Tag: 365daysofbiking

#365daysofbiking Lane’s end

Monday March 8th 2021 – I was discussing online the other day a local lost stub of a lane that used to be Bullmoor Lane. Bullmoor Lane ran from Raikes and Chesterfield, a mile or so north of Shenstone, shadowing the Watling Street, to a junction near Wall Butts at Hilton, where it met Cranebrook Lane and Boat Lane. As a kid it was one of my first local discoveries. I loved that quiet, undulating backway, and still do.

When the M6 Toll came through at the turn of the millennium, the last half a mile of Bullmoor Lane was diverted south, to meet Cranebrook Lane without building a second flyover, leaving the old stub abandoned.

It still exists, and is now gated, but when nostalgic one can push past the gate and ride the crumbling asphalt to the edge of the new motorway, echoing in my childhood tracks.

I always find these dead, divorced and orphaned lanes a bit sad: Dark Lane at Longdon is one, just closed as out of use, like School Lane at Norton. But other lanes were lost to the toll, especially around Hammerwich and and Shenstone Park.

It’s the feeling that they hold memories, which cannot be put back, I think.

A curious bit of melancholia on the exercise ride.

from Tumblr https://ift.tt/3ddtCpt
via IFTTT

#365daysofbiking Roadside repairs

Sunday March 7th 2021 – Sometimes when your bike ails you, the only thing you can do is pack a big bag of tools, and ride it with an ear attuned to the sounds it may make in complaint.

I set off for a ride over to Hopwas, Syerscote, Clifton and Lullington, returning via Whitemoor Haye. Fortunately I nailed the problem with the bike at Hopwas.

In the shadow of that farmhouse-like, remarkable church, I found my rubs and rattles were due to a slightly loose brake calliper, which was mobile when braking but not loose enough to be obvious.

Secured and adjusted, I rode out with renewed vigour. After all, newly fixed up bikes always go faster.

Sadly, the light wasn’t with me, and spring still hadn’t kissed Syerscote or that gorgeous view back to Clifton from the hill to Lullington, where the Mease Valley separates you from it.

But it will.

In these strange times I am impatient for the comfort and openness of better days, as are we all. But for now, we must just press on.

from Tumblr https://ift.tt/3fa2xG3
via IFTTT

#365daysofbiking Unfixed

Saturday March 6th 2021 – The bike was giving me problems I was finding it hard to fix, so I snatched a quick test ride to Chasewater as the sunset looked decent – I really wasn’t disappointed.

It was one of those brooding, dark evenings when you don’t expect much of the dusk but it surprises you – and so it did.

It was still cold though, as the smoke from the narrowboat moored in Anglesey Wharf attested. I know it’s only really just March, and not even too late for snow, but some warmth wouldn’t go amiss.

from Tumblr https://ift.tt/3rd99pm
via IFTTT

#365daysofbiking Inclined:

Tuesday March 5th 2021 – I had to nip to Chasetown on an errand in the afternoon and caught the twilight.

I still can’t – and probably never will if I’m honest – get used to the empty high streets of pandemic Britain (how odd to type that phrase in 2021…) This street should be busy with late stops for supplies, people visiting pubs and takeaways and the general activity of Friday night urban life. It isn’t. It’s desolate.

It is, however, beautiful in a haunting way, and this is a period I shall never forget. I think what makes this street particularly dramatic is the hill, and the way it stretches the emptiness.

These are very strange days, and unlikely as it seems, they will pass.

from Tumblr https://ift.tt/3tMIp0D
via IFTTT

#365daysofbiking Pushing on

Thursday March 4th 2021 – Home again, and a chance to catch the sunset on the exercise ride.

It was an interesting one: A decent sky colour, but not terribly dramatic. I took lots of pictures, but it looked best from the canal at Catshill over the trees.

I could feel maybe a little – just a little – warmth in the air and warm long days are not far away now. For now, I’ll keep pushing on into the dusk, and think longingly of them.

These things, like good sunsets, get me through.

from Tumblr https://ift.tt/2QsuTRI
via IFTTT

#365daysofbiking All for the best

Wednesday March 3rd 2021 – Returning from work again in the middle evening, it was a much clearer night as I crossed the Pier Street pedestrian bridge back into Brownhills, a traditional homecoming when the canal towpaths are not too wet.

Thankfully, they seem to be drying out a little, at last.

I love the look of the new housing along the canalside here at night. This used to be such an empty, desolate area, especially in the dark. It looks so much more alive and inhabited now, almost cosy in the streetlight.

Definitely change for the better.

from Tumblr https://ift.tt/3cXUtFx
via IFTTT

#365daysofbiking Misty for me

Tuesday March 2nd 2021 – I was at work, and ended up working late. It’s really curious how working from home seems to mean you often doing pretty much the same hours in work, just squashed into less days…

I was heading home weary on a chilly night with a barely perceptible mist of the kind that catches street lights and renders a ghostly hue upon familiar scenes.

As I hopped off the canal at Anchor Bridge, I noticed it through the trees, and capturing it was irresistible.

from Tumblr https://ift.tt/3d0eUC5
via IFTTT

#365daysofbiking Mothering

Monday March 1st 2021 – Good to see the spring lambs are being born and growing well now – this playful pair of siblings were spotted near Stonnall on the daily working from home exercise ride.

I’m always amazed at the attentiveness of the mother, and their ability to locate their family in a flock.

And of course, they’ve got cute in shedloads.

Such a wonderful, joyous sight at this time of year.

from Tumblr https://ift.tt/3r3ThWk
via IFTTT

#365daysofbiking A symbol of love

Sunday February 28th 2021 – Another local treat to match the Chasewater snowdrop glade – and actually only a short walk away – is the yearly crocus display at St Annes Cemetery in Church Street, Chasetown.

This still maintained, beautiful cemetery is a carpet of purple and white flowers with a small number of yellow now creeping in. They are absolutely stunning, and always a must see locally.

A real token of love and memory to those dear souls interred within. Well worth a visit and a few contemplative moments.

from Tumblr https://ift.tt/2QrfQHV
via IFTTT

#365daysofbiking To orangey for crows

Saturday February 27th 2021 – Another decent sunset which I caught near Haselour on a fast test ride around Harlaston and Whittington – but the real star was the moon, as viewed here from the old ROC bunker by Willow Bottom Lane.

It was the most stunning orange colour – the camera doesn’t do it justice and it was really, really breathtaking. I’ve never seen such a beautiful, large coloured moon before.

The effect is caused by pollution and moisture in the atmosphere, and faded as it rose.

Another I was very glad to catch.

from Tumblr https://ift.tt/3s9For8
via IFTTT