Its very icy out there this morning.

Dippydog3

Four hour ride through the New Forest just became a five minute ride. I am now minus:-

some paint on my shifter, pedals and frame
a pair of dhb bibs
a castelli alpha jersey
a small bit of me from my elbow
an ipad size bit of me from my butt

slowbike

http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/TYSCSNST/s ... wired-tyre

redvision

Ouch! Sorry to hear about your off. At least you have avoided a more serious injury.
Hope your cuts heal soon.

I had a ride planned this morning but a quick glance out the window at 8 and the sight of cars struggling on the hill outside was enough for me to opt out. Roller session instead

thepeopleschamp

Same thing happened to me a couple of weeks ago, went down like a sack of sh!t cornering on black ice.
My problem is that I live at the top of hill whose claim to fame is it's sunken lanes & these things stay covered in ice long after the sun comes up.

I did my first commute on Marathon Winters this morning (35mm, 200 spiked version) and it was a revelation. No bother at all cornering on ice. I started aiming for it after I got used to them!
Not sure going back up later is going to be fun, these thing are about 1kg each and I had them as 40psi so pretty sluggish.

sigorman85

Rule #9

kajjal

Not worth the risk if it is icy, you can really injure yourself.

slowbike

Kajjal wrote:

Not worth the risk if it is icy, you can really injure yourself.

Same old same old .... every year a few folk come out with this ...

There's risk all year round - gravel, leaves, ice, oil or other vehicles - there's loads of stuff that can make you crash and risk injury - for me Ice is a similar risk - you need to mitigate it as you do the other risks - and that means not pushing it around corners, being more restrained in your speed and perhaps reviewing the gear you use for riding.

I, along with many others, continue to commute by bike throughout the winter - even in ice & snow - I've only once canned a ride and that was due to late night heavy rain followed by clear skies that meant even the main roads were complete ice and I was too lazy/late to pop the studded tyres on ...

DrLex

Oh dear! Was that your Diverge?

snakedoc

Sorry to hear that - I commuted into work today but took it very, very easy on any bends/junctions as despite the sun shining, you could just about make out the icy patches on the road (especially in the shaded areas).

Hope you heal up soon (and at least there is no expensive damage to your bike)

dudley heinsbergen

surrey lanes seemed ok this morn - took it pretty gingerly though and had a few clenching moments

macleod113

Hope you heal well and quickly. sorry about the trashed kit.

i've ordered some of the spike tyres as at only £11 each its worth a punt even if i dont get to use them till later in the year now (next week maybe).

i bailed on cycling today. i'll hit the garage later though zzzzzzz.....

Dippydog3

DrLex wrote:

Oh dear! Was that your Diverge?

Afraid so.
Almost no damage really. The pedal took the brunt of it and I have changed that.

Should have taken the car down to meet the gang. Still icy now having said that.

florerider

Sorry to hear that, did the same a few years ago, and the pedal and my new jacket took all the damage.

It was a bright sunny day but crisp, then one shaded corner and it was black ice....

I don't risk it anymore, but it feels wierd training inside whilst bright sunshine outside.

ugo.santalucia

Dippydog3 wrote:

Four hour ride through the New Forest just became a five minute ride. I am now minus:-

some paint on my shifter, pedals and frame
a pair of dhb bibs
a castelli alpha jersey
a small bit of me from my elbow
an ipad size bit of me from my butt

Seasonal collaterals... I came off at a roundabout a couple of weeks ago... :?

Happy to receive a late Santa, if you want to get rid of your scuffed Castelli Alpha... I am a Medium size generally...

bendertherobot

Alpha is reduced at Evans at the moment.

meanredspider

I was descending at over 60kmh on the Ice Spiker Pros on snow and ice on a fire road today. Ice on the roads just isn't worth the bother of taking the road bike out - I still have a scar on my arm from coming off when my front wheel just caught a patch of frozen snow a few years ago.

kajjal

Slowbike wrote:

Kajjal wrote:

Not worth the risk if it is icy, you can really injure yourself.

Same old same old .... every year a few folk come out with this ...

There's risk all year round - gravel, leaves, ice, oil or other vehicles - there's loads of stuff that can make you crash and risk injury - for me Ice is a similar risk - you need to mitigate it as you do the other risks - and that means not pushing it around corners, being more restrained in your speed and perhaps reviewing the gear you use for riding.

I, along with many others, continue to commute by bike throughout the winter - even in ice & snow - I've only once canned a ride and that was due to late night heavy rain followed by clear skies that meant even the main roads were complete ice and I was too lazy/late to pop the studded tyres on ...

Your my hero

Dippydog3

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Dippydog3 wrote:

Four hour ride through the New Forest just became a five minute ride. I am now minus:-

some paint on my shifter, pedals and frame
a pair of dhb bibs
a castelli alpha jersey
a small bit of me from my elbow
an ipad size bit of me from my butt

Seasonal collaterals... I came off at a roundabout a couple of weeks ago... :?

Happy to receive a late Santa, if you want to get rid of your scuffed Castelli Alpha... I am a Medium size generally...

I am afraid you will need a lot more mince pies before my XL is suitable for you.

The Alphas has a nice hole in the elbow the size of a matchbox.
My bibs though, have a hole on the butt the size of an iphone.
My good lady has made a patch from the bibs and repaired the Alpha. Not perfect, but as she says its like a battle scar and proves I am a badass.

I did however order a new one in a different colour to make myself feel better.

Pictures of my butt looking like a pound of steak tartare are bound to go viral. I will post a link when appropriate.

itboffin

Its not been much warmer here than 1C since Thursday yet i still stupidly took my road bike out on Friday with the intention of riding 60 miles, 8 miles in I admitted defeat turned around and tiptoed home.

Yesterday I prepared the MTB made it half a mile before turning around and swapping to ice spikes, job done but not really because as has already been mentioned theses things are heavy which effects most of my potential routes, weirdly all of the trails and paths were just deep ice water filled and muddy.

Turbo it is ....well perhaps a few MTB rides as well 8)

alex222

I came down yesterday on some ice near Cobham. 3 stitches required above the eye and a crack in the helmet too. After I came down a pair of riders came down on the same bit of ice and then two more from a group of three that went past.
My mate skipped the ride due to the conditions but I thought it looked okay. Will now just not bother when ice looks likely.

slowmart

I knocked the riding on the head for the last couple of days and half thought, pussy, HTFU.

That was until I read this

Speedy recovery to all the unfortunates who have suffered off's

cougie

Slowbike wrote:

Kajjal wrote:

Not worth the risk if it is icy, you can really injure yourself.

Same old same old .... every year a few folk come out with this ...

There's risk all year round - gravel, leaves, ice, oil or other vehicles - there's loads of stuff that can make you crash and risk injury - for me Ice is a similar risk - you need to mitigate it as you do the other risks - and that means not pushing it around corners, being more restrained in your speed and perhaps reviewing the gear you use for riding.

I, along with many others, continue to commute by bike throughout the winter - even in ice & snow - I've only once canned a ride and that was due to late night heavy rain followed by clear skies that meant even the main roads were complete ice and I was too lazy/late to pop the studded tyres on ...

Unless you've spiked ice tyres then I don't see you'll stay up on icy roads. I've come off on black ice on roads that I've ridden hundreds of times and none of the fishing lakes were frozen either that day.

If it's properly icy I can't even make it to the gritted roads where I'd at least have half a chance. It's risk v benefit. What benefit will I get from one ride ?

There can be gravel and oil and other vehicles on the road all year round. Ice on top of the rest is just stacking the odds too highly.

Grahamsjz

I live in Cobham and am nervous about bad weather. Where did you come down?

meanredspider

My rule of thumb is whether there's frost on the cars - it seems reasonably reliable. Frost = spiked tyres. When I've ignored this, I've had close calls.

alex222

Grahamsjz wrote:

I live in Cobham and am nervous about bad weather. Where did you come down?

I came down on Downside Road (starting opposite the Waitrose). Patch of ice was close to junction with Cobham Park Road.
There was a lot of water overflowing the drains beforehand, so maybe some cars had splashed this water further into the road.

Grahamsjz

Alex222 wrote:

Grahamsjz wrote:

I live in Cobham and am nervous about bad weather. Where did you come down?

I came down on Downside Road (starting opposite the Waitrose). Patch of ice was close to junction with Cobham Park Road.
There was a lot of water overflowing the drains beforehand, so maybe some cars had splashed this water further into the road.

Busy road to come down on, I would have thought that would have been ok. The lanes must have been lethal if Downside Rd still had ice.

mfin

Dippydog3 wrote:

Four hour ride through the New Forest just became a five minute ride. I am now minus:-
...an ipad size bit of me from my butt

Dippydog3 wrote:

My bibs though, have a hole on the butt the size of an iphone.

Have you fitted an ipad sized injury through an iphone sized hole? If so, 1, are you Paul Daniels? and 2, how is the apple endorsement deal going? I haven't seen you on any adverts.

(Twas icy yesterday, worse today here)

slowbike

cougie wrote:

Slowbike wrote:

Kajjal wrote:

Not worth the risk if it is icy, you can really injure yourself.

Same old same old .... every year a few folk come out with this ...

There's risk all year round - gravel, leaves, ice, oil or other vehicles - there's loads of stuff that can make you crash and risk injury - for me Ice is a similar risk - you need to mitigate it as you do the other risks - and that means not pushing it around corners, being more restrained in your speed and perhaps reviewing the gear you use for riding.

I, along with many others, continue to commute by bike throughout the winter - even in ice & snow - I've only once canned a ride and that was due to late night heavy rain followed by clear skies that meant even the main roads were complete ice and I was too lazy/late to pop the studded tyres on ...

Unless you've spiked ice tyres then I don't see you'll stay up on icy roads. I've come off on black ice on roads that I've ridden hundreds of times and none of the fishing lakes were frozen either that day.

If it's properly icy I can't even make it to the gritted roads where I'd at least have half a chance. It's risk v benefit. What benefit will I get from one ride ?

There can be gravel and oil and other vehicles on the road all year round. Ice on top of the rest is just stacking the odds too highly.

I do have spiked ice tyres - but don't always use them.
-4°C yesterday - the dodgy bits were the untreated lanes in the dark, the main roads were ok - not fabulous, but ok.
Benefit from one ride? There is no training benefit - you get to turn your legs over and save on fuel if you'd otherwise have taken the car - winter rides like that are not for training - that is best done on the turbo...

kinioo

-3 this morning.
Lovely ride to work.
Quiet on road.
Beautiful sunrise.
Bit of ice here and there, but no probs.
No spiked tyres.

thegreatdivide

Snow and ice = MTB
Frost = Road bike

On Boxing Day it was so cold up here that any perspiration making it through my clothing turned to frost, my beard iced up and my glasses froze over and had to be relegated to the helmet vents and the wheels had frost fringes on their bladed spokes! However the roads were fine and any parts that hadn’t been salted were thick with frost which I find fine for 28mm tyres at 70psi or there about.

Don’t ride fast, read the road and stay on the flat as much as possible.

Dippydog3

mfin wrote:

Dippydog3 wrote:

Four hour ride through the New Forest just became a five minute ride. I am now minus:-
...an ipad size bit of me from my butt

Dippydog3 wrote:

My bibs though, have a hole on the butt the size of an iphone.

Have you fitted an ipad sized injury through an iphone sized hole? If so, 1, are you Paul Daniels? and 2, how is the apple endorsement deal going? I haven't seen you on any adverts.

(Twas icy yesterday, worse today here)

Congrats. With only one day to go you are leading "Pedant of the year".

Its called Lycra. It stretches and moves.

I am not Paul Daniels but I did once meet Debbie.

Actually when I looked down, through the phone sized hole I saw no injury. It was only when I moved the hole that I saw the problem.