March 11th – A nasty graunching from the rear brake on the way home was severe enough to have me check it out as soon as I got home. Much to my shock, I found the stock, soft resin-organic brake pads in my rear calliper were just a bit worn.
Ahem.
The new sintered metal ones are at the rear, the ones I took out in front. That’s bad. Should have spotted it sooner – luckily I don’t seem to have damaged the disc.
Never take your eyes of those essential maintenance tasks, people!
March 11th – The Newtown One. Like the Scarlett Pimpernell, they seek her here, they seek her there. Always within snatching distance, but always evading the grasp.
This bird has a safe roost, free food and company back home. But she appears to prefer contemplating silently life’s complexities at the canal side.
The saga continues…
March 9th – Coming back to Brownhills on the wettest and greyest of evenings, I stopped to take a call at the top of Clayhanger Lane on Lindon Road. The traffic was terrible, it was cold and the rain was penetrating.
It seems a world away from the warmth of a few weeks ago.
Hopefully, spring won’t be far away – and we can at least, hope for warmer rain…
Have to say, if the road surface gets any worse on Lindon Road they’ll have to give up sweeping it and plough it instead.
March 8th – All I can say is they must be from outside the borough.
March 7th – I don’t often ride through The Butts in Walsall, although it’s a lovely place. The tightly packed streets of traditional terraces are lined with parked cars, and any ride through this fascinating place is marred by conflict with other traffic, which is a great shame as I miss scenes like this.
Stopping to wait for my companion caught up further back, I looked up Borneo Street to see a perspective sunset, perfectly replete with TV aerials, chimneys and the ghostly white LED street lights.
I could really love this place, were it not such a challenge to cycle around.
March 6th – On roads across Cannock Chase, an experiment is underway. These wooden staves with white bags on top are a trial to see if they reduce vehicle-deer road collisions in the area.
It was discovered accidentally in the US that deer were apparently deterred by the sight of a white bag on a post, although nobody knows why, deer experts who’ve tried this have found it appears to work – it will be very interesting to see if the tactic works here, too.
My overriding feeling is the deer will probably get used to it, and they have to cross the roads somewhere, so I can’t see much long term benefit, but it’s a very interesting experiment and I salute the rangers for trying it out.
March 6th – Feeling better, I headed for the Chase for the first time in ages. It was very cold, and when I set out, the wind was against me as I rode to Chasewater.
On the way, I passed the escapee Mrs. Muscovy, the Newtown One, still defying all attempts to return her to the flock.
March 2nd – That old British adage ‘If you don’t like the weather, wait ten minutes’ was never truer than today. I’d nipped out of work into Moxley on an errand, and the heavens opened – not with rain, as it had been periodically most of the morning, but huge, huge snowflakes.
I wanted to enjoy it. Riding was impossible as it was blinding. It was also rather wet. I took refuge in a cafe, ordered a brew and something to eat, and sat by the window until it cleared, just watching the snow fall.
Within 90 minutes or so, there was no trace it had even snowed. I wouldn’t have missed that for the world. There’s something very loose, transitory and impermanent about the weather of late. Not sure I like it much.
March 1st – Another grey day, but it felt warmer. At dinner time, I had to venture back into Walsall from Darlaston and took the canal, which was a mistake: the works to relay the towpath have made sections not impassible but hard going.
Passing over the Bentley Mill Way Aqueduct, I looked down at the works below. Running three months late, the road has been closed and totally relaid – but the main bottleneck that is the narrowness of the bridge I’m standing on – has not been touched. I’m at a loss here to understand how anything other than the footpath and possibly drainage has been improved.
Sometimes it’s hard to see the benefit in road schemes until they operate in practice. I hope that’s the case here.
February 29th – On the return, I felt leaden. Clearly still not recovered, my stamina was non-existent and riding was hard, painful work. This cold has really got into my bones and joints and I ache.
Rounding the bend on the canal by Barrow Close in Walsall Wood I noted it was past 6pm and still not really dark, but the lights of the houses looked welcoming and warm in the half-light.
They made me want to be home and warm, and out of the cold and exertion – so I remounted and undertook the final slog home with grim, but renewed determination.
This cold can sod off.
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