Do you go on your bike when the roads are covered with thin snow ?

[matticus]

I'm getting deja vu here - anyone remember the "cycling for more than an hour" debates?

 

[roubaixtuesday]

I'm getting deja vu here - anyone remember the "cycling for more than an hour" debates?

Exact same thing struck me. Mustn't go out for fear of a mechanical!

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Why does that surprise you? A small patch of ice, a car will be over it before it causes any real problem, but a bike will be on its side.

Plus, if somebody else loses control of their box on wheels and hits you, if you are in your own box, you have some protection. On a bike, you don't.

A good reason for not heading out in your box in snowy conditions

 

[roubaixtuesday]

A good reason for not heading out in your box in snowy conditions

It almost suggests that heading out in your box would be a selfish thing to do...

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Yes, risky - but not as risky as a bike. You can't fall off a car!

You can do this though , and that was without snow

 

[Ming the Merciless]

I'll ask you the same question. If things go wrong who are you going to call?

If you fall over and break your hip at home , who are you going to call?

 

[Ming the Merciless]

I might just get myself cryogenically frozen..

Cycle for long enough out there with insufficient clothing and you might get your wish

 

[ColinJ]

You can do this though , and that was without snow

View attachment 670992

And that was a driver who DID go to Specsavers!

 

[PaulSB]

If you fall over and break your hip at home , who are you going to call?

Ambulance service but then I haven't increased my risk of breaking a hip by riding in snow and ice.

It's quite beyond me why people cannot see cycling in such conditions increases personal risk and potentially risk for others or else find those risks acceptable. I don't know any real life cyclists who take similar risks, which makes me wonder.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Ambulance service but then I haven't increased my risk of breaking a hip by riding in snow and ice.

No but you might have increased your risk by trying to go up and down the stairs or cook in the kitchen

 

[Mr Celine]

Do you go on your bike when the roads are covered in snow?

Of course I do.

The last two, either side of the Swire on an early March evening, were as fun as they were unexpected (the road was ploughed lower down, but not to the top).

My winter bike has 28mm slick gatorskins. Maintaining traction on uphills is a problem and descents have to be taken with care.

Who am I going to call? There's no signal up there in winter and strangely enough there isn't one in summer either.
But slithering down the Swire on two wheels and two tip toes in nearly fifteen minutes carries far less risk of serious injury than belting down in under two and half minutes on the best bike on a summer evening.

 

[PaulSB]

No but you might have increased your risk by trying to go up and down the stairs or cook in the kitchen

That is a ridiculous statement and you know it. There is a difference between routines necessary to life and those which are not.

Clearly some cyclists refuse to see or chose to ignore snow and ice create an increased and entirely avoidable risk. Recreational cycling in these circumstances is at best foolhardy.

There's little point in continuing to post in this thread. 👋

 

[Andy in Germany]

Yes, risky - but not as risky as a bike. You can't fall off a car!

I think it's fair to say that in all of these cases no-one fell off anything.

I'm not sure that meant it was 'less risky' for those involved though.

 

[Andy in Germany]

Yes, I would say so. Generally main roads are safe for cars in the current conditions so I don't see a problem this week. If by walking you mean heading off on to the moors, hills etc, which is my idea of walking, then I would say no, stay at home.

As for cycling the riding I do is for pleasure, the roads I use aren't even close to fit for riding at present.

We were due at a social event this evening, organised by our walking group, but we've stayed home.

I've cancelled a social event I was hosting this coming Thursday because I consider the ½ mile access road too risky at present to ask people to walk or drive on. I practice what I preach.

It's your choice but in my view a selfish one.

12 people are killed per day on the roads in Germany, all year round. On that basis driving a car is inherently selfish when another option exists, because it results in unnecessary call-outs for the emergency services, in addition to the often ignored indirect healthcare costs caused by motor vehicle use.

In this context, this argument suggests we should be cracking down on selfish and unnecessary car use before we criticise cyclists for falling off their bike in the snow.

 

[Brandane]

If you fall over and break your hip at home , who are you going to call?

Hip-busters?