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February 18th – Brakes. Can’t keep stopping like this…

Thanks for all the suggestions for answers to the sudden loss of braking power issue. The disc is not greasy, the pads are dry and the disc is only 0.06mm down from new thickness – although that one really did make me think, so cheers for the suggestion.

I put in a set of Shimano pads. They worked fine once bedded in, without cleaning the disc. The old ones look glazed, and seems to be a grumble in online bike forums. 

I’ve decided to trial some aftermarket alternative pads to see how they fare in comparison – the red ones are Kool Stop, who are famed for old-style brake blocks, and the other set, with separate heatsinks are from Uberbike. The Kool Stops are at the pricey end of the market, the others, cheap. The interesting thing about the Uberbike ones is they come in synthetic, metal and semi-metal flavours, and you can buy the pad separate to the sink, so they’re cheaper.

Got the Kool Stops in for now. I’ll report back. Again, thanks for all the advice.

February 16th – On a misty, hazy mild and sunny lunchtime I crossed Kings Hill Park on a quick run out and stopped to gaze at Church Hill and the twin sisters of Wednesbury.

The view changes subtly though the years – new buildings replace old ones, trees grow and are felled, factories and buildings like the old Carcraft site fall in and out of use.

But overseeing all, those twin, beautiful spires, watching their industrial, urban flocks for over a century each.

This is a view that never ages.

February 15th – The day had been warm for the time of year, and the morning commute grey and foreboding but dry. During the day it rained, and on my late return in darkness, it was on a warm, April-like wet night after the rain.

The journey was unremarkable until I came across this fellow on the canal towpath near Silver Street. A large, healthy looking frog, clearly on the move.

Awakened by the warmth and seasonal imperative, it will be off to the water to mate, then another year of avoiding herons and other predators whilst doing little more than eating. Not a bad life, really.

Pretty soon, the roads and paths at night will be full of frogs and toads on the move, and there will sadly be carnage as many are lost under vehicle wheels. But I shall have my eagle eye out, and like this one, I will assist any I find to a place of safety.

It’s coming on spring. The snowdrops know it. The crocuses know it. The light knows it. My heart knows it, too.

I stop for amphibians. And occasionally, for no perceptible reason whatsoever.

February 11th – It was one of those days daylight seemed to avoid. I headed to the canal for a little inspiration, but none came. The grey just merged via a horrid, drizzly mist.

The sky was grey. The water was grey. The landscape was in shades of grey. I felt grey.

Days like these really try your resolve.

February 10th – After a cold and unpleasant morning commute, and subsequent trip into Birmingham during the day, I returned via the Cross City to Shenstone, my favourite of all night time railway station. Except that when I alighted, it wasn’t quite night yet; there were still fingers of daylight on the cloud-cover and the combination of natural and electric night was rather wonderful.

Glad I made it to Friday, was touch and go for a bit…

February 9th – A puzzle, for sure. Shimano metal sintered disc brake pads for hydraulic brakes: what happens to them that renders them useless beyond recovery?

Usually the rear set, all of a sudden they loose stopping power,  and often become screechy. They are not contaminated with oil, although it feels like it. Deep cleaning in the dishwasher doesn’t work. Ultrasonic cleaner with solvent doesn’t, either. Neither does surface grinding as much as .75mm off the surface.

It’s like they just glaze, and some structural or metallurgical change takes place, and that’s it. Only thing to recover stopping power is new pads. Or using them in the rain; when wet, and only then, do they stop better.

At £20 a set, this is not fun. Anyone any ideas please?

February 9th – The end of a long day. This week hasn’t been easy and I’ll be glad when Friday ends. The first couple of months of the year are always hard but January was particularly cruel. I’m welcoming the gradual return to light, and the generally brighter, colder weather is much better than the murky damp of last week.

Bu my goodness, work had been demanding of late.

Rolling downhill from Shire Oak to Brownhills with no energy left in the tank, I was exhausted, tired and hungry. I think I need a holiday. Already.

February 6th – A great, frosty and beautiful dawn which although out in, I didn’t manage to capture as I was running late and couldn’t stop. By sometime, though, the weather had turned – raining and windy, it was a horrid ride home. 

I stopped on the Anchor Bridge for a breather and to adjust my clothes. It was a truly horrible journey and I felt wet, cold and uncomfortable.

It’s not often the working day is bracketed by such wildly differing commutes. But I’m glad that one’s over, for sure.