Tag: ice

March 18th – I thought Saturday had been grim. I had no idea just how unpleasantly bitter the wind – for that’s all it can be – would make a short ride on Sunday.

I pottered up to Chasewater again. Setting out in a partial thaw, I was surprised that within 30 minutes, package was hardening on roads and tracks and everything was freezing again. We’d had a fair old snowfall and Chasewater was beautiful for it – but it was very hard going. 

Trees at the lake edge on the causeway wore jackets of pure ice and the boardwalk over Fly Creek was flooded, as it always does when the main lake is full. Coming back i had to leave the canal towpath due to the deep drifts.

I haven’t known a winter this combative and protracted for years. When I got in the cold was physically painful. I’ve had enough now. 

March 17th – Coming back to Brownhills down The Parade, the snow started. As it turned out, it was in for the night and we ended up with and unexpectedly heavy fall. 

It was bitterly cold, and as nice as the common looked, I wanted to be at home in the warm. I don’t know if it was the particularly biting wind or just my hunger but this cold seemed far more harsh than the -8 degrees we’d had a couple of weeks ago. Since it was nowhere near that cold now, I have no idea why that was.

Come on Winter, you’ve said your piece. Sod off and give spring a chance.

March 6th – It was still not dark when I returned along the canal to Brownhills. There was none of the snow remaining which surprised med, but there was still quite dense ice on some sections of canal like Catshill Junction.

Things are still looking a bit grey and colourless apart from the early spring flowers, and I’m looking forward to seeing some signs of fresh green soon.

Won’t be too long now hopefully, before life becomes colourful once more. I’ve had it with all this grey.

March 2nd – The snow arrived in the late afternoon, one of those deceptive snowfalls with very fine flakes that deposits a large amount un a short time. 

I went down to Stonnall to explore as night fell, and the deserted lanes of Lower Stonnall, with skeletal trees and an almost blue light were gorgeous.

There was no sign of trouble as I crossed Shire Oak but 30 minutes later, lorries and cars were stranded on the hill and there was chaos.

A beautiful and unforgettable journey.

March 2nd – The snow remained – dry, powdery, swirling into drifts. A brief call in to work, and then I came home, expecting predicted heavy falls later in the day. The cold was biting, and I pottered around Brownhills on a decent mountain bike enjoying the spectacle.

On the canal, one thing I’m interested in is the way large sections of canal remained unfrozen, with a very sharp end to thick ice. I guess it’s a wind effect but never seen it before. Fascinating.

February 28th – A day with two of the harshest commutes I’ve ever known – both sub zero, both punctuated by snowstorms and ferocious winds.

On the way to work, I followed the canal somewhat unusually for me, all the way down through Moxley, and on the way noted the dagger-like icicles on Scarborough Road Bridge in Pleck, and the hardiness of the animals I saw – mainly birdlife defying Dry Marland’s IC scale, but also a sad but stoical horse tethered by the Black Country Route. At least it had plenty of hay to eat, poor thing.

Snow squalls came and went, but during them, visibility was poor. I don’t think I’ve ever known commuting on a bike this hard. The winter as it moved on from Christmas has been bloody endless. 

Enough already.

February 27th – The coldest early evening commute I’ve known for a long time, I battled a vile headwind and sporadic black ice and made my way home carefully.

My ice tyres worked well, and the roads – like the Green Lane here at the Black Cock Bridge – have been very well gritted. But pavements, backroads and car parks were deadly and I made careful, slow progress.

It’ll be interesting to see how bad this gets.

February 27th – It was still bitingly cold, but the predicted heavy snows missed us, instead teasing me with light flurries at the same time as bright sunshine. The contrast was beautiful.

In Victoria Park in Darlaston, hungry pigeons flocked to me when I stopped, but it was so beautiful. Thankfully the roads were not too icy, but the cold and wind were unpleasant.

Worth it for the beauty, though.

February 23rd – If the mist of the previous evening had been beautiful, it was nothing compared to the beauty of the following morning.

I passed through Mill Green on the way to the station heading for an appointment in Telford, and this bitterly cold but sunlit and beautiful morning was quite the tonic I needed.

The ice was challenging in places, but used to the cold after a chilly season I rode carefully, really enjoying the scenery.

Yes, this is definitely why a ride a bike to work…

February 7th – A bitterly cold morning with temperatures recorded by the GPS as low as minus five degrees centigrade and a very harsh ride to the station. 

There was a fair bit of black ice and concentration was intense.

My longed for spring would seem to be on hold a little, but hopefully the daffodils – now forming buds on the verge outside my destination in Telford- won’t be deterred.