Be careful out there. The dangers of Winter cycling

ronnierocket

So my last 2 rides over successive weekends have both ended in an off.

Off number 1 when I hit ice descending the Dukes Pass near Aberfoyle, nearly worth it for the views that day. Not going too fast as I hit a couple of bits on the way up but didn't see the bits on the way down.

Off number 2, hit by a car not seeing me as it came out of a junction as I was coming out of it. The low sun yesterday reflecting on the wet roads around made it a bit of a nightmare. Don't know if I was extra nervous because of the week before but was half expecting something to happen and should have probably just went home as it was difficult to see myself. Driver admitted as much, looked right into the sun, looked left probably with sun in his eyes and saw nothing and went.

Not really had any crashes before and hoping these things don't really come in threes!

slowmart

Knowledge comes with experience.


Riding in the winter should elevate your awareness. In terms of road surface but also your visibility to other road users.

Ice is always a questionable condition to ride in. If i ride when its icey its usually a light frost and I ride in the sun and not in the shade. Lots of rain means lots of crap washed onto the apex of corners or the bottom of a hill, usually on the best line.

I had a similar experience on early Sunday morning with a low sun and fog at the bottom of a valley. I couldn't see clearly into the corner and slowed right down and was aware if a car was behind he would be in the same position but maybe not have the insight to slow down.


The phrase, eyes in the back of your head" comes to mind. That said Sunday's ride was superb, clear bright sunshine, apart from the valley bottom and got back before the wind picked up.

Gazzetta67

Well that's the danger of winter riding in Scotland esp on the hills where the sun never gets up high enough to heat the sheltered bits and the black ice just stays around all day, had to walk over a mile last week as it was sheet ice. Don't fancy a broken hip or collarbone. I would stick to the main roads as they will have been gritted and stay off the hills if it's lower than 5 degrees the night before.

Ps. I hope your aches are healing up. I got myself a smart lunar rear light, if drivers can't see that even in sunlight they should NOT been driving.

t4tomo

Gazzetta67 wrote:

Well that's the danger of winter riding in Scotland esp on the hills where the sun never gets up high enough to heat the sheltered bits and the black ice just stays around all day, had to walk over a mile last week as it was sheet ice. Don't fancy a broken hip or collarbone. I would stick to the main roads as they will have been gritted and stay off the hills if it's lower than 5 degrees the night before.

Ps. I hope your aches are healing up. I got myself a smart lunar rear light, if drivers can't see that even in sunlight they should NOT been driving.

I always use a flashing light front and rear in winter riding for those very reasons.

Turn the front off if you meet a horse though - some get spooked by flashing lights and 1 ton of spooked horse if not something you want near you.

jgsi

I just avoid lanes in winter full stop... however still came a cropper on a major A road last winter ungritted with 100 meter stretch of sheet black ice to which I wrote a letter of thanks to the council who failed to see the humour of it either.
Be careful those using bright daylight lights of course because the light police (just drivers who are wannabe cyclists, I fear) on this forum will tut tut at you because you blind them for life or you risk being run over as they dont like it.

drummer_boy

Out in the Ribble Valley at the weekend, on the club run, and the low sun was a nightmare. We had to detour through a farmyard as a horse had been hit and killed onthe road in front of us (coming down off Waddington Fell), and the rider was waiting for the air ambulance. Car v horse. Not pretty.

Let's all be careful out there.

ck101

After an off last year due to black ice and a period of 4 months on heavy duty antibiotics for a bone infection (caused by crash) I bought a Wahoo Kicker and signed up to Trainerroad. Even a hint of ice and I'm not going. Can't afford either the time off work or off the bike.

Bordersroadie

Ck101 wrote:

After an off last year due to black ice and a period of 4 months on heavy duty antibiotics for a bone infection (caused by crash) I bought a Wahoo Kicker and signed up to Trainerroad. Even a hint of ice and I'm not going. Can't afford either the time off work or off the bike.

I was also in A&E after a black ice off a few years ago.

There is an alternative to the turbo trainer. You can keep riding if you want to, if you have a suitable bike available.

I got a pair of Schwalbe Marathon Winter studded ice tyres, stuck them on an ancient MTB with rigid fork and now safely ride regularly on black ice, hard packed snow and even sheet ice (frozen field runoff makes some impressive ice rinks round here). Obviously caution is needed but they offer truly amazing traction when you can't even stand on your feet, so they enable me to keep up my training and the bonus is that even on their own the tyres weigh over a kilo each, not to mention their rolling resistance, so hard work is guaranteed!

If you have an old tourer or CX bike you can get them in 700 x 35c too.

fudgey

Black ice is a fooker. a couple of years ago i was riding to work on the mtb in mid feb, hit a patch of black ice and went down hard on my hip, tore leggings and leg..
dilemma was i was exactly half way to work, if i had gone home i would have been late so like a trooper i carried on.

got about mile down the road and ended up flat on my back... that time i landed very heavily on the back of my head and cracked my old giro lid... had i not been wearing one i am sure that would have hurt a lot more.

got back up and finished the ride in a great deal of pain!

might be time to get the mtb back out for the commute now, i dont fancy breaking the road bike lol

markhewitt1978

Low sun is a bugger. Even riding at lunchtime I had the sun right in my eyes, even I couldn't see where I was riding, so how someone with a dirty windscreen would cope?!

fudgey

They would probably push the little stalk next to the steering wheel, it will squirt water on the windscreen and then the wipers would clean it.

markhewitt1978

Fudgey wrote:

They would probably

That's a big assumption there!

homers_double

Got up at 5.45 today, car was frozen and the park was frozen so I thought Hmmm, frozen roads in the dark.

Bed was still warm as I got back in.

dj58

markhewitt1978 wrote:

Fudgey wrote:

They would probably

That's a big assumption there!

And even if they do bother to clean their windscreens they can still be temporarily blinded by low sunlight and run you over. "Sorry officer, I never saw him the sun was in my eye's".

whoof

It was cold this moring but as there has been no rain since Saturday and the road were dry so I rode, there was no ice.

WRT the sun being low in the sky in the afternoons it's like a strong headwindI I would plan which direction I would be riding. On a weekend ride if it was sunny I would plan to be finished by mid afternoon and would be riding back home away from and not into the sun.

Junctions: There is always the chance someone will not look at all or with any great care. Anticipation and road positioning help.