BrownhillsBob's #365daysofbiking

June 17th - I love lupins. These tall flowers grow wild along...

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:21:10 +0100

June 17th - I love lupins. These tall flowers grow wild along the canal towpaths and scrubs of Black Country canals, and set the cuts ablaze with purples, lilacs and pinks at this time of year. I don’t suppose they’re a native species, I suspect more of a formerly cultivated feral fancy from gardens. But they seem to thrive untended on the rough embankments and thickets alongside out waterways.

When I see lupins, I know it’s summer at last.

June 17th - At Spring Road station in Birmingham, I overheard to...

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 23:44:00 +0100

June 17th - At Spring Road station in Birmingham, I overheard to travellers discussing the white plates visible on the the edge of the opposite platform, down beside the track. They often baffle station users, and their usage is a bit obscure, really.

These are merely a datum survey marker for when the rails are replaced and the track relayed, which happens more often than one would imagine. Before the old track is moved, a surveyor uses a laser level or theodolite to measure the exact position of the rails, and their tilt angle if they have one. The rail height - plus any required offset - is set on the sliding knob, and is used as a datum for relaying new lines.

The legend proclaims this plate no 3; it’s 1105mm to the nearest rail, on the Up Main (UM) line. The cant (or tilt between the two rails to enable safer dynamic cornering of rolling stock) is 2mm.

The (just visible) +474 above the slider indicates that the level set is 474mm above the desired rail height (vertical offset) and a green knob says this is the level the rail should be at as it was designed, and may not currently be at that level. A red knob indicates the actual track position when the plate was installed.

Geometry like this is essential to rail engineers, who obsess over it. Maintaining correct geometry is of prime concern, prevents accidents and ensures trains fit under bridges, alongside platforms and don’t foul each other on bends.

You can often see these marker plates fixed to line side structures or electricity and signal masts.

June 16th - Not sure what the deal is here, to be honest. At...

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 01:21:32 +0100

June 16th - Not sure what the deal is here, to be honest. At Peggs Row, just on the corner of Coulter Lane and Farewell Lane in Burntwood, there’s a lovely cottage with a quite ornate chimney. I’ve noticed recently - after being taken in by it - that there’s a decoy bird of prey on the chimney pot, which looks like a peregrine. I’m not sure if it’s ornamental, or serves a purpose; I was fooled by the silhouette enough a couple of weeks ago to actually go for my camera, before realising the model raptor wasn’t real.

Nice to see it’s fixed down well. Can anyone shed any light on this?

June 16th - A ride out to Cannock Chase in the afternoon. The...

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 01:08:28 +0100

June 16th - A ride out to Cannock Chase in the afternoon. The weather was way better than forecast, with little wind and plenty of sun, although there was very light rain at one point. I tore around the Chase, loving having the forest apparently to myself, then hit the canal at Little Haywood and headed to Rugeley. From canal side gardens to boater cats lazing in the sun, it was truly beautiful. A peaceful, green, gorgeous sanctuary from traffic and speed. Lovely.

June 15th - Returning from the Canal Festival at Pelsall, I...

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 22:18:39 +0100

June 15th - Returning from the Canal Festival at Pelsall, I stopped in the sunshine to check out the canal side wild flowers. I’m interested in them all - the only one I recognise being Bullrush. I’m particularly interested in the blueish one bottom left. Think it might be an escaped ornamental. There’s certainly plenty in bloom right now, and it’s all wonderful.

June 15th - Yesterday, a local tweeter spotted something amusing...

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 21:59:46 +0100

June 15th - Yesterday, a local tweeter spotted something amusing outside our local newsagents in Brownhills. I posted it on my main blog. Passing this afternoon, I took stock myself. The original was still there, as well as these other three. Only one is spelled correctly. It’s been claimed that this is a joke. Is it? Marketing ploy? Not working for me.

I have no idea what’s going on here at all. It takes all sorts, I suppose…

June 14th - The roadside verges and hedgerows are an unusually...

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 00:50:35 +0100

June 14th - The roadside verges and hedgerows are an unusually rich delight at the moment. With the late spring and damp weather, they’re really lush and green right now, with beautiful wildflowers peppered through them. I can’t name the flowers here but both exist in abundance along the A461 Lichfield Road at Sandhills. If you can, take an hour or two out this weekend to go exploring the country lanes around here, which are a delight right now. It’s not until you study them closely, you realise the wild and enchanting beauty they contain.

June 14th - Headed out to Lichfield late afternoon, and battled...

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 00:34:00 +0100

June 14th - Headed out to Lichfield late afternoon, and battled the wind, fully loaded, on the way back. Returning down the Lichfield Road, I noticed the cones were out at Springhill for the construction of a new island junction for Springhill Cemetery, currently under construction to the right of the picture beyond the houses.

This has been delayed quite some time now, and has been locally controversial. it’ll be interesting to see how the development progresses.

June 13th - I took a diversion from my usual route to Darlaston...

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 17:17:25 +0100

June 13th - I took a diversion from my usual route to Darlaston and hopped on the canal, which was lovely, despite the wet weather. As I passed by the old mill at Pleck, I noticed that an old bike was still taunting me from the open side of the goods hoist. There used to be two in there, but one has disappeared. It still looks like an old steed - note the sprung saddle - but it seems to be fitted with triple derailleur gears. It might be a bit of a mongrel, as although the wheels look chunky, the frame looks quite dainty. Whatever it is, it’s such a shame to see it trapped there in the tower, like some velocipedian Rapunzel.

June 13th - At Birchills, on the way to Darlaston, I spotted...

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 01:28:00 +0100

June 13th - At Birchills, on the way to Darlaston, I spotted coot chicks. They’re impossibly cute. I could have taken them home.

June 12th - An awful commute from a weather point of view. The...

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 01:16:34 +0100

June 12th - An awful commute from a weather point of view. The wind was dreadful in the morning, and the rain caught me on my return. I only took photos in Tyseley, in a rainstorm. Everything was wet; the station, the commuters, the trains. I felt miserable, and didn’t enjoy the journey at all - yet strangely, the Tyseley photos have an odd, lonely kind of charm.

It’s difficult to love the weather this week.

June 11th - What goes up… must come down. It’s been a few...

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 01:33:00 +0100

June 11th - What goes up… must come down. It’s been a few years now that we’ve had two TV masts at Sutton Coldfield. Normally just one, the second was erected before the digital switchover, to act as a temporary stand-in while the main one was increased in height and re-equipped for the digital age. The upgraded transmitter has now been functional for 12 months or so, and the substitute - built on the foundation of an older one - is being dismantled.

To achieve this, a crane beam is bolted to the penultimate section, the upper being unbolted. When it’s free, the upper part is lifted clear, swung around 90 degrees, and lowered to the ground.The technicians who work up there have balls of steel, and very large pay packets. they deserve every penny.

June 11th - Back in Tyseley, and a change in the weather; it was...

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 01:25:12 +0100

June 11th - Back in Tyseley, and a change in the weather; it was dark and overcast, but rather warm as I dashed to the station. The changeable weather was reflected in the view of Birmingham City Centre from the railway bridge. Patches of light, and dark, dark clouds, threatening rain. I love this view, and everything it contains; it is Birminghame for me. The train tracks, trees, transmission towers and pub clock, giving way to office block and skyscraper.

Birmingham is a patchwork.

June 10th - Cycling over to the supermarket in Burntwood, I...

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 16:14:53 +0100

June 10th - Cycling over to the supermarket in Burntwood, I surprised this lady grazing on the scrub on the Sportway, which just goes to show that even at 4pm on a bright, sunny day it’s important to be vigilant for red deer on the Chasetown Bypass and other roads around the heaths of our area. Visibly annoyed with me for disturbing her lunch, she looked at me scornfully, then trotted off casually towards the rugby pitch. A wonderful sight.

June 10th - A day of pottering around on errands and short...

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 16:09:58 +0100

June 10th - A day of pottering around on errands and short journeys, during which I spotted these lovely huge poppies growing in the hedgerow in Hall Lane, Walsall Wood. They look too large to be native, and think they must be garden escapees. But whatever their origin, they’re very, very beautiful. A joy to the heart.

June 9th - Sad to note that like other towers in the backbone...

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 16:03:24 +0100

June 9th - Sad to note that like other towers in the backbone microwave network, Turner’s Hill mast in Rowley Regis is looking very bare now. The BT Tower in Birmingham now has next to no antenna on it, and No Man’s Heath and Pye Green are also looking sparse too. Turner’s Hill has only a few left, and like the others, are symbolic monuments to a past communications era, a lapsed cold war and the increasing ubiquity of the internet. I loved these installations, they fascinate and haunt me, but like so much cold war technology, their time has now gone.

June 9th - An odd little bridge on a bend in the Wyrley and...

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 15:56:42 +0100

June 9th - An odd little bridge on a bend in the Wyrley and Essington Canal at Wednesfield. Faced in roughcast and painted salmon pink, Devils Elbow Bridge is curious on a number of levels, not least the peculiar name. One would imagine it’s due to the bend in the canal. Anyone got any ideas?

June 8th - From Lichfield, out to Croxall, Edingale, Harlaston...

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 14:49:11 +0100

June 8th - From Lichfield, out to Croxall, Edingale, Harlaston and back via Hopwas. The countryside is a riot of colour and biordsong right now. The meadows are stunning with dandeliions and buttercups, oilseed rape in still flowering strongly, and all the fresh foliage glows in the sunshine.

I love the view of the wind turbine from Huddlesford: such a graceful machine.

June 8th -A sunny, but windy summer afternoon. I headed out to...

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 14:42:00 +0100

June 8th -A sunny, but windy summer afternoon. I headed out to Lichfield and the east Staffordshire plains, but on the way, I stopped to take a look around Chasewater. I haven’t seen so many little boats on the water for years, and it was great to see. Both the sailing club and watersports club were busy on the water. So different to this time last year, when there was still very little water in the reservoir. A fine thing indeed.

June 7th - The new wakeboard facility seems to be undergoing...

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 21:30:34 +0100

June 7th - The new wakeboard facility seems to be undergoing testing at Chasewater - at least, the first line is now up and in use. I hope this will bring folk to Chasewater, and it certainly looks like fun. I’m actually surprised at how unobtrusive it is, really, considering the fuss some folk made about it. Had hoped the pier would be in for a bit more TLC than it seems to have received, but it’s still nice to see it in use again.

I wish the operators well in their new venture. Welcome to Chasewater, folks!