Apart from a few dirty lumps where people have shovelled most of the
snow had disappeared in Oxford by yesterday afternoon, washed away by
the rain. The forecast for Sunday was sunny, light winds and between 2
and 7 degrees C so I emailed the organiser of the Poor Student 200 and
informed him I was going to ride the Perm version.

I got the bike ready the evening before and was up at 6 and on my way
just after 7am. I was quite snug in my winter cycling kit and looking
forward to a good ride with a fair chance of being home for tea. I
picked up a cash point receipt for my start control proof and rode
through Oxford centre empty apart from the council cleaners clearing up
the mess leftover from Saturday night and a couple of revellers who
hadn’t made it home yet.

Leaving Oxford via the Botley Road I felt a bit of wheel slip climbing
Cumnor Hill so changed down gear and reminded myself to stay in the
saddle for the climb. Unexpectedly for a Sunday a council recycling
truck was out, presumably playing catch up after the snow had wrecked
their schedule. Someone had paint AUK on the back of a building site
‘Pavement Closed’ sign which made me giggle.

I turned right for Cumnor and cautiously crossed the A420 bridge which
was white with frost. Through Cumnor then left at the mini roundabout
signed Appleton and I was on ice. Ice right across the road and as far
as I could see in the dawn light. Somehow I was still upright but
didn’t dare brake or steer or even put my foot down. I gently unclipped
my left foot and put it down on a grass verge as the bike came to a
rest. Phew!

I gently pushed back to tarmac but found that was also pretty slippery
so walked the bike back to the bridge. I considered riding along the
(hopefully gritted) A420 for the first leg to Shrivenham by which time
surely the forecast sun would have melted all ice. But then I
remembered that January day in 2008, back when I organised the Poor
Student. Beautiful sunshine but ice everywhere till after midday,
about a third of the 58 riders came off, many more than once and several
packed, fortunately there had been only one reported breakage. A nose
whose owner went on to finish the ride.

So I rode gingerly back to the top of Cumnor Hill and, after exchanging
ice warnings with another cyclist who looked suspiciously like he too
was riding Audax, walked back down it and rode back home arriving in
time for 2nd breakfast.

He who fights and runs away gets to fight another day!