On the commute today

[rogerzilla]

The roads round here are now bone dry where they were salted, because there is a dessiccating NE wind.  However...the psyclepaths and side roads are now a thin layer of very hard compacted black ice which my spiked tyres are struggling to overcome.  I can wheelspin with moderate pedalling and do rear wheel skids on the fixie easily.  On the other hand, walking is even more dangerous, as I found when I tried.

I will probably drive the next couple of days, since there's one point of my commute where the only psyclepath alternative is a three-lane 50mph (i.e. 70mph because the speed cameras have been switched off) dual carriageway.

One day in some cycling utopia they might actually salt cycle routes.

[TimO]

One day in some cycling utopia they might actually salt cycle routes.

Hah.  I use two very busy cyclepaths in London (Clapham Common and Tooting Bec Common), I've never seen any salt/grit on either of them.  Don't hold your breath.

Tooting Bec Common yesterday evening was very difficult, although salt or grit would have made no difference, there was several inches of crunchy (ie refrozen) snow on it.  Not much fun.

[Regulator]

Last winter my street turned to sheet ice; light rain on slush created a nice smooth surface which then refroze to be like uneven glass.  I could ride on it, though I was doing so gingerly.  It was very hard to set off though, because there was zero grip to push against to lift my foot off the ground.

After my comments on the DNA path this morning, it was exactly like that this evening. Very hectic, even with twin ixons. How the people with wilco lights negotiated it, I don't know. Rest of the ride was uneventful. I may take a detour to the gogs tomorrow. However, if Greg was off work and able to offer coffee and cakes, I could detour via long road, obviously.

Sorry - I was in Welwyn Garden City today...

[Regulator]

One day in some cycling utopia they might actually salt cycle routes.

Hah.  I use two very busy cyclepaths in London (Clapham Common and Tooting Bec Common), I've never seen any salt/grit on either of them.  Don't hold your breath.

Tooting Bec Common yesterday evening was very difficult, although salt or grit would have made no difference, there was several inches of crunchy (ie refrozen) snow on it.  Not much fun.

Some of the cycle routes in Cambridge have been gritted.

They weren't gritted in the last big freeze earlier and the council got heavily criticised - even by the media who normally whinge about cyclists.

[rogerzilla]

They weren't gritted in the last big freeze earlier and the council got heavily criticised - even by the media who normally whinge about cyclists.

Yeah.  Keep the feckers off our roads, which our road tax pays for!

[henshaw11]

Roads in this bit of N surrey (well, Walton/Chertsey/Staines/Hampton Court, I think a bit further south may have been dodgier) seemed to be ok both yesterday and today. I'd taken the mtb rather than the recumbent just in case there was much ice - not to mention keeping the salt off it after the mess it made of the mtb's cables/drivetrain/rear brake caliper in the last bout of snow. (Reminder to self...wash the bloody bike before I put it away in the garage for a month !)

Main problem last night was bloody morons on the road  - I had one overtake/turnleft across me - not that close , but close enough that they were still in the road and I had to swing round the back of them (SUV, what a surprise..), plus three passes at about 18" from the end of my bars. Roads were virtually empty too, it's not like anyone "needed" to squeeze past - even less bloomin' excuse. The normal rate's something like one twat per 4 journeys rather than the converse..

[hatler]

I'm happily plying my way between SW20 and Sunbury at the moment. It's cold and the roads are damp, not icy. I stick to main roads virtually all the way. No worries as yet (touch wood).

[Deano]

I was back on the fixed commuter today, but since it snowed constantly from 10 am onwards, it was a bit of a dicey ride home on slick (albeit 1.5") tyres through churned-up snow, slush muck and occasional grit. 

Back on the MTB tomorrow, assuming the site is open - we were sent home early today. 

*prays for more snow*

[clarion]

V. slow ride home this evening.  it was fun.

I had to walk the last couple of roads, as the surface was really glassy.

[citoyen]

Very slippery roads tonight - mostly sheet ice with a light dusting of snow. Several times I would definitely have gone over if I didn't have studded tyres. Not losing traction when you expect to is a really weird feeling.

d.

[itsbruce]

Came back via the roads I avoided this morning.  Thin ice, nothing I couldn't manage.  Be more interesting when it's snow on ice, though.

[jane]

Oh I love my Roughstuff! What an amazing little bike! Snow over ice on the back streets this morning- slippy slidey but it held its ground.  Then loads of horrid, black snow slush on Brockley Rise. The A2 was Ok- bit slippy.  Felt so much more secure on the Roberts than on the Holdsworth which I rode in on Tuesday- that bike is so light and a touch too big so I'm always tempted to hop up onto the pedals.  The Roberts is just the right size- bigger wheelbase and its weight and fatter tyres made me feel like I could ride for miles in the snow- and now that's what I want to do- instead I'm in work.  Half the school staff are not, but we are still open for teaching today- snow based curriculum methinks today!

[iddu]

Yay - SNO!.

Speedy #314, Front & Centre. Gears - Check. Lubed - Check. Tyres - Check. Parking brake....Parking brake...

Never mind, 2Km made Oi toasty

[citoyen]

Going nowhere today. The "high speed" trains aren't affected by the weather, so I could in theory get on one if I rode down to Faversham. However, they're stuck behind the normal trains, which are affected - they can't draw any power because of ice on the third rail.

I'll probably go for a ride later anyway - just as far as Tesco to get the ingredients for a lemon polenta cake. On days like this, only cake will do.

d.

[itsbruce]

Wow!  Please tell me what the hell I am doing, cycling in over ridged and rutted ice and snow on a skinny track frame.  Apart from having amazing fun, that is.

Didn't see a clear road until central Brixton and then didn't see another till Battersea Bridge.  Every minor road was a juddering, bumping theme park ride; at one point, I found myself unclipping my left foot and cycling with my left leg stuck out, to keep balance (which is some trick on fixed).  But there were so few cars on the road that, combined with good speed once I was over the bridge, that it only added 10 minutes to my commute.

Those drivers who did venture out were mostly very generous and considerate, for once.  And it's the first time I've ever cycled to work with shouts of encouragement from pedestrians.

Did all this with bare knees, too, as my laundry rota got out of step and all my long tights are in the wash.  Actually looking forward to the trip home.

[vorsprung]

There was 4cm of snow last night which is not a lot in the scheme of things but the most we've seen so far.
The road from the house to the road that goes somewhere was compacted snow but thin enough to ride on.  I'd not tried the ice tires out at all except for a 5 minute trip to the shop yesterday so I was initially over cautious.  The first bit of road would have been ridable on normal tyres- just slush in the wheel tracks, it was well gritted.

It was clear on the hill down through Culmstock (which is good as it's twisty and steep ) back to slush.  I didn't take my first short cut as I knew there was at least some ice under the snow.
I got to the turn off for the bus route to Wellington via Nicholasheign, it was like the road outside my house, ungritted compacted snow.  But the snow was shallow and the spikes could grip fine in the worn tyre tracks.  I got off and walked down a couple of short sharp slopes.  Once I'd got to the top of the "pass" ( It is a sort of pass I suppose, that sounds a bit grandeous though ) the road down the other side which is a gentle descent was just as bad and I wasn't going to get any speed up in case the snow depth suddenly increased

Met a lorry reversing backwards up an icey steep bit and then the lower slope (down to Peamoor X) had been gritted so joining the A38 was easy enough

The underinflated 35mm ice tyres were "interesting" at 20mph+ but that didn't happen much
They are also hard work uphill
But they make a difficult commute an easy commute so I forgive them these little fobiles

[mrcharly-YHT]

Amazingly, the B1224 & A58 were completely clear of ice, just a some slush. Unfortunately this meant some traffic.

Leeds is a bit foul, random patches and lumps of ice under slush.

[Tim Hall]

Leeds is a bit foul,

This shall be our watchword.

[The Seldom Killer]

Following yesterday's fiasco, the A57 was open and cleared. I think it might have been officially closed though as there were hardly any moving cars. About 100 had been abandoned in the space of about two miles + 30 or so artics.

Clean run over Handsworth and didn't hit properly bad surface until I got to Darnall. Untreated, chossy, horrible. After that a pretty clean run to work. Snowing in Sheff again so might be worse going home.

I've borrowed my girlfriends 'cross bike so should be able to make progress.

[zigzag]

the ride to work was fine, slower by 10min, but fun. the worst bit was trying to separate frozen d-lock which i leave on the rack outside my work.

[clarion]

The ride to work was...interesting.

Our street was actually rideable.  Splendid start.  But the busier roads were icier.  I'd hoped that, once I got to the London Road, it would be clear.  Not so.  It was verrry tricky.  Butterfly was doing better with her hybrid and its chunky tyres.  I had Marathon Plus, which were OK through snow, but my rear wheel had a penchant for heading sideways on ice.  Fortunately, my front wheel stayed on track all the way.

It took nearly three hours to get to work, which is a couple of hours more than usual.

I stopped in at Apex Cycles to see if I could get a tyre - any tyre - a bit chunkier than my Marathon Plus.

But I couldn't

[her_welshness]

Blimey Charlie that were reet interesting. Having walked up my road to get onto the main road the front end of my overshoes were already jutting out from my shoes  Lewisham was a little difficult to navigate, the roads were clear but the cycle lanes were tricky to negotiate. By Camberwell I was almost screaming in agony as water had seeped into my shoes and my feet were like two blocks of ice. The last couple of miles was either by walking/freewheeling my bike along the brown slushiness whilst gritting my teeth and trying not to fall off. 

[JonBuoy]

I made it to the end of the road this morning before I had a bit of a lie down on the ice.  The main problem was the thin layer of fresh snow that disguised the underlying slipperyness.

Slightly sore right elbow 
Yale key imprint in right buttock 
No damage to bike 

[clarion]

No damage to bike 

Phew!

[mrcharly-YHT]

Yale key imprint in right buttock 

Major plus; if you lose your keys, you can just drop your trousers, bend over, and ask the locksmith to make a copy.