Yes, snow fell overnight and made the journey in the morning "interesting". It's fine on the main roads, generally - although I noticed many stretches where the cycle path had been carefully avoided by the gritters - so on to the main carriageway, positioning and good observation the name of the game.
The main problem is the mile between home and the main road - here the gritters didn't make it, so the snow stays, freezes up and becomes slippy. I go slow, on a low gear. If going downhill, I walk - bikes are not good at stopping on ice. The late Sheldon Brown is spot on in his advice: front brake is best on dry surfaces, but on slippery ones you have to use the rear one. Since this one takes longer to stop the bike anyway (ie even on dry surfaces), the conclusion I reach is that you have to really slow down on ice. Really. Call me Sherlock.
The main problem is the mile between home and the main road - here the gritters didn't make it, so the snow stays, freezes up and becomes slippy. I go slow, on a low gear. If going downhill, I walk - bikes are not good at stopping on ice. The late Sheldon Brown is spot on in his advice: front brake is best on dry surfaces, but on slippery ones you have to use the rear one. Since this one takes longer to stop the bike anyway (ie even on dry surfaces), the conclusion I reach is that you have to really slow down on ice. Really. Call me Sherlock.
