Tag: IFTTT

#365daysofbiking Back in the city

March 2nd – After the bike jumble, the traditional ride into Birmingham on the canal for tea, cake and to marvel at the the art and history.

The towpath quality has improved vastly since last year, the architecture, including the wonderful view of St. Chad’s Cathedral, newly liberated by the demolition of the insulation factory, was stunning near Snow Hill. And oh, the faded grandeur of those imperious Birmingham pubs.

Pleased to see Bill Drummond has a new message for Birmingham, and the lovely calm of Brookvale Park and Witton Lakes was as wonderful as ever.

I returned a way I haven’t been for quite a few years – up the canal through Tyburn and Minworth to Middleton. Formerly the towpath through Minworth was dreadful in the winter, but now the bad stretch is limited to about a mile or so, and is ridable on a decently stout bike.

One shock though: The formerly monolithic and impressive Cincinnati works – empty and subject of great development promises by Urban Splash – has gone, including it’s iconic entry bridge over the canal. It’s now a perfectly decent but dull housing estate, so the Urban Splash dream was hot air. The bridge has gone Now only dull units remain to the east to say this huge factory ever existed.

Sad.

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#365daysofbiking Good tradition

March 2nd – The first Saturday in March is always the Erdington Bicycle Jumble, run by North Birmingham Cyclist’s Touring Club.

Sadly, last year it was cancelled due to heavy snowfall, and as a consequence, suffered a little for numbers this year – and I was a little late.

But it was still good to meet old friends and acquaintances, remember old bikes and old riders. The memory-jog provided by some of the stuff there cannot be understated.
A fine, traditional social event I’m pleased to see continuing.

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#365daysofbiking Flowers of the night

March 1st – It had been a dreadful day and I had to nip out late on an errand into Brownhills. As I crossed the Silver Street pedestrian bridge, I was struck by the effect of the sodium lights on the wild plum blossom nearby.

That really cheered me up. Happiness can be found in the oddest of places.

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#365daysofbiking Overshadowed

March 1st – A dreadful day with high winds and rain.

Coming home at dusk, I just caught the remainder of a sunset over the canal at Walsall Wood.

Sometimes, even the horrible days have a decent sunset.

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#365daysofbiking Crown of thorns

February 28th – Also out early and brightening a very grey day in Telford – the blackthorn.

Often mistaken for hawthorn, this harbinger of spring looks almost like a heavy frost or snow, but is actually tiny white blossoms, and they line the motorway embankment as seen from the Priorslee footbridge.

A lovely sight on a grey morning.

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#365daysofbiking Signs of green

February 28th – Remarkably, still just February and the hawthorn hedges and scrub have new leaves, looking lovely in the rain. Last year this was a whole month later.

Hawthorn leaves when fresh like this are really tasty to chew.

I’m so pleased for an early end to the winter like this – even if this pleasant spell ends soon, it’s been refreshing, like recharging the batteries.

The light and warm days cannot be far away now.

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#365daysofbiking Tenant of the latticework

February 27th – This time of year one view that always snags my attention is that of the cellphone transmission mast at Kings Hill with a sunset behind it.

Tonight it looked particularly fine.

I always admire radio masts and installations – like pylons, always the minimum necessary to support their load, but rarely inelegant. They stand solid, conversing in energies undetectable to human senses, buzzing with commerce and electrical energy, but otherwise silently exchanging data with the atmosphere.

Hardly anyone notices them, but they a a huge necessity of the modern age, and they fascinate me.

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#365daysofbiking Park up

February 27th – I’m sorry to bang on about this, but Kings Hill Park in Darlaston is getting more magnificent by the day.

Alive now with a veritable carpet of spring flowers, it’s a beautiful little spring oasis, and I love it so much.

On a side note, I spotted that the flat where I think the old cat Sam lived has been vacated, and was being refurbished. I spent a lot of last summer admiring that king of Kings Hill. In this sunny weather, I’ve not seen the puss about at all.

I hope I’m wrong and he’s made it to another Kings Hill Summer: If not, I hope he’s gone somewhere where there’s a sunny garden with comfy shady spots, passers by to talk to him and a world to watch go by.

I hope you haven’t left me old lad, but if you have, I’ll miss you so. Sweet dreams, puss. Sweet dreams.

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#365daysofbiking Fluffbomb

February 26th – Reedmace, bullrush or cat tails as they are variously known have a fascinating mechanism for deploying their seeds.

This time of year, if you can find one, just rub the head and it will explode into a huge ball of fluff – wind borne seeds.

Setting them off is compulsive and fun, but you do get covered in the stuff…

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#365daysifbiking Getting comfortable

February 26th -Arnold and Flossie, the Bentley Bridge swans have definitely got the spring imperative, and appear to be building a news. Well, she is. He was patrolling on guard – but Flossie was very busy weaving reads into her pile and testing it for fit.

This will be fun to watch over the coming weeks.

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