April 20th – A shock this morning. I had a train to catch so left as the sun rose. It was very, very cold with a light ground frost, inadequate a significant mist. Still, it shrouded Grove Hill in Stonnall beautifully, and gave the pylons at Mill Green an other-worldly, sinister presence, and the sun soon burned it off.

February 6th – It’s been chilly now for a couple of weeks, and I now have my winter cycling skin on, and barely feel the cold. It gets you like that in the end; you become tempered, inured, used to the climate; so much so that you feel it when it warms up that much more acutely. I love being in this position. It means when spring comes, it’s even more joyous.

At Green Lane on another cold, icy commute, I was wrapped up and felt warm, and the barren beauty of the season really struck me.

I’d like spring to hurry up, of course: but I can live with this, for now.

February 4th – I had to nip into Wednesbury from Darlaston mid-morning, so hopped over Kings Hill. Something about the light, the cold, the slightly softening haze caught my eye. It’s brittle cold at the moment, but I’m at the stage where I’m barely noticing it. I love days like this, wrapped up well they’re a joy to ride in.

January 30th – A long day. Out early, the commute was odd. I wrapped up for very cold, a thin layer of snow still on the ground here. But as I got to Rushall, the air felt warmer and there was less and less snow. In Walsall, hardly any sign at all. I was sweating. I guess I rode over a weather front. It’s not every day you do that.

On the way back that evening, it was chilly in Walsall and warmer as I got closer to home. The snow had melted during the day, and the sky was clear. With a little moonlight and long exposure, Clayhanger Bridge looked fine in the night.

Strange weather, lately.

January 29th – I rode home in a heavy, but short snow shower, which left a light dusting of snow. Heading towards Clayhanger, I stopped on the bridge. I love the interaction between the streetlight and snow, and how the vehicle tracks define the landscape.

Wonderful. I hope we have more snow – I love it. Such an adventure!

January 22nd – I passed through New Street mid-afternoon. The whole place was grey. It’s still chaos, and has been clearly designed with anything but the passengers in mind.

I stood waiting for a late train. Ever signal I could see was red. Sometimes, commuting feels like this. 

To quote Dexy’s, tell me when my red light turns green.