I usually commute to and from work on a daily basis on my bike all year round except on my last night shift of each week, when I use my van. Yes I'm a white transit van man LOL The reason for using the van on the last night is so that I can get home, gather up my 5 dogs, take them out for a walk then do shopping etc, thus leaving the rest of my days off free to relax Anyway...back to my story...driving home this morning, which was obviously quite a frosty one I approached the security gate to leave work doing 30mph around a gentle curve, the van just decided to drift, all 4 wheels, sideways to the outside of the corner, for about 20mtrs, which after 30 years of driving wasn't really a concern, in my mis-spent youth I used to do that kind of thing for fun. The road didn't look icy though looked wet, the sun was on it and it had been gritted, the security guard assured me, when I told him what had happened. So it was either black ice or fuel/chemicals on the road. But as I usually round that same curve a fair bit quicker on the bike I reckon it would have been game over if it had been any other morning.
Lucky you .I did comment on black ice early this week .It maybe that they gritted and then it rained which may have diluted the salt content or perhaps the grit wagon drove past spraying the stuff but most missed the spot .If in doubt !!,!,
Clear skies all night last night, though their gritting is a bit hit and miss as it's a industrial/chemical complex, so they use those small gritting trailers behind a pick up truck...though I do feel it was more likely to be chems or fuel as HGV's run that route 24/7, it's a wide open sweeping corner, hence why I'm usually rather quick on the bike..
Haha....no,,,my lot get two walks a day for about an hour a time, but I can't walk them where I live as there are too many loose dogs roaming about, 5 Akitas @ 200kg + roaming dogs who think they are hard makes for hard work. So I usually take them out to more remote areas, hence the need for the van, when I use the bike for work, it takes about 10-15 minutes to put the bike away with all the security, then get the dogs loaded up in their party bus .
Def lucky escape, came across a bike v car accident yesterday, the car overshot the lines on approach to a roundabout n skidded into the bike going round, def icy n wet conditions imo esp first thing sunday. Today its more rain so no gritting as yet, shocking really as its nearly mid november n no gritters!!