Murray Missile 

Got a little over confident today and rode across a patch of snow covered ice a half mile into my ride that I had gone across no problem yesterday. Halfway through it got me, it was actually kind of cool though, I had enough forward momentum that I did more of an airplane style "landing" and short slide so it wasn't a hard impact like having your feet go out from under you and I got up laughing. Spun my bar end mirror but didn't break it, got muddy and wet but no damage to me or the bike so I climbed back on and finished my ride which included coming back through the same spot. Not that I want to try another "landing", I was just determined to make it the second time. I did. I was pretty cold by the time I got home as my pants were soaked all the way through but it was still a great ride. Even with the fall my Winter riding confidence level is growing though, if anything it makes me want to get out there more. Gotta get some studded tires for next Winter!

Juha

+1 on studded tyres. They're great on ice.

Murray Missile 

A pair of Schwalbe 264 studded tires are on their way.

Spld cyclist

Good thinking. I always say, a pair of studded tires is a lot cheaper than an ER visit.

stealthbiker

Consider yourself lucky. Was riding about 2 weeks ago - having a great time. Roads were clear and mostly dry. Got into one area though and what I thought was "wet" was "ice". Went down at about 4 miles per hour - hardly a fall at all. But left pedal didn't release cleanly and hurt left MCL. Glad you made it through ok but please be careful!

Bluish Green

Be extra, extra careful when it is a thin layer of snow over ice. That's what caused my one ice wipeout this year. I was riding on studded tires, but apparently there was just enough snow thickness to prevent the studs from getting to the underlying ice. The slip plane was actually the snow shoving laterally off the ice. I went down fairly hard into a wooden bridge railing, point of impact being along my right shoulderblade. It hurt pretty bad, but I completed the commute. I was actually relieved when I took off my wool shirt and saw a big foot-long swath of blood - which meant the pain was due to skin tearing and not something serious. That was a week ago, and it looks like I might pick up a cool scar from it. As wipeouts go, I would take that one over hurting a joint or straining a muscle.

Be safe out there, and be extra wary of snow over ice, it's a bad combination.