Safety in winter

[dicko]

January 1963 started my first job and it snowed and snowed and some. Seven thirty start but you get used to cycling on snowy roads and never fell off only dismounting at the bike sheds fell off ohh what an embarrassment

 

[Ming the Merciless]

My rule of thumb is, if it white, stay upright. Here I am on my recumbent last winter.

 

[HLaB]

What are your rules of thumb re frost/ice risk? I used to say nil rain and min overnight forecast temperature of 3C but the forecasters' reference point is, I think, 5 metres above ground whereas we roadies are more interested in road surface temperature.

Re Surrey, Sussex and Kent: where are the localised ice pockets that should be avoided?

All advice will be gratefully received.

3 degree When I was younger it'd be -3deg for cycling on city roads/ bus routes for commuting but for leisure rides its always been assess in the morning with 0-1 deg my level to decide lie in or not. If I do ride it tends to be a flat route.

 

[Jenkins]

When I was commuting, I used to change my route and stick to the gritted and lit main roads where possible instead of the preferred unlit back roads. Go slightly slower especially round corners and keep your ears open - if the road noise from the tyres disappears there's a chance you may be on black ice.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

No type of non-studded tyre, no matter what its "sesonal denomination" may claim, offers you grip on ice. That's just a fallacy of the silliest kind. Further, whilst you can generally recover from a bit of rear-wheel skid, front-wheel skid is precipitous and irrecoverable.

Physical facts trumps anecdote and marketing hype written on tyre packaging.

 

[Ian H]

Snow's fine. In other freezing conditions, if there are crunching sounds as you pedal, you're pretty safe. If it goes silent then it's best to be cautious. If you have to be cautious then it becomes difficult to keep warm.

 

[Chief Broom]

I dont do ice, ive had a few 'offs' on motorcycles and learnt my lesson. Black ice will have you hitting the ground looking up at the sky wondering how the hell that happened its that fast. It always hurts and if youre unlucky could hit something unforgiving or slide under the wheels of a lorry and die....so nope i dont do ice.

 

[All uphill]

I don't go out if it's icy; recently I'm also very cautious at this time of year when there are patches of soggy and slippery leaves.

My cycling instincts, learned as a child, still seem to be good. Brake and steer only on good surfaces; keep speeds in the 8 to 10 mph range on the tricky bits; relax grip on handlebars; if there's sheet ice, walk.

 

[ColinJ]

I'm also very cautious at this time of year when there are patches of soggy and slippery leaves.

Very wise...!

Wet leaves slippery ... Yes - a colleague had dismounted and was walking his bike into a station when he slipped on wet leaves outside and broke a hip!

I bought a cycling jacket and went out wearing it for the first time on a drizzly day. 10 minutes later I crashed on wet leaves and ripped it (and cut and bruised myself) ...

 

[Marchrider]

avoid your front brake if it look dodgy and keep your speed low
(which makes long decent painfull listening to the brakes grinding on the rear rims as you try to keep it below 10)

winter cycling is wonderful though, I just love it. and most of t is fine to ride on, but you have to learn how to recognise the invisible black ice, which takes a lot of experience. if in doubt stop and walk on it

I hope we get a winter this year
days like this are wonderful

and roads like this are fine too

just had one proper fall, and it was stupid, i knew it was stupid before I rode over it, water flowing on top of ice, and thats slippy
ended up sitting in a pool of water with a long way to go and soaking wet pants