Tag: Brownhills

#365daysofbiking Into the murk

January 10th – A grey, damp and misty day made for trying journeys to and from work, with frenetic, inattentive traffic and poor visibility with a somewhat patchy, unpredictable kind of fog.

There was no escape, but diving onto the canal at the Black Cock Bridge for the last run to Brownhills was a welcome respite from the tension.

Clayhanger bridge wasn’t terribly mist-shrouded, but the hazy air made for a great twist on one of my favourite local muses.

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#365daysofbiking Ghost craft


January 9th – On the canal near the overflow at Clayhanger someone has tethered a fibreglass pleasure boat. I’m not sure if it’s being lived in or not, but seems to be. However, when I rode past in the dark this evening, one end had been untied and the craft had swung out into the water.

I don’t know who owns it or what it’s doping there, but someone clearly cares for it. I am becoming aware that waterways are currently hosting a number of unfortunate folk who would be homeless but for their often down at heel boats.

An odd one.

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#365daysofbiking Loafing

January 6th – One thing this journal is known for is the pictures of cats I meet in my daily life.

Sadly, my cat radar has been off this winter. I’ve hardly seen any – despite the warm weather, Felis Catus has apparently been at home, napping. Which you can understand, really.

Sunday though, was positively tropical and in a short run up the canal to Chasewater I spotted these three fine specimens. The pair apparently having a union meeting were on the canal bank by Deakin Avenue, and the gorgeous, grumpy looking raccoon cat was near Newtown Bridge. Great face markings.

Nice to spot some cats again.

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#365daysofbiking A miner infatuation

 

January 5th – Heading back up the High Street to get a takeaway, I passed the now well-lit Morris with the lights on the surrounding trees looking beautiful.

I will never tire of photographing this statue. Is is by turns, dramatic, beautiful, ridiculously out of place, preposterous and wonderful.

Fantastic by day, even better by night. Morris symbolises home and the town I love.

And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

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#365daysofbiking Decent exposure

January 5th – I had intended to go for a long ride – but the weather was grey and miserable and it was cold, so I stayed indoors until darkness, then slipped out on some errands.

Some long exposure photos on the canal between the Jolly Collier and old cement works bridges came out really well – thirty seconds with the camera on timer held solidly to guard rails gave excellent results in what was otherwise pretty much urban darkness.

Sometimes the short journeys turn out to be the most rewarding.

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#365daysofbiking Time is


January 2nd – I’ll start this with a note about this journal. Older readers will know I started this journal on 1st April 2011after being encouraged to do 30daysofbiking by ace cyclist and top Dutchperson Renee Van Baar. From the moment I agreed, the die was cast.

Sadly, I was very ill with food poisoning the following New Year,  so never rode a bike on 31st December 2011, and 1st January 2012. But I steeled my resolve, and I carried on, and I never missed a day since. Every day from 2nd January 2012 I have got on a bike and ridden somewhere.

From 100 mile plus rides in one day, to trundles to the shops, I have recorded my daily life as a cyclist, in all its ups and downs. That’s 7 years, or 2557 successive days (including 2 leap years), and about 63,000 miles.

I adore keeping this journal – both writing it, and creating the photos.I welcome feedback. If you have something to say – that I should stop, continue or do something differently, please get in touch by commenting or mailing me – BrownhillsBob at Googlemail dot com.

Today was my first day back at work and on my way back, I headed up the canal to Newtown. I had forgotten to charge my camera, and it was flat, so these are actually photos from an iPhone, which just shows how much phone camera technology has advanced.

When I started this journal in 2011, my phone would not have been remotely capable of images of this quality.

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365daysofbiking Lying low

December 28th – People have asked me where the long rides out are this Christmas. There’s an answer to that – the weather isn’t great, just warm and grey, and I’m doing something I’ve needed for a while – getting some rest.

So, limited to errands, local trips have been the order of the day. This evening was a simple spin around Brownhills, as somnambulant and lovely in the cloak of darkness as ever.

I’ve resisted taking time to rest for years. That has clearly been a mistake…

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#365daysofbiking Darkly atmospheric

Boxing Day – A late run out just to test a bike build was a great opportunity to catch a slightly misty atmosphere at Chasewater.

The shot off the north end of the dam was pure chance and took loads of attempts to get a usable image; the M6 Toll shots were far easier.

I love the way the LED lights highlight the mist.

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#365daysofbiking Oh flock

Boxing Day – Another day pressed for time, so another short but fast run up the canal. Intrigued to see that there is a flock of several hundred sheep grazing on what I think might be kale on Home Farm, Sandhills.

I don’t think I’ver ever seen livestock on this land before.

I wonder if the sheep are resident on the farm now, or if the crop has been sold for grazing?

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#365daysofbiking Slipping the reins

Christmas Day – Just lately my deer magnet has been very poor – I hadn’t seen deer close enough to get a decent photograph for weeks if not months.

Luckily, I spotted these fine reds in the scrub at Chasewater North Heath just by the bypass. I gently ushered them over the trail and back into the park – for all the good it will do.

We don’t have reindeer wild here, but the reds made a special Christmas treat. Good to see them.

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