I dug my bike out of the shed over Easter. I’ve always enjoyed cycling but in recent years arthritic joints have limited my activities somewhat. Anyway, I’m not ready to give up just yet and current petrol prices focus the attention a bit too. I’m back to work tomorrow so I dodged the showers today and went for a spin while I still had time and energy. For me the beauty of cycling is the ability to cover some ground whilst remaining more connected to the environment than in a car. It’s easier to explore forgotten corners or ‘unofficial’ zones of a city on two wheels too. That makes it ideal for photography so I took the camera, - here are some of the results…
My route took me past two sites that demonstrate the changing economic landscape of Leicester and the nation as a whole. Wolsey and Donisthorpe were once big names in Leicester’s clothing and textiles industry and occupied premises that were major local landmarks. Today they remain (for now) as evocative ruins, standing testament to the dominance of globalisation and the loss of a manufacturing tradition. Much of the Wolsey site has dissapeared now but the beautiful Donisthorpe building is still an important landmark by the river. In recent years large swathes of Leicester’s industrial architecture have been levelled to make way for new developments. Generally, these follow the pragmatic £ per square metre aesthetic of much contemporary architecture. Occasionally, we get something novel like the organic S.F. styling of the National Space Centre.
Hopefully my knees still work tomorrow. If I can keep cycling this year there’s a chance I’ll reduce my waistline a bit too…
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