I hate ice
 

I got about 50 feet on my bike this morning before hitting some ice under a dusting of snow. I was on the ground before I even knew that I was falling. People at the YMCA where I work think I am an idiot riding my bike to work everyday. This is not my road bike, but the second Jamis in my signature that is more of a comfort bike. Nice easy riding as I only have to go about a mile to work each day.

It is about an hour later and my shoulder, elbow and bad knee are all throbbing.

Did I mention that I hate ice!!!!

I can't wait to move away from crappy winters.

Yeah, well ice called me this morning and said it didn't like flip18436572 :p

If I HAVE to, I'll ride in rain. I'll ride in cold, I ride in very hot, and I ride in windy.

I don't do ice or snow.

Does Texas have anything to do with that :lol:

68* in my part of Texas.

22* in my part of Pee-Aye this morning

About once a year we will get a couple of days of ice in the Dallas area. It causes near panic and armegedon.

Snow, even an inch, just shuts the area down until it melts, lol.

Sorry you fell and got hurt.

I love ice. I seek it out in the winter time and ride on it whenever possible. Fat studded tires make it easy. I love riding over the lakes and frozen swamps and bike path. A comfort bike should have room for some nice studded tires.

Same for Houston. I got stuck on an icy overpass for 4 hours one day (in my truck) because someone skidded out and then the police blocked the rest of us in until it melted.

I like Ice in my Cold Drinks.
I like Ice in my bottles durning Hot Summer rides.

Yesterday the head cold train came to visit, and by 4:30p I was in full on miserableness, so I opted to drive home instead of ride. Then I wake up this morning, look outside, and see the coating of ice/snow. I couldn't help thinking that I'm probably the only person who is actually disappointed that they don't get to ride in it. :)

My LHT is here at work, and I may run it home over lunch to swap out with the Hardrock. It has cross tires on it, but I still don't think I'd trust 'em on this stuff.

The ride home on snow pack wasn't bad, and I just went a few miles per hour slower and paid attention to the road. Tomorrow morning at 4:45 it will be a little slower, as things will be frozen after having some sunshine this afternoon. I will just take it slower and pay attention. At least I am about the only person on the road at that time of the day.

It was 30 when I rolled out yesterday in my part of texas and I wish it was snowing. I sure do miss the snow and ice back home in CT. I rode all year long in all the weather. While everyone hid in their houses for the plows I'd rush out before the plows with my hybrid with big meaty studded nokians sometimes sporting ski goggles gloves to keep from freezing up in the sleat or snow. I'd plow through the icey buildup from cars and plows at intersections on the way home with much delight. Sure I'd go down once or twice and sometimes on some really thick snow/ice but it was better then work or being in the car driving it in :love:

Probably wouldn't do that now 6 years later but it was good fun back then. The only ice I see now a days is near the hotels and such that leave their sprinkers on even below freezing and of course they coat the street with ice because they are all broken.

Living in Ontario means ice and snow for about 4 months, time to do some strength training and spin classes, I will not ride in the snow. I'd buy a snowmobile if that's what I wanted. Too bad you had a spill.

:lol:

I used to listen to Vanilla Ice. A little.

I could go for a hot chocolate right now, it's cold up here. :D

Espresso on ice kicks backside.

Ice under my bike kicks my backside.

Maybe I'll stay under a quilt until March?

I have fun on ice..... most of the time

I rode in today with more ice on the roads compared to yesterday and stayed upright. I also was going slower and paying a lot more attention and tried to make every corner a slow and easy corner. I am sure I will get a lot of crap for being on my bike today.

I'm sorry you fell, Flip. I'm glad you are OK, and the bike is unharmed.

I've fallen at least twice, possibly three times, on ice and seriously hurt myself. I treat it with extreme caution, having dislocated my right knee twice in ten years. Yet another reason I'm cautious about riding in the winter.

I am sorry to hear you went down. That can hurt a lot! I went down last year when my Innova studded tires let me down after only 2.5 months of use when I had an icy ride home. Lesson learned. I will only ride on carbite tipped studded tires in Western NY from mid october till sometime near April. The tires slow me down a lot, but if it prevents me from going down... the effort is worth it. During the Fall we get lots of wet weather and leaves covering the road. On a cold fall morning you just never know how if it will be slick or not. During the Winter we get very descent plowing, but there is still plenty of frozen wet spots on the road. If I am riding and my studs go "quiet" on me, then I know I must be on a sheet of ice. Its funny how hard it can be to detect on some mornings.

Good luck and heal fast! Get some studded tires if ice is a frequent issue in your area. Sure you have to work harder, but it may be able to prevent a nasty spill in the future.

Happy riding,
André

We should start a club. I took a spill last night too. Roads were fine on the way in, and on the way home except for the stretch right outside the parking lot at work for some reason. As I turned on to another street, I discovered a patch of ice and my bike seemed to vanish from underneath me. I'm going to get studded snow tires, probably Saturday because of my schedule. Until then, I will have to play it extra safe.

Glad to hear you are ok and are back at it. Looking at this thread for a minute I thought I had clicked on the Texas region section.

Try a pair of these. Here is more info. http://www.icebike.org/Equipment/tires.htm
http://www.icebike.org/images/Nokia296.jpg

You would think that since I have lived in Iowa for 44 years that I would be used to it, but this is my first year of bicycle to work every possible day. I don't think I needed studded tires at this time, but it might be a need later. I just ride about 4 mph slowere today and I didn't have problems coming or going.

Sorry to hear someone else is falling on the ice. It is surprising how quickly you are down.

I will definitely attest to that. I was going VERY slowly around a turn when I knew the roads were icy and the rear still let go (lousy Innova's). When I felt the rear end go I immediately got my foot out of the toe clip and got ready to put it down. My forward momentum was very little. As the bike went down sideways I just let go of the handlebars as I knew there was nothing else I could do. I would have been OK except that the road was so slick that my foot slipped out from under me, and THEN I hit the ground hard on my elbow. I tried to get up, but could barely get by bike pulled out to the side of the road. I guess it was a lot icier than I expected:(. Lesson learned, carbite studs only or don't even bother riding in the changeable winter weather we get here in Western NY.

If you do need studded tires, it sounds like the Schwalbe's would be your best bet. They have a little less tread depth from what I can tell on the various web sites. The bonus is that they apparently have significantly lower ride resistance. For me I'll still stick with the Nokia's as we can get hit quickly with a foot or more of snow. Lake Effect snow is a strange beast. If the wind moves just a little South, we can quickly go from sunny skies to snow falling at a foot an hour. As the winds move back North a little the snow can move out of the area as quickly as it arrives. I remember when I used to live in the "southtowns" of Buffalo. On a daily basis I'd litterally drive out of the snow in about 1/2 a mile. At one point you can barely see the car in front of you. A mile down the road, there might be zero snow on the ground... very freaky the 1st time you experience this.

Happy safe winter riding,
André