January 16th – When I got to Tyseley, it was snowing, lightly. It had been a very cold commute – the bike computer said -4, but there was a freezing mist that condensed in my eyebrows and froze solid. There was a heavy hoar frost that painted everything in shades of the ethereal – trees, the railway, the urban sprawl – and I think it looked amazing.
I love how the cold weather makes even the mundane and ugly fascinating and beautiful.
January 14th – Winter boots. I’ve mentioned before that in the winter, I ride studded snow tyres. The ones I fit are Schwalbe Marathon Plus Winter, and are a decent choice for road/touring bikes if you have the frame clearance. They don’t roll as well as normal tyres, but by heck, they stick to the roads like a wet tee-shirt. On icy mornings and days like this they come into their own – sure footed in patches of snow, slush, mud and frozen puddles, they’re worth the investment to be that little bit safer.
January 14th – Well it snowed. A little, no more than an inch, really, and very, very wet; it was pouring with rain as I left for work. Taking care to avoid the school run, I wound my way around the backlanes, taking an undignified delight in the white landscape. I love the snow. Hope we get some more… but of the dry variety. Public transport held up, and there weren’t too many folks driving like idiots. I got very wet, but I had fun. Not bad for a Monday morning…
December 12th – the first local snow of the winter came today, in the form of a fine, icing sugar dusting over Tyseley. It stopped as quickly as it started, but left everything precious and beautiful. I love this weather, I love the way it creates new impressions of familiar things.
December 6th – It’s time for the winter boots again. A couple of times this week I’ve felt that queasy adrenaline rush as either the front or real wheel slipped a little bit while cornering. Such incidents are rare, but a wakeup call I always heed. Nature is telling me that it’s time to swap out the 28mm Marathon Plus tyres and throw on the 38mm Marathon Winter. These are a fatter, lower pressure road tyre exhibiting a chunky tread made from a soft compound with small tungsten carbide studs inlaid that bite into ice, mud and road debris. They’re noisy, don’t roll too well, but grip, even on black ice, like demons. They’re not cheap, but for any commuter who keeps going through rough conditions, I highly recommend them.
April 4th – Well, I wasn’t expecting snow. Up early, I looked out of the window just as the white stuff started falling. I’d been expecting a foul commute, but in reality, it wasn’t too bad. It was cold, and damp, but a lot less so than if it had been raining. The biggest hazard was the slipperiness of the roads – not due to ice, but due to weeks of tyre rubber, spilled diesel and silt building up on the road surface without rain to wash it away. In the meltwater, it became a black, slippery goop, just aching to take the wheels from under the unwary cyclist.
The snow was certainly a shock, though, and amongst the spring blooms and blossom of Telford’s roadside verges, the patches of snow made for an unusual, slightly sombre sight.
February 10th – The predicted snow didn’t arrive in Brownhills – all we had was an icing-sugar dusting. I had to go to Redditch, and set out early on a filthy, drizzly morning to hop on the Cross City line. Arriving at the station just in time to watch the tail-lights of my train slide into the distance, I felt thoroughly fed up.
An hour later, zipping through the snow covered landscape of south Birmingham, I cheered up. The snow had been more pronounced here, and when I got to Redditch, the town looked lovely. Church Green was gorgeous, and the cottages near Ipsley in the Arrow Valley were equally beautiful, which restored my good mood. It’s not often you can say that about Redditch.
On the way back, I spotted two snowmen at Little Aston forge. I suspect they were from last weekend – they look like they were good efforts. Sorry I didn’t catch them in their prime… my apologies to the motorist behind whom I held up while taking the picture.
February 6th – it was a tough journey to work. After the chill of the previous week it felt almost humid, yet it was quite chilly with a constant, searching drizzle. The snow of Saturday was still melting, and there were huge pools of standing water on the roads. Dropping onto the canal at Bridgeman Street in Walsall looking for a break from the relentless traffic, the towpath turned out to present its own challenge. Not treacherous with the studded tyres, but hard work to plough through. Horrid.
February 5th – I popped to Chasewater, but the day was horrible. The snow was melting heavily, I was loaded with about 20 kilos of shopping and the day was grey and foul. Crossing back over the M6 Toll bridge on Pool Road, I noticed that Chasewater still looked quite snowy. I could also see that, beyond the innovation centre, the reservoir was beginning to refill at long last.
February 4th – As usual when it starts snowing, I’m off on the bike like a shot. Since it had been a whole year since I last rode in snow, I took in a lazy loop of Brownhills to get my skills back. On the old cement works bridge, overlooking the council depot that used to be the Edward Rose factory, the gritting crews were in overdrive. I’d been passed by several grit wagons in the High Street, and there seemed to be a constant chain of lorries coming to be refilled. Later in the day, Walsall’s roads were far better than those of Staffordshire, yet still I saw folk complaining. I think there needs to be more public awareness over what road salt can and can’t actually do.
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