Tag: 365daysofbiking

#365daysofbiking Snow… And a touch of colour

Monday December 28th 2020 – It had snowed a little, and I headed out before lunch to catch something I thought would be fleeting – I love cycling in snow.

It was very wet, and only an icing sugar dusting on the whole. It was noticeably less over Stonnall and Wall than it was back through Hammerwich, Chasetown and Chasewater, which I found interesting.

Be warned that the road is flooded to some depth at Cranebrook Lane, Hiton, between the Pouk Lane and Boat lane junctions, just before the rise for the motorway flyover. It’s deep. I suspect this may be rated to increased load on Crane Brook with Chasewater in spate.

Splashes of colour caught my eye: The robin in Stonnall Churchyard, and also the old, minimalist gravestone with partially coloured lettering.Wonder whose stone that was?

The snowman and postbox decorations at Hammerwich were lovely.

An interesting change in the weather!

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#365daysofbiking Becalmed

Sunday December 27th 2020 – The storm passed overnight, with a lot of rain but thankfully the fierce winds didn’t last. I was itching to explore so headed out on the A5 and A51 to Hopwas, and on through Wigginton, Syerscote, Haunton, Harlaston, Edingale, Sittles, then through Fradley and Hanch, back home through Farewell, Boney Hay, Chase Terrace and Chasewater.

The real beauty was in the Croxall and Sittles area as the last of the sunset caught the trees and sodden landscape in almost total silhouette; but those Christmas Lights at Croxall Hall were truly stunning.

A great, exhilarating 50 mile ride that left me happier, and calmer. I really wasn’t expecting it to be so good!

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#365daysofbiking Sensations in the dark


Boxing Day Saturday December 26th 2020 – Unusually, we’d had a family walk in the morning, in the Needwood Valley and around Hoar Cross, which was lovely but grey and very muddy. So instead of the usual Boxing Day afternoon blowout, I grabbed my pal and we headed back to The Slough and Old Cement Works bridge to try the new camera on the canal scenes there.

From the eeriness of the former railway trail in nothing but bike headlight, to the pool of spilled illumination on the canal footpath near the Jolly Collier Bridge, it was great fun.

A storm was coming in and the cellphone masts rattled and whistled in the wind. The whole ride filled the senses and felt edgy and intense.

The results speak for themselves. This camera loves low light. That’s the first digital camera in 22 years experience I can truly say that about.

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#365daysofbiking A maintained tradition

Christmas Day, Friday December 25th 2020 – There’s normally a short ride on Christmas Day – maybe over to Shenstone, or Hints; more often than not it’s up to Castle Ring and that’s where I headed on a frosty, sharp Christmas lunchtime.

There were one or two people about. The roads were quiet. The message not to hold gatherings seemed largely to be heeded.

I love Castle Ring – it’s an ancient hill fort, and a Pagan place. Sadly, the views it has commanded for the last 20 years are now slipping away as the woodland planted below it gets taller. I suspect it will soon be coppiced again and visibility restored.

I know the derelict cooling towers at Rugeley are due to come down in January: Those coming up here to watch the spectacle may be disappointed – the station is barely visible from Castle Ring right now.

There was one tradition I could not maintain – that of having a swift Christmas lunchtime pint in a pub on the way back – all the pubs are shut.

Never mind, it’ll wait a year more. Merry Christmas, everyone!

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#365daysofbiking A changed world

Christmas Eve, Thursday December 24th 2020 – I had a busy day – the errands mounted up, last minute shopping for groceries, dropping off presents and so forth. My last task was to nip into Walsall wo pick up some vegetables in the early evening.

It was a crisp, clear evening and the riding fast but easy in the nippy air. I decided to return through Pelsall, to check out their Christmas tree.

Unusual in the borough that it’s planted, it was handsome and looked lovely in the memorial garden.

But what a strange Christmas Eve this was: Early evening, nobody around.

What a changed world we live in at the moment.

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#365daysofbiking Thank god that’s over with

Wednesday December 23rd 2020 – The end of work for another year, and surprisingly late. I normally aim to finish at least a week before, to better enjoy the build up to Christmas, but this year, with so much shut and not happening, little point but to stay at work.

I did, however, feel relieved it was over. It’s been a long, hard autumn-winter period, and at least from now the evenings would open out and the days become lighter.

As I crossed the Silver Street Bridge I glanced back, and felt my solitude in the dark, and quiet. This pandemic year has been a hideous, scary, awful year at work.

Thank god it’s over with.

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#365daysofbiking That old razzle dazzle

Tuesday December 22nd 2020 – There’s a photographic effect you can get with some cameras whereby if you open the aperture wide, bright lights at night develop a starburst.

I’m pleased to say the Panasonic LX100MII I’m currently using does this – previous Canons really didn’t: I think it was processed out. The best cameras I ever had for this effect were Nikon, with which you could reliably get the most wonderful sparkles.

You don’t want it on many photos, it can be a bit cheap and tacky, and I’ve not the remotest idea what is actually happening to cause it. But as an occasional side-salad of night photography, it’s an interesting dish to experiment with.

Here on the canal at Silver Street on my way home from work – it did pretty well. Except for the green lens flare in the lower right centre of the image.

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#365daysofbiking Splendid isolation:

Monday December 21st 2020 – I can’t get used to Walsall deserted, especially at peak times. The effects of this pandemic will resonate socially for years, in ways we’re only just beginning to see – the death of town centres is clearly being accelerated.

The town’s Christmas tree, today standing in splendid isolation in St Pauls Square is an excellent specimen, though and cheered me up. The twenty year out of time, brutalist, newly renovated bus station beyond it looked welcoming, too, if only for the want of passengers. Must say the warm white lighting in there was a clever choice.

It’s hard to believe that this is 4pm on Monday before Christmas. Strange days indeed.

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#365daysofbiking Testing times

Sunday December 20th 2020 – As usual at Christmas, a few people have asked me to look over bikes before they gift them. On a wet, miserable Sunday I set about my charges with gentle precision.

A particularly fiddly job involved a bike in otherwise great condition on which the previous owner had badly threaded the chain through the rear derailleur: This had worn the side plate out and caused it to distort. A new plate was about a tenner, but no chance before Christmas. I removed the old one, cleaned it up and straightened it, sanded it smooth and sprayed it black.

It wasn’t perfect, but the new owner wouldn’t spot it until the one I ordered arrived from eBay after Christmas.

A bleak test ride up the canal with an adjustment stop on Silver Street Bridge proved the repair, but did necessitate another cleaning session…

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#365daysofbiking Contrasting views

Saturday December 19th 2020 – A ride out with my friend though Canwell to Hints, and up through Tamhorn returning to Lichfield after dark for a photographic explore.

The countryside was wet and sodden, and I don’t think I’ve seen Hints Ford that swollen in a decade. But it was good to get back there, even with the shock of works ongoing for HS2.

Lichfield itself was lovely: It rained as we got there, and after a heavy but thankfully short shower, it was great to catch the diminutive city at Christmas with few people around.

Most lovely, though was my first sighting of spring flower shoots. There will be a spring, and nature knows that better times are on their way.

Such a strange year.

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