Sleety/snowy riding

Originally Posted by chrisinflight

Cars ditched in the hedgerow is a sure sign of black ice!

Most car drivers nowadays just don't understand the connection between tyres and tarmac. They get round a corner at a certain speed all year long, then drive exactly the same speed when the freezing weather comes, then they are shocked, surprised and upset, and genuinely don't know what went wrong when they end up in the hedge.

[ChrisCurvyS]

Too true.

Along similar lines, I was going to say that for me snow/sleet isn't the real danger as you're obviously aware of it and you slow right down and adjust your riding accordingly. (rode a 125 for almost two hours in fresh snow to get to my bike theory test, hilariously - didn't want to lose my money! 15mph and legs out either side all the way.)

Ditto for high winds - I commute 50 miles every day along motorways, high bridges etc and this week's weather hasn't been a problem - you just relax and it's pretty easy to compensate as the bike gets blown about.

The one thing I am paranoid about though is black ice - particularly isolated patches of it on an otherwise dry road, where you're feeling quite safe doing 60/70/80mph until you come round a bend and some dampness of a hedge or whatever has frozen solid. Also, if grit has been down on the roads for a few days it forms a sort of paste which is itself quite slippery (ironically) and tends to gather in the centre of the lane where bikers ride - my one 'off' so far was down to this.

They're my thoughts anyhoo.