Where have all the roadies gone?

[matticus]

Selkirkshire (Scottish Borders). March 2018.

Aha! A fine county. My experience in October '21 was much less white, and considerably wetter. Still pretty in parts though (and I muchly enjoyed the 20mph uspeed limits!)

 

[T4tomo]

Damp roads, mud, ice with crunchy snow on top - yes, practice makes perfect.

You don't get better at riding on smooth, wet ice by practising doing it though - you probably end up breaking a hip/pelvis/arm/whatever instead.

You need friction between tyre and road to control a bike - you can't steer or brake on smooth, wet ice. The only thing you can do is carry on in a straight line and even THAT is hard to do. It also isn't much help if the icy road has a bend in it and you are going downhill at the time...

I went out on New Year's Day once and had 3 heavy falls on wet ice in less than an hour. I was really lucky not to hurt myself. I decided after that to avoid going out in icy conditions unless I ever got some studded tyres. (I risked it again a few years ago and... crashed!)

I walked to the shops a couple of nights ago and there was so much black ice on the backstreets that I could barely walk across them. Cycling on those would have been extremely foolish without studded tyres.

Agree.

I went out on Sunday am, (hertfordshire) which appeared to be fine until i got to a small road and there was ice galore in places. I did a bit a walking, then riding carefully where I could see was no ice, until I got back to a larger treated road, and then stuck to those to get back home.

I should have turned around when i first came across the ice, but pushed on thinking it was just an isolated patch and then I got to the point i has probably closer to safety by keeping going.

 

[Landsurfer]

I lived in Fife for 4 years in the early 80’s .... real snow .. proper snow ...
I rode fixed ............... everywhere ...
On ice and snow packed B and C roads ... I never came off ...?????
Before helmets or lycra ....

And my mates ....
MAD ..........

 

[Juan Kog]

Agree.

I went out on Sunday am, (hertfordshire)

Another Hertfordshire cyclist here , I didn’t leave home till 11.15 . Redbourn , Harpenden, Markyate and Dunstable downs ( ok that’s Bedfordshire) . Ice free by then . I’m very risk averse after a bad fall in 2012 .

I rode fixed

(EDIT) when I came off on black ice in December 2012 , I was on gears .
On gears in the middle of December, what was I thinking. .

 

[Brains]

Some Roadies still around.

Try the back of the 02 Stadium, quite a few, black jeans, black Metallica 1995 tour T-Shirt, black leather jacket, sunglasses (at night).

 

[Brains]

Holy thread revival, was CC even an entity in 2007 ? Or are the posts carried over from another forum ?

I'm still called a newbie by some, I was one of the last to arrive here after the Great Bike Radar desertion of 2007

 

[ColinJ]

I'm still called a newbie by some, I was one of the last to arrive here after the Great Bike Radar desertion of 2007

For those who don't know... many of us started off on the old Cycling Plus forum, which suddenly mutated into Bike Radar, a much less cosy place. I can't remember whose idea it was to come here from Bike Radar, but the word went around pretty quickly and hundreds of us did.

I also kept going over there for a year or two but found it too much trying to keep up with both, and the level of snide aggression on BR was getting to me so I gave up altogether years ago.

 

[T4tomo]

Another Hertfordshire cyclist here , I didn’t leave home till 11.15 . Redbourn , Harpenden, Markyate and Dunstable downs ( ok that’s Bedfordshire) . Ice free by then . I’m very risk averse after a bad fall in 2012 .

I headed out from Hemel @9ish, it was a little cut through from there to join the road from Redbourn up to Gaddesdon Row at that 90* corner at the top of the hill that was the issue.

 

[ianrauk]

I can't remember whose idea it was to come here from Bike Radar,

Iirc it was Arch

 

[T4tomo]

For those who don't know... many of us started off on the old Cycling Plus forum, which suddenly mutated into Bike Radar, a much less cosy place. I can't remember whose idea it was to come here from Bike Radar, but the word went around pretty quickly and hundreds of us did.

I also kept going over there for a year or two but found it too much trying to keep up with both, and the level of snide aggression on BR was getting to me so I gave up altogether years ago.

Similar, I found this place via BR and then at some point BR "upgraded" its platform and became virtually impossible to use. BR was a bit more road bike and bragging focussed, with seemingly younger crowd.

This place was always much better for advice on fixing / maintaining stuff.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

I was out in Hertfordshire on Sunday but I waited till 10am and stuck to roads I knew would be ok and catch the morning sun. I have occasionally been gritted by the gritter along Lilley bottom

 

[Juan Kog]

I headed out from Hemel @9ish, it was a little cut through from there to join the road from Redbourn up to Gaddesdon Row at that 90* corner at the top of the hill that was the issue.

I know it well. I was cycling with a mate when he fell heavily on that corner . But that was a wet road / diesel spill issue on that occasion.

 

[Juan Kog]

I was out in Hertfordshire on Sunday but I waited till 10am and stuck to roads I knew would be ok and catch the morning sun. I have occasionally been gritted by the gritter along Lilley bottom

I’m surprised the Herts CC gritter trucks know the Lilley bottom road exists .
Although it does get a lot of peak hour traffic .

 

[T4tomo]

I’m surprised the Herts CC gritter trucks know the Lilley bottom road exists .
Although it does get a lot of peak hour traffic .

Lilley's bottom is well known in many circles, as are Emily's buns, both of which can easily be combined into one entertaining trip.

 

[mjr]

Where have all the roadies gone?
Scalped by Freds, every one!

Get spiky when it's icy and you can go all winter long!