May 9th – The journey home was a tad challenging. I elected to return from Blake Street, to best employ the strong wind that had built up. When I got off the train, the rain was horizontal. Even with waterproofs and wrapped up, it was vile. I’m just glad it was mostly blowing me home, and not against me.
Mill Green looked good, though, and this rain should provoke a growth spurt in the flora.
Let’s hope for a better day tomorrow.
April 18th – The evening sunlight was gorgeous tonight. Late home from work, I’d been blown to the station in the morning by the most incredible tailwind, hammering 40+ miles per hour down Shire Oak Hill and making Shenstone a whole 5 minutes quicker than usual. My return from Walsall in the evening was similarly assisted, but to a lesser degree as the wind had subsided somewhat.
It was a beautiful ride, even if it deal feel a little chillier than the last few days.
April 16th – For some weeks now, I’ve been perplexed by the appearance of what seemed like odd, helical antenna on the roofs of tall buildings around urban areas. I kept seeing them from the train. I grew quite interested in them, and decided to find out what they were. I tried to find one to photograph, and it took me over a week to do so. At one stage, they were so elusive I thought I must have dreamt their whole existence.
Today, I spotted two or three where I thought I’d seen them before – on top of office blocks in Birmingham City Centre. I eagerly took these pictures, posted them on social media, and asked what they were. It turns out they’re not antenna at all, but helical wind turbines.
They are micro generators. The reason I couldn’t find them is that when spinning, you can’t see them.
I’m fascinated – Cheers to The Aardvark, Paul Groves and Barry Carpenter, amongst others, who helped me out.
April 3rd – The day looked splendid from the other end, too. Tired of the relentless wind, I hopped onto the canal to tack through it a little in semi-shelter. You can tell that spring is really in the offing now. Things are a shade more green; the sun a touch warmer; nature just that wee bit more active.
I love the way the land falls away from the canal at Clayhanger Bridge; the picture looks lopsided, even though it’s level. Now the nights are light again, things are really opening out, and it’s great to be cycling home in such strong, beautiful light.
Darkness has reached it’s end.
February 21st – It’s been cold, and the wind has been evil. Not particularly strong, but it’s from the east and is lazy; it doesn’t so much blow around you as straight through. Tired tonight after a hard day at work, I really couldn’t face the prospect of a headwind all the way home. So I got the train to Shenstone, and cycled back home from there.
I stopped for a picture just at the bottom of Shire Oak Hill. I haven’t cycled this route much this winter. The wind was behind me, but it was still cold. This hill doesn’t get any less steep either, but the lights are gorgeous in the dusk.
Tonight, this hill gave me a very hard time. Shire Oak Hill is an old adversary, and like all old adversaries, life wouldn’t be the same without it.
January 3rd – after a rough morning (the stomach still not giving me any respite, to be honest) I perked up in the afternoon and again braved the wind. Since my range and energy reserve were limited, I tacked round through Walsall Wood and let the wind blow me up through Holly Bank and Shire Ridge to Shire Oak Nature reserve. I hadn’t been here since spring, and the character had completely changed. Incredibly, the gorse was just passing through the far side of it’s second flowering, and the bogs and pools in the hollows of this former sand and gravel quarry had once again been enlivened by the rains. The thing that impressed me most, however, was the birdlife.
December 23rd – Quite simply horrible. One of the nastiest days of bad weather for a good while, and on a day when I had stuff to do. Taking a shortcut over Chasewater, the driving rain, wind and air of desertion made for a very black mood, which worsened somewhat later in the day when I dropped, and fatally wounded my trusty Panasonic camera. A duff day all round, but at least on the positive side, Jeffrey’s Swag and Chasewater seem to be filling a little. Heres to better times, and a more careful grip on the camera.
November 29th – hopefully, I’ve finished with the train commuting for a while and am now working in the Black Country for a few weeks… I miss these commutes. Today though, was hell. I was headed due southwest into a very strong, insistent headwind. It took 65 minutes to do a journey that usually takes only 45. I was fully loaded, and at full tilt downhill under Navvie’s Bridge on the A461 Lichfield Road I was topping a heady 8.5 mph. The weather was grim and overcast, but the rain didn’t arrive until mid afternoon. Setting out home after the rains, the sunset was incredible but very, very short. Here near Wednesbury, the light glistened off the wet roads and made everything precious.
October 3rd – This is summer’s last gasp for 2011. The air was warm, the sun was out. There was an evil wind, though, and the dying leaves had been stripped from the trees. I was a hard battle getting home, with a big old bastard of a westerly, but here at Little Aston Forge, it was still beautiful. Soon, this lane will be barren and dun-coloured again. The light will change and the nights will close in. Until then, I resolve to enjoy every minute, as long as it lasts, headwind or not.
June 4th – Sadly, a day full of other commitments and not enough time for much cycling. I did manage an hour out to Lichfield for some shopping, though. I headed up the canal to Lichfield Road, and in the process noticed that the devil wind was back, this time blowing from the east. The day was warm and clear, however, and the view to Hammerwich from the canal near Sandfields was as gorgeous as ever.
If you look closely, you can see the Hammerwich Windmill, Hammerwich Church and Lichfield Cathedral.
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