February 21st – Running late for my connection, I piled it through the city centre in the morning, and saw two of these curious advertising trikes parked up advertising Thinktank. They look hand built, but not terribly well cared for. Primitive disc brakes on the back, and small wheels with an absurdly low gear ratio. Must make for an… interesting riding experience.

Certainly wouldn’t fancy piloting one in a crosswind.

February 21st – The first of the year. , but I look for this wee clump of daffodils mid-February every year. For me, they are the harbingers of spring. They appear every year at this time, without fail; the earliest daffodils I’ve ever experienced. 

They sit under the road sign on the corner of Wood Lane and Chester Road, just between Stonnall and Mill Green.

People will no doubt consider me mad or perhaps eccentric, but I’ll freely admit to greeting them vocally. Every morning, as I pass them. I feel I owe it to them, these small, slightly tatty yellow flowers. They tell me that spring is near, darkness is reaching its end and that better days are within reach.

It would be rude not to show one’s appreciation.

February 20th – Talking about making a bike your own, bike fettling experiments continue, and the maintenance jobs stack up. First off is replacement studs for the winter tyres. The metal inserts do come out, particularly if you skid, they tend to tear from their sockets. One thing the manufacturers – Schwalbe – pride themselves on, is that if you give them a call (They’re only in Telford), they’ll send you a large bag full of the carbide  rivet-like spikes in the post by return. With the air out of the tyre and warm water, it’s easy to pop in the replacements with pliers. I try to do this towards the end of the season every year.

On the higher tech side, I’m experimenting with some swanky mechanised gearing kit, but it’s been a bit of a challenge to get working, as the components all need updating to get them functioning together. Having got everything talking to everything else now, the mechanical experimentation can begin.

Fun times.

February 20th – An interesting bike spotted on the way to work. Think there’s a bit of a hipster thing going on here – an aluminium road bike frame, carbon-looking forks, titchy short flat bars, and oddly, full derailleur gears. The frame colour wasn’t original and looked to be a good quality powder coat. The rider had good tyres, with no guards and it looked well loved.

An interesting steed. I would have liked to have chatted to the owner, but he was talking on his phone. I love what some people do with otherwise ordinary bikes, to make them their own.

February 19th – A couple of snatched, quick photos in Walsall this evening, proving why we should always look up, especially in towns. Stood outside of the Saddlers Centre in Park Street, I was putting on my gloves, and idly studying the roof-line. Never notices the balustrade around the very top of WH Smiths, or the lion head corbel on the building next door, which has some very handsome windows.

I think it’s time to go exploring…

February 18th – In Lower Forster Street, Walsall, there’s a quiet revolution firing up. The Backyard Brewhouse – one of two microbreweries in Brownhills – has bought this closed pub, The Fountain, and reopened it again. By all accounts, it’s a fine house.

It’s an interesting, old-style back-street boozer, sadly surrounded by the remnants of the Jabez-Cliff building, but none the less lovely for that. There are few enough real ale houses left these days, so it’s a real pleasure to see a new one – especially when it’s selling good, local, Brownhills-brewed ale.

I wish the folks behind TheBackyard Brewhouse the best of luck in their venture.

February 18th – It was a beautiful day, and one of the first of the year when, having started and finished work at a normal hour, I cycled home in the light, rather than darkness. This day is always momentous, for me, it symbolises the optimism of the opening out.

Despite the sunshine and beautiful light, it’s still winter. It was jolly cold on Tyseley station, but the light was nice, andI still love the air of faded grandeur the place presents. I like how, when looking down the platforms, the station buildings look precariously balanced over the rails beneath. 

The old chap had nodded off, and his companion gently woke him as the train rolled in…

February 17th – As the sunset moved on, the golds turned to crimson and purple, and the birdlife settled peacefully, watched over by silent, reverent spotters. I went mooching over the north heath, where the boardwalk over Fly Creek seems to have sunk a little since the last time Chasewater was full. It really was a bit Indiana Jones – but nice to see the boardwalk now extended over the heath. As I returned along the Causeway, Jeffreys Swag glowed in the evening. You don’t get many days like this. I’m glad I was alive to witness it. 

February 17th – The late afternoon was golden. I didn’t intend to spend 2 hours at Chasewater, but it was so gorgeous, the time just flew. And for every minute that ticked by, the light changed. Families, birders, walkers and photographers were out in this most chilly of golden hours. It was precious. My love for this place – however run-down, dilapidated or neglected, is enduring.