November 20th – I know very little about great crested grebes, but there seemed to be rather a lot of them on Chasewater as I passed through. Difficult to photograph for their habit of diving just as you get them in shot, they are gradually transitioning into winter plumage and losing their distinctive brown flashes on their heads. They dive and pursue fish underwater, and I wonder if their recent apparent profusion at Chasewater indicates improving fish populations there following the dry years when the lake was drained.

Lovely birds, fascinating to watch.

November 20th – A dreadfully great and damp afternoon saw me head out with a heavy heart – but hitting the fresh air, I took a spin over Brownhills Common for the first time in ages. it’s looking good, despite the autumnal decay; the heathland restoration here has clearly been beneficial, and it’s lovely to see so many self-seeded deciduous trees like oaks and sycamores growing well.

On to Chasewater, a circuit around the lake was wet but rewarding; the huge number of birds on the lake were mesmerising and the gull roost was massive. Fly Creek is flowing well with the recent rains and the area of the boardwalk crossing is as enchanting as ever.

As dusk fell, heading back to Brownhills, the blue light caught the canal at Catshill, and for a moment at least, was magical.

Sometimes, you set out for a ride in miserable weather and it turns out to be better than you’d ever imagine.

November 19th – In Lichfield, I had a request from fellow blogger @Bhillscommoner for some images of Lichfield, and was happy to oblige. Unlike my other recent photos, these were taken with the city busy and bustling, and I like the way the people appear as ghostly witness, indistinct to the solid, defined architecture around them.

Transients before the longer lasting.

November 19th – Riding to Lichfield on a grey afternoon to get a little shopping in and get some fresh air. I went through the backlanes of Hilton, Wall Butts and Chesterfield, and was cheered here as I was elsewhere earlier in the week by the still wonderful autumnal colours.

I’m finding the darkness a little tough this year, but rides like this, although mostly dull and grey, the brightness I do find helps immensely.

Spring can’t come soon enough – yet it’s barely winter. Oh dear.

November 18th – Another gorgeous, but bitterly cold late autumn morning, and the oaks near Clayhanger were showing their autumn explosion of colour beautifully against an azure sky.

It’s been a very tough week, with very long hours again. I’m tired, and aching and mentally spent. But sights like this feel me with positivity and joy counteracting the hours I’ve spend riding in the darkness.

Winter is long, and still to come. But I think I can get through this.

November 17th – It felt a long way from Christmas on this sunny but chilly day, but I found something quite festive in Hortonwood: the holly and the ivy. The holly berries are bright red and plump, this year’s crop, and the holly leaves are so shiny and perfect the look at first glance like they might be made of plastic.

The ivy, creeping up the fence in front, is also rather beautiful.

An odd find on a gorgeous day.

November 17th – Passing through Telford near lunchtime, it was a lovely late autumn day. Taking a short cut through Priorslee, I crossed the motorway bridge and was pleased to note the trees were still showing beautiful colours, and the cycleway was still an autumnal Arcadia.

Over the years I’ve given new towns like Telford and Redditch a lot of stick but they can be really beautiful in really unexpected ways.

November 16th – Not sure what this large fungus actually is, but it was handsome and glistening with collected dew and rainwater as I passed through Victoria Park in Darlaston in the early morning.

To my sadness, the fungi haven’t been terribly prolific this year – some did explode into life late, like the fly agaric, but this year I’ve hardly seen any puffballs, very few shaggy ink caps and the brackets seem well down too.

I do hope the unusually dry autumn hasn’t scuppered chances of seeing rosy earthstars at Clayhanger again… 

November 16th – A hazardous time of year, and not just just from the black ice on frosty mornings. Many hazards lurk in the damp autumn waiting to steal the wheels from beneath the incautious cyclist – one of the worst is leaf mulch. Fallen leaves, ground into a pulp by feet and wheels turn to a soapy, slippery grease that makes steering and braking a hazard.Combine this on busy roads with road grime, oil and spilled diesel and you have a real recipe for an accident.

The only answer is to be vigilant, beware of the front brake and take it easy.

November 16th – Also providing colour, and much later than normally expected, the leaves are stunning still.

It’s that time of year when if it rains, many tracks, backlanes and other cycle routes become slippery with leaf pulp, which is treacherous and hard to predict.

The colours were beautiful, even against a threatening sky.