Why do short fun rides start so early?

Commuting, Day rides, Audax, Incidents, etc.
mattheus
Posts: 5043
Joined: 29 Dec 2008, 12:57pm
Location: Western Europe

Re: Why do short fun rides start so early?

Post by mattheus »

TrevA wrote: 7 Sep 2021, 9:10pm We do start our winter Sunday club rides half an hour later, as a concession to the cold and potential frost/ice, but it actually makes little difference. If it’s cold, it will be cold all day and a couple of hours only makes a couple of degrees difference. If it’s icy, it’s often still icy until after lunch and in mid-winter it’s getting dark at 3.30.
Our club does this too, and as you say it's not ideal. Ice is a massive risk - it's the cause of most Sunday morning accidents that I have witnessed.(not many in total, I should stress!)

0930 isn't usually a lot warmer than 0900. However, if it's a sunny day, the thaw will at least come earlier in the ride. And most ice removal in the morning is by vehicle tyres, not by the sun (very broad brush statement).

(If we're talking about rider comfort, overcast winter days tend to be nearly as cold at 1pm as 9am. If a wind gets up, it can be worse!)
User avatar
TrevA
Posts: 3551
Joined: 1 Jun 2007, 9:12pm
Location: Nottingham

Re: Why do short fun rides start so early?

Post by TrevA »

If it’s icy, then we have a number of gritted routes on minor roads that can be used for club rides. These are mainly rural bus routes, that are prioritised by the council for gritting. It is possible to string them together to make a safe route, without having to ride on main roads. Relying on the sun to clear a route can still mean that you hit the odd patch of ice that’s in shadow. This happened on one of our winter rides a couple of years ago. The ride hit an unexpected patch of black ice and 3 or 4 riders came down. One suffering concussion and a broken cheek bone. This was the only patch of ice that we saw all day.

It does start to get noticeably colder from about 1.30pm on a winter’s day, which doesn’t leave much of a ride window if you are starting later.
Sherwood CC and Notts CTC.
A cart horse trapped in the body of a man.
http://www.jogler2009.blogspot.com
User avatar
mjr
Posts: 20308
Joined: 20 Jun 2011, 7:06pm
Location: Norfolk or Somerset, mostly
Contact:

Re: Why do short fun rides start so early?

Post by mjr »

TrevA wrote: 8 Sep 2021, 3:31pm If it’s icy, then we have a number of gritted routes on minor roads that can be used for club rides. These are mainly rural bus routes, that are prioritised by the council for gritting.
I've crashed on gritted roads. Gritting only clears ice once vehicles grind it in. Not many of those early on a Sunday and few buses.

There are two safe options with ice: studded tyres and starting later to wait for the temperature to rise enough to thaw. Neither grit nor sun is one.
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk
All the above is CC-By-SA and no other implied copyright license to Cycle magazine.
User avatar
TrevA
Posts: 3551
Joined: 1 Jun 2007, 9:12pm
Location: Nottingham

Re: Why do short fun rides start so early?

Post by TrevA »

mjr wrote: 8 Sep 2021, 6:05pm
TrevA wrote: 8 Sep 2021, 3:31pm If it’s icy, then we have a number of gritted routes on minor roads that can be used for club rides. These are mainly rural bus routes, that are prioritised by the council for gritting.
I've crashed on gritted roads. Gritting only clears ice once vehicles grind it in. Not many of those early on a Sunday and few buses.

There are two safe options with ice: studded tyres and starting later to wait for the temperature to rise enough to thaw. Neither grit nor sun is one.
Yes, but you can be waiting until mid-day or later for ice to clear. And it starts to get cold again by 1.30-2pm, which doesn’t leave much of a window to ride in. The safest option of all is not to ride when it’s icy.
Sherwood CC and Notts CTC.
A cart horse trapped in the body of a man.
http://www.jogler2009.blogspot.com
User avatar
mjr
Posts: 20308
Joined: 20 Jun 2011, 7:06pm
Location: Norfolk or Somerset, mostly
Contact:

Re: Why do short fun rides start so early?

Post by mjr »

TrevA wrote: 8 Sep 2021, 6:14pm Yes, but you can be waiting until mid-day or later for ice to clear. And it starts to get cold again by 1.30-2pm, which doesn’t leave much of a window to ride in. The safest option of all is not to ride when it’s icy.
There are really few days, even in the drier and colder east, where it has not thawed by 9.30 so a 10am start is usually OK.

It may get cold again but that is why we have thermal clothes for winter. It very very rarely freezes again before dark. Fog is more often a problem.
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk
All the above is CC-By-SA and no other implied copyright license to Cycle magazine.
mattheus
Posts: 5043
Joined: 29 Dec 2008, 12:57pm
Location: Western Europe

Re: Why do short fun rides start so early?

Post by mattheus »

TrevA wrote: 8 Sep 2021, 6:14pm
Yes, but you can be waiting until mid-day or later for ice to clear. And it starts to get cold again by 1.30-2pm, which doesn’t leave much of a window to ride in. The safest option of all is not to ride when it’s icy.
Well actually, there is an even safer option ...

; -)
User avatar
TrevA
Posts: 3551
Joined: 1 Jun 2007, 9:12pm
Location: Nottingham

Re: Why do short fun rides start so early?

Post by TrevA »

Our winter club rides start at 9.45am. They are mostly OK, but on a handful of days each year there is still ice about at this time. We do have one route that we use when it’s icy, which connects the Trent Valley villages and we can have a tea stop at either Newark or Southwell. This is on gritted roads which get enough use to not be completely iced over but are still relatively traffic free. It works for us. Others may not be so lucky, depending on where you live and what your local council’s gritting policy is.
Sherwood CC and Notts CTC.
A cart horse trapped in the body of a man.
http://www.jogler2009.blogspot.com
mattsccm
Posts: 5101
Joined: 28 Nov 2009, 9:44pm

Re: Why do short fun rides start so early?

Post by mattsccm »

Thinking about this, for many of us the reason for a short ride is because there isn't time for a long one. If that is the case an early start allows either a longer ride or more time afterwards. Sunday lunch means that I can usually only do short rides unless I start at 6am. 9am gives a short/50 miles ride so better than nothing.
After all, given a choice, a long ride is better than a short one surely? :D
User avatar
Hellhound
Posts: 756
Joined: 19 May 2021, 7:39am

Re: Why do short fun rides start so early?

Post by Hellhound »

mattsccm wrote: 14 Sep 2021, 5:16pm Sunday lunch
What's that then :lol:
We used to eat Sunday dinner at around 2pm when I was a kid.We rarely have one now as either one of us is usually working.If we do have a roast on Sunday or any other day we're together it's always at dinner time which is around 7:30pm.Not sure I could eat one in the afternoon now :|
User avatar
mjr
Posts: 20308
Joined: 20 Jun 2011, 7:06pm
Location: Norfolk or Somerset, mostly
Contact:

Re: Why do short fun rides start so early?

Post by mjr »

Hellhound wrote: 14 Sep 2021, 7:05pm
mattsccm wrote: 14 Sep 2021, 5:16pm Sunday lunch
What's that then :lol:
A relic of a past age. I wonder how many people still observe the tradition and whether it should really be limiting so many group rides still?

Like you, I think dinner is usually at 7 or 8 pm or so, even on Sunday.
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk
All the above is CC-By-SA and no other implied copyright license to Cycle magazine.
mattsccm
Posts: 5101
Joined: 28 Nov 2009, 9:44pm

Re: Why do short fun rides start so early?

Post by mattsccm »

Virtually everyone I know has the same cut off time. It may change a bit, it may sometime move to the evening or it may be missed (mine is often in the microwave) but Sunday lunch time is a big factor . I approve of the tradition and the family idea in the same way as approve of Sunday closing of shops. I don't approve of one mates wife being so strick that a negotiated missed lunch costs him a ride the next week and I dread to think what a unplanned one costs him. Grumpy moo!
Post Reply