Being forced to be a fair weather rider!

esamenoi

This is going here as the "your rants here" thread just got bleeped....

okay right we all know its cold yes? well right... my mum refused to let me bike to college today. So I had to get bloody bus and I HATE buses I really do. Just now my mum and then my dad go on and on for about 10 mins saying how dangerous it is to drive in this sort of weather and i don't know what its like meaning i shouldn't bike... since when did biking become the same as driving... since when did they know about bikes.... since when have they ridden a bike in the ice? so they have now both said im not to bike tomorrow, which means i need to get up an hour earlier just to get the bus, then i have to get it back... which drives me nuts cos by that time all the ice is gone or what ever.
oh and one other thing they said was that most likely i will fall off and smash my head open. if i dont do that i will get hit by a sliding car which mounts the pavement as it slides round the rounderbout...

so there you go...

always_tyred

Could you walk, and then cycle home?

Obviously, you'd have to walk all the way, even when you are out of sight.

biondino

Um, right now the ice (on non-main roads) is staying all day as it doesn't get warm enough to melt. If you have back roads as part of your journey then your parents are quite right to forbid you from cycling - check the various black ice spills on the road biking board as well as here. It's simply not worth it.

hamstrich

If it's any consolation, I haven't dared to go out on my bike for the last few days because of icy roads. As biondino says, in the cold spell we're going through, the ice never goes in some places. If you've ever ridden on black ice around a corner, you'll know how easy it is to come off. Two wheels are much less stable than four. Black ice got the better of me twice on the same day a few weeks ago, and I really wasn't going fast.

Just this once, maybe your parents are right

The complaining tadpole

Forecast was -4 for this morning. Debated whether to make my 10 mile commute at 5.30, but decided to anyway. Roads on estate were lethal but the back roads to work were OK. Got to work & my mate told me that his car temp was -9 :shock:

dirk_van_gently

I too cycled today, 8.5miles, my God it was cold. Just took it steady, and took no risks, which would how I would drive a car.
Car drivers/owners have such narrow minded ideas of what is safe and what isn't. They only ever think in car mode, if it's dangerous in a car it must be far more dangerous for any other mode of transport. Yet thousands die everyday on our roads in cars.
I use a CX bike with semi knobbly tyres, so perhaps not as scary as pure road tyres. Truth is it doesn't matter what you ride/drive, the same rules apply, gentle acceleration and braking, look and think well ahead, and if you do get into a slide, don't panic (which is easier said than done)

singlespeedexplosif

-7 this morning, wonderfully cold and crisp. Cars sliding all over the place. Slightest hint of cold weather and everyone in this country seems to forget how to drive. And I do love those people who just scrape a 4" square in the windscreen, that's enough to see out of, right?

Finished ride with proper arctic explorer-style beard icicles. Coffee tastes SO good after that..

squired

I can remember a few years ago when I was cycling to work on a cold morning. I was on my mtb, but some ice caused me to go down heavily. So, yes, icy roads can be deadly for cyclists. Having said that, after a long think about it this morning, I ended up cycling to work. However, I took extra care, especially on bends or busy roads.

Clever Pun

squired wrote:

I can remember a few years ago when I was cycling to work on a cold morning. I was on my mtb, but some ice caused me to go down heavily. So, yes, icy roads can be deadly for cyclists. Having said that, after a long think about it this morning, I ended up cycling to work. However, I took extra care, especially on bends or busy roads.

it's the only way to learn ...

when it's this cold and potentially wet/icy I've the turning circle of an arctic lorry

alex16zx

I use water left over from the kettle to get the ice off my windscreen. Luckily i put the windscreen wipers on straight away, because it only took about a minute for what was left in the corners to freeze right back over again. That was at about 7.30. I don't think I would have wanted to cycle today.

andy jackson

I wimped out this morning, and regretted it! it was the option of -7 and ploughing through snow on a bridle way or a warm car, what i forgot was that i would be sharing the roads with tossers who cant drive!

i sat in traffic and got scalped by people on bromptons! :shock:


andy

Hey Jax

prob best to wait for milder weather. Even when the frost/ice has gone from the main roads, the lesser used cycle lanes still seem to retain it all day!

Greggyr

I desperately miss commuting at the moment, but I can't justify taking the risk of riding when ice is everywhere.

I love riding when it's cold too....

Keep safe

Greg

iain_j

For some reason i got the London local news this morning on BBC (in Liverpool) and it seems like it's going to warm up over the next few days. I hope it does up here too, this morning was not nice. But i heard someone else say it's going to be even colder tomorrow.

Stewie Griffin

Clever Pun wrote:

squired wrote:

I can remember a few years ago when I was cycling to work on a cold morning. I was on my mtb, but some ice caused me to go down heavily. So, yes, icy roads can be deadly for cyclists. Having said that, after a long think about it this morning, I ended up cycling to work. However, I took extra care, especially on bends or busy roads.

it's the only way to learn ...

when it's this cold and potentially wet/icy I've the turning circle of an arctic lorry

Is that an Ice Road Trucker? :oops:

Its so cold at the moment that I got to work before the heater in my car had started working. Yes, Im going back to the sensible folk in cakestop right now :P

fatherted

-5 in South London this morning and I met my eldest son
up the road and we did the 14 mile commute together.
Cold but definitely better than a costly ( now £7.90 return ) crowded train.

esamenoi

Aye well I ride an XC, just look at the link in my sig. But yeah its supposed to be warming up. In fact I managed to get out and drop the seat and do some dirt jumping which was pretty cool.
The ice has nearly all cleared up now. Might be biking next week. But yeah Im a fairly confident rider... but its a good idea not to ride I suppose.
My mum also had the problem with the ice freezing back up on her windscreen just as she defrosted it

Cunobelin

I work on two sites, one requires the Brompton, (rough area - no secure parking) and the other enables the use of the Catrike.

In weather like this I take the latter option and then minibus between sites - adds an hour or so to the day, but I feel safer - caution is better then foolishness.