It's cold out there, but worth it!

uphillslowly

I wasn't going to go out today, just thought I'd do an hour on the exercise bike.
Mrs Slowly(who's working from home today) persuaded me to go out on the bike, "you can always come home if it's too cold".
Well, I'm glad I went out there. What a beautiful day, no wind and even a small patch of blue sky spotted.
Some of the back roads still had a bit on ice on them, but overall the roads were pretty good.
I managed to get in 22 miles, which is the furthest I've managed since my operation.
Toes were a bit chilly and was a bit rosy cheeked, but all the rest of the kit kept me nice and warm.
So if the snow hasn't arrived where you are yet, and you get the opportunity to go out, DO IT, you won't regret it.

dynamicbrick

Ah, so it's you that jinxed it.

Mine went like this;
Lunchtime, working from home. New Cube in the garage, begging to be ridden. Sun makes a sudden appearance. 'Right' thinks I 'some quick laps of the graveyard at the bottom of the road' (it's well surfaced 1km loop on a slope, great for training rides). No need for a lid, which means I can wear a proper hat to keep my ears warm.
Can't find half my kit, she's put it in the wash. Cobble together mix of summer gear and warmers.
End of lap 1 - a funeral turns up. Rare event at this graveyard is mostly full.
Default to loop 2 - a longer circuit of my road, and an old train line (tarmac)... except the gas board are digging up bits of the old train line, so that's out.
Sigh... loop 3 - the road which runs parallel to the train line and my road... and the gas board are there also.
Then my right cleat came loose, and because I was not going to be any further than 500yds from home I've not picked up the multitool.
Then sun went in and suddenly the layers of summer kit proved to be insufficient.

I gave up at that point.

Total - 2.6kms

Arse.

uphillslowly

Mr Brick
Sounds like you were defiantly jinxed.
But any time on the bike is better than no time.

ShutUpLegs

Going out when it's icy is just madness unless you are commuting

Finlaz22

Wow brave stuff. I'm only going out on mtb until more ice clears

smidsy

I have just driven back from Anglesey using the A5 Betws y Coed etc. and there was a guy cycling in the mountains in the snow - now that's dedication.

Cleat Eastwood

I love cycling in the cold - well played sir - once over the icy finger thing its really one of the best times to be out on a bike.

Mikey41

I went out, roads were dry and white from salt. No ice

However, I didn't go as far as I wanted because of a clothing fail. The legs were spot-on but the top half was not warming up at all, so I made my way back. Got 16 miles in, so better than nothing and I made the return a bit more strenuous to compensate. Shame about that as I was feeling really good!

Now I need: overshoes and a gillet or something. More expense

jonomc4

me and the turbo are becoming very good friends - I just dont fancy slip sliding my way under a bus. - Wimp out

nochekmate

Not worth risking it in my view at the moment. I am training hard for the forthcoming triathlon season and one bad spill could see a number of weeks lost from the training plan (and a damaged bike).

I'll be on the turbo for now (and running over the fields or on the treadmill and doing a bit more swimming instead).

Mikey23

No snow or I've down here in Cornwall so have managed to get some good miles in. Clothing working well except for feet which are still getting cold despite two pairs of socks. Working today so had to make do with a few miles at the gym

MattyyP

I'm riding more in this refreshing weather! Yeah I might hit some black ice and come off and who knows what could happen? But I may die tomorrow anyway? Can't let the weather stop you doing something you love, and I love to ride my bike!

thegreatdivide

Dry salty evening roads, about -1C and about a 5mph wind on the way out - it was lovely. On the way back the wind whipped up out of nowhere and the wind chill was horrendous! After 26 miles I was stiff as a board. Good fun though ;-)

MattC59

Been in Liverpool all day, and f*ck it's been cold ! It snowed all the way home and was about -2c when I got back. I stayed in

blackpoolkev

Velominati fans would approve-
Rule #9
// If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.

typekitty

Love the cold and rain, but not the snow. I'm originally from a warmer climate (snow was a winter day trip that took 5 hours to get to) and the thought of cycling on ice scares the pants off me.

Love love this picture, though.

craker

^yeahbut is it a realpicture?

Having slid off on ice on Tuesday (no great shakes, going v. slowly through a gate) so I opted for the sh*t bike that's been upside down outside the garage for 8 months. Bit of lube here, loosen the brakes off there as the cable is far too rusty. Got five miles into my commute, scalped a fellow sh*t biker and the drivetrain is sounding awful but mostly functional. It turns out the upper jockey wheel unscrewed itself and fell off somewhere.

On the way back, the rear mech disintegrated completely. 10 miles from warm with a jumble of transmission bits and an unloved bike... I got a chain tool out (note to self and everyone in the universe - don't leave home without a chain tool) shortened the chain and coasted home in one gear only.

I've just had an excellent evening in the shed, adding a chain tensioner to the sh*t bike (ss only - not faffing with a new rear mech on it), sorting out the mtb in case the snow in Wales makes an outing tempting. Fitted a cadence sensor to the road bike that wont get used for months to come... good times, heh

Pross

Love the cold and do ride in snow if the roads are clear. Just measured the snow here though and it's 10cm since 3am with another 5 - 6 hours of it forecast. I can't even open the shed door to get a bike out at the moment but if it stops and the roads get cleared I'll be out tomorrow.

keef66

Went out last night as it was only minus 2 and dry. (Previous 2 nights had been down to minus 10, and the snow's arriving today) OK clothing-wise, proper toasty once I'd warmed up. Slightly nervous on some suspicously quiet patches I suspect were black ice. Then I was blinded by the lights of a gritting lorry and forced onto the frozen puddles at the side of the road. Stayed upright but slithered to an ungainly halt on the verge. Interesting wheelspin trying to accelerate up the hill the lorry had just gritted, and then forced into the gutter again by an oncoming merc passing parked cars. In all I managed only 10 miles, but since I didn't kill me or the bike I think it was well worth it. Doubt I'll get out again for a while due to the weekend snow and a business trip next week.

haf1zur

Its snowing down here in London right now, got to work a bit early to avoid the snow which didnt come at the time i thought it will. Seems to be sticking and getting worse.

Should be fun cycling home, got wider tyres but smooth as silk

Hopefully all the roads are gritted and will be avoiding the flyover

One thing i noticed is i pedal faster for longer and stay warmer than warm days

wishitwasallflat

There's two types of people in this world -

1) People who have slipped riding on icy roads and really hurt themselves (and/or done expensive damage to a much loved bike) and been unable to ride for weeks

and

2) People who haven't

I'm in group one so am currently involved in extensive Sufferfesting!

Monty Dog

The back lanes in these parts haven't been gritted and people in 4x4s don't realise that heavier cars brake worse than regular cars - last winter I was riding along a lane that was slick with ice (I had studded tyres) Disco came around the corner, went into a skid and hit the opposite bank - seen way too many numpties driving on snow/ice to want to share the road with them. My 29er is shod with 2.4" tyres running tubeless at 20psi - you don't go very fast, but you can have helluva lot of fun and low speed means windchill isn't such a problem, so easier to keep warm.

Mikey23

Roads clear in east Cornwall and not much traffic about. Snow melt across the road had not frozen so managed to do lots of loops around local roads and did 42 in total. Quite chuffed with that...

Mikey41

Still clear here, commuted today. We had a very brief snow shower at lunchtime but it didn't settle at all. Tommorrow looks the same, so all is well so far!

feemackenzie

28 miles over Eaglesham Moor, Glasgow. Despite kitted up, wee bit of blue on a big toe - thicker overshoes me thinks (note, windchill was about 8 below, maybe explains it). Love it.

Anonymous

55 miles here on the main roads around Surrey. Sadly the best roads were closed, but the main roads were absolutely fine (ave temp 1.1 deg according to Garmin) but well gritted and cleared so only teeeeny patches of slush.

Was lovely:
viewtopic.php?f=40013&t=12900689

Wondering what to do tomorrow now

rolf_f

craker wrote:

^yeahbut is it a realpicture?

No reason why it shouldn't be. I've cycled in far worse than that. Of course, you are probably more likely to see people riding in those conditions on those sorts of bikes in that sort of clothing in Europe but, for example, the Dutch don't stop commuting because of a bit of snow.

Mikey23

If anyone saw the prog about the big freeze in 1963 there was a clip of a guy cycling on an iced up Thames... So mtfu folks!

dynamicbrick

thegreatdivide wrote:

Dry salty evening roads, about -1C and about a 5mph wind on the way out - it was lovely. On the way back the wind whipped up out of nowhere and the wind chill was horrendous! After 26 miles I was stiff as a board. Good fun though ;-)

For fun and games you can work out the wind chill.

Couple of winters ago I was coming back along the seafront at about 15mph into a 30mph headwind, it was minus 3. Lung burn is not something I've ever experienced, along with frozen snot, tears, and everything forward facing utterly numb despite the layers. Only hacked it for a mile before pain drove me inland amongst the houses for some wind protection.

Worked out that minus 3, a 45mph wind factor made it something utterly stupid like minus 36.

Rule 9 or not, it hurt and I've not repeated it since.

keef66

I went out on Saturday cos of the snow forecast on Sunday. Got 6 miles and then noticed my rear tyre was nearly flat. Bit of detective work (spit) showed it was leaking from the valve. Damned Conti removable valve cores; I must've loosened it when I topped it up pre ride. Multitool useless for tightening valve cores, and I was too cold to faff about swapping the tube, so I just pumped it up again and sprinted home .

So on Sunday I went out to do the ride I'd planned for the previous day. 20 miles ish with an interesting selection of weather / road conditions. Managed to find one lane with a half mile climb on compacted snow over ice. Stunningly pretty out there.

Had to hose the bike down when I got home to remove the built up slush / salt / road filth. The resulting pool of black muck was impressive!

gthyer

Where I am in mid-cornwall hasn't seen the snow at all yet. But hasn't stopped it being bitterly cold out. Well, by my standards at least.

Very dry over the weekend so managed to get 100k in on Sunday plus some intervals on Saturday. No ice or frost thankfully so thought I'd make the most of it.

Need some overshoes though - couldn't feel my toes after about an hour's worth of riding. Roll on payday!