True Confessions

[shootingstar]

Mimitabby has made a good point, that perhaps even in car, your car, the big monster, could slide abit too if you weren't paying attention.

Since living in Vancouver I've fallen 3 times. The last one...was freakishly scary, a path that was sheer ice all the way around. I was damned if I tried stopping, and damned if I kept going.

So I kept on going and ...fell on the ice, in slow motion. towards the end of the path. Ironically this was in the new future 2010 Olympic athletes' village area that's under construction. I was not hurt much, just late for an art class.. It did bother me for a few hrs. Ice had melted off 4 hrs. later when I biked home.

I've been very lucky so far, each time I fell, it has always been black ice, where ironically I was going slow. Another time I fell on icy road while going up a hill.

I don't have tire studs. Do I plan to get them? no. Simply because in our area black ice and snow on the mainland at the foot of mountains...doesn't actually get much snow ...compared to other parts of Canada. When it does snow and there's ice, I won't cycle.

I know alot of highly experienced, strong cyclists who simply don't ride if their winters are often snowy and icy. this is very true in toronto, which has similar winters to Massachussetts.

As for my precautions that I take...I was hit as a pedestrian in the winter when I was a teenager. In front of a life insurance company. It is possible thereafter, I just take more precautions. I go through times where I forget about this accident, it is almost like denial that I could have permanently disabled, etc. If a small car hits you with a certain impact, you could be thrown onto of the hood..

[7rider]

Well, your sig line kinda says it all..."Never give up. Never surrender."

Sounds like you already have studded tires. Check out MassBike: http://www.massbike.org/index.htm - look at the "Skills" tab and also call them and see if they have any safe bike riding classes offered (I know WABA does from time to time).

Discretion is the better part of valor....sometimes it IS best to just walk it. But perhaps you can go back to platform pedals (if you have clipless) as a start until you have more confidence on the bike. Also...can I assume your bike fits you okay and isn't too big and unstable for you?

Good luck and take heart...spring is just around the corner!

[kfergos]

Thank you all for the encouragement and good advice. I feel much better. I do, in fact, have Nokian studded tires -- the skinniest ones available, with just a few studs. I've never slipped on ice with that bike and those tires; my fall last weekend was with my road bike and slicks, which was clearly a tactical error on my part. I guess I just don't know what's normal for riding in winter conditions, so I've just been doing my best. I have been meaning to ask, too, what you guys would do in the following situations:

1. Riding over a wooden (!) bridge in wet conditions or after it's snowed.
2. Riding over 5 steel plates in a row in wet conditions or after it's snowed.

[tulip]

Kfergos, most accidents in hiking, mountain climbing, and sea kayaking can be traced to errors in judgment. Good expiditioners analyze their expeditions to learn from them. That seems like a good idea here, particularly since you have had so many spills in the last 18 months. Analyze each one to see why it happened and what, if anything, you can learn from it.

You say that it was a tactical error to ride your road bike in the icy conditions--I'd say that's true. Take your studded-tire bike when it's icy. Also, avoid the unknown--puddles, icy patches, anything with undetermined conditions.

Wooden bridges are going to be more likely to be slippery when wet, more so when icy, and we know that they ice faster than other surfaces. So slow down at the very least. Don't hesitate to walk, gingerly if conditions dictate. Metal surfaces I would tend to avoid altogether, particularly in wet and/or icy conditions.

The Icebike site is good for all things winter-cycling: http://www.icebike.org/

The best antidote to fear is knowledge.

[Melalvai]

I rode to work through an ice storm this morning. I kept it slow, no more than 12 mph, because that is the fastest I want to fall at. It took me 30% longer (7 min) to get to work.

It was beautiful to ride through.

Riding around with that eclipse last night was awesome too. Though I was still whining about the cold then. It is a little warmer today.

[Geonz]

I'm about to head home through the same shltuff. Studded tyres rock ;D

[lph]

Hi all. Just wanted to add - that there's ice, and there's ice. Hitting ice when I'm riding with slicks or on my road bike scares the sh*t out of me, because there's no traction whatsoever and hitting the road HURTS. And with slicks on I'm usually moving fast. Passing a small ice patch that I've seen in advance when I'm riding with knobby tires is ok, I keep a straight line and don't lean or turn til I'm past the ice. The knobbies are fat enough to make me feel balanced. In winter I ride with studded tires (nokian Extreme) and ride over ice and snow all the time. But there are still days when riding is really difficult even with studs - if wet snow has packed on the road and refrozen to ice bulges and ruts, and if tehre's meltwater or rain running off it, I feel my shoulders start to creep up to my hairline too. Even though I've never hurt myself falling in winter. I've lost a few studs so soemtimes the back wheel will slip a little.

I think my point is that is you really have to cross pure ice, especially if it's slick from water, you have to expect to slow way, way down. Studs enable you to ride on ice, but they don't necessarily make it easy. I think of it as "riding my tractor" Riding on a dry road is just a whole 'nother world and I handle my bike completely differently.

[Geonz]

I'm about to head home through the same shltuff. Studded tyres rock ;D

[Geonz]

Snork. Yesterday's was at least in the forecast. Today's was a surprise. 4 inches for the price of one...

[Andrea]

I had a painful fall last December while on a laid back group ride- I was drafting my training partner then let myself get distracted & started to half-wheel him. Seconds later, when he made a sideways movement, BAM! Down I went...
I thought I was fine except for some road rash. I went on training all winter- usually solitary or leading my local shop's "B" ride on the weekends. A few weeks ago, I go for my first "big" group ride since the wreck... all of a sudden, I find that I'm annoying other riders by letting a gap form between me & the person in front of me or by riding off to the side of the wheel in front of me. I try to correct myself but find that when I do, I get very nervous & tense and start grabbing my brakes at the slightest change in pace (an even bigger paceline sin!)
Being a racer, this is tough. I'm basically re-learning how to draft! My strategy is to start easy and very controlled. I go out with my training partner on a flat, smooth road. He pegs his speed at exactly 19mph. I get behind him and draft in "intervals"- I'll get very close for 1-2 minutes then back off a little for a mental break. We're now adding in turns & hills. We're also going to take our bikes out into the field behind my house & practice rubbing wheels on purpose. My first crit is in less than a month

My point- just like everyone else said- when you're ready, take baby steps, but work your way up to facing what you're ultimately scared of!