November 1st – This was annoying. Spinning down the Arrow Valley cycleway in Redditch, some travelling showman had left his artic completely blocking the track at a crossing point, leaving about 20 inches between the wagon and the hedge to squeeze through. There’s no excuse for this, it’s just bloody inconsiderate. No idea what the muppet was doing here, anyway. Perhaps the funfair is coming to the arrow valley park?
October 31st – The Arrow Valley route in Redditch was looking excellent today – the leaves have really turned now, and the recent rains seemed to have cleansed things and sharpened them up. For what I would personally consider the first day of Winter – the first day of non-British Summer Time, when it was dark when I left home, and dark when I left work. The autumn colour certainly improved my dismal Monday mood – shame the newly burnt out car abandoned on the trail pulled it back down again. There’s some arseholes about.
October 27th – The rains came today, and I was glad; we need the water for replenishing the reservoirs, ponds and streams, and of course, Chasewater. After the otherworldly beauty of yesterday, the Arrow Valley in Redditch was wearing a very grey, rainy overcoat. It still had it’s unique beauty though, and it was good to see the Arrow flowing with some purpose again.
October 26th – It was with some surprise that a noticed quite a dense mist over the countryside south of Birmingham as I zipped through on the train. I love misty mornings like this, and when they happen, I try to get near water where the mist is most beautiful. Fortunately, today I was passing through the Arrow Valley in Redditch anyway, and it didn’t disappoint. The park as a whole was gorgeous, wreathed in a thin, billowy mist, but the lake stole the show. I was so absorbed by it, I was very nearly late… but it was worth it.
October 19th – Redditch can be a little odd sometimes. This lady is pushing a dog, in a pushchair. The dog is beautifully tucked in. I have no idea, and nothing to add. Worth watching in HD for best effect.
October 19th – I saw this in Redditch today, and immediately thought of the cyclist who died yesterday on Dartmouth Circus in Birmingham. Cycling is, on the whole, a safe activity and such fatalities are relatively rare, but when they do occur, they focus the mind, and worry friends and family. I’d really like to see a Ghost Bike erected in this guys memory, if only to prompt public awareness. I didn’t know my fallen, fellow two wheeler, but wherever he is I wish him sun on his back, the wind behind him and speed in his wheels.
Be safe, fellow cyclists, be safe.
October 18th – After pointing out yesterday that the cycleways and roads of the area would be hazardous due to wet leaf-litter, as if to confound me, today I noticed that Worcester Council – who look after Arrow Valley Park – had a street sweeper unit out to hoover up the debris. This is wonderful, and very effective. So unusual for a council to bother about cleaning places that aren’t on the public highway. A great thing indeed.
October 17th – one of the nicer features of new towns like Redditch and Telford is their off-road cycle facilities. They don’t all work, or indeed, are even maintained, but where they are they are very useful and often rather quirky. This subway lies on my commute when I work in Redditch, and I’ve never, in over five years, seen another soul use it. The lights are on every day. The sloping, banked walls have always made me want to race down the access ramp and mount them like a wall of death, but I’ve never had the courage.
October 17th – I noticed today in Redditch that the leaf fall had started in anger. With the buffeting winds, there was a large amount of leaf-litter on the roads and cycle paths. This is fun and beautiful right now, but something to beware of when the rains come, as they are scheduled to this evening. The first significant rainfall and subsequent traffic will mulch nature’s debris into a slimy, soapy goop that can whip your wheels from under you. Fellow cyclists, beware of this treacherous, slippery and often unexpected hazard.
October 12th – This is Redditch. Not on the outskirts, or the countryside surrounding, but right in the middle. The Arrow Valley Lake is a favourite of boaters, watersports types and anglers. Situated in the Arrow Valley Park, which serves as a green ‘spine’ for the new town, it’s a stones throw from factories and busy roads – but you’d never know it. When I’m working in Redditch, I pass it every morning. A fine start to the day.
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