Riding today?

[Just Zis Guy]

I wondered for a while if I should have changed bikes - a recumbent with slick tyres is not the
obvious choice for snowbound commuting - but in the end I'm glad I tok the bent because when I did
come off it didn't hurt at all

Not too bad riding along the middle of the road where the snow was undisturbed (traffic jams in both
directions, of course), but I pulled into the wheel tracks at one point and realised that the
"water" on the road was actually ice!

The worst bits were on the tops of the hills between Reading and Henley. Several cars came off the
road. I went through Dunsden and Binfield on the bus route because there was lots of grit and not
too many cars - it wasn't too bad, actually, but I'm a bit concerned about the ride home. Maybe I'll
leave a bit early.

It took an hour to get here, mainly because I wasn't doing more than 10mph most of the time (better
safe than sorry). Two colleagues are still not here - trains and MDGs are no good in the snow,
apparently

--
Guy
===
I wonder if you wouldn't mind piecing out our imperfections with your thoughts; and while you're
about it perhaps you could think when we talk of bicycles, that you see them printing their proud
wheels i' the receiving earth; thanks awfully.

http://www.highwaycode.gov.uk/09.shtml#103 http://www.highwaycode.gov.uk/09.shtml#104

 

[Wafflycathcsdir]

Glad you weren't injured by today's snowy adventure. The snow is obviously the wrong kind of snow
for trains!

Cheers, helen s (with a code in my nose and on my chest - cough, splutter!!)

~~~~~~~~~~
Flush out that intestinal parasite and/or the waste product before sending a reply!

Any speeliong mistake$ aR the resiult of my cats sitting on the keyboaRRRDdd
~~~~~~~~~~

 

[Andy Welch]

On 30-Jan-2003, "Just zis Guy, you know?" <[email protected]> wrote:

> I wondered for a while if I should have changed bikes - a recumbent with slick tyres is not the
> obvious choice for snowbound commuting

On the contrary a recumbent with slick tyres is a perfect snowbound commuting vehicle. You are just
short of a wheel that's all

Combination of strong winds and snow up here in Aberdeenshire meant that the roads on my rural
commute consisted of patches of clear road (where the wind had scoured the snow off) interspersed
with snow drifts. Getting up to 20mph and ploughing through the snowdrifts with snow flying
everywhere was huge fun. Only had a couple that were deep or long enough that I had to get off and
push. Mind you I did have a gale force wind on my back, so getting home could be a whole different
ball game.

Main danger (as always) was cagers not adapting to the conditions. Particularly 4WD drivers who seem
to think that because they've got enough traction to move forwards they'll be able to stop quickly
as well. Bearing this in mind I left later so that I didn't have to ride in the dark and I'll
probabaly knock off early to get home in the light as well.

Also had one idiot pull out in front of me. I was comming down a snow covered hill and he just
crawled up from a side road on my left and carried on comming. After he had pulled out I came
alongside him and "pointed out the error of his ways".

Cheers,

Andy

 

[Dave]

"Just zis Guy, you know?" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I wondered for a while if I should have changed bikes - a recumbent with slick tyres is not the
> obvious choice for snowbound commuting - but in the end I'm glad I tok the bent because when I did
> come off it didn't hurt at all
>
> Not too bad riding along the middle of the road where the snow was undisturbed (traffic jams in
> both directions, of course), but I pulled
into
> the wheel tracks at one point and realised that the "water" on the road
was
> actually ice!
>
> The worst bits were on the tops of the hills between Reading and Henley. Several cars came off the
> road. I went through Dunsden and Binfield on
the
> bus route because there was lots of grit and not too many cars - it wasn't too bad, actually, but
> I'm a bit concerned about the ride home. Maybe
I'll
> leave a bit early.
>
> It took an hour to get here, mainly because I wasn't doing more than 10mph most of the time
> (better safe than sorry). Two colleagues are still not here - trains and MDGs are no good in the
> snow, apparently
>
> --
> Guy
> ===
> I wonder if you wouldn't mind piecing out our imperfections with your thoughts; and while you're
> about it perhaps you could think when we talk
of
> bicycles, that you see them printing their proud wheels i' the receiving earth; thanks awfully.
>
> http://www.highwaycode.gov.uk/09.shtml#103 http://www.highwaycode.gov.uk/09.shtml#104
>
>
I'm well cheesed off as I'd been planning my first decent ride out, like 6 hours worth for today as
it's my only complete day off this week. I work part-time as a lifeguard at the local baths and yet
somehow I seem to do 10 hour stints most days of the week ! What this is part-time of I haven't
quite worked out yet. The intention is to have lots of extra spare time and do 'stuff', like
cycling, climbing, kayaking etcetc, all the stuff I missed spending 23 years in an office full time.
Anyway, back to the thread. I'd love to be but as it's leisure for pleasure, I ain't chancing it out
there today. Guess I'll just have to do some mixing instead (which I have been sorely neglecting in
favour of the outdoor stuff). S'pose I can watch the records and pretend they're the wheels on da
bike....the wheels on the bike go round n round, round n round etcetc. Hoping all those that chanced
it survived with minimal pain and maximum joy at passing lots and lots of frustrated motorists!
Cheers ya heroes, Dave.

 

[Frank]

"Just zis Guy, you know?" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I wondered for a while if I should have changed bikes - a recumbent with slick tyres is not the
> obvious choice for snowbound commuting - but in the end I'm glad I tok the bent because when I did
> come off it didn't hurt at all
>
It wasn't too bad in London, I went out at midday dry and not too cold although a bit windy. It
started to snow after about 15 mins at first it was amusing because the wind was behind me and the
snow flakes we travelling faster than me, overtaking me. Then I turned in to the wind ((((((. Had
to get off and walk because I wasn't wearing glasses and the snow was blinding me.

 

[Simon Ward]

wafflycathcsdirtycatlitter <[email protected]> wrote:

> Cheers, helen s (with a code in my nose and on my chest - cough, splutter!!)
Glad I'm not the only one with a steaming cold, then - thanks to one of my co-workers, my throat
feels like I've been gargling razorblades and my head feels like it's stuffed full of rocks.

Didn't ride today - gale-force winds, horizontal snow and mind-numbingly cold (-18C with windchill
this morning). Given these two facts, it's quite unlikely I'll even get out of bed tomorrow
morning (calling in sick isn't something I like doing, but ...)

Simon
--
Simon Ward, Accent Optical Technologies (UK) Ltd., York, YO31 8SD, UK "Perl is the ideal tool for
the inspired slacker who'd rather sing and dance than spend longer than they need to at work ..."
- http://www.perl.com/pub/a/2002/12/18/hohoho.html

 

[David Pipes]

In message <[email protected]>, Frank <[email protected]> writes
>It wasn't too bad in London, I went out at midday dry and not too cold although a bit windy. It
>started to snow after about 15 mins at first it was amusing because the wind was behind me and the
>snow flakes we travelling faster than me, overtaking me. Then I turned in to the wind ((((((. Had
>to get off and walk because I wasn't wearing glasses and the snow was blinding me.
Bright sunshine until just after lunch in this part of Somerset, no snow, few spots of rain earlier
but dry now and a bit breezy. Unfortunately that weather report is from my office at home, no chance
of getting my leg over today :-(
--
DP

 

[Richard Goodman]

Frank wrote:
> It wasn't too bad in London, I went out at midday dry and not too cold although a bit windy. It
> started to snow after about 15 mins at first it was amusing because the wind was behind me and the
> snow flakes we travelling faster than me, overtaking me. Then I turned in to the wind ((((((.
> Had to get off and walk because I wasn't wearing glasses and the snow was blinding me.

I just cycled home and did start out wearing glasses - I had to take them off though because the
snow was sticking to them on the outside, they were misting up on the inside, and I could see much
better without them! It stung a bit but didn't stop me riding. Wouldn't have fancied a 12 mile walk!

Rich

 

[Just Zis Guy]

On Thu, 30 Jan 2003 18:21:46 -0000, "Richard Goodman" <[email protected]> wrote:

>I just cycled home and did start out wearing glasses - I had to take them off though because the
>snow was sticking to them on the outside, they were misting up on the inside, and I could see much
>better without them! It stung a bit but didn't stop me riding.

I left early to get hmoe before it got too dark and the meltwater froze - I felt like a complete
wimp when I arrived home in the normal time, although the gale across Shiplake was a bit hairy :-/

Guy
===
** WARNING ** This posting may contain traces of irony. http://www.chapmancentral.com (BT ADSL and
dynamic DNS permitting)
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[Frank]

"Richard Goodman" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I just cycled home and did start out wearing glasses - I had to take them off though because the
> snow was sticking to them on the outside, they were misting up on the inside, and I could see
> much better without them! It stung a bit but didn't stop me riding. Wouldn't have fancied a 12
> mile walk!
>
I only walked for a half a mile or so that was along a very nasty main road. It didn't have
pavements and SPD sandals (even with neoprene overshoes) are not the best things for walking through
snow and mud.

 

[Just Zis Guy]

On Thu, 30 Jan 2003 11:13:59 GMT, [email protected] wrote:

>On the contrary a recumbent with slick tyres is a perfect snowbound commuting vehicle. You are just
>short of a wheel that's all

You might be onto something there :-D

Especially since, the problem of steering on sheet ice at junctions being what it is, I negotiated
one in push mode - only to find that my cleats were so full of compacted snow that I couldn't clip
back in again!

Guy
===
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dynamic DNS permitting)
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[Alex Graham]

Frank wrote:
> "Richard Goodman" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>
>>I just cycled home and did start out wearing glasses - I had to take them off though because the
>>snow was sticking to them on the outside, they were misting up on the inside, and I could see
>>much better without them! It stung a bit but didn't stop me riding. Wouldn't have fancied a 12
>>mile walk!
>>
>
> I only walked for a half a mile or so that was along a very nasty main road. It didn't have
> pavements and SPD sandals (even with neoprene overshoes) are not the best things for walking
> through snow and mud.
>
>

mm - ride in this morning was fine, no wind, all OK. A few horizontal snow sessions during the day,
nothing settling. A new session had just got underway as I left, and this one certainly settled! the
gritters hadnt been out either!

hairy is the only word to describe ice and 23mm tyres ;-) I had to walk the last bit as the cars
were stationary and there wasnt any room to ride down the middle. SPD's are good for traction as you
start walking but rapidly accumulate a blob of ice on the bottom so a good whack on the curb before
you hop back on is advisable

Im sure I had rear wheelspin on a few bits of the way too.

Journey time was almost doubled, but I bet it was still better than the equiv tube journey judging
by the crowds as I passed the local station. The sight of massive crowds of lost people with
suitcases told its own story really as its the heathrow branch )

Have fun!

-Alex

 

[Just Zis Guy]

On Thu, 30 Jan 2003 20:48:24 +0000 (UTC), Alex Graham <[email protected]> wrote:

>Journey time was almost doubled, but I bet it was still better than the equiv tube journey judging
>by the crowds as I passed the local station.

Mum took a taxi, cost ten quid but worth it, she reckons. Then she sat for 55 minutes trying to get
out of the station car park at St Albans. Nobody would let any of the small queue of cars out.
Cagers, eh? What miserable bastards some of them are.

Guy
===
** WARNING ** This posting may contain traces of irony. http://www.chapmancentral.com (BT ADSL and
dynamic DNS permitting)
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