Tag: bad weather

#365daysofbiking Headache grey:

September 8th – My hopes for an Indian summer were looking a bit forlorn as I sneaked out in the evening for a circuit of Clayhanger and Brownhills, looping back around Chasewater. It was grey, wet and cold with alternate heavy showers and periods of light drizzle, but none when it wasn’t raining at all.

The green was trying to shine through, but fighting a losing battle under the headache-great sky, reflected off the canal and wet town.

Apart from the odd car, I don’t think I saw a single soul about. A hard, wet ride that I was glad to return from.

#365daysofbiking All misty wet with rain:

September 4th – A very wet commuteto work along the Goscote Cylceway on NCN 5 was actually far better than I would have expected, as the rain on on the hedgerows and berries lit them up and made them precious.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a hawthorn harvest this heavy – from a distance the hedgerows and trees appear red.

Not a bad ride, despite the weather.

#365daysofbiking 1000 shades of grey

August 27th – I was not really any better, and with a keen wind and grey skies I didn’t go far, just a loop of Chasewater.

The North Heath is beautiful at the moment and I don’t spend nearly enough time up here these days: The heather is beautifully purple and despite the murk, there is a lot of greenery and colour.

But still, the day was damp and grey.

August 23rd – On the way home, a real treat to compensate for the persistentt wind and rain – a vivd, beautiful rainbow.

I caught it over Shelfield and Jockey Meadows. It was perfect, and I revelled in it for 15 minutes, steadily getting wet.

A beautiful thing I was lucky to witness.

August 16th – Thankfully New Street is a rare delight these days, but on this grey and wet Thursday morning I wallowed in the damp brutalism of the concrete and metal, and the sounds of the people and traffic.

I spend many years now passing through this place, waiting or anticipating. It’s by turns grim, ugly, wonderful, fascinating and homely.

A real love-hate relationship.

August 16th – A dreadful morning commute in heavy rain to the railway station was a shock to the system, on slippery roads with a worrying amount of spray. Getting to the station, when the train arrived I found I was sharing the bike space with a hardy cyclist in shorts.

Looking at his bike, a respectable singe speed, I saw what can only be regarded as the worst bit of rear light positioning I’ve ever seen.

Almost lower than the rear wheel, on the seat post behind the seat stays.

I hope this guy doesn’t do anything engineering-based for a living.

August 11th – It’s silly, I know. I’m being ridiculous. I’m aware that it’s just my overreaction to the sudden lack of sunshine. But today, I was sad. I was ill with the IBS and I was pining for summer, for in the gloom which would, in any other year be normal, I started to pine for summer.

It’s ridiculous. I feel deep down like summer has ended and that’s it.

I took a short circuit round Brownhills, late. The rain came on heavily. For once, being out made me sad, not happy. The greyness had flooded into me. All I wanted to do was go home, curl up and sleep.

The brightness was there, though: In the poisonous white bryony in the hedge at Home Farm, Sandhills, and in the yellow water flowers near Newtown.

But even they couldn’t lift me. I went home, listened to sad music and went to bed early.

August 8th – The rain came in Redditch just as I boarded the train back, and I thought it was probably in for the afternoon. I was however wrong, it seems to have been a narrow band of rain that passed the conurbation, and it approached me once more as I rode back from Shenstone. It caught me in the lanes.

The rain was sweet, warm and enjoyable when it came, following skies that would surely have won an Oscar for best supporting performance. 

What wasn’t so great however was that one more, with insufficient rain to wash it away, the roads became greasy, slippery and soppy with the road debris and wash down.

It pains me to say it but we need heavy and prolonged rain to clear this away.