February 28th – A much nicer day, and I was getting over the cold at last. Still bunged up and with a mouth full of ulcers, but I had energy and the sun was out. I needed to pop to Chasetown, and called in at the wonderful St. Anne’s cemetery on the way back, currently a riot of crocuses. This spot is delightful and well worth the visit, and today, I was accompanied by a huge bumblebee, already busy in the flowers.
Can spring, light days and warm sun really be so close?
January 19th – A beautiful, hazy an sunny winter morning – chilly, but not bitter. It was dry, and the pleasure and speed of dry roads seemed alien to me after so many wet weeks. Jockey meadows were beautiful, as were The Butts in Walsall, with those gorgeous terraces. Even Darlaston’s 1930s factories with their stark, monolithic walls were a joy in the mellow January sun.
All this is great for my heart and soul. More, please!
January 15th – First really cold day of the year, with the lightest, cutest dusting of snow that sat on the landscape like icing sugar. Not yet having fitted the ice tyres, I let some air out and rode the heaviest bike I have. It was gorgeous; the temperature didn’t get above freezing all day, and I got cold and hungry, but it was worth being out in. It was good to be off work but it was also good to be out in the glass-hard, clear day. Stonnall, Wall and Hammerwich positively glowed in the cold winter sunshine.
I’ve needed this for so long.
January 13th – A better day, at least: the sun was out as I cycled through Victoria Park in Darlaston and under the Mystic Bridge. It was still very wet, though and I was running late against a headwind. But the light was nice, and I felt better.
One of the things about cycling nearly everywhere you go is the massive connection you have with the outdoors and the weather. Periods of continued poor conditions can get to feel like a personal attack, and that’s how I’ve been feeling just lately.
There has to be a break in this soon, for a few days at least.
January 6th – A fair commute in both directions for once, in fact almost sunny.
On the way, the sun was trapped above low smog but I didn’t mind – as I came through central Walsall on the ring road, it made everything look beautiful. I don’t know if it was just in the haze or my mind, but everything was suffused in a delicious yellow, soft light.
The Workhouse Guardian’s Office in front of the Manor Hospital may still be derelict, and gradually being carried to dust, but it’s at times like this it regains some of the lost stature.
Could do with a few more days like this, please.
29th December – I took the train to Bristol on what promised to be one of the few decent days this holiday to check out the Clifton Suspension Bridge, see the Second Severn Crossing and cross the original Severn Bridge to Chepstow – you can’t cycle the Second Severn Crossing as there’s no pedestrian route, sadly.
Mission accomplished. More on my main blog later.
I got there early – a great day, sun warm on my back and so temperate, no need for gloves most of the day. A fairly strong southerly also helped at my back.
One of the biggest shocks was the cycling culture in Bristol. Huge numbers of machines parked up at Bristol Temple Meads, a handsome, wonderfully bonkers gothic edifice that oozes class in a way Birmingham New Street could only dream of. Segregated cycleways in many places, a fantastic river trail and plenty of parking provision.
My only complaint is some of the routes could be signposted better.
It made for a hugely enjoyable journey, and made me lament the awful state of municipal cycling support in Birmingham.
December 18th – Heading off to Birmingham early again, I shot through Mill Green late, but I couldn’t resist photographing that gorgeous sunrise. The past couple of days have shown the most beautiful sunrises and sunsets – and arriving at the station too late for the train, it gave me chance for a better go at the view of Hill Hook I took from the train yesterday.
The weather of late has been awful, but sights like this make the misery of cycling in such wet weather totally worth it.
December 7th – Another fine commute on a dry but windy morning, and again, it felt warmer than it should. Victoria Park in Darlaston is gorgeous at this time of year; it’s contours, slopes and features – including the remarkable footbridge – look wonderful in the low winter sunlight.
A fantastic place that’s well worth a visit.
December 4th – Similarly, when I passed the canal junction at Walsall further on my way to work, I hopped off the ring road and on to the pavement to take this one from the Smiths Flourmill Bridge.
It’s early in the morning, the sun is low, and the two constants of Walsall – the waterway and that huge Victorian chimney stand as markers to the place I love.
A great morning ride.
September 27th – I caught a classic, sunny and misty autumn morning just as the mist was burning off. I had to nip to Burntwood on an errand and I took the canal to Chasewater. It was magical and gorgeous.
The spiderwebs on the gorse were captivating and there also seems to be a burgeoning crop of puffballs this year.
Could this be the last good weekend of the year, or are there more to come?
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