bad weather – Page 86 – BrownhillsBob's #365daysofbiking

November 29th – hopefully, I’ve finished with the train commuting for a while and am now working in the Black Country for a few weeks… I miss these commutes. Today though, was hell. I was headed due southwest into a very strong, insistent headwind. It took 65 minutes to do a journey that usually takes only 45. I was fully loaded, and at full tilt downhill under Navvie’s Bridge on the A461 Lichfield Road I was topping a heady 8.5 mph. The weather was grim and overcast, but the rain didn’t arrive until mid afternoon. Setting out home after the rains, the sunset was incredible but very, very short. Here near Wednesbury, the light glistened off the wet roads and made everything precious.

November 21st – I didn’t foresee the rain this evening, and had dressed for dry weather. Feeling damp and disconsolate, I stood waiting for my train to arrive. Telford Central is a horrid Station – incredibly busy, yet few facilities. With the winter closing in, it just seems even more bleak than usual. I’m praying for some dry, cold, clear weather of the kind we’re used to in November

November 10th – An awful journey to work. It rained very heavily, and when I got to Lichfield Trent Valley station, my train was 30 minutes late, meaning I’d miss my connection and have to travel onwards to Leicester rather than South Wigston. Wet and miserable, my train finally arrived 45 minutes late, and I got to Leicester at about 9:30am, from where I had a lengthy journey by bike to my destination. By this time, the weather was clearing, and the sun trying to come out. I was in a unfamiliar city, and the cycling felt good. Perhaps it wasn’t all bad. The weak sun glistening off the wet roofs of Knighton made them unexpectedly precious. I arrived at work very late, but unexpectedly exhilarated – you can’t beat cycling.

November 4th – feeling smug at having missed most of the rain this week, it finally caught me in Lichfield on Friday evening whilst shopping. In 30 minutes, the city was transformed from a buzzing market town on the interregnum of day and night into a glistening, rain-soaked ghost town, in which hurrying people huddled into their coats. The combination of night, lights and a gloss coating to the cobbles proved too much for me, and I just had to capture this moment. You can see more from the rainy city on my main blog.

September 20th – Had I known what I would face on the commute home, I probably wouldn’t have spent so much time fretting about the river. Halfway into my journey to Redditch railway station, it started to rain. By the time I got to the train, it was raining really quite hard. Luckily, I’d come prepared and had my waterproofs on, but the mostly uphill journey (I was running a tad late) and some mechanicals with the bike made this journey a tad trying.

September 17th – An intemperate day of showers, sun and gusty winds made Chasewater a bit challenging in my slightly one-degree-under state. The remains of the evening were brightened, however, by a rainbow out to the east. Fortunately, I just managed to get home before the heavens opened on me.

September 10th – It wasn’t going to last. What was a sunny, mellow afternoon became harsh, squally and very, very wet. Taking shelter under the eaves of Tesco in Brownhills, I reflected on the other side of our area – the urbanisation, the decay, the hardstanding and traffic. As I cycled home in the wet, traffic impatient and irritable, I couldn’t help but curse the insanely variable weather. This year is arse-about-face; this is April. In September.

August 8th – It was a showery, unsettled afternoon as I returned through Lower Stonnall. Here at Mill Lane, the summer is advancing, and Autumn, sadly, didn’t seem too far away. There are already leaves littering the verges, and the harvest, here slightly behind, has paused while the wheat dries out again. Please come back summer – we haven’t got to know each other properly yet…

June 12th – Thought I was a fair weather cyclist? ‘Fraid not. Going stir-crazy late afternoon, dying to get out. Pulled on the waterproofs and went for a quick spin in the rain. Gliding up through a deserted Holland Park, I noticed the odd bars welded across the tops of the railngs around the perimenter, and wracked my mind to work out why this had been done. Then I remembered.

Several years ago, a red deer hind had been found dead, implaled on railings here that she failed to jump. The welded bars remove that risk for our cervine residents. Unusually thoughtful actions by the council, there…

June 10th – By the time I got to Stubbers Green, the rain was torrential. Cycling was impossible for 5 minutes or so, and all I could do was wait and watch. Oh, to be in England, in summertime. My gloves are still soaking wet.