NKR, Embankment etc

georgee

Managed Surbiton to West End but had to hit the A3 rather than the park. The shortcut to avoid the Kingston one way system were daftly icy.

The Bolan death bridge was fine in my opinion. The worst moment was when I found my brake pads/rims had iced up and stopped working!

greg66_tri_v2.0

Drove in today. Had a spill last winter and didn't care for it.

Biggest problem was finding that the car doors had frozen shut overnight.

Traffic is v light though, and generally major road surfaces are clear. though there are patches off the driving line (eg around pinch points) that are retaining ice. Minor roads are like ice rinks and to be avoided at all costs. Like CJ & MM, I don't fancy being squeezed onto something slippery.

Clever Pun

yeah after last night I avoided the smaller roads and it was fine on one road dead close to work I unclipped and slowly churned the pedals staying bolt upright

Christophe3967

I saw just the thing for winter commuting over Christmas....






Actually, perhaps this should be in the most useless inventions thread....

I wasn't allowed to go in the shop and have a nose sadly. :?

birdy247

Any one rode this recently?

cjcp

I ended up needing to come into work.

I had to deal with RP first (shame ):



and



but the rest of the way was ok. Just have to watch for the Embankment was fine. Just need to avoid peds and the slushy bits by the kerb and in some of the cycle lanes. As said above, traffic was light. The roads between my house and the Park though - a husky and sled would be better.

alan_sherman

On a cross bike wouludn't the path around the outside be a better bet in teh snow and ice? More chance of grip and less sheet ise on a flat surface?

cjcp

alan sherman wrote:

On a cross bike wouludn't the path around the outside be a better bet in teh snow and ice? More chance of grip and less sheet ise on a flat surface?

Yep, it was. That section down to Robin Hood was great, but for the section to Roehampton G, I started off on the road but switched to the track. Much better.

Christophe3967

Hmmph.

Its not fair.

I really need a cross bike.

cjcp

Christophe3967 wrote:

Hmmph.

Its not fair.

I really need a cross bike.

Yes. You do. Quickly, because I had a belter of a ride home through RP tonight.

There was a full susser (I think) mtber in front of me up heading up Priory Lane. I sat behind him because he was wearing all black and his rear light was obscured by his backpack.

He goes through the gate first and we both turned left through the gate, heading towards the cafe. He zips off - some tidy bike handling on his part. I manage to reel him in after the bridge and eventually pass him just after Robin Hood gate on the path up to the steep hill. We have a little chat, and he says he's running 28psi tubs, I think. I'm on 35-40psi, sliding around noticeably more.

My chain then comes off, and he sets off up the hill ahead of me. I decide that it's madness to follow him up the hill because it's steep and very likely to be slippery.

So, I follow him up the hill anyway. Honour had to be upheld.

I'm in the 34x25, while he's in his granny gear spinning away. He took a very good line p the hill,and kept to the verge towards the top, so I followed him. Remarkably, I caught him by the top, but didn't pass, so he rides in front towards Kingston Gate.

Instead of following the track down to the Gate, he branches left on the thin mtb track. Er, feck. I've never been down there before, let alone in the dark, on snow.

So, I follow him down the track. Honour had to be upheld again.

"Oh, bollox", were two of the words I used a lot on the way down. Three things are now clear to me:

1. disc brakes work better than cantis;
2. mtbs are better over tree roots; and
3. if you're going to go off roading, make sure your front light lights up a forest (like the mtbers), not just the first five feet ahead of you (like mine).

Chapeau to the mtber. 8)

W1

NKR/Embankment fine again today - ice at the edges and a couple of small patches (largely due to snow falling from cars I think). Had to take the train yesterday, horrid. It is a little "fresh" out there though!

Christophe3967

cjcp wrote:

Christophe3967 wrote:

Hmmph.

Its not fair.

I really need a cross bike.

Yes. You do. Quickly, because I had a belter of a ride home through RP tonight.

There was a full susser (I think) mtber in front of me up heading up Priory Lane. I sat behind him because he was wearing all black and his rear light was obscured by his backpack.

He goes through the gate first and we both turned left through the gate, heading towards the cafe. He zips off - some tidy bike handling on his part. I manage to reel him in after the bridge and eventually pass him just after Robin Hood gate on the path up to the steep hill. We have a little chat, and he says he's running 28psi tubs, I think. I'm on 35-40psi, sliding around noticeably more.

My chain then comes off, and he sets off up the hill ahead of me. I decide that it's madness to follow him up the hill because it's steep and very likely to be slippery.

So, I follow him up the hill anyway. Honour had to be upheld.

I'm in the 34x25, while he's in his granny gear spinning away. He took a very good line p the hill,and kept to the verge towards the top, so I followed him. Remarkably, I caught him by the top, but didn't pass, so he rides in front towards Kingston Gate.

Instead of following the track down to the Gate, he branches left on the thin mtb track. Er, feck. I've never been down there before, let alone in the dark, on snow.

So, I follow him down the track. Honour had to be upheld again.

"Oh, bollox", were two of the words I used a lot on the way down. Three things are now clear to me:

1. disc brakes work better than cantis;
2. mtbs are better over tree roots; and
3. if you're going to go off roading, make sure your front light lights up a forest (like the mtbers), not just the first five feet ahead of you (like mine).

Chapeau to the mtber. 8)

I used to believe you were a sensible level-headed chap.... :roll:

So... I am going to see if I can dust off a MTB....

amnezia

There is white stuff all over the place again this morning, anyone been out yet? Doesn't seem to bad yet in sw18 but snow is still falling.

itboffin

Cool it does update, I wasn't sure if linking to this jam cam would

amnezia

its was fine in the end

cjcp

Roads up to Kingston Gate weren't great, but otherwise wet and slushy in the cycle lanes thereafter. Lots of traffic.

tgotb

What's RP like today? Wasn't brave enough to try it at 5.30 this morning, but would be nice to go that way this evening, possibly even do a leisurely lap or two :-)

cjcp

That guy on the Brompton wrote:

What's RP like today? Wasn't brave enough to try it at 5.30 this morning, but would be nice to go that way this evening, possibly even do a leisurely lap or two :-)

I went through the middle this morning - deeply unpleasant on slick Armadillos...

The road from Kingston -> Richmond -> Roehampton seemed ok. Cars were going up Dark Hill, so guess that's ok.

tgotb

Awesome, thanks.