SNOW AND ICE 2016/2017

Planet X

Thinking of doing a run around Kildare tomo.
Are minor roads defrosting in this weather do you think?
Cheers.

nilhg

Planet X wrote: »

Thinking of doing a run around Kildare tomo.
Are minor roads defrosting in this weather do you think?
Cheers.

Roads are fine in West Kildare at least today, thick fog in places though.

Link to the salted roads map below, generally those are OK most days

http://kildare.ie/CountyCouncil/RoadsandTransportation/WinterRoadSaltingRoutes/County%20Kildare%20Salting%20Route%202015-2016%20Rev%20B.pdf

Planet X

Cracking map that!

Lumen

Here's the one for Wicklow.

http://www.wicklow.ie/sites/default/files/2015%2C2016%20Road%20Gritting%20Programme.pdf

Slightly better than the Kildare one.

godtabh

Any for Dublin?

godtabh

I generally use this and other weather pages to see what it is going to be like the next day

https://www.tiitraffic.ie/weather/

Lumen

godtabh wrote: »

Any for Dublin?

Fingal
http://www.fingal.ie/roads-and-travel/winter-road-salting/

South Dublin
http://www.sdublincoco.ie/viewdocument.aspx?id=4219f2da-2ccc-4591-b378-a25a00e22388
(eugh)

Dublin City
http://www.dublincity.ie/sites/default/files/content/RoadsandTraffic/RoadMaintenance/Documents/Salting_Route_Map_Smaller.pdf

Lumen

IF ONLY SOMEONE HAD INVENTED SOME SORT OF MAP ON THE INTERNET.

Wishbone Ash

Be aware lads that just because the gritting routes are listed, it doesn't mean that gritting has actually been done.

A friend of mine is one of the engineers who makes call in FCC as to whether they go out or not. While they do close monitoring of the weather conditions, they don't always get it right and have the significant costs involved to consider when they give the go ahead only to discover later that it may not have been necessary. They also have to prioritise week mornings over weekends if the budget is being used faster than anticipated so it may be more risky cycling on Sat/Sun/Bank Holiday mornings as the routes may not have been treated.

(One of the gritting drivers lives near me so when I see the truck parked outside his house at night I know the go-ahead has been given).

billyhead

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

Be aware lads that just because the gritting routes are listed, it doesn't mean that gritting has actually been done.

A friend of mine is one of the engineers who makes call in FCC as to whether they go out or not. While they do close monitoring of the weather conditions, they don't always get it right and have the significant costs involved to consider when they give the go ahead only to discover later that it may not have been necessary. They also have to prioritise week mornings over weekends if the budget is being used faster than anticipated so it may be more risky cycling on Sat/Sun/Bank Holiday mornings as the routes may not have been treated.

(One of the gritting drivers lives near me so when I see the truck parked outside his house at night I know the go-ahead has been given).

Will they be out tomorrow morning Wishbone?

cython

billyhead wrote: »

Will they be out tomorrow morning Wishbone?

Can't speak as to every area, but pretty sure I saw a gritter truck wandering around Dublin 15 in the lat 30 mins, so would imagine there will be some treatment on the roads for the morning in Fingal.

nilhg

Gritter/salter lorry just gone down the road a little while ago so the Kildare lads are out...

Mr. Grieves

Gritters are out in DLR too.

billyhead

cython wrote: »

Can't speak as to every area, but pretty sure I saw a gritter truck wandering around Dublin 15 in the lat 30 mins, so would imagine there will be some treatment on the roads for the morning in Fingal.

Cheers Cython. They must have been out last night on my route Rush to Swords as the main roads were grand this morning (just some hairy spots on the way home). Don't like this talk though of randomly going out to grit the roads:eek:. Surely with the cold snap they would be out every night/morning

Wishbone Ash

billyhead wrote: »

Will they be out tomorrow morning Wishbone?

Won't know for a while yet. If they are doing a 7pm grit, the truck won't appear until around 11pm. I'm 95% sure they will.

crosstownk

Nothing to with ice but be aware of the dense fog that's about. It's not affecting Dublin much but once you get anyway inland it's there.

I drove from Dublin to Offaly and then to Castlebar today and the fog was dense enough all day - visibility was quite poor. Plenty of freezing fog about too.

Similar forecast for tomorrow.

Wishbone Ash

billyhead wrote: »

... Don't like this talk though of randomly going out to grit the roads:eek:. Surely with the cold snap they would be out every night/morning

In fairness though, if there has been little rain, roads usually are pretty ok for motor vehicles anyway. They wouldn't be thinking about cyclists!

Each night gritting costs a significant amount of money which isn't sustainable for a long period without taking money from other projects.

Wishbone Ash

crosstownk wrote: »

... but be aware of the dense fog that's about....

It was very sporadic on the club ride this morning - constantly changing from good visibility to heavy fog every few kms.

Wishbone Ash

Just as an aside lads, the trucks are fitted with a gizmo which relays the rate of dispersal and truck speed back to the engineers laptop at home. This prevents the drivers from laying it on thick and fast to get home earlier.

Lusk_Doyle

Why is the OP about running in the cycling forum?!?!

Crocked

If you follow your local council on twitter they'll have info as to whether the gritters are being deployed when the weather gets colder

Lusk_Doyle

billyhead wrote: »

Cheers Cython. They must have been out last night on my route Rush to Swords as the main roads were grand this morning (just some hairy spots on the way home). Don't like this talk though of randomly going out to grit the roads:eek:. Surely with the cold snap they would be out every night/morning

I saw you and thought the things people do to spend time with Wardie never cease to amaze me! 1 degree and this lad rolls past on the bike in the freezing fog!

godtabh

It seems very mild out there now. Cold but not that could. A lot moisture in the road which would concern me given how cold it's meant to get.

I'll be up early but probably just for a turbo session

Wishbone Ash

billyhead wrote: »

Cheers Cython. They must have been out last night on my route Rush to Swords as the main roads were grand this morning (just some hairy spots on the way home). Don't like this talk though of randomly going out to grit the roads:eek:. Surely with the cold snap they would be out every night/morning

Lusk_Doyle wrote: »

I saw you and thought the things people do to spend time with Wardie never cease to amaze me! 1 degree and this lad rolls past on the bike in the freezing fog!

mmmmm......

2 points:

1. I've never seen billyhead on a Wardie spin!
2. Wardie didn't venture out this morning (which, in fairness to him, is very rare!)

Lusk_Doyle

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

mmmmm......

2 points:

1. I've never seen billyhead on a Wardie spin!
2. Wardie didn't venture out this morning (which, in fairness to him, is very rare!)

Maybe it was you I saw? It was early and I'm very tired these days!

Wishbone Ash

Lusk_Doyle wrote: »

Maybe it was you I saw? It was early and I'm very tired these days!

Well if it was someone in full MCNSCC kit taking it fairly gingerly between Lusk and Blakes Cross around 8.30/8.45 this morning, it may have been me. Bloody cold at that time Garmin showing -1 degree.

Lusk_Doyle

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

Well if it was someone in full MCNSCC kit taking it fairly gingerly between Lusk and Blakes Cross around 8.30/8.45 this morning, it may have been me. Bloody cold at that time Garmin showing -1 degree.

Yep. Twas you so. Got you at the remount roundabout and again at the m1 flyover. I remarked to myself at the time how carefully you were going!

cython

Well, not sure about road conditions for everyone else today, but Dublin 15 to city centre via Stoneybatter was fine for me. Only went this route due to being worried about iciness in the park following a previous spill some time ago, but think it was unwarranted in hindsight, and I'm not sure it was even as cold as yesterday.

Alek

Dublin 6 > Rathcoole > Lucan > Dublin 17, roads all clear this morning but the landscape was pretty frozen...

Mercian Pro

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

It was very sporadic on the club ride this morning - constantly changing from good visibility to heavy fog every few kms.

Was out on the club spins on both Tuesday and Thursday and, in the sunshine, the condititions didn't seem that different. The fog made a huge difference though to how it felt yesterday. Don't know if this is somehow related to humidity affecting the temperature or the damp causing the gear to loose more heat. Took about twenty minutes and two coffees in Drogheda to revive. Cracking spin home in slightly higher temperatures and more sunshine but the faster pace and hills helped too.

cdaly_

billyhead wrote: »

Don't like this talk though of randomly going out to grit the roads:eek:. Surely with the cold snap they would be out every night/morning

It ain't random. There's a road icing forecast product available to local authorities and they base the decision to grit on that forecast.

Planet X

Be grand next week.
Big south westerly rolling in.

brownian

Certainly no ice of any sort on Sally Gap yesterday Sunday 4th December. Road a bit damp, wind in the wrong direction, almost zero traffic and few enough bikes.

Planet X

The "Weather gurus" are giving it "up to" 12°c this week.
Nice.

mhiggy09

brownian wrote: »

Certainly no ice of any sort on Sally Gap yesterday Sunday 4th December. Road a bit damp, wind in the wrong direction, almost zero traffic and few enough bikes.

Cycled in the Wicklow/Dublin mountains for the first time Sunday. We went up sally gap from Kilbride and the Wicklow gap and turlough from vallymont. Is it always that windy up around sally gap? There was still some small remaining patches of ice on the road up turlough with some snow in the ditches

brownian

Not always windy on Sally Gap, but frequently so. Worth looking at the forecast and getting a tailwind. Worse, though, by far, is getting a headwind on the Wicklow Gap - Sally at least has a lot of bends and zig-zags, but Wicklow can be one long straight suffer....

smacl

Blowy enough on Pine Forest road today but very mild for the time of year. Weekend weather looks good for the gaps, so will probably give them a go.

mhiggy09

brownian wrote: »

Not always windy on Sally Gap, but frequently so. Worth looking at the forecast and getting a tailwind. Worse, though, by far, is getting a headwind on the Wicklow Gap - Sally at least has a lot of bends and zig-zags, but Wicklow can be one long straight suffer....

Ye we were unlucky and had a block head wind up the last part of sally gap and a slight head wind up parts of Wicklow gap

Planet X

Incoming.
Biggie.

Annie get your Run

Planet X wrote: »

Incoming.
Biggie.

Snow? Didn't look to pleasant on the weather last night alright :eek: So, who has cycled in snow? Should we all leave the bikes at home the next few days or just carry on as normal...?

P_1

Planet X wrote: »

Incoming.
Biggie.

Yep, looks like I'll be using the fat bike for the commutes towards the end of the week. Bring it on!

smacl

P_1 wrote: »

Yep, looks like I'll be using the fat bike for the commutes towards the end of the week. Bring it on!

Might stick the studs on for the weekend myself, though met.ie has it in and around freezing rather than below zero so more like slush, wind and muck.

Planet X

Audax on Saturday..........eh......
However.......seems temps up on Saturday... Possibly.

smacl

Annie get your Run wrote: »

Snow? Didn't look to pleasant on the weather last night alright :eek: So, who has cycled in snow? Should we all leave the bikes at home the next few days or just carry on as normal...?

First day it snows is usually ok if you're careful, once it freezes and you've a real risk of frozen ice underneath the snow I personally wouldn't be cycling without studded tyres. YMMV.

mr spuckler

i remember commuting on a single speed in the heavy snow a few years ago, was great craic

although my helmet did take the brunt of a few snowballs from kids in the city centre :mad:

ice is less fun however, i might end up walking as far as the main road if things are bad!

Planet X

Never not cycled in snow. It's good craic and a relatively rare event.

kenmc

Planet X wrote: »

Incoming.
Biggie.

Yippee!

Wishbone Ash

Annie get your Run wrote: »

So, who has cycled in snow? ...

I cycled a lot during the big snow of 1982 when I was young and foolish. It was great craic but seemed to be particularly hard on tyres. I recall wearing a pair down to the treads after a couple of weeks. Don't really know why they wore out so quickly. I wouldn't have thought hard packed snow was abrasive.

RobFowl

WA ddin't think you were old enough to remember that snow of 82.
It was great craic.
Was living in my Nans beside St annes park at the time and as an 11 yr old it was a winter wonderland

cdaly_

Woo! Yellow snow warning on met.ie...

CramCycle

RobFowl wrote: »

WA ddin't think you were old enough to remember that snow of 82.
It was great craic.
Was living in my Nans beside St annes park at the time and as an 11 yr old it was a winter wonderland

Didn't think you were that young :pac: