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1c and fog tomorrow morning 🙁 so given my commute is on minor unsalted roads that are still wet in quite a few places I'll be taking the car.
Should I mtfu or just overly cautious.
MTFU. Subzero commutes are what spiky tyres are for.
(TBH - you're more at danger from out of control vehicles than from falling off yourself)
You should do what you're happy with. Full stop.
I don't drive so don't really have a choice 20 min ride or over an hour on 2 buses
When im ill .
Commuted down to -20 last year according to garmin even in blizzards ... Was all good till a car hit me in the cycle lane as " i shouldnt have been there in that weather"
only through illness. in 32yrs of cycle commuting.
sorry, i don't understand the question. bin the commute because of the temperature...Sorry can you rephrase the question????
Commute out in the sticks then I'd bin it and take the car. Risk of tarmac black ice may be small but it needs heeding. You're a long time out with a broken wrist or collar bone. Drive carefully, mind.
MTB ride bit different as you can almost always accomodate the amount of ice you encounter. Frozen trails would be a godsend right now and well worth risking the occasional icy section.
" i shouldnt have been there in that weather"
😀
I've done -6 on gritted roads, but it had been dry for quite a few weeks so there was little danger of black ice. At the moment though it's just too wet and the possibility of sheets of ice on the field run-off puts me off.
Only when a significant risk of ice.
Or its pissing it down.
Last Tuesday morning was Icey and west berks council had decided gritting the A4 (not really a minor road) was low on their priorities list, so I went over on a roundabout just on the outskirts of Thatcham. Looks like I'll be setting off in ~0*C and Fog tommorow morning and I'm not too sure how wise the idea is.
MTB along the Kennet is out due to flooding (bloody Gay marriages!) So if it's looking really dicey I might sack it off and drive in...
But then I need to get the miles in...
Cold does not stop me but don't ride in the fog. There will always be another day for a ride
Tbh whenever there is a significant chance of ice. I wiped out last winter, I had enough time to think "not again" before I hit the deck. Luckily no broken wrist or collar bone. I just don't risk it now, not worth the potential down time (and pain)
And when it pisses down.....which is quite a lot this winter.....
I commute from Mortimer to Newbury (west Berkshire also)The Kennet towpath was ok this morning from Aldermaston wharf to Thatcham Station. Recommend crud catchers as quite muddy in places but not flooded, section between the station and Hambridge Lane is closed. The rural lanes are dodgy down to the A4 with water frozen from flooded fields, walked for 1/2 mile .. Safer although 20mins late for work.
Agree with observation with cookeaa.. Why didn't the A4 get gritted(?!).. nuts
And to confirm the towpath is all rideable from at least ufton nervet to thatcham station.
I've been quite blasé about cycling in the cold the last few years and almost expect to take a couple of tumbles, even made a home brew ice tyre. However, being out over Christmas and having a mate brake his hip is making me think twice. Snow, sleet, rain and cold I can deal with....the bloody ice scares me now, that and drivers!!!
Could someone translate the question into Scottish please.
If the weather is particularly bad, I take the MTB as it adapts a lot better to crosswinds, rain, snow etc.
If it's too bad for that on the roads, I'll just commute off-road instead.
Haha! I'm from Aberdeen. Ran a cycle courier company (two guys and a mobile the size of a brick) through the worst winter in living memory.
You just sweat less is all.
As I don't commute ( work from home) I'm strictly a leisure rider I suppose. I try and get out 5 days out of 7 with the rest days being non consecutive. I'll take the decision on the day whether it's a rest day or not that tend to be weather related. What will out me off is high winds and rain.
Temperature doesn't worry me, in fact I'll DELIBERATELY go out in snow, if it's going to be icy I'll pad up ( the bonus is the old 661 comps I have cover my knees & shins so keep my legs & feet toasty) legs & elbows, if it's going to be blowy / snowy the recon lid is swapped for my dirt jump lid or even my full face if it's arctic.
I've only binned one ride and that was because I physically couldn't get to the local trails as the council hadn't gritted anything as there had been a thaw but it had all refrozen early in the morning so it was all sheet ice, by the time is tried three alternative routes is only got a mile from home and I'd fallen 4 times and lost count of the near misses so I sacked it in and just pushed the bike back home.
about 35 for riding if I have to and 32 for riding for fun. Anything more and my body heads into a bit of shutdown and I feel like I'm riding at 70% all the way. I'm trying to adjust more but it's a slow process.
had a big road ride pencilled in today, however, forecast last night and weather this morning, whats the point?
About -10 or so. Tbh it's more the wind than anything at that temperature; my fingers go numb pretty quickly, and I can't feel my chin
Some with superhero cycling powers on here.
Once there's a risk of ice I don't cycle on the road, off road, hard pack frozen ground is ok and snow is ok but if the snow compresses and freezes again you can be in similar trouble to black ice/frost glaze on the road.
For me on the upper threshold is mid Thirties. Might be tempted if the route was mostly in the trees but if no tree cover then would want a bit lower. Similar to Mike any riding done would be even slower and mincier(TM) then usual.
On the lower end used to subscribe the "no such thing as unsuitable weather" however as all my riding is for fun age seems to be making me a little more selective.
Edit: Not suggesting Mike is slow or Minces. Just that I feel kike im fighting a loosing battle with my body in high temps.
38-40 degrees C for the commute, as its still more pleasant than getting the bus and walking in that temperature (albeit I take it very easy) It was marginal yesterday and still only down to 34 by 5.30pm. Mid 30's for a ride, as there's no need to dessicate oneself whilst having fun.
Other than that only biblical wind speeds keep me off the bike.
I raced in high 30's the other weekend and that was horrible! My throat felt like it had been burnt. I'm amazed by the amount of water that can be consumed in that heat.
Dense fog this morning, too dangerous IMO on the road.Weather forecast accurate.
My commute is now virtually all of road bar around a quarter of a mile so I'll ride in anything. Different if it's on the road though.
Also start my commute in West Berks!! Aldermaston to Fleet, (once or twice a week) commute in all weathers, on minor roads. Rode in yesterday and fell off on black ice in Hartley Whitney, including a comic 'trying to stand up moment' - no real damage, but I was very cautious after that!
I'm currently committing by motorbike. It was -2 the other morning and rather icy on the side roads but that didn't stop me. When I used to cycle Ithe lowest temperature I did it in was -7 at 06.30am. My water was a slush puppy by the time I got to work! In the snow the other year it was fun! 🙂
Unless it's warm enough for beer in the pub garden in shorts, there's no commuting by MTB happening.. I'm very much a FWB commuter.
I leave the bike at home when it's icy particularly black ice. Decided last Sunday to do a MTB ride instead of a road ride due to the risk if ice and on the 200yds of Tarmac we rode me and a mate came down on black ice formed from a frozen field run off. Mate smashed his hip in 2 places and had a 4hour OP yesterday to pin him back together.
Misty down in the south rather than fog. Temperature I would guess is above zero, which made for a comfortable enough four miles to the station. No doubt the dry weekend has minimised the ice risk. Garden path was slippery as though!
No temperature limit (I've got spiker tyres for prolonged ice periods).
But this morning I just couldn't be @rsed 🙂
To be clear my worry was ice. I've ridden in -15 on snow off road but black ice on roads that were still wet scares the hell out of me plus thick fog here this am. Still in bed to avoid rush hour!
Out of interest, do the spiker tyres really work?
I'm considering a set at the mo.
-2 and foggy around York this morning, but the roads are gritted to the village so ice not much of a problem yet.
I love being out on mornings like this.
Allthepies - at least I'm not the only one.
Ride planned this morning, couldn't be arsed!
Can't use fog as an excuse as it's bright blue here in Malvern!
No longer (push)bike commuting due to a change of jobs, but last summer was about the limit: leaving work at 3 in the afternoon in Madrid when the temperature heads into the high 30s.
Winter was fine, even when -5, -6C. Less scary than on the motorbike!
A windy 44C commute in Melbourne last week was tough....-14C night rides in Scotland were a pleasure compared to that! 🙂
Ride in all temperatures and temperatures (no car). Cold fog is the worst.
i will confirm that winter marathons really do work - when they go silent you know they are gripping on ice - noisy buggers the rest of the time .....
even used them at the puffer last year on my ragley.
Just arrived, it was cold. Not helped by cycling with my wife at a slower than average pace. Luckily though we have a pretty much traffic free ride and the ice was only on the drive, roads all seemed OK. Toes and fingers are just about back to normal.
Out of interest, do the spiker tyres really work?
I'm considering a set at the mo.
Yep, they do. You can ride on sheet ice if you're smooth. They're noisy and a bit draggy but for staying upright on ice they are, oddly enough, the biz. Great on hard-packed and thawed and refrozen snow too. There's a point on really steep iced climbs where there's not enough traction and the rear spins out, similar to any slippery surface with normal tyres, but yes, good things and also reasonable enough on straight tarmac and trails.
I did a lot of backroad riding on Ice Spikers and a hardtail a few years back when the trails round here were snowed up for weeks and they were great for that too. Have some Conti Nordic Spikes for the cross bike as well.