December 25th – At Chasewater, I noticed how close to overtopping the weir the reservoir is again, despite the outflow valve to the spillway being open.
That’s a remarkable indication of the state of the recent weather: Naturally, more water is flowing in to the pool than is flowing out. And that’s a considerable amount.
You know what I want for Christmas? A dry spell.
This journal is moving home. Find out more by clicking here
from Tumblr https://ift.tt/2thp6CQ
via IFTTT
December 25th – Happy Christmas!
A traditional Christmas Day bike ride, but only as far as Chasewater sadly and I noticed something I’d not spotted before: The memorial stones along the canal at Millfield near Home Farm at Sandhills, and the fact that the school on the other side have adopted the stretch of canal from Ogley Junction to Anchor Bridge.
This means they’ll tend it and I guess litter pick it and undertake lovely little projects like the individually painted memorial stones, I guess.
Great stuff.
I do wish the school wouldn’t use a windmill for a logo, though. The Mill field the school was built upon was originally that of a steam mill, now flats, pretty much next door to the school. It was a state of the art temple to Victorian mechanisation.
Never mind…
This journal is moving home. Find out more by clicking here
from Tumblr https://ift.tt/2tfMjWb
via IFTTT
December 24th – I encounter robbers and hoodlums on my return. They spotted food in my bag and were keen to levy their toll for safe passage, but I shooed them off with the aid of my pump.
I adore the Canada geese despite their aggression. These guys were healthy and full of life and fiercely protective of their group and patch.
Got to respect that really.
They did get some corn from my pocket stash once they settled down…
This journal is moving home. Find out more by clicking here
from Tumblr https://ift.tt/2QEmdE2
via IFTTT
December 24th – Christmas Eve at last, and a day carrying out errands. Stopping in Aldridge for coffee, I spotted this nice, little used ladies town bike.
A Pashley copy, it bears the brand ‘Pendleton’ – a hHalfords tie in with Victoria Pendleton, female cycling star, much like their Boardman brand.
These bikes were in fashion about a decade ago, but seem to have waned as folk realised that a heavy, cumbersome bike make make you look like Audrey Hepburn from afar but the sweat it caused didn’t aid the cycle chic.
This one is actually very cute and in beautiful condition. Compliments too on the proper locking strategy.
This journal is moving home. Find out more by clicking here
from Tumblr https://ift.tt/2ssoRF8
via IFTTT
December 23rd – And on, from Ashbourne to Matlock, then Bakewell. Bakewell was a different proposition – night was falling, and there were early revellers around (including one in a rather fetching sprout suit)…
In Bakewell it was Christmas: Bitingly cold, with beautiful lights and a hushed air of determined shopping. The shops themselves were gorgeous.
Several hours were spent before returning for home. A great pre-Christmas trip.
This journal is moving home. Find out more by clicking here
from Tumblr https://ift.tt/2u0SmOw
via IFTTT
December 23rd – It’s now traditional for me to have a day out somewhere different before Christmas. Today I visited Ashbourne, a place I’ve passed through lots but rarely stopped and studied.
The architecture and frantic air of business was fantastic, but what I really liked was the small, eccentric details: St Oswald’s Church with the afterthought clock and gothic gateposts with the skull detail. The Art Nouveaux staircase in the entry to an outdoor shop.
This little, but very dense valley town is utterly gorgeous. I must return at a more relaxed time.
Oh, and the cycling content? I test rode a new bike while I was here. Wel, a couple actually but that’s another story…
This journal is moving home. Find out more by clicking here
from Tumblr https://ift.tt/37ldcGP
via IFTTT
December 22nd – I’ve not been riding back from Shenstone or Lichfield much this winter, and the backlands are not the familiar haunts they were, so it was a shock to me on Bullmoor Lane and Cranebrook Lane that they were flooded, breaking up or deep in mud in quite a few places.
Going was tough and wet.
When this weather breaks there’s going to need to be a lot of cleaning and investment to fix the roads.
This journal is moving home. Find out more by clicking here
from Tumblr https://ift.tt/367Ln4I
via IFTTT
December 22nd – I was in lichfield getting cheese and other essentials for the holiday. I started out in daylight that slid slowly into a dark, dark blue dusk.
I came back over Aldershawe and through Chesterfield which felt very festive in the dark.
That choice though, proved to be a little bit of an error, though….
This journal is moving home. Find out more by clicking here
from Tumblr https://ift.tt/35eXoEg
via IFTTT
December 21st – It’s not hard to notice if you’re a regular reader that I hate the darkness of winter and the closing in of the days. Well, this is the weekend where the process reverses for another season, and from tomorrow, the light will slowly but surely trickle back into my life.
Winter always feels on the run from hereon in.
Bring it on.
This journal is moving home. Find out more by clicking here
from Tumblr https://ift.tt/2QrJOrC
via IFTTT
December 21st – A quick stretch up to Walsall Wood for some errands and to deliver cards. Just time for another shot of St. Johns, whose Christmas tree – donated by the local councillors every year – looks so gorgeous.
A lovely symbol of the season on the first day winding down for Christmas.
This journal is moving home. Find out more by clicking here
from Tumblr https://ift.tt/357GG9M
via IFTTT
BrownhillsBob's #365daysofbiking 