Ice on the driveway

**slofox** · 17th June 2009, 12:01

I live on a gully section. The driveway dives down quite steeply to the garage round the back. Which is where the bike lives under lock and key.

This morning I was on for the ride despite the frost..ahahaha. Silly twisted fool. The driveway was iced up, wannit and I couldn't get the fucking bike up the slope could I...back wheel rotated without the slightest hint of grip. I just about dropped everything all over the place...had to wait half an hour for the ice to thaw and some grip to reappear...guess I should have expected something like that when I nearly arsed over going down to the garage in the first place.
First time that's ever happened.

**The Baron** · 17th June 2009, 12:07

It does make me wonder at what stage it is just to cold for us to ride.

**xwhatsit** · 17th June 2009, 12:08

Awesome! You just need more approach speed

**p.dath** · 17th June 2009, 12:12

Time for a bucket of warm water, or throw some salt over the ice?

**Harvd** · 17th June 2009, 12:30

If its on the driveway... then maaaybe its on the road too! means i drove to uni today

Good to see the determination

**slofox** · 17th June 2009, 12:37

Originally Posted by xwhatsit

Awesome! You just need more approach speed

Sadly, there's no room for that - there's no run up space at all...

Originally Posted by Harvd

If its on the driveway... then maaaybe its on the road too! means i drove to uni today

Good to see the determination

The driveway is on the south west corner of the house and is overhung with trees so never sees the sun at this time of the year. Hence is always wet and does ice up a lot. The rest of the roads, once I did get out, were fine...I think. Didn't fall off anyway.

**Mschvs** · 17th June 2009, 12:39

Originally Posted by slofox

I live on a gully section. The driveway dives down quite steeply to the garage round the back. Which is where the bike lives under lock and key.

This morning I was on for the ride despite the frost..ahahaha. Silly twisted fool. The driveway was iced up, wannit and I couldn't get the fucking bike up the slope could I...back wheel rotated without the slightest hint of grip. I just about dropped everything all over the place...had to wait half an hour for the ice to thaw and some grip to reappear...guess I should have expected something like that when I nearly arsed over going down to the garage in the first place.
First time that's ever happened.

Get a big bag of salt, and salt your driveway ... problem gone!

**fatzx10r** · 17th June 2009, 12:39

you should of tried riding in dunedin at 6am this morning, bloody ice

**vifferman** · 17th June 2009, 12:40

Originally Posted by The Baron

It does make me wonder at what stage it is just to cold for us to ride.

Depends.
If it's localised frostiness (which is what Slofox's situation sounds like), it's not too cold, or it IS, but only until as thawing starts. However, if it's regionalised, like in Dunedin this week, that's a different kettle of penguins. You can't ride if you have no grip.

I rode most days I lived in Christchurch, with one notable exception. I couldn't work out why is was SO cold, yet there seemed to be no frost.

Black ice, so called, because unlike normal frost, it doesn't tend to have the telltale little white crystals visible.
I set out to ride, the brain thawed out enough for me to twig that there was ice, it was just hard to see, and it was everywhere, and I carefully u-turned back into the garage.

Riding in snow is OK, as long as it's fresh, and hasn't had time to get compacted and icy.

It's not the temperature that's the problem so much as what water's around before it goes below 0 Celsius.

**vifferman** · 17th June 2009, 12:41

Originally Posted by fatzx10r

you should of tried riding in dunedin at 6am this morning, bloody ice

No thanks.
Studded tyres FTW?

**slofox** · 17th June 2009, 13:40

Originally Posted by vifferman

It's not the temperature that's the problem so much as what water's around before it goes below 0 Celsius.

Perzackerly. The driveway in question, as I have already said, is, at this time of the year, always wet and shaded. So when the frost comes down, it converts to a sheet of ice. No often as bad as this morning though...once out on the roads that were dry before the frost, there is no problemo....

**Mschvs** · 17th June 2009, 13:45

Even riding up the Kaimai's at around lunchtime puts the shits up me ... mostly it's fine, but it's the little shady spots on the left hand corners that you just don't know what's gonna be there when you get round! Wouldn't even consider heading up there on a frosty morning .... F*&K That!

**popa griffin** · 17th June 2009, 15:35

Rode to work at 4am with a nice warmer cold air as aposed to riding home at 7am when it was freezing i was wearing my summer gloves and there was frosty ice all over the roads.

**slofox** · 17th June 2009, 16:02

Originally Posted by popa griffin

Rode to work at 4am with a nice warmer cold air as aposed to riding home at 7am when it was freezing i was wearing my summer gloves and there was frosty ice all over the roads.

The Oxford grips paid their way this morning...