December 28th – The dry, still and cold day with a near cloudless sky made for an interesting sunset, with the light reflected off the haze and mist in the atmosphere rather than clouds, giving the colour a uniform, smooth transition.
Hammerwich, the A38 and Knowle Hill were all rendered precious by it. This was a very rare sundown these days and I was glad to witness it.
December 28th – A ride out on a frosty, hard and crisp day to Hints and Hopwas, returning via Whittington, Lichfield and Burntwood. The views were wonderful, the air clear and the golden hour seemed to last all day.
The roads were very icy, however, and even with the studded tyres, I felt wary. It was cold and my feet were numb, but this is the kind of icy ride I missed last year. Hopefully the cold weather will continue for a few days yet.
I climbed Crows Castle near Hints, and the views were stunning. The rolling countryside west of Tamworth has never lost its beauty.
December 27th – The birdlife at Chasewater carries on with little regard to the weather. The robins, blackbirds and tits flitted around, hunting for food, and on the lake, the waterfowl – from coots and grebes to swans – loafed and preened as usual.
I must read more about swans and their social behaviour. I note adults and cygnets from last summer still hang around together, though in much looser, informal-seeming groups. A few days ago I saw all seven of the Catshill brood on the lake by the north end of the dam together with mum and dad; but often, I just see one adult and on cygnet, or groups of solo cygnets.
It’s almost like they’re still family, but go their own ways and meet up later. They really are most fascinating birds, and I really should learn more about their habits.
December 27th – Another foul day. Overcast, misty and cold, it came on to rain in the afternoon, with the lying, dirty snow still stubbornly refusing to shift.
I went out – togged up for it this time – to Chasewater to see just how good the ice tyres were. A blast down the bog boardwalk proved them grippy, as did the surefooted handling on wet mud, slush and ice.
Rolling resistance is high though, and they’re very, very noisy.
A decent ride though, in very poor conditions.
Boxing Day – Sometimes, you do something on impulse that seems a good idea, and it’s terrible. This was just such an occasion.
Snow was forecast. I enjoy snow; I love to be out in it, especially when it’s actually snowing; it saturates my senses and I feel connected to the world; I love the way it plays with the light, and the memory of place.
The snow came late afternoon, so I threw the studded snow tyres on the bike and went for it. The snow was very wet, but beautiful. The bike cam died due to not being charged. The mud on the canal was something else. Snow got on the camera lens and I had no dry cleaning materials to hand.
Then the snow turned to heavy rain. I had no aquapac for my electronic stuff.
I got soaked. Really wet. The rain was searching, and entered every not-quite shut zip and pocket flap. I felt cold, wet and down.
It had bean beautiful I was glad to catch it. I spun over to Chasewater, and was planning to loop over around Hammerwich. But the rain was just too horrid.
On my way back, I took the line of the old railway along the bypass at Chasetown, to the rear of Anglesey Basin, and saw the deer footprints in the fresh snow. I forgot being wet and cold and followed them – the animals had come up off the bypass, and headed over the scrub to the copse at the back of the cottages, presumably laying low for shelter. Bless them.
That perked me up, but oh boy, this was a horrid ride.
Boxing Day – Out for a quick spin before the rains came in, and I headed to Stonnall Church, as I’d not been there for ages. It’s a lovely little church, mostly brick but with a stone extension on the rear. It looks such a homely little church, and the grounds surrounding it are full of curiosities – from the views of the surrounding village and hills to the sad, headstone-less grave under the hedge at the back. There’s a curious little war memorial made out of nails, and some of the most fascinating weather erosion I’ve ever seen.
Yet you could pass this church – high on the hill beside the road – and never notice it were there.
Christmas Day – I realised I had no cash, and spun up the High Street late in the evening to go to the cashpoint. Brownhills was dead, somnambulant and deserted. I didn’t see a soul.
After the hubbub and bustle of the day, it was really, really lovely.
Christmas Day – Castle Ring is a bit of a Christmas Day ride tradition for me. It’s a great, reasonably short ride with killer climbing and great downhills that can be completed in an hour or so to work up an appetite before lunch. Today was another cold clear day, but the wind was quite nasty – not heavy, but wearing. The sun was lovely though, and warm on my face.
The view, and the sight of the Chase in it’s winter jacket was gorgeous. Even after all these years, I still find it breathtaking.
It was clear, however, that rain was sweeping in from Staffordshire. Out on the plains of the Trent Valley, the sunlight highlighted a band of grey mist, and some darkly threatening clouds seemed to be rolling in.
Thankfully, the wind was assisting on the way home and I just beat the rain.
Christmas Eve – On the way back I also had to nip into Walsall Wood, and dropping down from Shire Oak Hill, the sunset view over the Black Country to the South West caught my breath, as it often does. Considering the time of day on Christmas Eve the traffic was quite heavy, but it did feel very much like Christmas.
Greetings of the season, everyone!
Christmas Eve – Down into Lichfield on a last minute errand, it was a gorgeous day – bright, clear and getting colder. It actually felt like Christmas. Lichfield wasn’t as busy as I expected, and I easily got the things done I needed to, although against a bitter wind the ride back was harder than it should have been. The lanes and fields around Wall looked wonderful, and the bright emerald green of winter crops in the fields was a nice surprise. From Aldershawe, the Old Lady of the Vale looked beautiful, too.
I was quite taken with the Dutch roadster parked up in town; it looked new, but the the owner was clearly intending to haul a load with it. A nice looking bike.
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