Before I get into telling you the best way to cycle in icy conditions, I just want to make a quick disclaimer. I am not telling you that it is safe to ride in frosty or icy conditions.
I suggest not riding until the ice has melted and it is safe to do so. In fact, just a few days ago I actually hit black ice and went down. It was while I was out riding my “Cycling 200km Non Stop” video.
If you fall off you could injure yourself meaning you’re off the bike for weeks. So I repeat again, if you’re not competent on your bike then skip this ride. It could save you weeks of torture. Not to mention the embarrassment of telling people you fell off your bike in icy conditions. People are not very sympathetic on these occasions.
With all that said, there may be some occasions when you simply must ride your bike, no matter what the weather. Maybe you have to get to work or maybe you just didn’t realise it was freezing. Below is a guide that you can use to help you get through winter safely.
When should you definitely not ride?
The most dangerous time to ride is when it rains and then freezes. This is actually more dangerous than riding in the snow simply because when it’s snowing you can see that it’s dangerous and you take extra care.
When it rains and then freezes the road can look perfectly normal. It may just look wet. This is what happened to me when I came sliding off my bike. It had rained the evening before and when I started my ride I actually wasn’t very cold.
However, I cycled into places where it was much colder and I hadn’t realized the roads were frozen solid. I hit a sheet of black Ice and down I went. It was so frozen that I actually slid along on my ass without even scraping my clothes.
When is it safe to ride?
It is pretty safe to ride when it has been dry for a period before the sub zero temperatures. Remember, it’s not the cold that makes the roads slippery, it’s ice, and you can’t make ice without water.
How to handle a bike in icy conditions?
So if you know that there may be black ice on the road but you must ride anyway then what must one do?
The number one rule for cycling in black ice conditions is to keep it as straight and smooth as possible. It’s possible to coast over black ice if you can keep riding straight.
The more you turn, pedal and brake then the more risk you are of sliding and losing control. But how are you going to get around a corner then?
Obviously you can’t keep it straight all the time and you’re definitely going to have to pedal and brake. To minimize the chances of sliding around I only do one of the above at a time.
So, when I’m cornering then that’s all I am doing. Just turning. I will have my breaking done before I get to the corner and I only start pedaling again when I’m around the corner. You should be slow enough so that you don’t have to lean over too much.
If you try to brake while in the middle of a corner then you will have no chance. And while I’m talking about braking I would suggest you lay off the front brake even if you’re braking in a straight line.
Same if you have pedal. The power is going to the back wheel and not at a steady rate. This can easily lead to your back wheel losing traction and away you go.
This is what happened to me. I didn’t realize the road was frozen so I kept pedaling while I made the turn. Next thing I knew, I was on the ground.
Having less air pressure in your tires may slow you down slightly but it will give you a little more grip so let a bit of air out of those tires.
Another tip is to seek out rough surfaces. If you ride on the smooth parts of the road where the cars wheels drive on this is probably the smoothest part of the road. Stay off these areas. Try to cycle rougher parts of the road like the verges or hard shoulders. This roughness will give you extra grip.
Should you use spiked ice tires?
For me, Spike tires wouldn’t be worth it. In Ireland it only really freezes 2 – 3 times a week during the winter and mostly at night. So spike tires wouldn’t be something I would need or have any experience on.
But if you come from a place where you know it’s going to snow for a large portion of the winter then spike tires should be worn. Otherwise, just stay at home and use a turbo trainer.
How to dress for cycling in cold conditions?
The quick answer to this is to wear layers of clothes. The more the better. Starting from the top, on my head I wear a buff that comes around my head so it covers my ears. I then put another buff around my neck. And then top this with a cycling cap under my helmet.
For my torso I have a thermal vest, and thermal jersey, a gilet and a waterproof/windproof jacket on top.
Winter gloves on the hands. A set of thermal bib-tights for my legs and for my feet I have Sealskinz waterproof socks in a set of Northwave Winter boots.
It takes a while to get ready so make sure you have your heart rate sensor on before you start or it will have to come off again.
Final advice
When I started writing this article, a few days ago, I was going to say that its ok to ride in any condition as long as you take it easy. However, after feeling first hand how easy it is to lose it, I have to be more thoughtful in how I advise you to ride.
So I will just leave you by saying this. I will never ride in black ice conditions again. It took a crash for me to come to this conclusion. I was so lucky in that I’m not injured and was able to keep riding but I know it could have resulted in me being off the bike for months.
I just hope it doesn’t take a crash to convince you or if it does then I hope you are as lucky as me.
I now use my turbo trainer which I admit I hated at first but after a while I have no issue with using. It allows me to keep training in the safety of my own home.
Just make sure you set yourself up with something to watch or better yet, sign up to Zwift for a more interactive feel to you workouts.