One of the problems of trying to combine working (I have a long commute) and a reasonably heavy training schedule is that in the winter on weekdays I have to make the choice between sitting in the garage on the turbo trainer watching iplayer or braving the dark. Sometimes going out is horrendous: dark, cold, misty, rainy nights out on the bike followed by 30 minutes sat in front of a radiator until the feeling comes back to fingers and toes, and the constant feeding of the washing machine with manky kit.
Sometimes, though, going out in the dark provides a very special experience.
Tonight, I went out to do some hills on my single speed, starting at 7.30pm. It was dark and very cold (about -3C ). Climbing up the German cutting from the house, my breath was making huge clouds, lit up in the beam from my head-torch as the wheels crunched through the frost already forming on the ground. Cresting the hill at Brocton Coppice I saw the first of many deer, their eyes catching the light from my head-torch, staring back at me in small groups. The advantage of being on my own and on a relatively quiet single speed is that the deer don’t seem worried and stay put rather than bouncing away as they seem to in daylight.
After a quick lap of Oldacre I rode along the ridge looking out over the Sherbrook Valley, dropping my light to its lowest setting and taking in the moonlit vistas, having Cannock Chase seemingly to myself. After dropping down to cross the valley I splashed through the stream crossing, steam rising from the water, before climbing the other side in several places (getting in my hill reps) before cruising down the eastern ridge of the valley, this time with my light off, taking in the Chase in all its glory. Eventually I had to stop and just hoover up the views. There was a glow from Birmingham to the south on the horizon, looking a little like a sunset, far off streetlights twinkled through the forest as it swayed in the wind and the moon and stars above glowed brightly.
After another descent into the valley it was time for one more climb backup to Brocton Coppice, the eyes of rabbits darting across the grass as I startled them after crossing the stream again. Out of breath at the Coppice I saw lots more deer in small groups, this time quite close. But the highlight of the evening, after dropping down towards home, was a solitary stag with huge antlers standing majestically grazing on a small deer lawn. As I approached he looked up and me, stared for a while then just continued his munching, I can’t have been more than 10 metres from him…..
I wanted to find a photo on the internet to accompany this post. Unfortunately Googling ‘stags at night’ didn’t get me photos of deer!