There is always a moment towards the end of winter when something shifts. It is hard to explain exactly what changes, but riders know the feeling straight away. The sun lingers a little longer, the air feels softer, and for the first time in months it genuinely feels like spring might be on the way.
For many motorcyclists that first decent day of the year means finally getting the bike out again. I am lucky in that I never completely stop riding through winter. My CRF300L keeps me mobile when the roads are cold, damp and occasionally dusted with salt. It is the bike that takes the rougher side of winter riding in its stride.
I know plenty of riders who prefer to keep their bikes away from salty roads though, and I cannot blame them. I do exactly the same with my Triumph Scrambler 1200 XC. She stays tucked away when the weather is at its worst, waiting patiently for the roads to clear and the sun to make a more regular appearance.
That is why the first few warmer days of the year always feel like such a relief.
Today was one of those days.
Nothing particularly ambitious, just a gentle ride out to stretch the Scrambler’s legs. After months of short winter runs on the CRF, simply wheeling the Triumph out of the garage felt like an occasion. The engine fired up with that familiar note and within a few minutes I was rolling through some of the older parts of the city.
As I rode into the mother town of Burslem, things became a little unusual. Several roads were blocked off and there were barriers in places where you would normally be able to ride straight through. At first it looked like roadworks, but the presence of crew vehicles and equipment told a different story.
It turns out parts of the town are currently being used as a filming location for a new television drama. According to reports in the local press, production company Kudos has been filming in and around the Queen’s Theatre and nearby streets. The company previously filmed scenes for the series This Town in Middleport and Stoke-on-Trent.
According to the local press – The project itself has been kept fairly quiet, but it is believed to be a six-part drama set in Britain in the early 1950s. Reports suggest it forms part of a new chapter in the wider Peaky Blinders story, with the show’s creator Steven Knight and actor Cillian Murphy involved as executive producers.
Seeing Burslem turned into a film set actually felt quite fitting. The town’s historic buildings and industrial architecture already carry a sense of the past, so it does not take much imagination to picture the streets stepping back several decades.
With a few roads closed I ended up riding through neighbouring streets instead, which suited the mood of the ride perfectly.
Some of these roads feel almost forgotten. Old brick buildings line the streets, their surfaces weathered by decades of rain, smoke and neglect. To many people they probably look tired or overlooked, but to me they make perfect backdrops.
I have always enjoyed photographing my bikes against traditional brickwork. There is something about the texture and character of older buildings that frames a motorcycle beautifully. The Scrambler especially seems to belong in that sort of setting. The styling of the bike and the worn brick walls behind it just seem to work together.
Modern architecture can make a great backdrop as well. Clean glass and steel buildings give a completely different feel to a photograph and can highlight the sharp lines of a bike. But older buildings carry a kind of quiet magic. They have history written into their walls, and that character adds something special to a simple photograph.
In the end today’s ride was nothing remarkable in terms of distance. Just a short pootle through familiar streets, a few photographs and a reminder of why those first mild days of the year matter so much.
The first ride that feels like spring does not have to be an epic trip. Sometimes it is simply about getting back out on the bike, feeling the sun on your back and realising that winter is finally losing its grip.
And after months of cold, damp and darkness, that is more than enough.
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