so who's commuting in the snow?

meanredspider

WGWarburton wrote:

Fortunately I wasn't wearing a helmet and therefore my head was completely unharmed....
.

Bizarre comment

cjcp

meanredspider wrote:

I also carry an emergency foil blanket, merino base layer and featherlite waterproof. But it is a concern

Good thinking.

itboffin

Erm i'm very very tempted to head out now, I have the kit and the time :roll:

hatbeard

meanredspider wrote:

WGWarburton wrote:

Fortunately I wasn't wearing a helmet and therefore my head was completely unharmed....
.

Bizarre comment

to be fair the guy landed on his head this week, I doubt I'd be thinking exactly straight either.

cyclopsbiker

hatbeard wrote:

londoncommuter wrote:

On Wednesday I slowly navigated the treacherous side streets to get to the main London red route roads I use to get to work. These appeared completely clear and I merrily sped on my way until seemingly hitting some black ice in a bus lane. I vaguely remember the road turning and the bike not and then the next thing was waking up in an ambulance.

No lasting damage and great service from the ambulance crew and Lewisham hospital. I'd really like to thank the person who called the ambulance and who apparently held my neck still while waiting but I don't have any contact details, so if it was you, many many thanks.

Only my opinion but however experienced you are, don't get too cocky and wear a helmet (mine now has a chunk missing from the side where my head hit the road)!

Was this by surrey quays? If so the thread titled rider down on here is (well starts out) about you... Lot of us ride the same road.

hey londoncommuter, if that was you I stopped to help I'm so glad you're OK. was really worried about you. that bit of road looked clear of ice. it was reassuring to see so many people helping you. I think the guy who heald your head was a doctor. I'm so pleased you're up and about.

Pufftmw

Glad londoncommuter is ok

Once again, cos I drove home last night, I had to drive in this morning & I would have to say that I was actually as quick, if not quicker, than when I cycle - roads from Lewisham to Aldgate were virtually empty :shock:

Didn't see that many cyclists though certainly more than motorbikes/scooters and several of those chaps were in shorts, though they were all definitely of the very hairy legged variety!

UndercoverElephant

-14 this morning. Got four miles in and the freewheel froze on the Genesis meaning that I couldn't persuade the rear wheel to do anything at all. Walked the next couple of miles with the bike until a kind lady in an M Class offered me a lift to the bike shop in Portobello. They fortunately had an 18T fixed cog in stock which I popped onto the back wheel.

Never ridden fixed before, the ice and snow seems a fine time to learn.

Initialised

-11C here, nothing froze up on the bike. My feet and my buff, eyelids and snot turned to ice though.

Lubing daily ATM, seems to keep it OK.

Cold enough to keep the sweats at bay.

Still loving it.

fossyant

Still riding - keeping the bike clean and lubed, and inside overnight (garage is freezing) - all working perfectly despite looking like a mobile ice block at times.

asprilla

Mrs A banned me from riding this morning. Apparently she was quite concerned about me on my home last night, whilst I was having fun.

So, instead of leaving at 8 and being at my desk at 9.30, I left at 8, got an a train at 9.15 and arrived at work at 10.45.

I really don't care what the weather looks like on Monday, I'm still cycling in. End of.

nich

Looks like the SE is getting some rain on the weekend. I think last time this pretty much cleared the snow up, but it could always turn to ice...we'll see

lost_in_thought

Heeheehee snö

cjcp

Asprilla wrote:

Mrs A banned me from riding this morning. Apparently she was quite concerned about me on my home last night, whilst I was having fun.

Same here.

So, instead of leaving at 8 and being at my desk at 9.30, I left at 8, got an a train at 9.15 and arrived at work at 10.45.

I, OTOH, stayed at home. Trains were running a "special" service i.e. lots of waiting in the cold.

I really don't care what the weather looks like on Monday, I'm still cycling in. End of.

Yup.

R_T_A

Asprilla wrote:

Mrs A banned me from riding this morning. Apparently she was quite concerned about me on my home last night, whilst I was having fun.

I slipped off on an icy country lane this morning, and will have a nice bruise on the thigh later.

But I'm buggered if I'm mentioning it at home for the above reason :twisted:

gbsahne001

Also had a small off this morning at maybe 2mph, this was just after I'd thought to myself, who needs spiked / ice tyres..... figures

velorazzi

I'm in The Mad Bugger's club as well - though my brakes failed this morning :shock: as the the rubbers froze. Going to invest in some better blocks.

Chickened out of going down the usual white-knuckle ride hill though (due to the above and the fact that it was somewhere around -7 or 8 and a sheet of ice). Went the long way round. Hardly any cars, bloody brilliant.

tgotb

My commute's actually become easier than normal (apart from Thursday morning which was a bit slow). Major roads all clear, and seems like there's about half as much traffic as normal.

After faffing around with the MTB last year, this time round I've been sticking to the road bike and not regretting it at all. 700x23 tyres cut through the snow with much less effort than 2" knobblies. They're somewhat scary on full-on water ice, but tbh the MTB was just as bad...

rjsterry

cjcp wrote:

Asprilla wrote:

Mrs A banned me from riding this morning. Apparently she was quite concerned about me on my home last night, whilst I was having fun.

Same here.

So, instead of leaving at 8 and being at my desk at 9.30, I left at 8, got an a train at 9.15 and arrived at work at 10.45.

I, OTOH, stayed at home. Trains were running a "special" service i.e. lots of waiting in the cold.

I really don't care what the weather looks like on Monday, I'm still cycling in. End of.

Yup.

Self imposed ban here as anything bar the major A-roads has been pretty lethal in Sutton until this morning. I also have been quite enjoying the long quiet walks to Morden, but the completely clear roads in town are taunting at me and I really need to get back on it.

Slightly worried about the forecast of a slight thaw then re-freeze for the weekend, though.

velorazzi

Kieran_Burns wrote:

itboffin wrote:

Kieran_Burns wrote:

What. The. Hell. :shock:


There's 2 foot of snow on the damn' WALL!

Pics or it didn't happen

Sorry; random response to sicknewt's photo.

My best mate lives in Sheffield, they're snowed in. At the moment they're deciding which child to eat first. They have 3, so they'll be okay for a week.

Yep, some of us were - My driveway Wednesday morning. Though iit didn't stop me at least walking.

And that was before it started snowing again. Went down the garden to feed the birds - snow came way over my knees, and I'm no short-arse!

fnegroni

After commuting in the snow last year with just knobblies on, I can happily report that studded tyres make a big difference.
I am confidently pushing at near 20mph on my MTB on untreated roads and cycle paths.
The slip-grip effect, once used to it, is enough warning to get me to slow down a bit, but a vast improvement in grip especially when braking is fantastic.
When braking hard, the front can occasionally lock up, yet still grip! It all becomes extremely predictable and manageable.

turnerjohn

[/quote]

Self imposed ban here as anything bar the major A-roads has been pretty lethal in Sutton until this morning. I also have been quite enjoying the long quiet walks to Morden, but the completely clear roads in town are taunting at me and I really need to get back on it.

Slightly worried about the forecast of a slight thaw then re-freeze for the weekend, though.[/quote]

Same here...east side been pretty bad but closer to the city you get the better...cyclo cross tyres for Monday then...am going nuts taking the DLR...although funnily car drive in today was great as no ones on the roads

Rushie

Bunked off work and went for a beautiful mtb ride in the Surrey Hills on Tuesday. Commuted on the fixie on Weds. Knew I was going out on the lash yesterday evening so got the train yesterday morning - much misery. Rode in this morning - a bit icy in places particularly on the side roads but the main roads were more or less fine. Taken a few psi out of the tyres (25mm Gatorskins) but didn't fancy taking the mtb as I'd just cleaned it after Tuesday's epic (priorities!). Taking it easy seems to work and beats the horror of the train any time. Feet nice & toasty due to Sealskins + winter boots + overshoes.[/img]

Hot Orange

Was back on the bike this morning, to Mrs HO's chagrin. It was actually fine, with the main roads nicely clear of snow and traffic. Main problem was the flipping headwind, which I'd completely forgotten to consider amid all the excitement of tackling the snow.

Bit worried about the journey home, though.

wgwarburton

hatbeard wrote:

meanredspider wrote:

WGWarburton wrote:

Fortunately I wasn't wearing a helmet and therefore my head was completely unharmed....
.

Bizarre comment

to be fair the guy landed on his head this week, I doubt I'd be thinking exactly straight either.

That whooshing noise you heard was The Point missing you by a wide margin :-)

I didn't hit my head- it missed the ground completely, perhaps the OP might have experienced the same if his head hadn't been made heavier and 2" bigger all round by the helmet.

The OP's assertion that we should wear helmets is (perhaps) confounded by the evidence of his own experience. Similarly my experience that a helmetless fall resulted in no injury whatsoever is also insignificant (except perhaps as a single exception disproving a rule).

We can't know which is or was the case... and that was the point being missed.

Cheers,
W.

Kieran_Burns

WGWarburton wrote:

hatbeard wrote:

meanredspider wrote:

WGWarburton wrote:

Fortunately I wasn't wearing a helmet and therefore my head was completely unharmed....
.

Bizarre comment

to be fair the guy landed on his head this week, I doubt I'd be thinking exactly straight either.

That whooshing noise you heard was The Point missing you by a wide margin :-)

I didn't hit my head- it missed the ground completely, perhaps the OP might have experienced the same if his head hadn't been made heavier and 2" bigger all round by the helmet.

The OP's assertion that we should wear helmets is (perhaps) confounded by the evidence of his own experience. Similarly my experience that a helmetless fall resulted in no injury whatsoever is also insignificant (except perhaps as a single exception disproving a rule).

We can't know which is or was the case... and that was the point being missed.

Cheers,
W.

If you both look closely over there.....

---

> .

That's where the helmet debate is going on.



We're talking about fun in the snow.

Initialised

Will be wearing socks, bubble wrap, socks, shoes, overshoes after freezing my tootsies this morning.

lost_in_thought

Well, I gave up after cycling home from kayaking in the snö on wednesday at about 11:30pm.

In my defence, I am being the drowning person in the Thames ALL DAY tomorrow for a kayaking course.

Brrr. :shock:

SamWise72

I'm on the road for 4 days of next week, so I have to carry everything I need for those days. Hence, I have outfitted my mountain BSO with a seatpost rack, since all my fancy Brompton luggage will do me no good. Couple of panniers and perhaps my fancy suit-carrier backpack will be deployed. Three days on a residential course with lots of bar-time in the evenings, so I was planning to take a ukulele, but the risk of falling on it as I ride is putting me off.

cjcp

I went for a cheeky ride in RP to get some fresh air.

Made it up the Broomfield track and had a go at the hill up the side of Star & Garter. Was in the 46x25, but there were loads of people out with their sledges, and embarrassment's a good motivator. I had to stop three feet from the top because of some poxy step. Grrr.

meanredspider

WGWarburton wrote:

I didn't hit my head- it missed the ground completely, perhaps the OP might have experienced the same if his head hadn't been made heavier and 2" bigger all round by the helmet.

LMAO - it's like something out of a Python sketch.

I'm not going to enter the helmet debate cos it's happening over there

---

>

I fell off in my helmet and didn't hit my head either - which only goes to show I shouldn't have bothered wearing it (only then I'd have to mount my lid lights on my head). I did bang my elbow so I should have it made lighter and smaller.

Back OT - I thought about commuting on my bike today but there's still a section over the Kessock bridge



where the snow is very deep, very frozen and with lots of foot prints - to one side is the drop into the sea and to the other is 3' of Armco between me and 40T trucks. Some will say I should cycle in the road but I'll let them do that. Suffice it to say that, in 6 years of living here, I've never seen a cyclist on the road there - let alone at -10C in the rush hour. It's frustrating because it's only a mile across. Hopefully it'll thaw enough tomorrow before the refreeze comes.