RTA- Main "A" Road Due To ICE

[yashicamat]

Just a comment as an experienced highway engineer (and I'm not trying to patronise anyone), but 3 weeks ago I think was about the time we had that really bad snow and very cold temperatures. I'm not sure what the temps were around the OPs area, but here in Macclesfield it was nearly -18 deg C one night and rarely got above -7 deg C during the daytime. Road salt typically stops working at about -10 deg C, so it's not really the council's fault if the temperatures had fallen that dramatically. To have measures in place to deal with those sorts of exceptional low temperatures would be uneconomic given the infrequency of this sort of cold weather.

However, the action regarding your time off is another matter! As has been said, keep the union in the know. Also keep a note of everything that happens so you have evidence to support your case if things turn nasty.

 

[Bayerd]

It sounds to me like it's the manager that's being a nob.

AFAIA MCC pay 20p a mile for their employees to cycle to meetings whilst on duty......

 

[fossyant]

Glad you are on the mend mate.

Blimey - Hyde Road bad.... I stuck to studded tyres for two weeks..... only got the fixed out after the ice went....

 

[ianrauk]

Sorry to hear about your accident Gaz. As Fossy says above, glad you are on the mend.. Hope your not put off cycling... make sure you get back on that bike mate.

 

[Downward]

Ironic that your leasing the bike from your work and they are trying to get you to stop.

They would be in trouble with HMRC if bikes leased to employees were not being used to commute to work and that they are discouraging this.

 

[gb155]

Glad you are on the mend mate.

Blimey - Hyde Road bad.... I stuck to studded tyres for two weeks..... only got the fixed out after the ice went....

I noticed at the same point on Hyde Road today there was lots of frozen ice, looks like this caused it last time, I made sure I was in the second lane today

On the subject of studded tyres, I am looking at buying a MTB for next winter, the hybrid struggled in snow, almost killed me on ice lol, I dont know anyone who uses them, so what type do you have mate and how good are they ?

 

[gb155]

Ironic that your leasing the bike from your work and they are trying to get you to stop.

They would be in trouble with HMRC if bikes leased to employees were not being used to commute to work and that they are discouraging this.

I cant wait to bring this point up

 

[MacB]

On the subject of studded tyres, I am looking at buying a MTB for next winter, the hybrid struggled in snow, almost killed me on ice lol, I dont know anyone who uses them, so what type do you have mate and how good are they ?

Gaz, I'd recommend you look at a hybrid or a cross bike with decent clearance but still allowing you 700c wheels for the road. I was running my Marathon Winters on my Crosscheck, 700x35, and no problem with clearance with mudguards, and no offs. A lot of the sportier hybrids are too close to a flatbar roadbike and won't give you the necessary clearance. Ones I know about:-

Surly Crosscheck - clearance up to 45mm tyres with guards
Surly Karate Monkey - clearance up to 62mm with guards

But a good deal going right now is on the Kona Smoke, here's a BIN on e-bay for £200 including postage:-

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/KONA-SMOKE-ME...ZViewItemQQptZUK_Bikes_GL?hash=item3a55ec8ac1

I don't know the full clearance but is sold with guards and 47mm tyres. At that price you could afford to add a decent handbuilt wheelset to it. Say a pair of 36H Rigida Sputniks from Spa for about £150. Keep the original wheelset and stick some studded tyres on it. Buy a second cassette for the new wheelset. You've got a versatile allrounder that you can run on ice with a simple change of wheels for £400 all in. It won't be a light bike but Kona have a decent reputation and it's a cromo frame.

 

[downfader]

If you have normal knobbly 700c tyres kicking about theres a couple of tutorials online to convert them with screws. There are proper studded 700cs about too, though the real popular approach is the mtb tyre on a dirt cheap mtb itself.

Nokian, schwalbe and continental all make studded tyres so look at their websites. You may have proper difficulty in getting a set before summer at this rate though.

 

[gb155]

Gaz, I'd recommend you look at a hybrid or a cross bike with decent clearance but still allowing you 700c wheels for the road. I was running my Marathon Winters on my Crosscheck, 700x35, and no problem with clearance with mudguards, and no offs. A lot of the sportier hybrids are too close to a flatbar roadbike and won't give you the necessary clearance. Ones I know about:-

Surly Crosscheck - clearance up to 45mm tyres with guards
Surly Karate Monkey - clearance up to 62mm with guards

But a good deal going right now is on the Kona Smoke, here's a BIN on e-bay for £200 including postage:-

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/KONA-SMOKE-ME...ZViewItemQQptZUK_Bikes_GL?hash=item3a55ec8ac1

I don't know the full clearance but is sold with guards and 47mm tyres. At that price you could afford to add a decent handbuilt wheelset to it. Say a pair of 36H Rigida Sputniks from Spa for about £150. Keep the original wheelset and stick some studded tyres on it. Buy a second cassette for the new wheelset. You've got a versatile allrounder that you can run on ice with a simple change of wheels for £400 all in. It won't be a light bike but Kona have a decent reputation and it's a cromo frame.

I was on my Ridgeback Hybrid (Velocity) when I had the accident, lost all confidence in it now tbh so deffo want another MTB, I rode a 20 year old steel Townsend MTB today

 

[gb155]

If you have normal knobbly 700c tyres kicking about theres a couple of tutorials online to convert them with screws. There are proper studded 700cs about too, though the real popular approach is the mtb tyre on a dirt cheap mtb itself.

Nokian, schwalbe and continental all make studded tyres so look at their websites. You may have proper difficulty in getting a set before summer at this rate though.

Cheersfor the tip mate

 

[fossyant]

I noticed at the same point on Hyde Road today there was lots of frozen ice, looks like this caused it last time, I made sure I was in the second lane today

On the subject of studded tyres, I am looking at buying a MTB for next winter, the hybrid struggled in snow, almost killed me on ice lol, I dont know anyone who uses them, so what type do you have mate and how good are they ?

Was bad on Hyde Road on Sunday when I drove to the Drome.

Using Schwalbe Snow Studs for the MTB - they are an MTB tyre, but if it snows, like it did, I can go off road to work for a bit of fun. They are a little slow on the road at 30 PSI, but they don't half grip. These will remain fitted to the MTB, and come out when needed. Went to work on road and Trans Pennine, came back that way, but the mud had thawed, so the 'off road' tyres had the advantage.

If you want something a bit quicker, Marathon Winters are road orientated.

 

[gb155]

Was bad on Hyde Road on Sunday when I drove to the Drome.

Using Schwalbe Snow Studs for the MTB - they are an MTB tyre, but if it snows, like it did, I can go off road to work for a bit of fun. They are a little slow on the road at 30 PSI, but they don't half grip. These will remain fitted to the MTB, and come out when needed. Went to work on road and Trans Pennine, came back that way, but the mud had thawed, so the 'off road' tyres had the advantage.

If you want something a bit quicker, Marathon Winters are road orientated.

Cheers for that Fozzy, Lost all confidence in my hybrid now, even today I wasnt relaxed on it and there wasnt any ice around, will pick up a MTB in the coming weeks and some studded tyres over the summer.

 

[fossyant]

No bike will stick to ice, so don't lose confidence in the hybrid - that's a 'normal' reaction to have.

 

[gb155]

No bike will stick to ice, so don't lose confidence in the hybrid - that's a 'normal' reaction to have.

Its also a good reason to buy a new bike though too and I have been needing to find a good reason for a while, really do fancy a decent MTB these days, want to try some off road commuting in the summer

For today though, its back to the beast that is the faded red Townsend