The wimp list ...

boardbeer

tnegun wrote: »

Lethal in Maynooth too glad I took the car reading this now, was considering walking the bike out of the estate past the worst of it

Once out of the estate (do they use a special ice-attracting tarmac?) the roads were grand: Celbridge, Pike Bridge and Dublin rds. I avoided the nice new wide cycle path past Intel, tho, it looked like a piste.

Utter Consternation

Pigeon Reaper wrote: »

Dodgy out there this morning. I put on ice tyres and even they struggled in parts. Saw a few people come off on the canal track. The roads may have been gritted but sleet looked to have fallen and then froze. Some drivers where still idiots and lots of crashes on obvious ice.

Yeah, i think there had to be a shower of rain/snow and then it froze.

It always amazes me to see people zooming around when the roads are lethal.

Pinch Flat

Yeah pretty lethal commute and regretted not taking the train in. Had to walk the bike out my estate, which usually doesn't get the morning sun, and was expecting the main roads in the estate to be better. Wasn't to be the case - lots of black ice and had to get off and walk the bike around one corner near where I live.

Took the road through the Phoenix park and that wasn't too bad, but saw a few cyclists come a cropper in the park on the cycle track. Cycle tracks were lethal. Had to get off and walk the bike round the roundabout at the Aras. Never thought I'd be so happy to see ten quays ,wasn't too bad from there on in.

tnegun

boardbeer wrote: »

Once out of the estate (do they use a special ice-attracting tarmac?)

No but the gritter comes nowhere near it!! The main road had several passes but paths looked bad and could see ice in spots. Saw one guy cycling on the paths at Intel fair play to him they were very bad.

Mr. Grieves

tnegun wrote: »

No but the gritter comes nowhere near it!! The main road had several passes but paths looked bad and could see ice in spots. Saw one guy cycling on the paths at Intel fair play to him they were very bad.

I didn't see much evidence of gritting on the main roads - I wonder were they gritted at all. The difference is that the volume of car traffic thaws the ice so they're mainly ok compared to footpaths, cyclepaths and quieter roads. I was ok today, my commute is generally on main roads.

Unusual conditions caught a lot of people out. Saw a couple of motorbikes slipping. It's pretty rare to have a hard freeze following rain like that. Normally cold is accompanied with dry weather.

cdaly_

ngunners wrote: »

There must have been something in the air so yesterday. I got taken out of it by a car whose driver didn't look right or stop at a stop sign in Dublin city centre. Driver completely owned up and there were a couple of witnesses. I was lucky to only have some bad bruises... Quite sore today. My bike took the brunt of the damage.

I got everyone's details. But as this is my first (and hopefully last) time to be knocked over by a careless driver I'm wondering what my next step should be? Should I report it to the guards? Or just sort it out ourselves? The guy was very remorseful and promised to repair all damages.

Gardai, driver's insurance co, doctor.

Arequipa

Hi!
I cycled 20km to work
...left at about 7am... The roads around my home had a shiny, icy surface... Made it to the coast path... Was okay in parts and dodgy at corners... Then along the Dodder was well dodgy.. some walkers kindly pointed out the ice to me...
Long story short.. i made it to work
.. went quite slow and carefully
... But in retrospect... This morning was dangerous & i should have driven /.dart to work....

tnegun

Glad I I drove today. Chatting at lunch and 2 guys in work fell this am one twice and were very sore. Another helped a guy up who fell on his face and said there was a lot of blood

Thargor

Myself and everyone I know who cycles into work hit the ground hard this morning, a couple of them multiple times, sounds like a freak weather event tbh way worse than a normal freeze, never seen such a bad morning for cycling.

Wishbone Ash

Opinions on early tomorrow morning on the east coast??

The reason I wimped out so quickly after setting out this morning is that I live about 50 meters from the sea. When there's black ice near my house, I know it can only get worse.

magicbastarder

Met eireann are predicting 6C on the east coast tomorrow morning, so should be absolutely fine.

Plastik

They also have a yellow snow/ice warning for the east coast until 10am tomorrow morning, so I wouldn't be too confident in the 6deg. Hopefully you're right.

eeeee

Icy out there today. I live near enough the sea so didn't think it was as bad as it was. Going through the Phoenix park was dodge, I went on the road from the second roundabout.
Every non main road this morning was icy.
Grand coming home though.

I have high hopes for tomorrow. I preferred the blind snowy hideousness of yesterday to the sunny hidden icy-ness of this morning. I'm glad I'm on a fixie when it gets icy though.

Wishbone Ash

eeeee wrote: »

... I'm glad I'm on a fixie when it gets icy though.

I'd much prefer to free wheel if I thought I was on an icy surface.

dahat

There is nothing more depressing as a cyclist to see the weekend forecast as it currently is.

Advance notice for a Saturday wimp being posted.

eeeee

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

I'd much prefer to free wheel if I thought I was on an icy surface.

Nah it's better IMO to be able to pedal smoothly and steady through, with even pressure, no wild changes or twitches or accelerations or decelerations.
You kind of have to ride fixie's and track bikes like that, it happens kind of naturally even, if you're any way efficient.

Wishbone Ash

eeeee wrote: »

Nah it's better IMO to be able to pedal smoothly and steady through, with even pressure, no wild changes or twitches or accelerations or decelerations.
You kind of have to ride fixie's and track bikes like that, it happens kind of naturally even, if you're any way efficient.

I'll have to flip my hub more often!

Raining at the minute and noticeably milder than last night and today so bar the wind and the wet we should be fine.

Our estate this morning at 7:30 was like glass but I'd seen the gritter out last night beyond that on the main road which was grand so walked with the bike that far. I've only 4km to go so didn't get warmed up at all and I was seriously glad of the porridge in the canteen when I got in.

boardbeer

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

I'd much prefer to free wheel if I thought I was on an icy surface.

I'm with eeeee... I like the feedback of a fixed gear on ice or gravel, seems to give advanced notice of slips. To quote the late, great Sheldon Brown:

fixed gear gives you a very direct feel for traction conditions on slippery surfaces. This makes a fixed gear particularly suitable for riding in rainy or icy conditions.

Hrududu

I checked the weather before leaving the house yesterday, saw it was 2 degrees and headed on my merry way. It was only half way through that I hit the really icy spots. If I knew how bad it was before setting out I would have gladly joined the wimp list.

LollipopJimmy

I've not biked all week, apart from my last stint across town on a Dublin Bike, just not worth the risk, especially since my shoulder still isn't 100%.

Going along the south side of St.Stephens Green a car came into the cycle lane and undertook the rest of the traffic going about 3/4's of the length. This is a good wide mandatory cycle lane. I have his reg and am going to report him, I would never be compelled to report but that level of selfishness is just unreal, even more so in this weather.

irlirishkev

Wimped out this morning. Mainly because I haven't been on the bike for a while due to various non wimping out reasons, but this morning it was dark, lashing rain, freezing cold, and windy. I didn't fancy my first day back being like that, so I drove to work.
Regretted it within 15mins of leaving my front door (and not having gotten very far).
Won't make that mistake again!

Utter Consternation

irlirishkev wrote: »

Wimped out this morning. Mainly because I haven't been on the bike for a while due to various non wimping out reasons, but this morning it was dark, lashing rain, freezing cold, and windy. I didn't fancy my first day back being like that, so I drove to work.
Regretted it within 15mins of leaving my front door (and not having gotten very far).
Won't make that mistake again!

It's always the same way. Near instant regret when you decide to drive or take the stinking bus.

What Username Guidelines

irlirishkev wrote: »

Wimped out this morning. Mainly because I haven't been on the bike for a while due to various non wimping out reasons, but this morning it was dark, lashing rain, freezing cold, and windy. I didn't fancy my first day back being like that, so I drove to work.
Regretted it within 15mins of leaving my front door (and not having gotten very far).
Won't make that mistake again!

I waited for the heavy stuff to pass, then left the house under a clear blue sky, with a certain air of smug about me. Then got pelted out of it by the next shower. Win some, lose some.

Hurrache

Not a bad week to get a subscription to the whimp list with the schools being off. Lied in bed an hour listening to the rain contemplating what to do before eventually bussing it after checking out the rainfall radar.

Utter Consternation

It's just crap all week. I'm wimping it on the electric bike these days. I just can't handle the bloody wind against me going home, it adds another ten minutes onto my commute.

crosstownk

I was expecting rain this morning so I checked the rainfall radar when I woke up - it was all shades of blue and green. I got up to 'nowcast' by looking out the window - yep it was raining alright and I got soaked yesterday morning so I decided to drive which bought me 30 mins so I went back to bed. As I prepared to doze, I though about the drive to work and the traffic and the M50 and I jumped out of bed, got myself sorted and cycled to work. My gear is drying beside the radiator as I type and the wind will be at my back on the way home so I'm glad I didn't drive.

magicbastarder

the biggest reason for me regularly wimping out is the ability to work from home whenever i feel like it; i don't have to face another form of transport if i do wimp out.

What Username Guidelines

Semi wimped out, woken up 20 mins before my alarm to hail battering the window. Working from home until the heavy stuff passes.

Hurrache

I've a pain in my ass with it. Knew it was suppose to clear and held on as late as possible until it was time to shower and get the bus, or miss it altogether.

15 minute walk down to the bus stop and it's nicely cleared up. I'm willing it to piss rain again so I can feel that bit better.