It's even 'orribler out there now

So it appears to have frozen, thawed, been salted and then frozen
again. Now it is snowing gently on top of ice. The one treated road
I used on the way home seems to have a little grip where it ain't
white or shiny black, but the rest ... exciting.

Stabilisers on, you all-weather riders.

 

I'm very tempted to get the bike out now, just so I can be the first
tyre tracks in the snow. I imagine it would be fine in a straight
line, the turning round and coming back again could prove problematic.

 

I must confess to driving the sofa today.

--
Catman MIB#14 SKoGA#6 TEAR#4 BOTAFOF#38 Apostle#21 COSOC#3
Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright (Remove rust to reply)
Alfa 116 Giulietta 3.0l (Really) Sprint 1.7 75 TS 156 TS S2
Triumph Speed Triple: Black with extra black bits
www.cuore-sportivo.co.uk

 

I have to go to Cambridge today and can't find my stabilisers.

 

<glares out at unreasonably mild weather>
<drums fingers>

 

Took the bike into work last night, (Worthing) and had to ride it home
this morning. Interesting. The slush in lane 1a was quite thin
thankfully.

 

<looks a cool (+4C) clear sky and ice free dry roads>

Serves you right for living in the frozen south.

 

Trailbikes and trials tyres are fine in snow. It's wet ice that gets one
completely out of shape.

I experimented once in Caithness putting some self tappers into every
4th block or somesuch of a worn trials tyre. It worked pretty well on
ice. They didn't feel at all good and abraded beyond the useful very
quickly once dry tarmac was reached though.

A mate who used a Reliant in the winter had a proper single studded tyre
for the front! The studs and block were made so they pushed in on tarmac
and lasted longer and didn't damage the road surface.

 

When I was young(er) and stupid(er), I used to love getting my XL125
out in the snow. I was less keen when I got caught out on the M8 when I
had the plastic maggot. the bottom of the hill at Bishopton was clear,
the top was inches deep.

 

One of the local twist-and-go scooter learners hasn't come to grips
with fine throttle control from the sound as he went past this morning:

bwAAAP!...<silence>...bwAAP!....<silence>...repeat many times as he made
about 2 mph progress. Using a throttle like a light-switch might work
on dry tarmac, but it's not the way forward in the slippery stuff.

--
Ivan Reid, School of Engineering & Design, _____________ CMS Collaboration,
Brunel University. Ivan.Reid@[brunel.ac.uk|cern.ch] Room 40-1-B12, CERN
GSX600F, RG250WD "You Porsche. Me pass!" DoD #484 JKLO#003, 005
WP7# 3000 LC Unit #2368 (tinlc) UKMC#00009 BOTAFOT#16 UKRMMA#7 (Hon)
KotPT -- "for stupidity above and beyond the call of duty".

 

[snip]

Paging the Pyrenees skiers...

http://www.masella.com/phtml/ingles/fotos.phtml?apartat=12#

 

I take it things are a little ... testing, down in the Frozen South?

<laughs>

<laughs a bit more>

<laughs like a fucking drain>

 

Not in the least - got the bike out, rode to work.

Can't see what the fuss was about.
--
| ___ Salad Dodger
|/ \
_/_____\_ GL1500SEV/CBR1100XXX/CBX1000Z
|_\_____/_| ..87918../..23274.../..31893.
(>|_|_|<) TPPFATUICG#7 DIAABTCOD#9 WG*
|__|_|__| BOTAFOT #70 BOTAFOF #09 PM#5
\ |^| / IbW#0 & KotIbW# BotTOS#6 GP#4
\|^|/ ANORAK#17 IbB#4 YTC#4 two#11
'^' RBR Clues: 00 Pts:0000 Miles:0000

 

Well, of course not. Some people are made of stronger stuff.

 

No - he's just got a really really dark visor.

 

Well, yeah - added to the fact that there was ****-all snow to speak
of.
--
| ___ Salad Dodger
|/ \
_/_____\_ GL1500SEV/CBR1100XXX/CBX1000Z
|_\_____/_| ..87918../..23274.../..31893.
(>|_|_|<) TPPFATUICG#7 DIAABTCOD#9 WG*
|__|_|__| BOTAFOT #70 BOTAFOF #09 PM#5
\ |^| / IbW#0 & KotIbW# BotTOS#6 GP#4
\|^|/ ANORAK#17 IbB#4 YTC#4 two#11
'^' RBR Clues: 00 Pts:0000 Miles:0000

 

Snow's all gone. Why don't you try it with your bike?

 

<gives up><puts in killfile again><thinks a bit><removes from
killfile>

We both know we can trade snide remarks with no appreciable effect.
You could turn this into something constructive.

You have a lot of years of biking behind you. What is your experience
of riding in the snow? What tips would you give less experienced
riders?

 

I've ridden dirt bikes on snowed-over roads in this country. I remember
getting my TS185 through the traffic, and out on the A40, heading west,
one morning, and there was literally no vehicle in sight, for some
reason. The incoming carriageway was solid, mark you.

I just gave it the berries and hooted as the back end fishtailed this
way and that.

No way would I try tht with something that wasn't disposable, small,
light and fitted with off-road tyres, mind. Normally, it's like cars: as
high a gear as possible and as low revs as possible.

Some years later, on my XT600E, I found myself on the M25, going from
Watford to Redhill, with horrendous snow settling and the traffic
gradually slowing to a total halt. Cars were wheel-spinning as the
surface was turning to polished ice.

I could *feel* that the front wheel was on a knife edge, and that one
tip of the bars, or one touch of the brakes, would have it over.

I remember a plod car coming alongside me, and the guy in the passenger
seat eyeballed me, and tapped the side of his head with his forefinger.
But, shit, I didn't want to be there. It had been clear when I left.

I moved to the side of the carriageway and let the bike run in the fresh
snow. This gave the tyres some grip, and I made the journey to Redhill
unscathed. Fell off on the country back lane into town, of course.
Twice.

Fresh-fallen snow has more grip than hard-pack, let alone ice. Just
don't touch the front brake, and pray.

Cars, yes, well, I've been driving cars in snow and ice for nearly 30
years and that doesn't faze me these days. Single-track vehicles are a
different matter. They're best left in the garage. In 1982 my wife and I
got caught in blizzards on our (road) bikes. They were unrideable, and
we parked them up in a side street and recovered them when it melted.

 

Tunbridge Wells was in a helluva state on Thursday morning.