Edinburgh ice casualty

[magnatom]

Thank you for the supportive comments gents. Am just about to phone her mum to break the news!! The last thing she said as she left the house just before us was to be very careful as she'd almost just slipped going out to the car.

Why do you have to tell her. We would keep it a cyclechat secret honest

 

[tdr1nka]

Mag,

She's a Mum.
If Dom doesn't tell her she would likely notice the damage to the child seat and start asking very difficult questions.

I've seen guilty secrets of that kind eat grown men alive.

T x

 

[tdr1nka]

*Fellow London cycling Dad(also real name Dom!)waits with baited breath*

T x

 

[John the Monkey]

Amazing how folks will not even bother helping or seeing if you're OK. My female colleague who came off her bike on Tuesday too (clipped by a u-turning van which took off without stopping) was lying in the middle of her street with mums pushing buggies and walking kids to school on either side, and not ONE stopped to help her or see if she was OK.

I posted a similar experience a while back, in response to Arbitrary's post about being driven at. (I was clipped by a car that failed to stop, and then had all the following cars blithely drive past me as I lay (fortunately only stunned/winded) on the pavement).

It's a shame things are sometimes like that, and one of the many plusses of cycling (I find) is the camraderie between "regulars" on a route who will often pull in to check that you're ok if they see you fixing something on the bike as they pass.

 

[Tynan]

sad to hear, my couple of proper offs attracted a crowd of well wishers

you lot must cycle in bad areas with bad people

the city most likely

 

[PrettyboyTim]

... was lying in the middle of her street with mums pushing buggies and walking kids to school on either side, and not ONE stopped to help her or see if she was OK.

To be honest if I was walking with a small child in a buggy or walking alongside me, I'd be hesitant about going out into the middle of the road to help someone. I'd certainly do *something* though.

A few months ago I saw someone taken off his bike by a car that turned right straight across him as I was walking my son to nursery. I went to make sure he was okay, but by the time I'd safely gotten my son across the road, he'd already got up with his bike and the driver of the car was out helping him as well. (Incidentally, the cyclist escaped with nothing more than a skinned elbow, and seemed very calm, almost apologetic about the whole thing)

My guess is that all those passing mums assumed that someone not currently encumbered with a child would help. I seem to remember hearing about some research showing that if someone is hurt they'll get assistance more quickly if there's less people about because people are less likely to assume that someone else will do something.

 

[John the Monkey]

you lot must cycle in bad areas with bad people

Suburban Cheshire, in my case.

 

[Jacomus-rides-Gen]

DT!! Am very glad you and the SPB are both ok!

That must have shaken you up some. Its a bit late now, but get some sugary tea down you anyway.

 

[Tetedelacourse]

To be honest if I was walking with a small child in a buggy or walking alongside me, I'd be hesitant about going out into the middle of the road to help someone. I'd certainly do *something* though.

A few months ago I saw someone taken off his bike by a car that turned right straight across him as I was walking my son to nursery. I went to make sure he was okay, but by the time I'd safely gotten my son across the road, he'd already got up with his bike and the driver of the car was out helping him as well. (Incidentally, the cyclist escaped with nothing more than a skinned elbow, and seemed very calm, almost apologetic about the whole thing)

My guess is that all those passing mums assumed that someone not currently encumbered with a child would help. I seem to remember hearing about some research showing that if someone is hurt they'll get assistance more quickly if there's less people about because people are less likely to assume that someone else will do something.

That's called Bystander Effect. Explains it but doesn't excuse it.

 

[HJ]

Ice rink about sums up the conditions that morning.

Never encountered anything like it throughout the whole of last winter - it was a freak occurrence, I reckon.

Last winter was a freak occurrence, there wasn't any serious frost, this year is looking more like a normal winter, you have just got to lookout and hope for the best. In the past 15 years I have only really had on ice rink problem. That was cycling over frozen snow, it was fine riding out in the morning while it was still below freezing. Returning in the evening there were places where the sun had melted surface during the day and it had refrozen as soon as the sun went down. Even walking with the bike was difficult...

 

[MrGrumpy]

stuff the ice, whens the rain coming to wash away all this greasy sheeet of the roundabouts, 2 arse clenching moments coming home this afternoon

 

[goo_mason]

Last winter was a freak occurrence, there wasn't any serious frost, this year is looking more like a normal winter, you have just got to lookout and hope for the best. In the past 15 years I have only really had on ice rink problem. That was cycling over frozen snow, it was fine riding out in the morning while it was still below freezing. Returning in the evening there were places where the sun had melted surface during the day and it had refrozen as soon as the sun went down. Even walking with the bike was difficult...

I did one 'frozen snow' commute last year - it had snowed during the night, melted a bit and then frozen. Funnily enough I had no problems on that.

But I know all about difficulty walking with the bike after Tuesday... hanging on to hedges with one hand, trying to push the bike with the other, and desperately trying not to do my best Torville & Dean impression with my feet

 

[tdr1nka]

Dropped desiel on roundabouts, all the tretcherousness of traditional black ice, all year round.............

 

[tdr1nka]

Hey Dom,

How did the rest of your day pan out?

T x

 

[threefingerjoe]

Hi Folks! Sorry to hear about the mishaps on the ice. I REALLY recommend studded tyres in that kind of weather. Nokian makes a FINE carbide studded tyre, designed for hard, plowed roads with black ice. I've ridden them uphill on glazed ice, and over refrozen tracks and footprints. It's called the Hekapellita (sp?)106...a Finnish tyre.
Be careful out there, and PLEASE don't ride in the dark without lights!

Joe