are they not friends or family that care about you then pendulum?
maybe they should say 'have a nice skiddy accident you miserable ***********"
;-)
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AS IF I DON'T KNOW THAT?
There are sufficient plonkers about to make it a justified warning. i remember one day gettting a call from my wife who had skidded into a ditch on ice. Sir Galahad (me) rides to her rescue and get to a roundabout very near to where she had skidded. I intended to take the first left, the ice intended I go straight on. I went straight on. I had just sufficient skill to keep it off the middle grassy bit with trees, and keep it roughly on tarmac.
I knew it was icy, but I thought I knew better.
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< Ulla>
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"Sir Galahad (me) rides to her rescue"
More like Saint Bernard with a miniature barrel of brandy on your collar.
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Riding my motorbike home last night I was aware that even having Oxford HotGrips cranked up to 100% and the winter lining in my jacket can lead to feeling 'above' the weather conditions.
I think we should go back to rags and walking. Well everyone except me.
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You can find surface frost, which in a heavy dew can be very slippery indeed, in unexpected patches. One would expect them to be on high exposed bits of road, but they can also be in the dips, with higher places frost free. Perhaps a result of the greater density of cold air, but it still seems odd to me. Odd or not though, it happens and can catch you out.
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Humid air is more dense - tends to collect in dips. Temperature drops and dew forms which then freezes = frost in dips not on high ground.
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Thanks Humpy. Not the sort of thing you expect in the side streets of Tooting where it first came to my notice.
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I see, when you said high roads as opposed to dips I assumed you meant a difference of tens of metres at least!
Edited by Humpy on 17/12/2007 at 14:40
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In this case tens of feet perhaps, certainly not tens of metres. That was why I was so surprised.
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On Friday night, it was misty and then froze. The trees on Satursay am were covered in thin patches of ice which felll off in the wind making the roads white with fallen ice.
It's still a warm winter, When the local waterflows on the hill roads freeze, we have patches of ice up to 20cm thick all over the road for days. Makes running n them .. let alone driving - challenging.
But it's still warm. The iceflows are only 1cm thick and melt in the day.
madf
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Thanks Humpy. Not the sort of thing you expect in the side streets of Tooting where it first came to my notice.
No shortage of dips in Tooting surely!
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Colder the air, the less water vapour it holds, so as the air cools (under a clear winter sky for example) from radiative cooling, it releases water vapour which is then deposited as dew, or below 0 deg., hoar frost etc. Cooling air, being denser, flows downhill, and collects in dips. Very noticeable on a bike but not in a car:)
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I have not posted about this before but earlier this year a lady employee of mine who I worked with for seven years hit an ice patch and went sideways into a tree.
This very conscientous and sensible lady driver was travelling at a maximum of 40 mph on a main A road through woods and hit an ice patch , spun and died instantly.
That has affected my attitude to driving in icy weather dramatically. I believe I was overconfident having been brought up in the north and used to driving in snow and ice quite frequently.
I now am very wary indeed.
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This morning the ice on my car had melted, and three yards away there was ice on the road.
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< Ulla>
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My mate has the cure for the daft as a brush driving standards that abound.
His cure, replace the drivers airbag with a bayonet and watch the improvements in braking distance and forward planning, simple when you think about it.
My own thoughts, it just beggars belief the complete lack of common sense that drivers have.
You have a job to not fall over in your rubber soled shoes but expect the rubber soled car to have the grip of a tracked vehicle...incredible.
Must say the winter tyres are really showing their worth now, the standard of grip is amazing, no they are not Chinese.
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Two years ago my wife set off down our hill in her Yaris (at about 5-6mph). The surface was new snow over wet ice (she did not know about the ice).
She found that she was attempting to drive a sledge. The car would not stop (anti-lock useless under these conditions).
She found that she could not steer and the car drifted from side to side, hitting various bollards before it came to rest (no injuries to anyone).
When conditions are slippery enough you can have abs, ebd, and any other tla (three letter acronym) that you like, but you will neither be able to steer, nor stop.
Ice is a problem, wet ice is worse, the only solution, assuming that you are aware of its presence is to go very, very, very slow, or better still avoid crossing it at all.
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Many years ago my Father gave me a tip for driving in snow and ice. I still use it to this day and I promise it works. He explained it this way... You don't, necessarily, need to drive at a snail's pace all the time in these conditions, but just imagine that you have a glass of wine balanced on your bonnet............. now drive as fast as you like but under no circumstances put yourself in danger of spilling the wine ! Try it, it's not a bad concept for most driving actually.
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When driving in poor conditions,the first thing I do is switch OFF the radio,and once underway,give the brakes a good hard dab just to see how slippy it is.Having quiet in the car lets you know much sooner when the road is icy,as it is far quieter under the tyres.
Another thing,as a biker,the roads are treacherous for us just now.even if your car can go round roundabouts as if it was a warm sunny day,please remember that we cannot,we are dealing with the chance of ice,the horrible slippy grit that is now being used,steamy visors,and cold fingers,toes and everything else.We cannot find any more grip just because you are 3 inches off our numberplate,we cannot pull out of junctions on full throttle,letting the traction control sort it out,and we are not drunk..just avoiding all the wheel swallowing potholes,friction free white lines and deadly drain covers.Give us a chance!! We are helping you to get to your destination quicker,and freeing up valuable parking spaces!
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