It’s cold outside. And slippy.

Well, muggins here took a tumble this morning.

I’d intercepted @freeyourinnertube on the way home last night, who’d remarked that today was likely to be cold and icy, and that it might be worth throwing on the spiked tyres. I didn’t, and this morning noted it was a little slippy under-tyre going through Queens Park. Coincidentally I then spotted the distinctive rear light of @FYIT ahead on Victoria Rd, and put on a burst of pace (well, as speedy as I get on the upright) to catch up and congratulate him on his weather forecasting.

As I approached he pulled slowly to the side of the road. Being the good fellow I am, I also prepared to stop; ready to dispense helpful advice on puncture repair technique. Turns out, he was stopping due a sheet of black ice, which I duly span out on. Another cyclist behind me did the same whilst braking to avoid my prone form, the one behind him managed to stagger to the pavement, and the bus behind all of us just about negotiated the patch without running us all over.

The video of this is below. It ends dramatically as the fall also hit the off switch…

Anyway, the spiked tyres are definitely going on over the weekend. Learn from my mistake folks; prepare in advance of the cold weather!

PS: Quite why Victoria Road wasn’t gritted escapes me – it’s an arterial route into the city centre and marked on the council maps for priority gritted. One of the local councillors is looking into the error…

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Yeah, the bike took the brunt of the impact! It’s almost like that ambulance cycle response training about putting the bike down first actually works… :)

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