miker@cord.UUCP (Mike Roberson) (10/31/86)
i caught the: \(br\|line-eater\|\(br\l'|0\(rn'\l'|0\(ul'!
i plan on riding my bike ('85 NightHawk 700) to work throughout the winter.
i live in Woodbridge, NJ, which is just south of Newark. my route to work
takes me through ~3 miles of residential street level roads to get to the
3-4 lane highway that i take for ~15 miles, followed by ~8 miles of curvy
winding non-residential street level road (one lane each way). thus, my
route is 25 mile one-way, (so no carburetor 'moisture' problems here).
i am concerned about \Black Ice/, that thin layer of ice that forms when a
frost covers the road and forms a sheet of (invisible) ice.
my questions are:
@ is this (what is) the way \Black Ice/ is really formed?
@ how long does \Black Ice/ stay (all day)?
@ HOW WILL I KNOW WHEN NOT TO RIDE BECAUSE OF \Black Ice/ POTENTIAL!?
* i think that ground temperature is what allows \Black Ice/.
* will the news media inform me of the ground temp, thus allowing
me to determine probability of frozen surfaces?
@ is there a type of tire (front/rear) that will help me here?
@ what about chains, studs, etc? (seriously)
@ further, how long does (any) ice stay after a snow fall/ice storm?
@ in general, what do you know about frozen surfaces during the winter?!
(Side-car recs. >/dev/null)
ADVthanksANCE -miker (posted summary, et al)
--
Coming soon: how WILL i keep warm in that eastern winter climate.
--
"Stoneware - prehistoric computers"
Mike "Trust Me" Roberson UUCP: {ihnp4,cbosgd,akgua}!cord!mikerberger@clio.Uiuc.ARPA (11/04/86)
I would find a motorcycle shop with a good selection of tires (and knowledgable staff). The tires certainly can make a difference. I was under the impression that the layer of ice was due to the heat generated by cars passing over the road - the water thaws and then refreezes. Heavily travelled roads would be less susceptible to this kind of hazard.
alanj@orca.TEK.COM (Alan Jeddeloh) (11/06/86)
Around here, black ice forms when roads wet from rain freeze at night. Local conditions -- a daytime shady spot, a dip in the road, road passing near a stream, going over a bridge, etc., play a roll in whether the water freezes. Both the wet asphalt and ice are shiny black in the headlights, and you can't tell the difference until you hit a patch. Then you suddenly find yourself looking at where you've been, or simply drifting across the center line into oncomming traffic. The latter happened to me once riding (in a car) with my brother. It was night and we had just reached a summit somewhere in the Oregon Coast Range. It was about 35F outside. The only indication anything was wrong was the "sssss" of the tires on the wet road stopped and we just drifted to the left. Fortunatly, he didn't do anything radical, and there was no on-coming traffic. The "ssss" resumed and he cut back into the right lane. Scary! Me, I don't take the bike out unless it's above 40F and reasonably dry. It ain't worth it! -- -Alan Jeddeloh Tektronix GTD tektronix!orca!alanj
animal@ihlpa.UUCP (D. Starr) (11/07/86)
Here in the midwest, we generally only get the kind of "black ice" that's being discussed under special weather conditions. The daytime highs have to be warm enough to melt large amounts of snow, then it has to get cold enough overnight for the humidity to condense out and freeze on the pavement. This situation can usually be predicted by the heavy fog overnight and in the morning. This is particularly annoying because it comes in what seems like "good" weather--usually a semi-warm (35 and rising) morning, often low fog that looks like it'll burn away by mid-morning--then you walk down the drive and fall down on that thin layer of ice. Nasty stuff. Luckily, that kind of ice is fairly uncommon here. Generally, pavement lubrication is supplied by rain or snow, and gives ample warning. I follow some fairly simple rules for winter riding: 1. Sunny and *below freezing* for a couple days usually means dry pavement and near-summertime riding safety. Be careful, though, of the reduced traction caused by salt film on the roads (salt is a bit slippery) and the fact that your tires never warm up. 2. Above freezing for several days is usually safe regardless of sun or cloud conditions. The pavement is warm enough that snow will not stick unless it is incredibly heavy. I have ridden under conditions of snowfall and warm pavement, and while it is slightly more slippery than rain, it is negotiable with sufficient care. I generally don't go out if it's snowing, but will ride within a 2-hour radius of home under threatening conditions. 3. Cloudy and very cold (under 20 degrees) is usually OK. Most snowfall comes between 20 degrees and freezing; below 20 there usually isn't enough water in the clouds to produce more than a flurry. Flurries are not bad if the pavement is cold; if it warms up enough for car tires to melt it you can have problems. This is particularly bad at intersections, where the catalytic converters throw off a lot of heat. 4. Steady temperatures right around freezing are NO WAY. This iis especially true if there is lots of half-melted snow on the ground and temperatures are rising slowly. This is the perfect circumstance for the formation of "black ice." 5. I will not ride in sleet or freezing rain under any circumstances. If this means I have to stop somewhere I will do that. 6. I cheat a little. I used to carry a business card from Sandman's Cycle Rescue Service; now I have an old trailer parked at home and can use it to fetch the bike if I am stranded by foul weather. One more note--there is another material that I have heard referred to as "black ice." This is dirty frozen water. Because of the dirt in it, it looks like pavement, and it is found under virtually all winter weather conditions. Fortunately, it usually occurs only in small lumps and is more of an annoyance, like tar strips, than a major hazard.