Who's planning to ride to work tomorrow?

roger_merriman

King Donut wrote:

roger merriman wrote:

much nicer ride yesterday, not as much ice and after I arrived the rain came down. followed by snow so the ride home though the park at 9pm was lovely all white with mist and deer. and the snow was a lot easier than the ice the day before.

I attempted a run in Bushy Park on Sunday. Was treacherous on the hard ground and all roads leading to the park.

This morning I wimped out of the commute. Spent so long thinking about whether to ride or not that I ended up late and had to get the train. Shame cos it seems to be a bit warmer today and the main roads are all clear.

yes was quite icy under foot/wheel on sunday, though quite a lot of kids etc sliding around in the afternoon when went past. lucky it's quite flat so as long as you relax the bike seems to cope okay.

it was my rocketing into works drive ie so speed + turn that took me off. which still is fairly bad I can just about ride it but takes all of my skill.

Porgy

cjcp wrote:

EDIT: my enthusiasm for riding in snow means I'm glossing over the very wet, slushy bits, the fact that the sleet saturated my gloves, so the fingers were freezing (not toes though, oddly) and that I'm not disappointed I'm not commuting for the rest of the year.

Cycling through snow would have been preferable to to the ice sheets I ended up having to negotiate last night.

King Donut

cjcp wrote:

King Donut wrote:

This morning I wimped out of the commute. Spent so long thinking about whether to ride or not that I ended up late and had to get the train. Shame cos it seems to be a bit warmer today and the main roads are all clear.

You mean, too cold to only wear a vest.

Seems unthinkable now but there was actually one day in early December that I dug out a vest. Felt like a bit of a dirty ol man cycling half naked past all these peds in their winter jackets. But no, you are safe now until at least March

roger_merriman

Porgy wrote:

cjcp wrote:

EDIT: my enthusiasm for riding in snow means I'm glossing over the very wet, slushy bits, the fact that the sleet saturated my gloves, so the fingers were freezing (not toes though, oddly) and that I'm not disappointed I'm not commuting for the rest of the year.

Cycling through snow would have been preferable to to the ice sheets I ended up having to negotiate last night.

indeed snow tends to get worse as it melts/freezes. and sundays icy back roads where not fun.

prawny

No snow up here, but I wimped out anyway, lots of ice. It was fine on the way in yesterday but I had a lot of people passing close on the main road because I was riding way out to avoid the snow at the edge of the road.

I don't fancy getting splattered this clost to xmas, I want my pressies! :twisted:

cjcp

Porgy wrote:

cjcp wrote:

EDIT: my enthusiasm for riding in snow means I'm glossing over the very wet, slushy bits, the fact that the sleet saturated my gloves, so the fingers were freezing (not toes though, oddly) and that I'm not disappointed I'm not commuting for the rest of the year.

Cycling through snow would have been preferable to to the ice sheets I ended up having to negotiate last night.

+1. Some of the peds were skating on my route, but I don't recall riding across a single patch of ice. Thank, God. The SW seems to have got off lighter than the SE though.

King Donut

roger merriman wrote:

... quite a lot of kids etc sliding around in the afternoon when went past.

Yeah I was so jealous of them. Made me realise that I'm officially grown up now.

biondino

Mithras wrote:

I'm in rural Lincolnshire I would have to be an idiot to venture out on the bike. Thinking about writing to the council and complaining about the state of the roads....What the hell do I pay road tax for?

That's kind of disappointing. I'd hoped you were some kind of riot plod, at the very least a plainclothes maverick straight out of "The Wire". Or Quincy.

moonio

Managed to cycle part of the way to work on the new bike, it rides like a dream, love it...dropped it off at the bike shop for new tyres (marathon plus 700x32) hopefully they wont be too sluggish etc etc.

It was much safer to cycle on the roads than walk on the pavement in my area due to all the ice. I have skinny tyres and no tread but bike feels much safer and more stable than my mountain bike.

Looking forward to the ride home.

Whoopee!!

Porgy

Chickened out today - after appalling ride home yesterday - though things didn;t look too bad - ice seems to have all gone in Plumstead.

Never mind - looking forward to riding in tomorrow.

Aidy

King Donut wrote:

roger merriman wrote:

... quite a lot of kids etc sliding around in the afternoon when went past.

Yeah I was so jealous of them. Made me realise that I'm officially grown up now.

Does that mean I have to stop seeing how far I can slide along the pavement?

Wrath Rob

Cycled in this morning, no problems. The councils had been out gritting the roads so all the sleety/slushy stuff had gone. It was a little cold but apart from that no more problems than a normal commute

itboffin

Wrath Rob wrote:

Cycled in this morning, no problems. The councils had been out gritting the roads so all the sleety/slushy stuff had gone. It was a little cold but apart from that no more problems than a normal commute

:shock:

Where do you live?

We had a couple more inches overnight then a total blanket of freezing fog all day, my little weather computer thingy says -2

Mithras

biondino wrote:

Mithras wrote:

I'm in rural Lincolnshire I would have to be an idiot to venture out on the bike. Thinking about writing to the council and complaining about the state of the roads....What the hell do I pay road tax for?

That's kind of disappointing. I'd hoped you were some kind of riot plod, at the very least a plainclothes maverick straight out of "The Wire". Or Quincy.

Riot Plod on a bike...Mmm. Now that would be fun. I do quite a bit of Plain Clothes work on my bike at work...and I only live in rural Lincolnshire. Work is the crime capitol of the east, The Metropolis of Peterborough!

Belv

Dress up like Scott of the Antarctic, scrape off thick layer of ice and try brakes - the rear is frozen on. Decide i can manage with just the front and lift bike onto the garden path - THUD as flat front tyre hits the ground.

I drove in this morning

cjcp

Looking outside, I am seriously glad I'm not commuting.

Does anyone know when we last had a December like this? I've only been commuting on the bike for 3-4 years and can't remember frost this severe during December in that time?

Aidy

cjcp wrote:

Looking outside, I am seriously glad I'm not commuting.

Does anyone know when we last had a December like this? I've only been commuting on the bike for 3-4 years and can't remember frost this severe during December in that time?

Yeah, I'm wondering if we're actually going to get a white Christmas this year.
Which I don't reckon I've seen for like, 20 years around here...

N0bodyOfTheGoat

The last three Decembers (inc. '09) have been relatively evil here in Southampton, in terms of temperatures, cannot recall if we had snow/ice in previous ones though.

The timing of being given the father-in-law's old commuting car was amazing in '07, on the day a month or so cold snap arrived!

dirk_van_gently

-7c here on the Norfolk/Suffolk border.
everything froze solid, which meant the off road bits were fine, if a bit bumpy. Roads OK as finally the muppets have gritted, only taken 3 days.

anyuser

My rear derailleur was frozen solid all the way in this morning. I really admire anyone that can commute on a singlespeed and the hills in SW London are not that steep but I noticed them more than usual this morning.

fnegroni

bd12mz wrote:

there are some nutters about.
we were waiting to pull out and we saw a flashing bike light so held back.
bike went by so we pulled out.
the guy had:

no helmet
dark trousers
dark red jacket
black bag on back
no back lights
no hi vis at all

all this at 7.30 near enough dark, snow in the streets and fog!

wanted to get out of the car and tell him off.

Sorry, but IMHO, the only problem was that he didn't have a back light, and possibly should have had some reflectives (Hi viz jacket has reflectives, but so do my shoes, trousers, tops, jackets, gloves, bike...)

After all, you said it yourself, you saw the front light. Why was the fact that he wasn't wearing a helmet an issue?

I agree he should have had a bright rear light (or better two bright rear lights), that's a legal requirement, and some reflectives, but the choice of colour and helmet should not be part of the equation.

rjeffroy

First couple of hundred yards or so from house to main road like an ice rink so walked (interesting in road cleats!) but after that no ice at all. Councils seem to have spread this molasses anti freeze judging by the filthy brown slime all over the bike, fairly slippery stuff so taking it very easy round corners etc. OK so far...

N0bodyOfTheGoat

Got to work at 0915 and did very little (yes, even less than normal ) before being sent home at 1215. Very little mail is being delivered in the Southampton region, its a giant ice rink out there, made Monday seem like a walk in the park (where my exposed round was pretty icey but doable, just).

Big freeze predicted agin for Xmas Eve here, could be a lot of mail to deal with after our break (next Tuesday)! :twisted:

Porgy

cjcp wrote:

Looking outside, I am seriously glad I'm not commuting.

Does anyone know when we last had a December like this? I've only been commuting on the bike for 3-4 years and can't remember frost this severe during December in that time?

I seem to remember one like this around 1987 probably - I remember it was the only time in history I failed to make it to a gig due to bad weather - never even got as far as the bus stop.

I still have the unused ticket.

daniel_b

That was one heck of a ride home, pouring rain combined with the existing snow and freezing temperatures made the cycle paths and going through the park a very entertaining experience.

There were several times when my wheels were never pointing in the right direction.

A few 'offs' as such, but not actual hitting the deck moments, my Marin Mountain bike with decreased tyre pressures, did a sterling job of keeping me upright.

It did actually cross my mind to stop and walk at some points, but I decided there was no fun in that and stayed in the saddle.
I think it was a useful learning experience anyhow, don't get the chance to ride in such conditons very often.

I think lowered tyre pressures, and knobblies combined with front suspension made a big difference, think I would have hit the deck several times on my hybrid.

A freezing canal is a good motivator for keeping upright by the way.

No commuting for me now until January.

Be careful out there peeps.

Cheers

Dan

iPete

So I covered 35 miles in & out of London, survived the -5 degree weather, only to stack it on the thick ice on my driveway Thankfully my helmet took the blow!!

iain_j

I'm starting to see more and more positives in the lack of grit on my local roads.

1. Salt/grit corrodes the bike anyway (I don't wash it often enough). It costs money to replace corroded parts. If I fall off, it doesn't cost anything to heal. However...

2. I can show off my superb handling skills to anyone watching. *Four* sideways skids at one junction while trying to move off (how, when I'm just trying to go forwards? surely on ice there's no resistance to going forwards?) Never fallen off on snow/ice (I have on dry, clear roads - go figure).

Porgy

iPete wrote:

Thankfully my helmet took the blow!!

Don't start :P

marchant

The roads where I live are largely clear, so I shall be riding to work tomorrow (25/12/09). Anyone else working Christmas?

iain_j

Nope. Even if I was I don't think Christmas would be noticed after the sh!t hit the fan today regarding some people's bad attitudes and [lack of] interpersonal skills :evil:

Merry f*king Christmas :roll: