Tag: sunset

October 2nd -It was a gorgeous autumn day – chilly, but still and the  the sun shone, it was warm on the face. I finally solved a pressing technical issue on the bike, then headed out to Middletn Hall for tea and cake, then up the canal to Tamworth and back through Hints and Weeford. 

It was the kind of ride that makes you realise autumn isn’t that bad after all, and in the golden hour travelling through Shenstone, with the church occupied and a service ongoing, even the looming dusk seemed magical.

September 27th – It was clear when I left work that there was going to be a good sunset, and it reached it’s peak just as I hit Brownhills. An absolutely stunning sundown, I haven’t seen the like for a good while – the sky appeared to be on fire, with the dying red light reflected on the underside of mackerel clouds.

A great benefit of the shortening of the day is riding home in sunsets like these.

ISeptember 22nd – It was a pleasant but slightly chilly evening as I slipped out for a test circuit of Brownhills after a little bike maintenance. I’d forgotten my camera when I went to work, and was still without it, so I gave the phone lens a polish and had a go.

Cameras on phones haven’t half come on in the past few years.

September 20th – It was so beautiful on the way home that I decided to take a spin around Stonnall and Shenstone, just to catch the golden hour.

Although Autumn’s feet are well under the table now, there’s still plenty of green with freshly planted crops in the fields and leaves not yet turning.

But oh, it gets dark so early now…

September 17th – The sunset was gorgeous at Chasewater, the calm before the chaos. A lone lady practised her wake boarding to a small audience, birders checked out the gull roost, and those lucky enough to catch this spectacle – very few, sadly – basked in the light and beauty of the dying day.

Sometimes all you need for peace and beauty are a couple of cyclists, a couple of cameras and a beautiful evening.

September 17th – A bad day in lots of ways, but a sunset ride to sort the head out worked wonders. Heading up the canal to Chasewater the scenery was beautiful and the light golden. My favourite tree at Home Farm, Sandhills is laden with conkers and just showing signs of autumn, and the view to Hammerwich was gorgeous.

On the canal at Newtown, the Newtown one minded her own business, unconcerned by the stalking black cat, who seemed a bit peeved at my appearance.

If autumn promises more of this, it can stay around…

September 11th – A better day for the weather, and a better day for riding, although I was tired and lacked energy. I rode out to Lichfield, then Fradley Junction for tea and a snack. From there to Alrewas on the canal, then back through Whitemore Haye and Sittles.

A relatively short ride by recent standards, but the scenery was great, as was the sunset. Maybe autumn isn’t upon us just yet…

September 1st – As I arrived home in darkness, I caught sight of a critical milestone on the bike computer: Sunset was now taking place before 8pm. From now until November, the darkest will positively gallop onwards, and summer, with it’s warm and light evenings will just be another memory of a season passed.

How I hate the encroaching darkness.

September 1st – Another evening working late, I managed to pass through Walsall Wood just as the sun was setting behind the pithead sculpture. It’s not a thing I’ve ever been fond of, as many people know, but it does make for an interesting view over the old rail line.

It was a beautiful sky and a lovely evening, but I was far too tired to appreciate it.

August 29th – Another day, another reservoir, this time Staunton Harold, a wee bit further east than Foremark, but in hillier country.

My trip this time took me though Whittington, Edingale, Lullington and Linton, then over to Calke, and touched Melbourne. After visiting southern and northern tips of the lake, back home through Ticknall, Milton, Repton and along the Trent home through Burton, Drakelow, Croxall and Huddlesford.

I note canalside cat was still on duty at Brownhills, and again the quirky little things stood out; the free cooking apples at Harlaston, the cyclamen at Lullington, the wooden bike planter at Linton. 

All in all, 79 miles and a return in another great sunset. It doesn’t get much better than this.