Had an icy ride around the reservoirs yesterday. Manageable on my 3.8" semi-fat tyres though it was definitely a case of not going like a mad thing, and using elevated anticipation & spidey senses to try avoid any need for sharp braking or changes of direction.
Lots of pedestrians on Mansfield Road (maybe including some of the "furious locals" referenced on the coronavirus thread) one of whom warned me of some black ice ahead - which was indeed there, but was traversed without problems.
Despite the sizeable number of pedestrians there were still scores of cars parked along the verge on the way up to Thriepmuir, at least as far as the junction by Marchbank House where the "main" road heads off west towards East Rigg farm and beyond. Do cars get towed if parked on the verges alongside the nature reserve?
The back wheel threatened to spin out a few times as I headed up the avenue at Bavelaw. Coming back down again was 'interesting', being very ginger on the brakes while trying to avoid folks pedestrianising all over the road (this became a bit of theme for some of the later parts of the ride as well). Only had one rear wheel lock up, as I had a slightly freer run for the lower part of the avenue then had to slow for Redford Bridge. Caught it in time and stayed right side up, though.
The tracks past Thriepmuir and Harlaw were crunchy but generally OK bar a few short patches of very shiny ice. Again, traversed sans incident. I diverted right through the trees for a while alongside Harlaw and found the going surprisingly wet and muddy in places, given how chilly it was. Trees = warmer I suppose.
Both reservoirs were frozen around their margins but open water further out. Not a lot of wildfowl in evidence, probably as a consequence of this.
Had a clear run from Harlaw back to Kirk Brae, including a very nervous Vauxhall driver who actually pulled in to a field gateway to let me overtake! My 25kmph apparently being a bit too spicy for him in the conditions (though the road was quite dry).
The Lymphoy track wasn't all that busy: mostly frozen but negotiable with care, using the crunchier bits towards the side when the middle looked too icy for comfort. I did have one very low speed back-end slide on to my backside, due to a sudden and unwise steering input. No harm done, though I was even more careful with my control and propulsive inputs after that, allowing the bike to "find its own way" as far as possible on the slipperier stretches. Bit of an odd sensation to have the bike progressing in a gentle diagonal direction across the track while pointing forwards, but I got out the far end without further mishap.
Could even have qualified for the "lovely ride" thread in retrospect. No major wildlife highlights, unfortunately, but a fair number of very cheeky robins about. Average speed for the outing was 13.4kmph which I think was understandable given the prevailing conditions.
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