The 2019 Half Century a month Challenge chatzone

[NorthernDave]

I really want to get out for a ride tomorrow, but looking out of the window now there is a very hard, white frost.

I guess I'll be checking in the morning to see just how icy it is.

Edit to add: I've just read this and now feel suitably shamefaced about worrying about it being cold:

https://road.cc/content/news/255613-cyclist-defies-polar-vortex-set-new-course-record-arrowhead-135

 

[13 rider]

That's Febs in the bag which makes 50 months in this challenge a nice round figure ,50 months of 50 km rides

 

[NorthernDave]

Another Saturday with no ride - simply too icy to risk it and despite being a bright day it's still icy now in the shaded spots.
Subzero temperatures forecast again tonight and until mid-morning tomorrow so the chances of a ride then look very slim too.

I've done an hour on the turbo but it's just not the same.

 

[C R]

Another Saturday with no ride - simply too icy to risk it and despite being a bright day it's still icy now in the shaded spots.
Subzero temperatures forecast again tonight and until mid-morning tomorrow so the chances of a ride then look very slim too.

I've done an hour on the turbo but it's just not the same.

Same here, third weekend in a row that the weather interferes with my riding.

 

[ColinJ]

I got away with a heavy fall on an icy road a while back but don't want to risk it happening again - I could be unlucky next time! I'll stay off the roads for a few more days until the ice risk passes.

Prostate surgery scheduled for Feb 20 so March will be a lean month.

Good luck with the surgery.Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Yes - good luck and heal fast!

If you do manage to get back up to speed by the end of March and fancy joining other CC members for an outing to the coast, watch out for my annual forum ride to Conder Green/Glasson Dock. It is a 100 mile round trip from from Todmorden or 100 km from Whalley, usually taking place on the last Saturday in March or the first in April.

 

[Domus]

Your Glasson Dock ride last year coincided with my Bay Cycle Way, we arrived at the cafe after you had gone.
I will wait and see but I need to get fit for the second week in April as I am of to Mallorca

 

[ColinJ]

Your Glasson Dock ride last year coincided with my Bay Cycle Way, we arrived at the cafe after you had gone.
I will wait and see but I need to get fit for the second week in April as I am of to Mallorca

Ah yes - I forgot that!

 

[Littgull]

Another Saturday with no ride - simply too icy to risk it and despite being a bright day it's still icy now in the shaded spots.
Subzero temperatures forecast again tonight and until mid-morning tomorrow so the chances of a ride then look very slim too.

I've done an hour on the turbo but it's just not the same.

I've got exactly the same dilemma this morning. No outdoor cycling for a week due to the ice. A very hard frost last night that has left some 'new'' ice. A window of a few hours this morning to get out on the bike before forecasted snow arrives from 1 pm. I would ride gritted main roads but you only need just one ungritted spot in a shaded part and disaster could strike. To compound things, we are away (without bikes) from Tuesday to Thursday this week. So if I don't get out this morning it'll be nearly a week until I get out and rain is forecasted for Friday and Saturday.
My decision - be patient and don't risk it on the bike this morning. I'll get out for a good walk instead. Plenty of better ice free days to come.

 

[NorthernDave]

I've got exactly the same dilemma this morning. No outdoor cycling for a week due to the ice. A very hard frost last night that has left some 'new'' ice. A window of a few hours this morning to get out on the bike before forecasted snow arrives from 1 pm. I would ride gritted main roads but you only need just one ungritted spot in a shaded part and disaster could strike. To compound things, we are away (without bikes) from Tuesday to Thursday this week. So if I don't get out this morning it'll be nearly a week until I get out and rain is forecasted for Friday and Saturday.
My decision - be patient and don't risk it on the bike this morning. I'll get out for a good walk instead. Plenty of better ice free days to come.

You're right - walking the dog has confirmed that there is just too much ice about to risk it this morning and I've got other commitments this afternoon so it looks like the turbo again.

 

[ColinJ]

I haven't ventured out yet but it got down below -4 deg C here last night so I am sure that there will be ice in places away from the busy main valley roads and I don't really fancy cycling on them today. I will walk to the shops and come back into the warm. I'll do 30+ minutes on the turbo trainer this afternoon.

 

[Pale Rider]

Studded tyres is the answer to riding on ice.

The conditions we have currently are made for them, light snow, black and other colours of ice.

I recall a couple of pedestrians gawping at me last winter as I rode - carefully - on a path they were having trouble standing up on.

 

[Littgull]

Studded tyres is the answer to riding on ice.

The conditions we have currently are made for them, light snow, black and other colours of ice.

I recall a couple of pedestrians gawping at me last winter as I rode - carefully - on a path they were having trouble standing up on.

Yes, studded tyres are definitely the answer Rob. But I don't really want the faff of putting them on and taking them off for what is not normally any more than a week or ten days of snowy/icy weather each year. Not to mention shelling out for them too.

 

[ColinJ]

Yes, studded tyres are definitely the answer Rob. But I don't really want the faff of putting them on and taking them off for what is not normally any more than a week or ten days of snowy/icy weather each year. Not to mention shelling out for them too.

I was thinking that too.

If I could afford a spare pair of wheels which I could leave permanently fitted with studded tyres then I would be happy to swap those over as needed, but I can't afford to do that. As for just swapping tyres - not for a week or two at a time when I would probably only be riding 100-150 kms a week anyway.

I'm nearly 400 kms down on my target for the year to date but I will soon start to catch up once the weather improves.

 

[Pale Rider]

Yes, studded tyres are definitely the answer Rob. But I don't really want the faff of putting them on and taking them off for what is not normally any more than a week or ten days of snowy/icy weather each year. Not to mention shelling out for them too.

Aye, the extra faff is not to be under-estimated.

Another point is the studded tyres are less puncture resistant, I suspect the compound is a bit 'stickier' to aid grip in freezing conditions.

Were I a commuter, I'd think about a spare set of wheels with the studs mounted permanently on them.

Looks to be milder for the next couple of weeks, so it would be handy to be able to whip the studs off and put them back for the next cold snap.

Edit: Beaten to it by @ColinJ.

 

[NorthernDave]

Studded tyres is the answer to riding on ice.

The conditions we have currently are made for them, light snow, black and other colours of ice.

I recall a couple of pedestrians gawping at me last winter as I rode - carefully - on a path they were having trouble standing up on.

Yes, studded tyres are definitely the answer Rob. But I don't really want the faff of putting them on and taking them off for what is not normally any more than a week or ten days of snowy/icy weather each year. Not to mention shelling out for them too.

I was thinking that too.

If I could afford a spare pair of wheels which I could leave permanently fitted with studded tyres then I would be happy to swap those over as needed, but I can't afford to do that. As for just swapping tyres - not for a week or two at a time when I would probably only be riding 100-150 kms a week anyway.

I'm nearly 400 kms down on my target for the year to date but I will soon start to catch up once the weather improves.

Aye, the extra faff is not to be under-estimated.

Another point is the studded tyres are less puncture resistant, I suspect the compound is a bit 'stickier' to aid grip in freezing conditions.

Were I a commuter, I'd think about a spare set of wheels with the studs mounted permanently on them.

Looks to be milder for the next couple of weeks, so it would be handy to be able to whip the studs off and put them back for the next cold snap.

Edit: Beaten to it by @ColinJ.

Or buy some of these?