Ice Watch

Today on the way out, near Potters Bar, there was a few police cars - told me to stop and walk next 500m, as it was covered in black ice. Policeman even bet his house, that if I do ride - I will fall. I walked and then saw a van in the bushes.

Htfu

Just lean and everything will be fine.

Definitely.

30/01/2011 - Toys Hill, Kent: on the left, if riding northwards on steep side.

30/01/2011 - Hogtrough Hill, Kent: both gutters on shallower lower section.

This morning. Toys Hill hearsay, I Idle.

Blossom on a tree in Peckham...Spring?

Beddlestead and Layhams this morning. Stacked it, so did the guy who stopped to see if I was ok. It was just after sunset so might be ok later on.

Banana was worst affected...

Beddlestead on Saturday morning? Rep for trying banana killer! In this weather I stick to Polhill, Idle and Titsey.

Anywhere up Hampstead seems to have missed out on any salting of the roads. New pair of leg warmers and shifter required.

Are you definitely sure it was ice? High of 9 in London today, 6 outside my flat in Hackney right now.

Sorry you came off either way. Maybe it's the altitude? I used to live in Muswell Hill and sometimes there was snow up the hill and none at the bottom...

Ahh not quite today. Just a pre-emptive warning about roads not being treated in and around the area. checked out a couple of precarious spots and the seems like due to poor drainage, a lot of surface run off accumulates at the bottom of bends, freezes and hangs around thereafter.

At what temperature is it almost guaranteed that you'll encounter black ice. Asking for a friend. Supposed to be minus 5 up here next week, but I'd quite like to get some riding in. Been slacking for 2.5 weeks.

If this is indeed a serious question: stay on gritted A roads.

What is the freezing point of water?

It depends on what's in it. @hippy. Also, black ice can form at a variety of temps... It's depended on the surface temp of the road.

You sound like a leaner to me. Good luck.

And there's your answer.

So the answer is that neither of you know. Glad we've established that, now can anyone point me in the direction of actual data? Ta.

I suppose to prevent such useful suggestions as the above, I should have been more definite in the question.

Black ice forms at low precipitation levels where the air temperature is above freezing point and the ground surface temperature is below freezing point.

It means you get the two necessary criteria of a thin ice layer with exact formation over the ground surface and no drying of the top of the ice.

Worth noting that due to the refrigeration effect it will form on bridges, particularly over water, before it forms on solid ground.

@eyebrows As soon as the weather gets to the point where it's freezing at night and still 1-2deg at around 10am you need to be super careful IMO (plus when the forecasters are saying 'frost').

Any lanes that aren't hit by direct sun, or where there's run-off from fields etc, are a fucking liability. I hit ice twice last winter in Kent in similar circumstances.

I think I'm going to bite the bullet this weekend and be very boring with Regents or Richmond Park one day and turbo the other. My falls last year were both costly and painful

I came off a few times last year - it's not worth it.

Are Regents or Richmond the only options? Does anyone have a decent A/B road route that'll be ice free?

@STE5. Happy New Year Sean and long time no see. Hope you are well.

Rename this into Leaners please.

As nobody seems interested in the warnings about the icy bottom of Hogtrough.

I just resort to them as at least it's failsafe. Dull, but you just have to make the most of it i guess.

There probably are quite a few A/B road routes that could be knocked together but I think I'd rather do laps than piss about taking the risk with with cars going past at about 50mph down an A Road.