Note to self: after oiling bike, remember to wipe off excess and make sure it doesn’t get on tires. I somehow managed to get to work without falling down, but boy was that some white-knuckled, slick-track excitement this morning. Didn’t help that the roads were wet and oily (especially in Catonsville) too. I survived by staying in the saddle for 90% of the ride and spinning up the hills in low gear. Would have been a real drag if this had been the fixed-gear bike.
Rode into Ellicott City via New Cut Rd, then up Oella and Westchester Ave, and through Catonsville via Rockwell and Edmondson Ave. Around 13 miles at a rather deliberate average pace of 14.3mph. NWS says it’s only 34 degrees, but it felt warmer. Mostly sun and some clouds, with fog around the river. I wore a short sleeve athletic shirt, long sleeve Under Armour top, cycling shorts, leg warmers, rain pants, wool socks, toe warmers, shoe covers, light gloves, REI helmet liner, and hi-vis windbreaker. Felt comfortable the whole way, and probably could have done without the rain pants, as they ended up with just a tiny bit of spray on them. It had been about 16 hours since it rained.
I’ll be thoroughly wiping off my tires before the ride home tonight!
The slickness was probably a result of black ice, not stray lube on the tires. Reading through some of these older posts, I’m really lucky I didn’t take more falls during these first couple winters of bike commuting. Studded tires are going to be standard issue from Winter 2011 onward.