Tag: 365daysofbiking

October 1st – One of the relatively unsung heroes of the hedgerow is Hawthorn, or May. It’s dark red fruit – haws – are maturing well now. Full of goodness, they stay in good condition on the branches and provide sustenance for the birds in the darkest depths of winter, when softer, more palatable fruits like blackberries have long gone Just like they will with garden Cotoneasters, blackbirds will defend a laden bush at all costs against other birds, and haws are bitter enough to only be eaten out of desperation.

Hawthorn is the mainstay of most rural hedging, and populates a lot of woodland. It really is the stalwart of the great British hedgerow.

September 30th – This is incredible – bike geeks will love this. A Fahrrad Manufaktur small wheel bike, spotted on a Solihull bound train. The owner – a beardy, leathery old cycle tourer – said it was one of only 3 in the country. I certainly can’t find any details of this model online. It seems to combine all the disadvantages of a folding bike with the disadvantages of a larger one, but look at the way this is loaded. That’s a remarkable loading technique – note the tea-flask and pannier.

I guess this appeals to the Moulton crowd, and it is a unique, fascinating bike – dynamo lights come on automatically in low light, and it’s rocking a 14 speed Rohlhoff hub, with a Brooks saddle. This is no cheap machine.

Sadly, the owner alighted at Small Heath, and I didn’t get long enough to chat to him about it. But it’s a remarkable steed. I hope I meet him again.

September 29th – I escaped mid afternoon, and didn’t have long. The sun was out, but there was a keen wind, so I headed up to Cannock Chase. The colours were brilliant, with a hint of a beautiful autumn promised. I saw 3 muntjac deer at Stonepit Green, and a herd of 30-40 fallows crossing the road at Penkridge Bank. There were a few folk about, but off the main trails, the forest was beautiful and deserted. Rainbow Hill, Wolseley Plain, Abraham’s Valley and Moor’s Gorse were all gorgeous, and topping it off, a clump of wild cyclamen at Upper Longdon. Autumn ain’t so bad when it gets going…

September 28th – I haven’t seen any sloes this year. There are usually some growing in the hedgerows around Engine Lane in Brownhills, near the old Carver building, but they seem barren this year. What I have found, though, is damsons. Similar in colouring and texture, sloes are rounder and form clumps on the bush. Damsons hang individually, on a short stalk, and are vaguely egg-shaped. Sloes can be used in a number of drinks – sloe gin being one, where as damsons are more versatile and tasty enough to be eaten as a fruit, make jam with and so on.

However, growing on Engine Lane as they are, next to a notorious landfill and on former industrial land, it’s no wonder they are rotting on the ground. I certainly wouldn’t eat them, but nice to see.

September 28th – Conservationists and birders in particular keep banging on about helium balloons, balloon releases and Chinese lanterns. These are serious issues, and here’s why. At Chasewater, balloons have escaped from somewhere, and been blown into this scrub at the side of the lake, well out of reach. They will gradually deflate, and the remaining material will either be blown off and drop in the lake, or hang there waiting to be collected by birds. Birds will choke on balloon remnants, as will fish. Being synthetic, they won’t biodegrade, and will continue to foul the ecology for years if uncollected. I see lots trapped in this way in country hedgerows and on urban commons and greenspaces.

Balloon releases are sponsored littering. Nothing more, nothing less.

September 27th – Out at sunset for a spin around town, and the sky was incredible. My grandfather used to call this a ‘mackerel sky’, and if one was observed, it meant ’24hours dry.’ I’m not sure about Grandad’s hypothesis but such skies are thoroughly beautiful. I’m glad I got to enjoy this one tonight.

September 27th – Returning to Birmingham from the somewhat disappointing Cycle Show at the NEC, I was reminded whilst walking a relatively short distance through the city centre that there really is a cycling boom going on; you’d never have seen cycles in such numbers around the place as you do now. And these are real machines, as opposed to the pristine new stuff that I’d seen that morning. Bikes of all ages, types and sizes, from BMX to fixies, all carrying the patina of their owners – the stickers, modifications, adjustments and dirt that go to making a bike your very own.

It’s good to see. 

September 26th – Further up the canal at Pelsall Road, I noticed what appeared to be oil on the surface of the canal. I was quite concerned as I approached, but I realised as I got closer that the scum is in fact a mixture of leaf-litter and other seed debris that had fallen onto the surface of the water. There must be physical reasons why it all seems to clump in one place…