Commuting Obstacles 6: London Icerink

I’ve never seen the like. Cars inching along the roads, busses stopped dead where they stand, and roads that had been instantly changed from grippy tarmac to a treacherous mix of snow, slush and ribbons of ice. Cars sitting with their wheels spinning as they try to pull away from lights and a few brave cyclists struggling along.

My toes were quickly wet and freezing, and I could either no longer feel my knees, or they were actually as warm as I’d told the person at work they would be, as the water from the road froze into the hairs. The whole ride home was a case of creeping over the ice, keeping the wheels turning and hitting everything as straight as I could so the bike didn’t slide off sideways. Stopping was both a problem as the brakes were jammed with snow and when they worked the wheels slid as fast as I was going anyway. Once I managed to stop getting going was an issue of spinning wheels and an effort to get enough momentum to roll over the ice as I jump on and jam my bum down on the saddle to keep traction on the back wheel.

Balancing the whole way I did make it eventually, doubling my usual ride time, but still far faster than the cars I was constantly (literally) slipping past. It turns out that skinny slick tyres aren’t what you might call special in the ice. Who would have thought?

Once I made it home there was just the issue of what to do with a bike caked in dirty London snow. The perfect solution was the bath, although that did mean waiting for a warm shower until the bike had finished.

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