Commuting In The Snow

[hennbell]

Ray of sunshine or not....

Advocating diving into. 4 ' snow drift without knowing what is below it is not something that can really be recommended

Off road tracks still have edges, ditches and a plethora of other obstacles you will not see if hidden by snow

You are aware that 4 feet of snow kind of has the ability to take the edge off a ditch or plethora of things

It like when you are riding you mountain bike and someone leaves a nice ramp outside, you could get hurt, but some people choose to take the leap.

You have no idea of the joy of a good snow drift

Have never been down hill skiing in powder ? Give it a go and you see what I mean.
Until then have a go in a nice padded bouncy castle, you just might have some fun.

 

[cyberknight]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21004656

Play the top video and forward to 17 seconds, blue coat and skiing mittens, I'm on TV!

For some reason bbc i player is on the blink for me atm

I think the word is sensible and not wimp.
I would not risk country lanes when it is icy or potentially icy on normal tyres. The country lanes near me are not gritted and are often wet with standing water, due to no drainage, waiting to turn into sheet ice.

Cheers, i will check out road conditions tonight, looks like its melted a bit so i am guessing it will freeze over night ,I can then make a judgement call for the rest of the week ,typically i just sold my MTB as i never used it and needed the cash

 

[HLaB]

I took a very slow commute managed fine on the 23mm tyres, took as flat and straight a route as possible but my commute is short. I did have to deviate a bit from this in the AM do to school traffic, I usually bypass the queues by going along the hatching along the middle of Thorpe Road but I couldn't see it. I took the more direct route in the PM but chose to walk under Crescent Bridge rbt rather than tackle it slowly.

 

[Maz]

I had to walk about a mile of the way home.
Freehub would not give me any drive. Then it started working. Then it stopped. Then it started working again. Then it stopped working again. AGGGGHHHHH!!!!...

 

[paulw1969]

Tonights commute home at 3 o'clock was dicey to say the least, on some of the back roads it was very slushy and unsettling when the front wheel decided to go its own way a few times. As expected the main roads were fine just wet. Just looked outside and the road is glistening with ice....forecast is for minus 3 in this area.....sorry its going to be the car tomorrow. Hopefully it will dry up a little later in the week, as it is out there at the minute its just not worth the risk.
Next year i will probably get some studded tyres in good time to get them worn in i reckon, not so much for the days like today snow then slush but more for the kind of days where it is really icy as expected tomorrow.

 

[Supersuperleeds]

It's getting very icy out there now. Just picked the youngest up from scouts and side roads are all icing up, going to be main roads again tomorrow into work.

 

[Crankarm]

I cycle on the busway from longstanton to the science park, not one single particle of grit to be seen. Luckily the snow was still fresh and only about 1cm deep so it was fine. The real danger are the frozen mounds of horsey-poo

The mini tractor was doing a test run saturday morning as a van was infront of it pi55ing me off as I rode to work. The van would come up close behind the driver try to force his way past me then stop at the next set of barriers to open them, blocking the whole path, forcing me onto the GBW itself to get past. A few minutes later the van belching thick black acrid black smoke would try to pass me again.

I think the mini tractor sprayed a salt solution on the GBW as it was definately clear of snow at 10-10.30 am this mornimg much to my disappointment having re-fitted the SMW studded tyres to my bike I was expecting serious snow action.

 

[Bigsharn]

This morning I'm heading in on Marathon +s. Luckily the roads I commute on are well-used so I just have to be wary of ice this morning

 

[cyberknight]

Sad to say the car was the right decision, took the same route as the bike home and i could see a lot of frozen sections on the road and one part was particularly bad where the flooding had just frozen over on an ungritted hill section so i would have had a good walk up a slippery single track road.

 

[donnydave]

I think the mini tractor sprayed a salt solution on the GBW as it was definately clear of snow at 10-10.30 am this mornimg much to my disappointment having re-fitted the SMW studded tyres to my bike I was expecting serious snow action.

Same feeling of disappointment here, I wanted the choice of mountain bike or normal road bike to be easy (i.e. Winter Wonderland or just a bit frosty) but now both choices are sub optimal for the conditions, there's a real danger someone better prepared could overtake me!

 

[MisterStan]

Calling all Busway Warriors! I emailed the council to ask about them treating the Busway and got this response;

Thank you for your enquiry, which has been passed to me by the Passenger Transport team.
The maintenance track is treated with brine (rather than grit or salt) by the Highways Team on a regular basis when prolonged adverse weather is expected.
The treatment run on the northern section is usually carried out during off-peak hours, to minimise the disruption to commuters using the maintenance track. The southern section is treated using a different vehicle, and the works are usually carried out during the early hours of the morning.
[/QUOTE]


So my question to you all is this - i only have 23mm skinnies on my road bikes - don't have any other options available to me - would you think i'd be OK on the Busway tomorrow? It is forecast to drop to -3 overnight....

 

[donnydave]

Calling all Busway Warriors!....;

I would say yes. Saw quite a few people on road bikes this morning and they were all the right way up. If I didn't have the mountain bike option I would just do it on my normal bike (23mm gatorskins) and just go a bit steady. I did it for 3-4 days of sub zero before Christmas when it was icy/frosty and it was fine. I remember one morning I got off and walked the road crossings and chicane barrier things but that was the only inconvenience.

It probably depends what your journey involves at either end. I work just next to the science park (Cowley road) so don't have much distance to do once I get off the busway.

Oh, top tip for making the kids get out the way when they walk in a line on purpose across the full width of the busway - stand up and get some speed, then yank the back brake and get the rear wheel fishtailing a couple of times, they'll soon move.....

 

[MisterStan]

I would say yes. Saw quite a few people on road bikes this morning and they were all the right way up. If I didn't have the mountain bike option I would just do it on my normal bike (23mm gatorskins) and just go a bit steady. I did it for 3-4 days of sub zero before Christmas when it was icy/frosty and it was fine. I remember one morning I got off and walked the road crossings and chicane barrier things but that was the only inconvenience.

It probably depends what your journey involves at either end. I work just next to the science park (Cowley road) so don't have much distance to do once I get off the busway.

Oh, top tip for making the kids get out the way when they walk in a line on purpose across the full width of the busway - stand up and get some speed, then yank the back brake and get the rear wheel fishtailing a couple of times, they'll soon move.....

Thanks Dave! I'll see how i get on tomorrow.

 

[donnydave]

What? You're actually taking my advice seriously? good luck!

 

[MisterStan]

What? You're actually taking my advice seriously? good luck!

If/when it goes wrong, i'll know where to lie in wait for you....