elips

And it on the bike and illuminated

Putting it all together

It's very simple to put all this together and make it work. the front lights are pre-wired.

You'll need some 2 core speaker/auto cable & some 2.8mm male spade connectors (Halfords calls them audio connectors) and a crimping tool if you want to make your own wiring to the rear light, or you could buy a ready made cable with connectors. Crimpers & connectors are cheap though.

1. Fit a rim tape (velox cloth is best) and tyre/tube to the wheel and fit to the bike.
2. Fit the front light to the bike.
3. The hub comes with a plug in connector remove it & push the wires in from the front light into it and plug into the hub.
4. Spin the wheel & turn on the light and bingo!
5. Measure a length of cable, and crimp male spade connectors to each core at each end ( 4 in total)
6. Connect the cable to the short tails on the front light, and to the rear light, carefully making sure you keep the polarity (+ to +. - to - )
7. Spin the front wheel, and both the front and back light should light. If the rear doesn't, then carefully check to make sure you haven't crossed the connections.
8. Once it's working fit the rear light to the bike, and secure the cable with cable ties. Electrical insulating tape will do a fine job of weatherproofing the connections.

Link to the Shimano generator fitting & wiring instruction (PDF)

This is a really comprehensive guide to dyno lights with shots of the lights in action

Review: Teentok rear cycle camera and light

I'm a big advocate for onboard cycle cameras. They're useful in capturing unusual sights as well as being useful evidence in the unpleasant event of a collision. 

They can also be used to "grass" up poor and dangerous drivers if your force acts on submissions. Drivers take notice of fixed penalties and fines. They'll have to declare any on insurance for 4 to 5 years and will likely incur an extra premium as a reminder. 

I've used a £40 Aldi rear light and camera combo (a gen 1 fly 6 clone) for over three years. It is only 720p resolution and can be a bit grainy, so I replaced it with a Teentok from eBay although Amazon have them too. If you're careful you can get them for about £110 currently.

It comes with a basic mount and a usb cable (not shown). It has a decent sized camera lens above 5 very bright red leds

On the left hand edge from the top there is a mic hole. Power button, light mode button, and a photo button. You can also see the go too mount moulding on the rear.

Right side has the microsd (not supplied) slot and a micro USB socket hidden under a snug fitting rubber flap

the supplied mount will fit a seatpost or other thick tube but is a little basic. On my bike the rackpack obscures a fair bit of the image so I purchased a saddle rail mount for a fiver from eBay. At 26g it's less than half the weight of the supplied mount 

Once fitted the camera nestles snuggly under the saddle. The fixing seem to be stainless steel. I'd recommend using unlock nuts and or threadlock. From a security perspective, it's an improvement over the Aldi cam which was secured.using a velcro strap. 

Operation is pretty straightforward. 

Press the power button to turn on. The camera will bleep twice and LEDs start flashing. Recording starts automatically and the unit will bleep a third time when it starts, but unlike the Aldi (which has a circulating led) there's no dedicated indicator.

Press the middle button to change led mode. If LEDs are off then the middle led will briefly flash every 3 minutes as a reminder that unit is on and recording.

Press and hold the bottom button to turn on the wireless network. The unit will bleep twice when it starts You can then connect computer to the camera to view and download videos and change settings. One nice touch is that you can change the ssid and the passphrase for the wireless network rather than it being hard coded into the camera.

I bought the camera at the end of January and at the time of writing hadn't had chance for more than a few short local trips, but I have done some run time testing

1. Runtime with steady light - 4 hrs

2. Runtime with no light - 6 hours 45

3. Charge time from flat - 3 hours

Sample video below

The app is called Ricam and is installable from the play store.

It's a little tough around the edges but it does work. Once connected to the camera's wireless network, set the app and click the big button on screen to connect to it.

Once connected there is a battery indicator and the usual settings gear for cog. Theres only one page. Date and time are synced from the app host 

you can also manage and download video and photos from the camera

I found that the camera was locking files so they could not be overwritten automatically. This seemed to be the collision detection being over sensitive. A quick email with the support contact included with camera and I received a new firmware file within 24 hours which has resolved the issue.

Since installing the updated firmware the app will occasionally report that the camera is not authorised. The only solution is to powecycle the camera whilst clearing the app data within Android. The app will also occasionally report that the camera is busy. The short term fix is to exit and reconnect.

Verdict

This camera seems to be good value for money and works well considering you can get one for nearly half the price of a Fly6.

It's neater than a lot of the go pro clones hand has a light built in.  If you don't want the light, then I'd recommend a Drift Ghost X for an extra £15 or so which has similar runtime and a more polished app. 

The app has a rough unfinished feel and some bugs, but I'll probably only use it occasionally for managing settings as if extracting video for submission, I'll copy to my file server for safe keeping.