Tag: night

March 17th  – Something interesting will happen between today and tomorrow. Thanks to the GPS based bike computer I use these days, I’ve been keeping an eye on sunrise and sunset times to measure the progress of the seasons. Today, the daylight will be just shorter than the night; by tomorrow, the day will be longer by about the same.

This is effectively the spring equinox – when day and night are equal length of 12 hours. This isn’t quite the astronomical equinox, which this year occurs on the 20th, but it’s good enough for me. 

Another milestone of the changing seasons and the ascent from darkness.

January 3rd – My dislocation was compounded by the darkness. Despite the moonlight, the town seemed very dark and deserted, from the alley at the rear of the church to the footpath over the spot, which I rode over to Clayhanger to visit a pal.

Sometimes I hate the darkness. Sometimes it’s my best friend. Right now, I just wish it would hang back a bit.

Roll on spring.

November 17th – Ah, that Late Night Feelings thing again. I found myself at Walsall Station, in the early evening – not as a passenger but waiting for one, helping a beginner commuter by travelling together in the evening Walsall traffic.

I love the lights of this station at night. It started raining soon after, and made for a wet, hard commute come. Not a good start for a beginner…

November 11th – Riding along the Darlaston Road in Pleck, Walsall at about 5:30pm, towards Walsall. I’m on the left as I’m hauling uphill and the banjo in the taxi overtakes me and turns left, not too far from wiping me out.

Fortunately, he hesitated, and I saw what he was going to do, so I drifted to the left as he pressed towards me. Long time since I shouted at a driver.

This was not a case of not seeing me. He saw me, he went for it. Thankfully, I have my wits about me.

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)

November 4th – The darkness hasn’t seemed to affect me as much this year as it normally does, or indeed, as badly as I expected. It normally makes me weary, depressed and listless. Maybe because we’ve had such a fine autumn and summer, I don’t feel it this year at all.

Of course, it makes for a change to habits. The days of casually throwing a jacket into the bag are over, as are the days of fingerless gloves. Warm hats, thermals and scarves will soon be on the agenda. 

Lights are clean and fully operational, and at certain times, the hi-viz is on (although one has to consider that in low sun or bright days it’s worse than dark clothing for visibility).

Here at Green lane in pitch dark, the advantage and necessity of good ligts is clear. This image taken without a flash.

That’s a Hope R4 on low, by the way.

July 31t – I had something to go to in the evening, and returned late. I returned after dark, and it was beautiful, as late summer nights tend to be; it had rained briefly in the afternoon and the damp had drawn out the frogs, toads and gastropods in huge numbers.

This delightful pair were within six inches of each other on the grass by the canal at Silver Street. 

Some people find these creatures of the night slimy and unpleasant; I think they’re beautiful, in their own way.

November 13th – Heading home from work late again, I hit the canal for a bit of a mental challenge. It’s been a hard couple of days, and night riding in a darker than usual environment is really good for clearing the head. I wait until I get to a dark spot, then kill the lights for a bit. It’s great fun.

This image is taken without flash, and this is how it looks from the bike.

The front light I’m using at the moment – a Hope Technology Vision R4 – is great, and bright enough to stun a badger. Here, it’s on the lowest of three ‘trail’ settings, and it’s more than adequate for tiding in woodland at night.

As soon as the weather clears, going to try it out on the Chase one evening…

October 25th – I didn’t come home until darkness had fallen, and coming up the Chester Road I felt like trying my night riding skills out in Shire Oak Park. I felt like it, then I remembered the stiles I had to get my bike over. And it was raining. It would be muddy. Perhaps not.

I think my night riding skills are probably still a bit rusty for that just yet. Maybe in a week or two…