True Confessions

[PscyclePath]

Ice is one of those road conditions that can say "I'm not riding today." Snow is a lot more negotiable, but ice is bad stuff, especially if you have skinny road tires.

+110 on the recommendation for studded tires, if conditions say you need to ride the ice. If studs aren't an option, it's tire to break out the knobby, low-pressure tired mountain bike. The all-terrain tires are absolutely the way to go in the slippery, slushy stuff.

Drop your tire pressure by about 10 pounds or so, to get better contact and a larger footprint for your tires on the road -- you get better traction.

Slow down. Safe ice biking requires no sudden moves.

Don't lean the bike over, or make sharp turns on the ice or on wet surfaces, to keep your traction.

Easy on the brakes, and lay off the brakes when you're on the slick stuff. Look up ahead, see what's coming, feather your brakes if need be, and gently coast to a stop.

A little nervousness is okay. Being scared means that you're beyond your comfort zone, and either beyond or skirting the edges of your skills and experience. But try it and learn. Accident statistics clearly indicate that cyclists who ride in all sorts of weather, not just the clear sunny days, have an 85% better safety record in avoiding crashes. Experience and confidence counts for a lot!

[Melalvai]

Ice is one of those road conditions that can say "I'm not riding today." Snow is a lot more negotiable, but ice is bad stuff, especially if you have skinny road tires.

But this is equally true for driving. My experience, at least in Mid-Missouri, is that if the roads are good enough to drive on, they are good enough to bike on.

I've told this story a lot this winter. I took my daughter to school one day in the car. Then I returned home, left the car for my husband, and biked to work. While driving the car, I lost traction twice (and pumped the brake gently to regain control). While riding my bike--same day, same roads--I did not ever lose control.

That day convinced me that biking is safer than driving. No one else agrees!

[Geonz]

Welp, one fact of physics is that with four wheels, you don't fall down. With two wheels, you can.

However, I can tell you that with my studded tyres on, I'm sliding a lot less than cars, and if I *do* go into a ditch, I can get out mroe easily

On the third hand, though, if I it something in the car, it's less dangerous to me than if I hit something on the bike.

It's one of those "define your acceptable risk" situations.

[lph]

Yep - losing control on ice on a bike can be truly terrifying, but you don't weigh much and aren't moving that fast. And there is that nice thing about being able to just pick up your bike and bail. Can't do that with a Jeep

What (still) terrifies me a little about driving a car, which I've only done for the past two years or so, is the potential for seriously harming other people. I still have a little trouble wrapping my head around the thought that I'm barreling down the road at 3 times a healthy biking clip inside something that weighs half a ton. If I swerve and hit someone, they're dead.

I feel that as a cyclist I'm forced to judge road conditions more carefully and adjust my speed accordingly, because 2 wheels are less forgiving. As a driver I tend to take reasonably good road conditions for granted.

[mimitabby]

and my friend that broke his hip on black ice maybe weighed 135 pounds soaking wet. You have fear for a reason. to protect yourself.

[Melalvai]

I still have a little trouble wrapping my head around the thought that I'm barreling down the road at 3 times a healthy biking clip inside something that weighs half a ton. If I swerve and hit someone, they're dead.

When my older sister was learning to drive, she got in the driver's seat, adjusted everything, and was driving merrily down the road when Mom idly remarked, "You have a half ton murder machine under your control."

When I learned to drive, Dad sat in the passenger seat.