To cycle in the fog or not...

[fossyant]

I keep it simple.

I don't ride on ice.
I don't ride in snow.
I don't ride in fog.

Even with my fairly high power rear lighting it's just not worth the risk. I still want to be here when the fog clears.

That's not simple

This is simple...

I ride !

Any weather.

 

[johnnyh]

I ended up half and halfing it, car into the truck to a point past the country 60mph roads, and then bike from there in. Worked well as a solution, and saved me an arm and a leg on parking charges

 

[growingvegetables]

I actually like cycling in fog. There's something about the difference in sound, the coolness of the mist, and the wispyness of sight.

+1 - love it.

But NEVER, EVER, EVER on a ride that's likely to include more than one or two motor drivers. The combination of the super-confident ****hole for whom the fog makes no difference to his normal dingbattery, and the semi-blind timorous beastie cowering over the wheel, glazed eyes totally and completely focussed on the kerb only 3 inches away? Naaaaah, no way.

 

[ColinJ]

Any reason for this besides irrational fear?

Rational fear!

I rode in icy conditions on New Year's Day once, crashed heavily 3 times in an hour and decided that without studded tyres, I would never do it again. (I have ridden when there is some ice about, but ride with extreme caution and I don't do it when the risks are high.)

As for fog ... many people drive like fools in clear conditions, but give them fog and they'll drive like complete idiots! I rode up into a bank of fog once with a mate at Blackstone Edge above Littleborough at the junction of the A58 and the B6138. There have been many accidents at that junction (including several fatalities) since I started riding in this area. I warned my mate to be careful but before I'd finished the sentence there was a multiple pile-up in the fog just in front of us!

Riding in fresh snow could be quite fun if you were on a knobbly-tyred MTB and the snow wasn't too deep, but I wouldn't fancy it on a narrow-tyred road bike.

 

[lulubel]

I find country lanes safer than normal roads TBH as there is less chance of a lorry hitting you and even though i only run 1 smart r2 with a smart 1/2 watt on each pannieri feel safe enough with the magicshine on the front .

It's also a lot harder for car drivers to maintain their usual speed on lanes in the fog because there isn't much to give you clues where the road's going next. I've ridden in the dark and fog on lanes, and apart from feeing like I was lost a few times and wondering if I'd taken a wrong turn, it wasn't bad.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

It's also a lot harder for car drivers to maintain their usual speed on lanes in the fog because there isn't much to give you clues where the road's going next. I've ridden in the dark and fog on lanes, and apart from feeing like I was lost a few times and wondering if I'd taken a wrong turn, it wasn't bad.

come ride a winter's evening rush hour or three in my part of Sussex. You'll change your mind.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

I would not cycle in fog with smart 1/2 watt lights as my main rear lights either.

Which is why there are two of them plus two other lights....

 

[lulubel]

come ride a winter's evening rush hour or three in my part of Sussex. You'll change your mind.

My shifts either ended mid-afternoon or after 9pm, so I never hit afternoon rush hour. Never hit morning rush hour either .....

Apart from the early starts and late finishes, it was the perfect job

 

[cyberknight]

My shifts either ended mid-afternoon or after 9pm, so I never hit afternoon rush hour. Never hit morning rush hour either .....

Apart from the early starts and late finishes, it was the perfect job

Very similar to me, i get to work for 7am and get home before 5 pm on days , on nights i am on the road at 7 pm and home before 6 am so i miss the rush hour and it has beenknwon to only be overtaken by 5 cars or less .

 

[Davidc]

Any reason for this besides irrational fear?

Experience

 

[BSRU]

Yet again another very foggy morning, less than 100 metres in places, about 95% of the cyclists I saw either had no lights or lights so weak they made no difference. I also saw about 50% of the cars with no fog lights on and some with no lights on at all.

 

[Andrew_P]

Spent ten minutes replacing all my batteries before I set off this morning. Was a nice ride the only thing I do not overly like is the covering in damp, switched to my normal road shoes this week to ride home in shorts so cold damp feet this morning. Still it is worth it to be able to ride home in short sleeves and shorts. This time of year is a royal pain in the arse. Cold mornings warm afternoons end up with a massive rucksack on the way home..

 

[DRHysted]

Was a light wisp when I cycled in this morning, but then that was 4am, then it thickened up. Lifting quite nicely now, but I can still see a good covering on Southampton water.
Buy the time I leave tonight the temperature will probably have dropped back to gloves and leg warmer weather, like it did yesterday.

 

[johnnyh]

about 50 yard visibility here this morning, afraid the bike was left at home and the truck with its mahooooooosive fog lights was taken out for the day.

 

[potnoodle]

I have to say i chose not to ride in today becasue of the fog and went in on the train.

I did it the other day and were i wear glassies they had also steamed up and i could see nothing.