Tag: City

December 15th – I was in Leeds on a trip, but not on the bike, but this sad sight was worth noting and sharing. Think about your locking strategies.

Someone’s steed – a good quality one, judging by the wheel that remains – was attached to that wheel, left by thieves d-locked too the Sheffield stand. The D Lock had a cable loop around the frame. The thieves cut the cabe – easy to do – and left the wheel.

In all probability they stole a wheel from another bike parked nearby, and rode off.

If you’re looking your bike, use the cable to secure the front wheel, and the D-lock on the frame. Thieves will rarely come tooled up for both locks. Get a set of quick releases that require a tool or key. Look for unusual locks that may not be any more secure, but may require unusual tools to defeat, like disc brake locks. Make your bike a pain to steal.

As to the missing bike, ah to the sadness of things…

December 10th – In a bizarre twist of events, in an already hectic, busy day, I had to go to Leicester to collect something from a shop. This pre-christmas errand wouldn’t have been so bad, but I had to pop in to Aldridge on the way, and the weather was awful.

It started to rain before I set out – steady, but light. When I got to Aldridge, the errand I was on there proved to be pointless, so frustrated, I headed for Blake Street to get a train to Birmingham. The train, unusual even for a pre Christmas one, was heaving. I’d tangled with the crowds going to an Aston Villa home game.

Dishevelled and irritated, I hopped on a warm, peaceful train to Leicester, and as I found my way to the mall where the shop in question is, the rain was very nearly stopped. I locked the bike up, and completed my task.

Re-emerging from the electric glare of the Mall it was pouring with rain. I returned through a beautifully glistening city, alive with interesting bikes, shops, lights and a rather wonderful but slightly wonky Christmas tree. I was wet, but Leicester was gorgeous. I love that place, I really do.

Returning from Blake Street was a trial. There was local flooding. The Chester Road and Brownhills High Street were awash with standing water the traffic wasn’t handling well.

But I’d completed what I needed to. I felt better. Mission accomplished.

November 19th – In Lichfield, I had a request from fellow blogger @Bhillscommoner for some images of Lichfield, and was happy to oblige. Unlike my other recent photos, these were taken with the city busy and bustling, and I like the way the people appear as ghostly witness, indistinct to the solid, defined architecture around them.

Transients before the longer lasting.

November 13th – Another evening mooch around Lichfield with camera and tripod. I’m really enjoying night photography at the moment and am learning more about the camera with every attempt.

Mind, it’s easy in Lichfield – such an enigmatic, beautiful place at night.

October 2nd – As well as Leicester, there will always be a place in my heart for Derby, which similarly, is often dismissed as grimy, post industrial and dull – but such dismissals are wrong. Very wrong. Derby is full of lovely wide streets like Friarsgate, and around every corner there’s another interesting piece of architecture. And of course, the majesty of the River Gardens and Cathedral.

One of the best things is you can come all the way from Osgathorpe, near Melbourne, right to the River Gardens, on totally traffic free trails and only have to cross a handful of roads.

March 14th – Where do you leave a pair of bikes when you’re exploring a lost Mall? Well, loads of railings and street furniture nearby…

Cue rant.

Birmingham is a lousy city to cycle around at street level. For decades, the City Council have paid lip service to cycling, with a road system that routinely ignores the needs of more vulnerable road users, like Moor Street Queensway. They were given millions in cycle funding, which they used to resurface miles of perfectly good canal towpath.

And then, there’s aresehattery of this calibre. No cyclist would ever have managed this. I guaran-damn-tee the person responsible for this act of civic idiocy last rode a bike in school.

What am I upset about?

Cyclehoops are the round fittings bolted to these railings. They are great items of cheap street furniture designed to be fixed to existing street furniture to provide anchor points for bike parking. We have some in Walsall on lampposts. They’re brilliant because they stop your steed flopping around the post, and provide a secure lock rail that’s hard to remove.

Oddly enough, railings already provide that feature.

Birmingham City Council bought a bunch of Cyclehoops and instead of fitting them in places where they would be useful, bolted them to railings that already perform the purpose Cyclehoops fulfil.

You normally have to make an appointment for this kind of idiocy.

Stick a fork in the Council’s backside and turn it over, it’s done.

March 7th – After the jumble, a ride into Brum on the canals and cycleways of the northeast of the city, and at Perry Common, north of Witton Lakes, a bit of urban wildlife that astounded and delighted.

A brook flows down from Kingstanding, collecting land drains as it goes, through Witton Lakes and Brookvale Lake, and it’s a lot healthier than it once was, although it’s still suffering from fly tipping and urban pollution. It is, however, clearly supporting a healthy quantity of fish, which this elderly heron was picking off like chocolates from a selection box.

He ignored me as he fished, 10 meters away, pausing and darting for small, silvery treasures whose luck had run out. He would then lift his bill, swallow, and once can see the fish bulge in the bird’s neck.

I was captivated for a good 15 minutes. This is great wildlife, in a very, very urban setting. There is wonder everywhere.

March 5th – In Birmingham early evening, pottering from meeting to coffee shop to meeting, with a new camera to try out. All these shots were handheld, quick grabs. The image processing on the TZ70 is streets ahead of the TZ60. I like this a lot.

Almost as much as I love Birmingham – my past, present and future. I love this place with all my heart.

It’ll be even better when they finish building it.

November 3rd – Just around the corner in Corporation Street, a new hazard to urban cyclists in Brum; tram tracks. With a groove just the right dimensions to swallow and lock my wheels, I rode between the parallel lines with care, remembering the northern European practice of crossing them at oblique angles. 

The new tram line is sure to catch a few incautious cyclists though, so beware people. I do like the Metro and support it’s expansion, but this one hadn’t crossed my mind until today.

October 9th – I was in Birmingham for an evening meeting. It was dark and beautiful on my return. Cathedral Square and a very quiet station made for some interesting night shots – remarkably, without a tripod. Really pleased with the night performance of this little camera, so much better than previous models. 

The oncoming darkness doesn’t seem so bad this year yet. I’m sort of warming to it…