Cycling in the snow?

flyer

I have not been out since before Christmas because of the weather!

There are some hardy types, I have seen "mainly commuters" cycling on 1-2" of snow, rather them than me!

Or am I just a softy, have you been out in the snow?

Flyer

Monty Dog

10 inches of snow here and just getting ready to go out! Riding on the road is madness - has to be MTB or cross bike with knobblies and fresh snow - you'll still slip but at least you get a soft landing!

Headhuunter

I've been riding everywhere but then the roads in London have been pretty clear and well salted. I haven't ventured on any longer rides through Kent for ages though

morstar

I feel like a complete wuss. I used to ride a couple of mile to school in the snow and thought nothing of it. Where I live now though we are on quite urban roads which are getting just enough cars to pack down the snow to ice and the country lanes that make up 80-90% of my mileage have had ice patches all over them for the last 3-4 weeks.

The best bit is, I am working from home these last two days and I have commuted to work by turbo trainer. Far better than sitting in a car on the M6.

JohnnyAllez

Did 10 miles yesterday - bloody cold though - was in the garage on the turbo Over 12 inches of snow here, and more than 3 feet where I`ve piled it up to clear a path to the garage

smeev

i got caught out yesterday after it was fine in the morning. The roads were terrible at about 5pm in the mids. I only fell of twice, the latter on my drive, lol. 1st falls with my SPD's also. You can beat having 12 stone on yout right elbow, i 100% reconment it. Oh well at least i have "broken the ice" as it were.

Steve_b77

Looks like I'll be commuting to work tomorrow in London if this carries on.

It's snowing rather heavily now - saying that I wonder how many of my collegues will actually make it in as most of them live outside central London :shock:

tmg

I saw a guy Monday morning on my way to Manchester Airport only wearing a pair of shorts and a flimsy waterproof top, his legs were bright pink, he must of been freezing his censored off as on the car it was still showing -3

Steve_b77

Either that or he was a Geordie working in Manchester

bigricky

I got out on my old mountain bike yesterday, 2 and half hours in the snow! was really good workout, now its the big thaw time! thankgod

starlet_gt

I went for a cycle on xmas day, roads looked good, I hit some black ice and ended up in A&E, smacked my head on the floor and cut open my eyelid and ended up with a nice black eye lol. So theres no way I'm risking it with the snow atm haha.

Ands

morstar wrote:

I feel like a complete wuss. I used to ride a couple of mile to school in the snow and thought nothing of it.

Yep, I used to do my early morning paper round in the snow and ice and was always coming off. Nowadays, I'm that much of a wuss that last week I resorted to moving the turbo into the house because I could not bring myself to turbo in the garage, it was that cold (minus 8 at 7pm and I have to turbo with the garage door open. ) Now, I can ride in the comfort of my own home, basking in the Provencal sunshine as I watch last year's Tour whilst gazing at a foot of snow outside. Bliss!

Monty Dog

Being able to ride in th snow is very dependant on being able to read the conditions - unpacked snow is too deep in these parts to make any progress, it just brings you to a halt. Lightly trodden paths are nearly as bad as grip is inconsistent and you send up on your ar$e or in the deep stuff. Best of all was finding compacted snow on ungritted country roads - 'bianchi strada' - still enough give in the snow to give good grip but not too hard to cause you to slide. We tramped 2km breaking trail across a field and through a wood to meet up with the dead-end of another lane to find the road had had no traffic! With conditions like this coming around every 20 years or so, just had to take the chance to make the most of the conditions. I suppose a Surly Pugsley with 4" tyres is one solution, but can't really justify asnother bike for a few rides every few years - or could I?

Cranks

Last time I was on my nike was 19th Decemver, that night it chucked it down with snow and our street has been blocked up until Saturday when a digger cleared it..taking the road name sign with it....

So, I have no excuse now, tomorrow I will give my legs a dust down.... 8)

sagalout

Me and a mate did 3 hours on the mountain bikes yesterday and it was huge fun. Mix of trails and open fields. Bloody hard workout, especially through the deep snow on the fields! Ran panaracer trailrakers, which ere designed for gloopy mud, at about 20psi and they never lost traction. Lots of rolling resistance and no free wheeling makes for a good endurance session

NWLondoner

If I had a MTB with flat pedal then maybe I would have ventured out.

Only having a road bike with clip-less pedals, no way am i risking it.

Once the snow/slush/ice clears then i will be back out. Which should be on Friday as i have the day off work 8)

alfablue

I rode 40 miles in the snow last week (2x20), 30 of it on the railway path (so still full of snow), in the dark. I was on my touring bike with 700x32 tyres, and a full pannier load. The back end was twitchy and took a lot of concentration to stay upright, and the ride took an hour longer than usual, but it was great fun. The drink bottle had frozen solid by the end. I had 3 slow speed falls, all on the last 300 metres of my route on a well polished residential road.

I'm looking forward to a 15 e/w mile commute on the same route tomorrow morning

Scrumple

mentalist

Aspman77

Kudos to the guy I saw commuting to work the other day while my car thermometer read -9C.

If he'd been out the previous day it was -12C

fossyant

Two days of -15 I did last week - great. MTB was used and full waterproofs over regular kit...just about kept warm.

graeme_s-2

I haven't cycled outside since the 17th December due to ice/snow, drinking after work, and being off over the Christmas period. The footpaths have been more trecherous than the (gritted) roads looked while walking to the bus stop, and the students came back to Uni yesterday meaning my bus home was jammed. So last night I decided enough was enough. I flipped the wheel round on my fixie to turn it into a single speed, let a bit of air out of the 25C slick tyres and put some flat pedals with toe clips (but no straps) on.

This morning I walked up to the end of my road in my hiking boots and then cycled in to work via bus routes (which are gritted). Was great to be back out on the bike again, and I did door-to-door in <25 minutes as opposed to the hour it takes to walk to the bus stop and then get the bus in!

Will take a bit longer going home, as I'll have to walk up some ungritted side roads to avoid Coventry ring road, but it still beats the bus.

ste_

I hadn't been out on the bike since some time in December and was getting withdrawal symptoms. So I dug my old Marin Bear Valley out yesterday and set off across the fields which are still 6"+ deep in snow here.

What a workout! I was struggling along at probably less than walking pace at times with my thighs burning and managed probably 5 miles tops (no computer on that bike) in about an hour. Made a nice change from an hour on the turbo in the garage.

pedalrog

Been out on the mtb & 'cross bike these last 2 weeks, great fun in the snow but not so good negotiating a towpath under 3" of ice, not to mention the bridges! Coupled with a few turbo sessions, bit tired of it now - can't wait for the roads to dry out and be useable again.

mkirby

roads are clear here but the wind is getting stronger every day

Sheptastic

Turbo sessions, Muscular Endurance, running and weights. It's keeping it nicely mxed up although I am missing proper riding. Having said that I have ever felt fitter!

Bring on Hillingdon on the 6th (if it stops snowing by then) :shock: