Images

April 1st – This journal is three years old today. Three years since Renee Van Baar cajoled me into doing #30daysofbiking. I’ve cycled every day in that three years except two days when I was too ill to ride a bike during about of food poisoning over New Year, 2012. That’s a 1094 days when I’ve been out and taken a picture or recorded a little video of the day’s ride. Thanks for joining me, and for all the likes, shares and retweets, as well as the excellent and knowledgable reader comments..

I have no idea why folk like this thing, but they seem quite fond of it, and I am too, for it’s made me look at something I do in a different way, and it’s also made me look more closely at what’s around me in my day-to-day life.

Cheers to everyone for being stoker on the tandem.

The cat isn’t impressed. He barely opened his eyes to display his utter contempt as I passed through Alumwell on my way back from work. I stopped to let oncoming traffic through, and he peered at me sleepily. I thought he was rather special, so disgusting him even further, I took a quick picture.

March 31st – I hopped on the canal to check out if the swans were nesting yet at the new pool at Clayhanger, but I couldn’t get a close enough look properly. As I pressed on homewards to Brownhills, I noticed that the land where the Bayley House towerblock used to stand near Catshill Junction is being prepared for the newbuild development planned there, with plant clearly operating and equipment arriving.

This land has been idle for a decade this May. It’s good to see it come back into use.

March 27th – Not a great photo, but the light was terrible as I headed home. This curious matt-brown box with a bright white light on top puzzles many folk heading east towards Chuckery on the New Ring Road in Walsall, just by Queen Mary’s School. It’s an environmental monitoring pod which takes climatic and and air quality measurements, and logs them. It features a host of sensors – the white light is a particulate analyser, shining light through the air and measuring the floating contaminants. There will be wind, temperature, humidity, and various chemical sensors humming away in what is actually a vehicle trailer. The triangular cowl on the front is covering the towing hitch.

This is a fairly expensive piece of kit, being used to tell us what anyone in Walsall already knows; the air quality here is terrible – particularly next to a badly designed junction where traffic is often static.

No shit, Sherlock.

March 26th – I cycled to work in bright sunshine, but it felt bitterly cold, although I guess it wasn’t, really. Since it was so nice I took a quick loop of Kings Hill Park in Darlaston. It’s a credit to the people who work hard to maintain it. The spring flowers are gorgeous, the planters are shaping up well and the the place is clean and tidy.

It’s such a shame that Oak Park in Walsall Wood can’t get a fraction of this kind of dedication. A real shame indeed.

March 25th – Further up Green Lane, I glanced to my left as I winced and grunted my way over the Black Cock bridge, which was harder work than usual. This solitary house, possibly at the end of what may have been Pepper Alley years ago, continues to fascinate me. Back behind here was once a sewage farm and the municipal mortuary. Today, it’s just fields and scrub.

It wasn’t really near sunset, but it was dark, grey and damp. Like October. 

Tomorrow will be a better day.

March 25th – The commute to work had been wet and quite, quite horrid, but the wind was more or less favourable. The roads were greasy, the traffic was mad. It wasn’t a hugely enjoyable journey.

Later in the morning, I felt rather ill, and was resigning myself to getting a lift home if I didn’t feel better. Thankfully, sweet tea, a lie down and some food sorted me out, but on leaving work during a break in the rain, I just floored it and sped home as fast as I could. I just wanted to be back, safe and sound in the dry and warm.

I noticed in Green Lane near Jockey Meadows the mist was rising off the marsh, and everywhere was sodden again. This is one of the very few places in life I find intimidating in it’s desolation. I felt it this evening. I have no idea why it makes me feel like this. 

I took a photo, then pressed on homewards.

March 20th – It’s been a very, very tough week, and I was glad of the peace and quite when I found myself having to visit Telford. Cycling to Priorslee on the cycleway, spring is on the way there, too; this line of blossom (probably blackthorn, but maybe wild plum – thanks, Linda!) along the embankment was impressive. Spring is really here now, and I’m loving it, even on this dull day.