Country lanes in winter

[mjr]

My biggest concern regarding country lanes in the winter is idiot drivers presuming only cars will be using the lanes at night. A couple of years ago, cycling home from my sister's on Xmas day I was faced with a car taking the racing line around a bend. I guess they assumed the road was clear because they didn't see a car's full beam ahead of them. Thankfully my very bright Cree light did mark me out in the last few seconds and I didn't get hit... but it was chuffing scary. This year I'll leave well before sundown.

Nah, don't worry, they'll probably have killed themselves taking the racing line into a fallen tree or wild deer by now.

 

[rogerzilla]

We had a twotter in an SUV coming towards us on a country lane last night at some serious speed.

"He was going for it", I commented to my riding partner. A couple of seconds later, we heard screeching tyres and general crunching noises as it failed to negotiate the 90 degree bend (was a crossroads years ago) we'd just come round.

 

[gbb]

Got back to regularly commuting in late July this year and have been loving it (15 miles each way). Around 80% of my commute is on quiet country roads and during yesterday's commute, going round a bend my bike came out from under me and I crashed. It was a frosty morning and overnight rain had left the lanes particularly slippery. After getting back on my bike, there were another 4 occasions where my bike was very close to skidding out from under me.

Consequently I was quite shook up and spooked when I finally arrived at work. A colleague gave me a lift home and I've driven in today.

Is it foolhardy to continue to try and commute to work over the winter months through country lanes? Any recommendations on steps I can take to prevent further incidents?

One thing I learned (I havnt read most of the replies so it may already be covered) is this...
Watch out for those patches in the road where the tarmac has melted in the summer and pooled creating those shiny black patches. They are very very slippery in the frost. I was riding one frosty morning and in an instant, found myself sliding along the ground...having just rode over one of those patches.