We rode to Assen's Christmas / Winter market in the Asserbos yesterday. Judy was a bit reluctant to cycle in the snow, but actually found it quite easy on freshly fallen snow. It's when it's hard packed and turns to ice that it becomes a problem.
The snow plows and gritters were out in force, but it's difficult for them to be effective when the snow keeps coming. There are photos of them in the slideshow, but as I know my readers like to see such things, here are others.
The plows have to be able to fit down the cycle paths, which means practically they are not as wide as the cycle paths. Hence some paths have in effective been temporarily narrowed from four metres to two metres in width at the moment.
At risk of sounding like the Monty Python "Four Yorkshiremen" sketch ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xe1a1wHxTyo )
ReplyDeleteall I can say is:
"2 metres wide?"
"By heck, back where I come from you'd be lucky to get 1.8 metres of tarmac, let alone get it ploughed when t'snow comes."
"Get it ploughed when snow comes?"
"We don't even get t'autumn leaves swept."
...
The caption underneath one of your pictures said 'glad we have full chainguards'. My partner and I wish we did. We went for a nice long ride after a 4-5cm snowfall two days ago and found, yesterday, after our bikes had been in the garage overnight, that we had a great deal of snow and ice build-up underneath our fenders and in our chainrings. So much, indeed, that we had to spend 15-20 minutes poking and brushing and shaking our bikes to get enough of it off to be able to properly ride.
ReplyDeleteAs you've no doubt read and heard, we have few options here in North America in terms of getting city bikes with decent fenders as well as chain- and skirt/coatguards. Slowly, European bikes are making their way into our stores, but our own manufacturers are slow to catch on and build bikes with such items factory-installed. Silly people!