Risky, Riskier and Riskiest...riding when it's frosty?

[Eden]

Here's a nifty tool for all of you western Washingtonians who are wondering if you want to go out and ride or not - it shows the road surface temperatures and is a fantastic predictor of wether or not there will be black ice on the roads (or regular ice for that matter).
http://www.atmos.washington.edu/SNOWWATCH/

*click on either full domain or greater metro when you get to the page or it may show nothing!

[lph]

Best of luck to your dh, AppleTree!

I ride on ice and snow all winter, but I would never even consider riding on a road I know to be snowy or icy without studded tires. I know it's possible to ride without them, especially on snow if the ground below isn't truly frozen, but I honestly don't understand why anyone would want to. At low speeds I guess you're not risking much, but at regular speeds you can lose control totally, very fast.

It means I have to switch to studded tires quite early, and sometimes end up riding for weeks on end on clear, wet road with no ice, but usually we have enough ice and slippery spots that it's a no-brainer. It's completely possible to fall with studded tires too, as I did just before christmas, from braking and skidding on a very smooth concrete surface. But it was very visible and I knew about it, so if I'd just been thinking it would have been easily avoidable.

[Crankin]

I like the tool Eden posted, because it was the combination of temperature and humidity, along with left over moisture/puddles that caused the crash that gave our friend a broken hip. It was the end of March and was predicted to go up to 60, so we all had discussed commuting the night before. Unfortunately, our friend was not quite as experienced in commuting as we were. When my DH got up, he saw the temperature and humidity combo and knew there would be black ice, so he nixed the commute, but our friend did not. Thankfully, he's a bit younger than us, so despite a permanent limp and an ugly recovery, his riding is as fast as ever now.
Last night DH commented he saw someone commuting at 5:30 AM, when he was driving to the gym. While the guy was well lit up and dressed for the 20 degree temps, there was ice everywhere! Not just black ice, but patches of visible ice, as well as snow. It was enough to make me be a little cautious in the car, and when I drove home from boot camp, the town had salted several roads. DH said this guy was on a road bike with skinny tires, which I just think is plain stupid in those conditions.

[OakLeaf]

I gotta add another risk factor and that's lack of impact activities. I've known way, way too many cyclists who've cracked a bunch of ribs, or way worse, from what should've been minor tip-overs. Studies have shown that even young male cyclists have reduced bone density when that's the only activity they sweat with.

Best not to fall, obviously, and best to know whether conditions are ripe for a fall. Personally I stopped riding when there might be black ice way back in college when I taco'd my front wheel even though I wasn't really hurt myself, thank goodness.

Be careful out there, all ... and maybe use the days when it's icy outside for some treadmill running.

AppleTree, speedy and complete healing to your husband. That's scary.

[pll]

Sorry to hear about these crashes. While the amount of snow and ice might not be enough to justify studded tires in some places, at least getting grippier tires and lowering the tire pressure should be some of the precautions to take. +1 on OakLeaf's caveat.

[ny biker]

Sorry to hear about these crashes. While the amount of snow and ice might not be enough to justify studded tires in some places, at least getting grippier tires and lowering the tire pressure should be some of the precautions to take. +1 on OakLeaf's caveat.

Pll, is this your first experience with snow in DC? Did it blow your mind compared to Chicago? Two inches and the whole area is paralyzed. I'm at home today, never even tried to leave the house because I would not have been able to get out of Arlington.

On the other hand, they've started plowing the MUTs here in Arlington as of this winter, and from photos I saw on twitter I think they cleared them before they cleared the roads.

I've crashed in mud on paved trails in the past -- it was no fun trying to clean the dirt out of that road rash -- and the other night almost fell while walking in a crosswalk after it rained, thanks to the slippery white painted stripes. I've also had problems with black ice while out walking in winter -- my "safe" alternative to cycling in this weather. It's easy to think you can handle the conditions until experience tells you otherwise.

I hope your husband recovers well, Apple Tree.

[salsabike]

That is a cool tool, Eden--thanks!

Wishing all the wounded well.

[pll]

Pll, is this your first experience with snow in DC? Did it blow your mind compared to Chicago? Two inches and the whole area is paralyzed. I'm at home today, never even tried to leave the house because I would not have been able to get out of Arlington.

I was here last winter, too. My friends from Chicago joke about how dangerous 1 inch of snow is in DC... It's cute. For the most part, I walk to work, so I had no problem getting to the office.

[lph]

I gotta add another risk factor and that's lack of impact activities. I've known way, way too many cyclists who've cracked a bunch of ribs, or way worse, from what should've been minor tip-overs. Studies have shown that even young male cyclists have reduced bone density when that's the only activity they sweat with.

Oak, that's an interesting thought, and one of the reasons I took up running as well. I figured that it would improve bone density in the legs and hips, I didn't know it could help bone density throughout the body. As an aside, though, I used to get terrible aches and pains all over my upper body when I first started running after only biking for a long time, it felt like someone had punched me. I think it was just the impact shaking things up that hadn't been shaken up for a long time. Which is a little embarrassing, actually.