Cycle 365

The bicycle in daily life

A Few Last Minute February Hazards

Posted: February 24, 2021 Under: Challenges By 8 Comments

You never know what you’re gonna get when the spring thaw begins. In winter you know what you’re going to get: cold, snow and ice. The new season, however, brings a whole new set of hazards that can bring harm to you.

Yesterday was a beautiful day for a bike ride, and I was able to find quite a few hazards for your enjoyment.

Potholes can cause a pinch-flat at best, or a bent wheel and painful crash at worst.

And some people never get out of them.

Slush can be very troublesome too.

Lakes suddenly form in the streets. A cyclist could drown in something like that.

The snow on mountaintops becomes very unstable, which presents the very real possibility of getting swept up in an avalanche.

I have no idea why, but sometimes people throw a block of wood onto the shoulder of a road. I don’t think I have to spell out what could happen if you ran into that thing.

And a couple of very warm days will produce thin ice on lakes, rivers and puddles so cyclists must take extra care. As you will see in the next two videos, I am highly skilled in dealing with such thin ice.

Even bikes can’t resist breaking the ice.

The Reckless Mr. Bing Bong’s track through the ice.

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Hi. My name is Greg and I ride my bike a lot. That is to say, I ride my bike almost every day. I go on long rides and short rides. Sunny rides, cloudy rides, and rainy rides. I like commuting, errand-running, day-tripping, overnighting, and touring on my bike. I ride on city streets, highways, gravel, single track, and snow with equal enthusiasm. Sometimes I ride fast and sometimes I ride slow. I try to keep my feet on the pedals at stop lights and I do not dismount when I hop up on a curb. I have a roadie bike, a mountain bike and a touring bike. I try to accept any challenge a bike ride can throw at me without complaint. But I don't like bugs.

8 response to "A Few Last Minute February Hazards"

  1. By: Rich-Illinois Posted: February 25, 2021

    Help me! Help me! I’ve ridden into a pothole and I can’t get out!!!
    Photos are all too familiar — very similar to here — good riddance to the ice and snow can’t happen fast enough.
    Riding thru the park, I did navigate a few patches of glaze ice — you would have been proud. 🙂

    • By: gregblood Posted: February 25, 2021

      I am proud of you, Rich, for your ice adventures. And, unlike G-2, I’d help YOU out of a pothole any day.

  2. By: Bill Stone Posted: February 25, 2021

    “City streets in the dead of winter stop my mind with dirty snow….” — Jefferson Airplane

    • By: gregblood Posted: February 25, 2021

      Leave it to you to quote lyrics from a 1960’s psychedelic, San Francisco, hippy band. “FEED YOUR HEAD!”

      The dirty streets haven’t come to MY Town yet, but they’ll be here soon.

      • By: Bill Stone Posted: February 25, 2021

        Is there any other kind of band?

        Lovely here today. High should be near 70, but clouding over. I expect to saddle up and head out the Greenway in a few minutes. Getting my first vaccination jab next week. Hoping my pedaling can get back to normal — including some travel-and-ride — before too long.

        • By: gregblood Posted: February 25, 2021

          Is there any other kind of band?

          Yeah, there is. But as far as S.F. psychedelic bands go, it’s hard to beat early CCR in my opinion.

  4. By: The Navigator Posted: February 27, 2021

    Oh yes, sooo many hazards on the back side of a snowfall. Nigel used to do deliveries to the ski resorts and had to be towed up the mountain a couple times by the snow plow when his truck with chains couldn’t make it. He has some funny stories about trying to control beer kegs on ice… but really, we have so few frozen precip hazards here it is good to have your posts to be reminded of what a REAL winter is like!

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