stevegor

Rare where I live, nobody was ready for it....jumped on the bike early, Brrrrr very cold.... got to the first corner 100mtrs from home......SPLATT..ouch!! More road rash on my hip Continued riding very carefully, back wheel occasionally sliding, the sun slowing melting the frost and ice, hip stinging...keep going, had to make long detour as highway closed cos' of truck crash, nasty black ice.....heard later that 3 trucks went off and plenty of cars as well......a bus driver at work said a cyclist came off just in front of him, lucky to not be run over.
Learnt a lesson, when there's heavy rain late at night then freezing temps, wait until the ice melts before I ride.

Cyclcist4879

my god - where do you live?

cparekh

Oz- It's the southern hemisphere's winter.

2Tired2Shift

He's down in Oz where it's winter now.

Hammertoe

I won't even go out if there is a chance of black ice...

Roads must be dry if it below freezing...

Of course our roads freeze at 32 degrees and it usually happens November - March...

dcon

Ice, especially the kind that's hard to see, really sucks. Glad you're okay.

v1k1ng1001

When I got my first road bike 10 years ago (Cannondale R1000) I couldn't wait to take it out so I suited up in early March and went for a ride. I hit some black ice and went down, tearing up the saddle, handlebars and brifters the very first ride.

CastIron

Those kinds of icing conditions are the reason I run studded tires on my CX bike. The tires aren't meant for much in the way of snow, but add a glorious margin of traction safety when you hit the ice patches.

Ritehsedad

I've ridden on black ice. Its always an adventure.

stevegor

For once, yes once, I actually had things go my way, well sort of...... before I left for that ride I saw that the road was wet so I decided to NOT ride my new, VERY nice Specialized roadie but wimped out and rode my older roadie, no real damage, but heck, if I was on my new bike and put even a little mark on it I would have sat there crying , but I did crack my nice Giro helmet when the noggin bounced off the road
In my mind I live in an imaginary world, (that comes from too much solo riding), in my body I live in Victoria, a state of Australia.
There's nothing like a little dose of road rash and a stiff body to start the day with...groan.

Jay Gloab

OK, so you dumped on black ice 100m from home and you kept going? That's dedication, or something.

rbart4506

Black Ice! Bite your tongue man...it's July in Canada...We must not talk of winter!!!!!

stevegor

Stupidity I think, 4 hrs later I got home and had a good look, not too bad I thought, but today there's a bruise the size of a dinner plate and I'm as stiff as rigour mortis.

tpelle

I live in Kentucky - horse country - and around here we have to watch out for brown ice!

GuitarWizard

I did a ride over the winter at night where I kinda got "boxed" in by cars, and had to ride over a fairly lengthy patch of ice at around 25 mph on a slight downhill, with two cars right to my side/rear. I held my breath, eased up on the pedals and hoped for the best and managed to stay upright. Life would've definitely sucked had I gone down and gotten run over.

svidrod

seriously, if this was a joyride, i would have given up, gone home and had a cup of hot chocolate. if this was a commute, i would have given up gone home and drove to work. at least when you loose control in a car you've got a heater and a metal cage to protect you

idcruiserman

Get some studded tires.

rule

Yep, got a couple of wild ninja heart pounding bike handling panic moments on black ice last winter under just the same such conditions. I only hit a patch or two and that was enough to change my ride habits for the rest of the cold season.