Compare and contrast

January 2010

January 2014

Whilst North America experiences one of its worst winters, the effect of the large storms here, the other side of the Atlantic, is repeated bashing from south westerly gales bringing rain and coastal flooding to the UK. Despite this, so far, our winter has been mild. There have been only a few days here in Lancashire when the mercury has been below zero, unlike the past three winters during which there were a number of periods when the temperature never rose above freezing - result: less salt on the road and consequently less bike cleaning, corrosion and therefore safer riding.

Adverse conditions require a lot more effort to cope with. Compared to a summer commute when we can just get on a bike and go, winter commuting requires more preparation especially if ice and snow are involved.

Winter has a long way to go, so having made this comparison, we'll probably get loads of snow before spring!

Lonely road

Most commuters weren't around as I rode down empty streets on the way to work this morning. It was a pleasure not only to feel safer because of less traffic but also because the weather was bright and cheery unlike the stormy weather we're currently experiencing every couple of days.

Times they are a changin'

Come early January, increasing daylight is quite noticeable but what always surprises me is how much this contrasts with a few days ago in late December when we were lurching headlong into endless darkness. Just before seeming inevitable it would become depressingly gloomy, brightness now hints through wintery skies. I probably sense it more at this time of year because my morning commute is at dawn when the change is happening. Cycling at any time of year heightens riders' senses to seasonal change. For me, this is one of the plusses of riding at dawn and dusk.

Road slime

I got caught out this week on a ride home from work. I've cycled to work for many years and, although the location has changed over the years, much of my route has remained the same. I don't know how many times I've crossed over the mini-roundabouts on Whalley Old Road in Little Harwood but it must be in excess of ten thousand commutes. That's all year every year, even during snow, ice and heavy rain. For any readers unaware of what mini-roundabouts are (I know roundabouts are uncommon in the USA as a four-way stop is more the norm), it is a smaller version of a conventional roundabout but where the island, around which traffic circulates, is much smaller. The normal traffic rules of a roundabout apply even though the mini-roundabout may just be a painted circle in a regular road junction. That is what the ones in Whalley Old Road are, painted circles on what is an old road.

I know road paint provides less friction than tarmac and so usually make allowance when turning on it. Everything was going well with little traffic around and the ride was flowing nicely. When I got the the junction, the line I took was over the roundabout circle as there were no cars around and it makes the turn less sharp but does mean going across the paint. I misjudged the conditions contributing to a lack of traction and got caught out when my front wheel went from under me and both my bike and myself ended up sliding sideways across the road. Luckily I only suffered a bashed arm and bruised shoulder as I hit the road and a jacket that instantly went from day-glow yellow to black on the right side.

The weather had been dry for a few days but the roads, which were been covered with a concentration of road salt and were still damp. As it had dissolved, the salt instead of drying out had turned into a greasy, slimy damp black film. This is quite common in our damp north-west climate. Even tarmac becomes slippery when covered with this film as was demonstrated the next morning by a car skidding as it set off from a side road. I'm normally wary of this salt slime as there are one or two places where the tarmac is quite smooth and I've felt a loss of traction when turning. I allow for it and take the turn slowly, keeping as upright as possible. Now I'm even more wary and there's a lot of winter still to get through.

Safe (winter) cycling...

Never mind cling film Mr Wiggins

Snow boots for me for this morning's commute - absolutely necessary for the first and last few metres which were sheet ice. Some of the main roads weren't much better.
Saw 3 other cyclists braving the conditions. Minus 8 Celcius again already matching last winter's coldest mornings. Low temperature grease is looking a must have item for the Christmas stocking.

Transition

March is here and with it, first signs of spring. Snowdrops are out and other bulbs are poking their heads out of the soil. This first week of the month marked a change to cycling to work without lights in both the morning and evening. I don't remember the change last year. Maybe that indicates a yearning on my part for warmer, lighter rides or my subconscious telling me it's been a long hard winter. The extra visibility has allowed damage the winter has had on the local roads to be seen more easily. The battle of the potholes continues, but my impression is that councils are losing the war, because more holes appear as fast as they can fill the old ones. The white paint vandals have been out spraying the roads marking hazards ready for the repair teams. I counted fifteen repairs marked on the way home. The trouble is if they don't fix them promptly, the markings disappear and some of the holes, especially around ironworks, grids and grates are getting huge.

We Brits are known for our obsession with the weather, but everyone is if their climate is changeable. The met office tell us this winter has been the coldest for 31 years in England and the coldest since 1962/63 in Scotland. Of course, in the intervening years, technology and the way we live our lives changed immensely. A comparison in absolute terms may be irrefutable, but, when compared on a perceptual level, I doubt if most people thought it was so cold. I'm always amazed to see what people wear. Some don't seem to change their clothing habits to suit the seasons or daily weather. I see folk wandering around in shorts and T-shirts when the mercury is sub zero and 'dressed-up to the nines', even when the weather is mild. It defies logic, or perhaps indicates a better or worse tolerance of temperature change. It could also indicate their heating is very good, and that is where technology comes in, either at home or in the car. Remember the days of iced up house windows? There's not many that will see that on the inside of window panes these days but it was commonplace when I was a child.

This winter has certainly presented its challenges and, where commuting is concerned, will be remembered by many, for the inconvenience caused. Cycling to work this winter, in general, hasn't seemed more difficult, except for the couple of weeks when we had snow and ice. Then, although difficult, riding turned out to be the most effective way to get to work. If anything the colder weather has been better. I can only remember getting wet a couple of times, which is quite astounding really since we live in a wet climate. If next year presents us with the same challenging weather, I won't hesitate to do some more bike walking to work and may even think of a more suitable machine for the job. I intend, by then, to have a different bike to commute on and will consider adding some contingency options for riding in snow, such as a change of tyres, as it can be quite a lot of fun.

The light, the light...

Yes it cometh. Whilst I may still be commuting at both ends of the day with lights on, my sense of lengthening daylight hours is palpable. It's only a matter of days before commuting in light returns and I'm quite excited at the prospect. Not because of my commuting, for which it makes a difference - despite me enjoying riding in the dark. No, it's more for the fact it opens up prospects of longer rides during both the day and night. This is something I've done more and more of last year and I'm looking forward to this spring, as well as not having frozen toes.

I've been getting out for other rides in the dark, which on one hand, is quite relaxing - rather like listening to music - it creates a kind of bubble where you can lose yourself in your own thoughts. On the other hand it is quite restricting with limited view of where I'm going or what I'm riding over, so I'm ready for lighter rides. Bring it on.

Flowing free

What a difference a week makes. The 'Big Freeze', as our prolonged cold spell in the UK became known, ended over the weekend and all the snow melted. It seems like a distant memory now. As the days passed, most debris that collected on the roads has been cleared up and things are getting back to normal. It's only after the event, I realise just how much extra effort the really cold weather required. Everything just took longer. More preparation, slower to do anything, more time to clear up afterwards. Even existing indoors seemed like hibernation as we migrated towards the greatest source of warmth, the fire.

Out on the bike, it is like a veil has been lifted. Flowing movement has returned. I can pedal in a continuous rhythm for more than a few hundred metres and feel joy of power and motion without worrying if that patch ahead is a slick of ice. For readers from colder climes, this may sound a bit wussy, but it was an issue here because many roads, even minor ones, get quite a lot of motorised traffic. This compressed the snow into a wet layer and turned it to ice, which then remained around until the thaw. There was no treatment or clearing of many minor or rural roads. It wasn't so bad when the temperatures were well below freezing but when they increased to near melting point or above, there was no grip on the polished ice.

This week is so different with the mercury hovering in single figures (above freezing). Even the light is better and the days are noticeably longer. A couple of non-commute rides have removed that stir crazy feel and restored a degree of fitness. For those training for competition this must feel like a real release. I'm not, but the sensation is still noticeable. Enjoy, before the excitement of snow returns!

Winter biking

Last week's commuting was a learning curve in new bike skills due to the snow and ice. There's was plenty of opportunity to practice balance, smooth slow turning, acceleration and braking along with quick reactions when wheels twitched on ice or soft snow. Surprisingly I haven't had many moments and made steady progress with only slightly extended commute times. Most motorists were considerate and took time to find the right place to overtake. One exception was a driver that passed just as the road narrowed and nearly forced me onto some ice. Then, he blew his horn after passing. I wasn't impressed.


It's proved to be a an expedient way of getting to work, and as the week has progressed, For many leaving the car at home was the most sensible option and therefore alternative modes of transport were needed, many taking to the train or walking. The UK really isn't geared up to handle a prolonged wintry weather like this. Since it is uncommon, there aren't the resources to manage it, whether it be snow clearing or cars with winter tyres. Some must regard cycling in this weather as madness, but it has been a way of avoiding treacherous pavements (side-walks) and making reasonable progress. I've seen other people taking to cycling as a way to get about and the local paper carried stories of other cyclists who got to where they needed to be by using a bike, including a doctor who got to his surgery and patients during the worst of the snow on Tuesday.

Bearing in mind my commuter bike is a road bike not a bike well suited for riding snow and ice, this winter cycling was far removed from true snow biking. I've been doing it on narrow tyres. Where too much snow or ice was still on the road, I got off an walked to the next safer bit of road. I also changed my pedals because clips were a hindrance to getting my foot down quickly if I was losing control.


A snow bike on the other hand, is adapted for riding in snow, taking mountain biking to a new level with emphasis not on suspension and comfort, but on making progress. To do this in snow requires very wide tyres at low pressure and with plenty of frame clearance. Ice requires studded tyres and those are uncommon. My ride couldn't be further from a snow bike and and it showed. Progress was impeded by its inappropriate features. A times, riding on the flat seemed like going uphill or using a turbo trainer, the resistance coming from collected ice and snow in the mudguards (fenders). I think the moving parts were also a bit sluggish because the morning temperature has been -5C to -10C. The week ended with my front brake cable shearing the nipple - a possible failure due to thermal stresses at the end of the cable or just a fault?

Commuting off to a good start

The weather is causing havoc with the return to work for many in the UK. Myself, I managed to navigate the snow yesterday, riding about 75% of the way to work and returning pretty much all the way on two wheels, albeit gingerly because of the frozen slush and tramlines of cars.


Today was another matter as snow hit at peak commuting time and continued until mid afternoon. Having walked before Christmas, I knew how long it would be and set off in time with my bike for company. I succeeded in travelling a few hundred yards on the bike, the rest was a trudge through 10-15cm of snow. Returning this evening, the roads were quiet and I went by the most major route, a 50mph dual carriageway, in order to actual ride some.


Bike walking has proved quite successful. One advantage is not having to worry about abandoning the car. Quite what it's doing to the mechanicals I'm not sure, but like last year, I aim to keep on top of maintaining my commuter bike so I can always use it.

Solstice Commute

Great weather for a white Christmas. Very scenic, but not good timing for commuting today, on the shortest day of the year. Especially by bike, none of which spotted whilst walking this morning.

"You need to slow down"

It's been an eventful couple of days on the bike. Yesterday is best forgotten as it was the usual being taken advantage of plus topping it all my neighbour nearly running me over but he's forgiven as he's been threatening to do it for a while anyway. (We're still friends).

Today though was the pinnacle of a series of bad driving incidents, leading to my conclusion that we, as the increasing minority who cycle, will need gentle diplomacy to overcome the ignorance that some drivers exhibit when sharing the road with cyclists.

There were a number of the usual cars poking out of junctions and crossing the road in front of me. That's fairly normal. The first more major incident was at a give way I've had trouble at before. It's an awkward junction with two give ways right on top of each other. I approached to go straight on to the second give way but keeping to the left of the road. As I reached the give way line, a woman in an Audi A7 drew up to the junction and started to turn left. My shouting stopped her but she was less than understanding and didn't seem to understand she'd just overtaken another road user in a junction nearly causing a crash. My only solution to that one is to position myself so that a car cannot pull alongside but then I run the risk of being hit by cars entering the road especially the ones turning right who often cut the corner.

The second incident was a classic, if only for the dialogue. It happened on the straight going along the road in the picture. With the wind behind me, I was cruising along at about 20mph. The road is lined with cars either side. Consequently, I keep a decent margin on the left and use a fair amount of my lane to avoid being doored. As I was going along, the driver of a car, who had been hesitating to pull out from a road on the right, decided to come out just as I approached, clearly underestimating the speed I was doing. Realising that I was approaching she drove down the middle of the road until she thought she was in front of me but in actual fact ended up squeezing the amount of road I had available. It wasn't dangerous but it meant I had both to slow down and change direction. It wasn't much of a deal but I felt I should see if the driver understood what she had done. She probably thought she'd got away, but half a mile later, at the lights I came alongside and tapped on her window for a quick chat whilst the lights were on red. Here's how it went:

Me: Tap tap.
Her: Thinking, ignore him, he'll go away.
Me: Tap tap.
Her: OK, he doesn't look too aggressive (probably couldn't see my red face in the dark). Winds window down.
Me: "I think you made a mistake back there"
Her: "I saw you"
Me: "But you pulled out anyway"
Her: "I was over on the right"
Me: "But you're suppose to give way"
Her: "You need to slow down, you could see me coming out"

At which point the lights changed and I'd had enough

A clear case of NSMIDSYBYOAC (Not sorry mate I did see you but you're only a cyclist)

Taking the car

I went to work today by car. The less often I do it, the more unusual it feels - it must be a couple of months since I last did it. I'm sure for most, it feels natural and is just a case of hopping in the car but for me, it didn't feel that way. Partly because changing mode means finding all the bits I need for a day at work, which are usually organised for cycling. It's also partly because of extra needed to commence a safe drive in a car such as demisting windows, adjusting mirrors etc.

I didn't enjoy it as much as cycling. My cycle commute flows a lot better, short though it is. None of the queuing and sitting behind the car in front. Probably significant is the isolation - only interacting with the radio that doesn't answer back, insulated from the outside world by glass and metal. It's not the same as talking to people (even if it is to tell them to watch out). By bike, from the off, visibility stays constant, temperature is pretty much the same all journey and it's more direct as I can go down side streets I wouldn't consider in the car.

One advantage of going by car is the time saved getting changed at either end of the day. The other thing today was is that it was a really nice morning for cycling - bad timing on my part.

Rush-Hour Cycle Lane - Don't you just love school holidays

This was the main A road into Blackburn this morning during the rush-hour. Who needs a cycle lane when the road is so quiet?


Plenty of time to take some autumn shots in morning light, brighter since the hour change.

The Darkness

It approaches, creeping like a thief in the night, with gradual increasing intensity. September and October are twilight months for the commuter. The remaining light is enough to see by and the visibility is good enough for us cyclists to be seen if supplemented with high visibility clothing and lights. This coming weekend sees the end to that softly softly approach. With the change in daylight savings time by one hour, we are thrown abruptly into real darkness, when ambient light conditions offer nothing to the cyclist.

From now on we have to rely on street lights and lights from vehicles to help other road users pick us out on the road. With highly contrasting bright lights and reflections in a black road scape, especially in the wet, the difficulty of seeing cyclists is increased dramatically. To make sure you stand out get some high intensity LED lights that flash. UK law dictates you should have a steady red rear light, for which you can use a cheap LED light, but for maximum effect a quality unit with Japanese LEDs is best. High intensity LEDS at the front also help bring us to a more equal standing with motorised traffic.

Stay safe, and happy commuting.

Winter Drawers On

As they say...soon be Christmas. It's getting cooler and darker on the morning commute. Especially last week when it looked like my shorts were to be relegated to midday rides at the weekends, as rain, wind and cool temperatures arrived. It's difficult to get warmed up in the limited distance between home and work, so it was back to the Ron Hills until our Indian summer arrives, which, according to the BBC weather forecast, is arriving today. It won't be long before the winter cycling jacket and lights come out as well.

Springwatch '09

The trees are nearly all in leaf, spring is in full swing as the aroma of barbecues ramps up for the bank holiday weekend. The lapwings have been active on the Virgin Media site at Greenbank for a few weeks but this week saw the return of oystercatchers with their unmistakable squealing. I'm not going to chase them round this year for a new picture - they look the same as last year or the year before. It would be nice to get a shot of them flying because they look more elegant yet slightly aggressive in flight. My camera isn't good enough to do that.

Report from the commute

This was going to be more of a ping to register I'm still commuting other than reporting anything significant. It's been pretty much uneventful over the last few weeks apart from the disruption of the roadworks at Bastwell and a couple of vehicles driving too close for comfort. Then, yesterday, a major (well to me anyway) incident happened and I was closest on the scene. As I came under the bridge on Plane Tree Street in Little Harwood, the roar and rattle of a truck approaching greeted me, but as I looked ahead, I could hardly believe my eyes. A 40ft tipper truck was heading down the road in the opposite direction to me with the tipper elevated. It clipped some telephone cables and I only had time to stop before it came to an almighty crunching halt when the top of the tipper struck the metal railway bridge. The cab was thrown up in the air and then came down again. Bystanders were all agog, many having tried to warn the driver of his error. Luckily the driver got out all right. I usually carry my camera but had left it at home as it was raining hard so I can't show you the scene.

Apart from that, the riding has been easy with fine weather and bright days. It has signalled the change from the winter gear to lighter wear for the warmer days. I've taken to going out on longer routes home to get some extra mileage in. Two or three times a week I've managed to add an extra 10 or more miles by doing a circular route down to Whalley and back. Over the weeks my average speed is increasing. The extra stamina makes longer rides at the weekend more enjoyable. This is leading up to a tour in the summer, which reminds me I've still some house-keeping in my 'to-do' corner of the blog - quite a few things I haven't followed up but still mean to - like more details of last year's tour experience and some review bits. Stay tuned and I'll try to find time to get those finished.

Stay safe and enjoy the ride.

Getting Busy Out...

In the 12-15 minutes it takes to ride home after work I usually only see one or maybe no cyclists. Recently I've been seeing more. On a couple of occasions I've seen 5 cyclists. Shock horror - I know, it must be a record. Warmer weather and lighter nights might be a reason. Only time will tell if it is a trend. Most of them weren't the regular riders I sometimes see.

Lighter nights on the way

Having cycled to work nearly every dark morning and night in January, the days are getting longer much quicker now February is here, almost to the point of having some daylight left after work. I'm looking forward to lighter times, especially being able to add longer routes home to increase the mileage. I've still got the lights on, with good reason it seems, as some motorists at the moment aren't driving sympathetically with respect to cyclists.