Tag: Alrewas

#365daysofbiking Sunshine after rain

June 14th – Feeling unwell but needing to go out, I slipped out late afternoon to pick something up from a friend in Barton. The heavens opened on my as I left and the rain was torrential. By the time I got to Lichfield I was soaked – I’d endured rain, hail, thunder and lightning…

But, at Lichfield, the weather cleared, the sun came out and I gently dried in the soft sun. It was actually gorgeous.

Cake, coffee, a completed mission at Barton, I enjoyed a spin back and the spectacle of flooded roads and swollen rivers.

A better than expected ride.

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April 21st – Another wonderful spring flower coming into bloom is the oilseed rape in the fields. All across the rural landscape this vivid yellow brassica is turning the landscape yellow.

The smell is wonderful and it’s just started. The fields are alive with bee buzz and birds come for the feasting bugs. 

I love the drama and beauty of this curious crop

May 14th – A gorgeous warm run out to Fradley, Barton, Rosliston and Syerscote was just the tonic I needed. I didn’t take many photos – sometimes, you just don’t – but the landscape was beautiful, particularly the river section of the Trent and Mersey Canal at Alrewas, where this most utilitarian of canals kisses the Trent. 

I noted also a beautiful red horse chestnut in full bloom in the sheep pasture by Wychnor Church. Those really are lovely flowers.

I really enjoyed the sun on my back today.

September 11th – A better day for the weather, and a better day for riding, although I was tired and lacked energy. I rode out to Lichfield, then Fradley Junction for tea and a snack. From there to Alrewas on the canal, then back through Whitemore Haye and Sittles.

A relatively short ride by recent standards, but the scenery was great, as was the sunset. Maybe autumn isn’t upon us just yet…

April 9th – Now really back in the swing of it. A run to Hoar Cross via Rowley, then over Jackson’s Bank to Scotch Hills, Dunstall to Barton, then on the canal at Efflinch to Fradley Junction and back through Lichfield. 

A classic ride I used to do loads, but got out of the habit of. 

Nice to see the wind turbine at Rowley, and the Trent and Needwood Valley were as gorgeous as ever. Odd that I’ve never noticed the broken wind pump at Handsacre before.

The golden hour at Dunstall and Alrewas was extraordinary. A fine ride.

July 13th – It was incredibly hot, and I was tired. But at 4pm I found the energy from somewhere and headed out. I was only supposed to be going to Chasewater – but after a restorative ice cream, I found the going easy and powerful, so I headed up through Chorley and Longdon Green, to Yoxall and Barton. From Barton I took the backlanes and tracks to Wychnor, where I hopped on the canal, and rode the river section of the Trent & Mersey to Fradley, then back home through Lichfield.

It was hot, but a lovely, fast ride through gently ripening countryside. This is the summer I’ve been hoping for.

July 15th – It was, on occasion, a bright sunny day. But it wasn’t warm, and when the sun went in, the chill was evil. I was cycling in the evening, and my journey to Yoxall, Barton and the Trent and Mersey river section at Alrewas was beautiful, but challenging. I was in shorts and cold; my energy low, and I bonked. (That’s where you need food, and you suddenly flatline. Runners call it ‘Hitting the wall’). Still, the countryside was as gorgeous as ever, and it reminds me to keep grazing and stock up with snacks before I leave for a long ride.

July 8th – When the summer floods come, I head for the floodplains of the Tame, Trent and Mease. Around the National Memorial Arboretum and Croxall, the Tame always bursts its banks and spills onto the A513. Between Edingale and Harlaston, the Mease floods. Back at Elford, the Tame reclaims the nearby farmland. 

I love to ride through these floodwaters. Very challenging, it’s a fun, demanding thing to do. On this Sunday evening, in sandals and shorts, the water came above my wheel hubs, but wasn’t as bad as 2007, when almost the entire bike was submerged. An impressive, destructive thing.