Tag: tired

August 15th – Returning by train because I was short of time, I cycled from Blake Street through the backlanes of Footherley and Stonnall on a beautiful, slightly chilly evening. My energy reserves were very low, and the ride was hard going, which can only have been due to the recent ill-health.

Still, the sun set fire a glorious golden hour and the fields were rendered beautiful. Even the horse chestnuts hit by leaf miners were gorgeous in the late sunlight.

Is that autumn’s breath I can feel on my shoulder?

May 6th – I got back to Brownhills at sunset, but couldn’t get anywhere to get a good view of it, sadly; but it did look nice from the canal over Clayhanger Common. 

It was nice to be home; I was worn out. Some days, you don’t know which way up you are by the end of them. Your legs turn the pedals, and your body knows which way to go, but mentally, you’re knackered.

February 19th – Snatched quickly whilst stopped at the lights, on the commute home 13 hours later. The ring road in Walsall is almost deserted, and it’s raining. Everything is wet, and colours blend and blur in the night. I’m tired. My eyes are sore from fatigue. But the wind was behind me, it was pleasingly warm, and to see the beauty of the wet, urban kaleidoscope was a minor but tangible joy.

February 13th – I had another stop to make on the way home – Asda. I was so bleary I got scant few of the things I was supposed to get, and if you ever want to know what a supermarket looks like after a riot, do visit Asda in Walsall late on Friday night. It was like a scene from The Day After. Complete with the walking dead – me.

I poured myself liquid down the marketplace, and the lights of the deserted Bridge snagged my attention; the night-time workers were about – posties, shopfitters, sign people – but nobody else. The light, the colour, the wet surfaces. In a moment, this place was precious.

I smiled to myself, and rode slowly, inexorably home. I remember very little of the journey, except it took me 45 minutes.

December 23rd – Tired, horrid day, washed out. The end of a working day. Heavy with a headache, buffeted by the wind, and finding the roads hostile despite the lighter traffic, I headed home from work for the last time in 2014.

I whipped the camera out as I waited on the lights at the Arboretum Junction, and as I usually do, watched the traffic move past in a blur.

Only the clocktower and the traffic light remain constant. 

I was glad to get home. Glad to finish the year. And so, a holiday, family time and fun, and then a new year.

That’ll do; that’ll do.

December 16th – A grim return. I’d been in Birmingham on a late run, and as I left the train at Shenstone the rain was getting quite heavy. Without waterproof trousers, I got soaked. It wasn’t a fun ride, to be honest, but I did realise upon cresting Shire Oak Hill that I hadn’t noticed cycling up it. That’s the sign of familiarity, I think.

Come on Christmas, I’m knackered…

November 14th – After a late night, an very early start riding into the wind in horrendous rain. It was probably the worst ride for years. The waterproofs kept me mostly dry, but I arrived drained and down in the dumps.

Out and about popping to the cafe in the morning after the rain stopped, it was nice to see the last remnants of autumn hanging on – bright red, rain-glossed berries and beautiful yellow oak leaves cheered me no end; as did the smell of wet, fresh earth, making a pleasant change from the normal metallic scent of the Black Country.

After a good butty and a bit of space, the day improved.

July 10th – Mission complete. It’s been a hard few days working on a rush job, and I finally handed it on now, and the crisis has passed. I returned home via Stonnall in the late evening light, almost too tired to cycle up Shire Oak Hill.

Cresting this hill – always, always hard work from any direction – is a personal nemesis and when tired, it’s punishing. But once at the top, it’s pretty much a freewheel downhill to food, rest, a good cup of tea and the welcome of family.

It’s over, for now. A great relief.

July 8th – Working late. Exhausted, with very sore eyes, I hit Shenstone station just as darkness was falling. Pleased to note this camera takes very decent handheld shots in low light. This rural station is a long-time muse of mine, and I find the station building and environment fascinating, particularly at night.

In high summer like this, working late and catching the dark is a rare treat, and despite my bleariness, I did try and savour the light…