Tag: frost

January 20th – A beautiful, cold winter day – exactly the kind I’ve been hankering after. As I rode to work the light was beautifully soft and lit Darlaston up, but it was still hovering around freezing, which gave the air a keen nip.

The swans on the canal at Pleck seemed annoyed by ice that wasn’t easy to break by swimming, but wouldn’t sustain their weight if stood on. Darlsarton’s parks – Victoria and Kings Hill – were as beautiful as ever and I see work on the old church at Kings Hill is ongoing.

A wonderful day to be on a bike, just enjoying the ride.

January 15th – First really cold day of the year, with the lightest, cutest dusting of snow that sat on the landscape like icing sugar. Not yet having fitted the ice tyres, I let some air out and rode the heaviest bike I have. It was gorgeous; the temperature didn’t get above freezing all day, and I got cold and hungry, but it was worth being out in. It was good to be off work but it was also good to be out in the glass-hard, clear day. Stonnall, Wall and Hammerwich positively glowed in the cold winter sunshine.

I’ve needed this for so long.

December 13th – The kind of cold, crisp morning that grabs your throat and seizes the air from within. The canal had frozen a little, and as I headed to the town Christmas market, I thought how beautiful the canal looked at Pier Street in it’s winter jacket.

In recent winters, we haven’t had nearly enough days like this. This year, I hope there are more. It’s the beauty of winter.

December 3rd – It was very late when I came home through Brownhills. There was a frost, and the roads, despite having gritted, were glistening in that menacing way winter cyclists know and are wary of.

I’m still rocking he new Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres I fitted a few weeks ago; these revised rubbers are vastly superior so far to there older incarnation, and they’ve been excellent on wet, greasy roads. I wondered what they would be like on ice, so took them for a run up the canal towpath.

They seemed to hold the track well. Only time will tell, but so far I’m very impressed.

Watch out for the black ice folks, it’s a killer.

November 25th – It was a bright, frosty and hazy morning, but sadly I had another appointment early and missed the best of it. It was still beautiful, however, when I headed to work. Passing that jewel of Walsall, the Arboretum, the view over HathertonLake to the bandstand was irresistible.

A cracking day.

November 24th – A gorgeous, frosty winter morning. I had a call locally before riding on to work, so when I passed through Walsall on the canal, the autumnal colours that were still hanging on looked gorgeous.

I’d love more days like these. Refreshing, beautiful, quiet – in recent years, there haven’t been enough. I’d also like some decent snow this year.

I hope the weather gods are kind to me…

January 20th – It was an awful day for travelling (and work generally, really). I went a long way on a fools errand, and on my return, got tangled up in travel chaos on the Cross City line. 

In between, however, the day was misty, bright and cold with a beautiful frost. Sadly, I spend most of my cycling time dashing late from one place to another and didn’t get chance to take many pictures.

I’d like a few more days like this if possible…

January 17th – If you’re bored of the winter pictures, it could be a rather long week ahead, sorry. I love them, and intend to bore you with loads.

It was dry and cold when I left home this morning, and the humidity had dropped, so the mist was lighter, but ice still crusted the surface of my gloves and eyebrows as I rolled into the station. Diving off the Chester Road at Wood Lane, I decided to chance my arm at Little Aston Forge, where the sheet ice had been. The sheet ice was still there, but I just glided down the powder-dusted lanes. I adore this weather – possibly not as much as a sunny day in high summer, but I relish the stark drama, and the knowledge that in 80 days of so this will be greening again once more. That’s what’s great about England: extremes.