Cycling UK Forum

In flat(ish) areas the fields tend to drain into the roads for some considerable times, and the roadside banks often have small springs for a long time after a prolonged period of rain.
Out in the car today (me culpa) for a walk in the countryside and quite a few lanes which were shaded by the embankments were leaking water like a {better not say} into the road.
The road was covered in ice, in some cases quite high ridges from where cars had moved water into the middle of the road.

I thought myself lucky not to be on a bike (at least without winter tyres) as the whole setup looked lethal.

Probably only applies where roads are sunk below field level.

LittleGreyCat wrote: ↑19 Jan 2024, 8:58pm
The road was covered in ice, in some cases quite high ridges from where cars had moved water into the middle of the road.

I thought myself lucky not to be on a bike (at least without winter tyres) as the whole setup looked lethal.

Probably only applies where roads are sunk below field level.

Iced flat roads are bad enough but the back roads through hilly districts often have extended sections of ice from field run-off, as the slope of the road often provides the easiest path of least resistance for field run-offs to follow. At the moment, there's still quite a lot of autumn detritus about which means the roadside ditches and drains sometimes get blocked, causing field run off to stay canalised on the sloping roads for a longer run before eventually finding an off ramp somewhere down the slope.

My studded tyres deal with ice quite well but, especially on the steeper parts, downward slopes mean that the necessary harder braking can sometimes be required, which tends to push the stud grip to the limit. At present, many of the unsalted back roads around here are covered in a crust of frozen hail and rain which isn't melting during the day, despite the sun, as the air temperature is only just creeping above zero by one or two degrees for around 3 hours at midday. Cars are crushing it all to a very slippy condition.

I'm sticking to walking on the forest tracks, where the underlying gravel still gives some grip through the as yet untrodden parts. The dogs have four paw drive so nothing bothers them.

its never icy or snowy enough for studded tyres to be a worthwhile choice near the coast for me.

classic example this past what I would describe as rather mild & soggy winter, I probably cleared ice off my car 3 times in 4 months, that means there was probably chance of black ice only 4-5 times in 4 whole months.

rest of the time, even though it was stupidly damp for so long, actually when the temperatures dipped below freezing overnight and during the days, it was a really dry cold, so the roads were fine. and I probably only lost one days of riding where I thought the conditions were too risky to bother.

my rule of thumb is if I see ice on cars parked outside when I wake up, and the temp doesnt rise above 3C all day after a night of freezing, then its sit at home rest day or zwift it.

you just have to keep an eye on conditions and the weather and accept there are some days you cant ride, just like you cant ride when theres stupidly strong winds, or youve got a chest infection.

or if riding is absolute must, then get a MTB and ride off road on forest trails when its icy.