Black Ice

secretsam

Now I know why it's so feared, first corner, black ice, off we go...massive spill, lucky no cars around, elbow and hip both badly bruised and back jolted, possibly smacked my head on the ground as well, lucky I had on lid, etc.

Am lying in bed feeling very sorry for myself and in considerable pain. Hip has bruise the size of a tennis ball .

Hope every one else got in safe, take it easy out there.

roger_merriman

yup it's very nasty even on foot it can catch one, luckly it normally doesn't form large patches you normally get some air under at some point.

phil_ss1

Hi,

Best wishes for a speedy recovery

I chickened out this morning, very bad black ice. Going on holiday on Thursday so didn't want to run the risk of injury - wife would be non too pleased!

Phil

phil_ss1

Hi,

Best wishes for a speedy recovery

I chickened out this morning, very bad black ice. Going on holiday on Thursday so didn't want to run the risk of injury - wife would be non too pleased!

Phil

phil_ss1

Hi,

Best wishes for a speedy recovery

I chickened out this morning, very bad black ice. Going on holiday on Thursday so didn't want to run the risk of injury - wife would be non too pleased!

Phil

dsmiff

Did the same 4 weeks ago and my hip is still swollen and my knee is still not right - teeth are fixed though!

Have barely cycled to work since - combination of pain and not feeling confident anymore when it is freezing.

And to top it all Llandegla was shut this weekend so I couldn’t even go out on the mountain bike – feeling really unfit right now!

I wish this weather would end soon!!!

iain_j

Ouch! Get well soon!

Glad to hear Llandegla was shut - I was getting a bit complacent over the weekend, it was lovely in Liverpool, much milder than last week and no ice, and I was thinking of going out Llandegla/Llangollen way. Glad I didn't now.

gradiric

Yup, know how you're feeling. Went down twice myself a fortnight ago, once on each side just to make sleeping even more difficult - and my mate also went down. Both times we were cycling on a flat, straight piece of road, but went down with no hint of a warning. Hope your cuts/bruises heal quickly and you haven't destroyed your bike or clothing...

secretsam

Thanks for all the best wishes, ended up in A&E getting checked out (to convince employers I wasn't skiving :evil: ) - x-rayed for suspected fractured hip but luckily was OK. Now have many painkillers and doctors orders to take it easy for a few days. Hip sore and back has joined in (old war wound) but on the mend.

Of course, today's a glorious sunny day where I am, perfect for riding...

davbay

I went down on black ice 3 weeks ago. Fortunatly I was going very slow but in a flash I was on the deck. Right hip still a bit sore. Thats twice I hurt my hip - first time was going too fast in the wet and turning - inexperience. I've decided from now on that I'm slipping knee pad inserts into my leggings to cover my hips.

My job is riding Fire engines and I'd be off for months if I broke my hip/femur. I might look like a goon but I'd be so angry if I broke my hip having had 2 lucky escapes.

Get well soon

curlew

davbay wrote:

..I'm slipping knee pad inserts into my leggings to cover my hips..:

I use a pair of goalkeeper shorts, probably not as effective as knee pads but the extra padding in the hip area might help reduce road rash

greg66_tri_v2.0

SecretSam wrote:

Now I know why it's so feared, first corner, black ice, off we go...massive spill, lucky no cars around, elbow and hip both badly bruised and back jolted, possibly smacked my head on the ground as well, lucky I had on lid, etc.

Am lying in bed feeling very sorry for myself and in considerable pain. Hip has bruise the size of a tennis ball .

Hope every one else got in safe, take it easy out there.

Sounds a lot like what I did this morning.

Crossing a small roundabout that I hadn't had to slow for, flick to the right as I pass the apex of the roundabout, and rear wheel goes flying to the left, putting me on my right hip and elbow, spinning round like a ragdoll with the rear wheel whizzing round.

I think it was frost rather than black ice. Small consolation. Fortunately no cars around - it's a quiet road.

A few scuffs on the shifter and the rear mech, ripped bar tape, but otherwise the bike's OK. Some repairable rips to my kit, some I'm just going to have to live with (eg a Helly thermal top with a new hole melted into it at the elbow.

A good lesson in "if you can't afford to crash it, don't ride it.". The cost of replacing the ripped kit (lovingly acquired at end of season sales and ebay over the years) with the same new stuff would be > £400. And a new rear mech and shifters? Probably another £250. Ow ow ow. Think I'll leave it all as it is for now. Needle & thread fix where required.

Ironically, my now dead-to-be-replaced-under-warranty frame survived completely unscathed. Go figure.

antfly

I came off twice too,in December.You get no warning at all,one second you are riding along happily next second you are sliding along the ground.That was enough for me,no road cycling when there is a chance of ice.It`s a good idea to get out of the road as quickly as possible,though,rather than lie there feeling sorry for yourself.

lost_in_thought

Ouch, sympathies to all of you. I had a bit of a moment on some frost this morning, fortunately I was going very slowly and managed to catch it before I actually fell over!

secretsam

antfly wrote:

It`s a good idea to get out of the road as quickly as possible,though,rather than lie there feeling sorry for yourself.

Wasn't sorry for self - was dazed, surprised and frankly not 100% conscious...

vorsprung

I've come off twice in the last week on ice
Once it was such a large bit of ice that no harm done coz I just whizzed across it
Second time most of me landed on damp grass and snow
Both times I'd slowed up as the spidey senses were tingling

Second time I lost my £8 tescos torch backup light which is a bit annoying.

The comments from Greg66 above about doing hundreds of pounds of damage don't apply, I commute on a very old and rusty single speed.

itboffin

Greg66 wrote:

Crossing a small roundabout that I hadn't had to slow for, flick to the right as I pass the apex of the roundabout, and rear wheel goes flying to the left, putting me on my right hip and elbow, spinning round like a ragdoll with the rear wheel whizzing round.

Pah! I have no sympathy MTFU or fit a pair of these you girl :P

Feltup

Swap the wheels for ice skates and I might be interested!

lost_in_thought

I fell in a puddle this morning that I did. It was a bit embarrassing. I thought it was road, turns out it was a puddle with a thin layer of ice over the top of it.

So I did some elegant slipping and swearing before the ice broke and I got my feet wet.

I have to say I was quite glad I was on the flats, the SPDs on the rubbish roadie are rusty and very stiff.

antfly

Sorry but getting your feet wet doesn`t really count as falling off,however upsetting it may be.You`ve got to hit the deck with your body or head first,usually a knee and an elbow.

lost_in_thought

No, indeed not! Which is fortunate.

biondino

Falling on one's bum has a certain amusing class to it, plus it sets off deeply seated memories of being a kid and falling on your 4rse with regularity. For me, anyway.

dirk_van_gently

Managed a very graceless dismount yesterday, Just sort of jumped off as the bike hit the deck, got my toe stuck between the handlebar and lever, and bent the lever, it was off road so no other damage apart from felling a pillock.

iain_j

Dirk Van Gently wrote:

Managed a very graceless dismount yesterday, Just sort of jumped off as the bike hit the deck, got my toe stuck between the handlebar and lever, and bent the lever, it was off road so no other damage apart from felling a pillock.

That's impressive

The Chingford Skinhead

A question for you more seasoned cyclists - does there ever come a point when you hit ice and you're reactions become automatic? What do I mean? Well...

I went out for a 40 miler at the weekend and encountered some very icy hills in essex (probably submerged / washed away after the flooding yesterday ). Anyway you see the ice coming but you can't avoid it - next thing you are on it. Now, currently half my mind is screaming OH MY GOD! HIT THE BRAKES but the more sensible part is saying DON'T TOUCH THE BRAKES OR YOU'RE OFF! Now, I know the latter is the correct response but at some point will the internal dialogue simply stop including the panic section. Several close escapes on that ride and a spectacular fish-tail on Wednesday but no spills. I did come off twice over Christas / New Year though - the latter smashing my computer remote sensor

greg66_tri_v2.0

The Chingford Skinhead wrote:

A question for you more seasoned cyclists - does there ever come a point when you hit ice and you're reactions become automatic? What do I mean? Well...

I went out for a 40 miler at the weekend and encountered some very icy hills in essex (probably submerged / washed away after the flooding yesterday ). Anyway you see the ice coming but you can't avoid it - next thing you are on it. Now, currently half my mind is screaming OH MY GOD! HIT THE BRAKES but the more sensible part is saying DON'T TOUCH THE BRAKES OR YOU'RE OFF! Now, I know the latter is the correct response but at some point will the internal dialogue simply stop including the panic section. Several close escapes on that ride and a spectacular fish-tail on Wednesday but no spills. I did come off twice over Christas / New Year though - the latter smashing my computer remote sensor

Not really. If I see it, I know to freewheel, keep the bike upright and aim to roll straight as a die over it. This much I can usually manage.

But if I haven't seen it, then based on this week's sample, there's no way I could catch the bike once it's gone. Way too fast, and in any event, there's likely to be nothing grippy to catch it on.

neil²

Based on the state of my elbow and hip - you have at least three weeks before things start to feel close to normal again.

I am still very nervous round each and every corner on the road bike, and I have not taken it out when there is a risk of sub-zero since, but I have clocked up a lot of miles on the mountain bike, which I am used to riding on slippy surfaces

I have added another scab to my knee in a classic unclipping incident this week... unclipped the right foot and for some reason decided to try to put the left foot down - I blame it on lack of sleep.

ride_whenever

The thing i've found is to go out on the MTB and spend an evening skidding around on the ice. You get an awful lot better at controlling skids with your bodyweight and it becomes instinctive.

greg66_tri_v2.0

ride_whenever wrote:

The thing i've found is to go out on the MTB and spend an evening skidding around on the ice. You get an awful lot better at controlling skids with your bodyweight and it becomes instinctive.

Don't have a MTB, and living in the London urban heat dome, ice/frost is that request.

But that said, how easy is it to use what you learn on a MTB on a road bike with skinny little treadless tyres? Just curious.

ride_whenever

The basics are the same, you have to be a bit more careful. But I'm now quite happy skidding the back end round corners and bunnyhopping obstacles like speed bumps and pot-holes.

ride_whenever

The basics are the same, you have to be a bit more careful. But I'm now quite happy skidding the back end round corners and bunnyhopping obstacles like speed bumps and pot-holes.