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Thread: Icy pavements

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Nov 2018
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    Icy pavements

    Does anybody else get nervous at the first hint of frost?

    The weird thing is, I've never actually fallen on ice, just slipped occasionally. I've been known to take annual leave days to avoid walking to work when it's snowy or icy out, or occasionally take a cab when that wasn't an option.

    Today was the first properly cold day this winter, and while it was mostly okay outside, the external staircase leading down from our maisonette was covered in ice. I walked in the road halfway to work just so I could get myself calmed down before I was able to talk myself back to sanity and get back on the path (once I've got my breathing under control I've learned to enjoy walking in crunchy snow, at least).

    Am I the only one?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2014
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    10,624

    Re: Icy pavements

    No, you are not BlueIris.
    It's that fear of falling and hurting yourself, which we all try hard to avoid. Your brain is very aware of the danger.
    Just take your time, wear the appropriate footwear and don't clear the snow if it falls unless it is gritted or heavily salted. At least we are well padded out this time of year.

  3. #3
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    Nov 2018
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    Re: Icy pavements

    Agreed, Carnation.

    I know how to walk carefully, too, I just catastrophise, it's the one area where I've made next to no progress - I visualise myself falling, hitting the back of my head (I can picture the exact spot clearly) and then dying as a result.

  4. #4
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    May 2014
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    Re: Icy pavements

    I know BlueIris, I think the same.
    Wearing a hat helps with the confidence. x

  5. #5
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    Nov 2018
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    Re: Icy pavements

    Not sure any of my usual hats would suffice, but that's still a great idea

  6. #6
    Join Date
    May 2017
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    2,634

    Re: Icy pavements

    I hate this too. Frozen slush is my idea of hell and I have to take the dogs out or they go loopy. I have actually banned my mother from going out at all if the pavements are icy. She broke her hip last summer and I would rather not go through that again, as I'm sure she wouldn't.
    Anyway a tip.....there are some things called yak trax. They are things that clip on your shoes and they are brilliant. I feel so confident in them I actually head for icy bits so I can show off my walking skills. You are not supposed to walk on tarmac in them, but snow, frozen snow and ice, well they can't be beaten imo.

  7. #7
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    Nov 2018
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    Re: Icy pavements

    I've been thinking of getting some of those, actually, but we only ever get a couple of days of snow a year so I never think about it until it's too late.

    I do have some heavy walking boots, at least, which make me feel a little more secure, and I've been wondering about getting a walking pole.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2014
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    27,320

    Re: Icy pavements

    They are worth it, I use them. I don't walk as much now but for years I would be walking in snow, ice, slush, the dreaded black ice and the nasty compacted icey snow. The grips worked fine. Occasionally you feel a slight slip, more when it's an uneven service like a steep curb, but then they bite in and grip again. I never had a real slip or slide walking as fast as I liked in any condition when using them.

    I think the ones with springs are better than studs though. You get more springs so I would think it amounts to more grip.

    Well worth the money and quite cheap anyway. The first place I saw them was a TV shopping channel and the lady demonstrating them was on a thick block of ice!

    They may seem tight as you first stretch them over your shoes but don't worry as they don't get too big. They are hard wearing too.

    I will wear mine if it's patchy, the hard services can just mean it can eventually damage the springs so need new ones. Mine last years though. Hard services may mean a slightly harder underfoot impact but it's nothing of note.

    Years ago I told my uncle about them as he was falling all over a steep bank he had to walk up to work. He bought these and has been fine since. It was funny because that year the local media were doing a report on the bad pavement conditions and they filmed people falling over in his area. They were interviewing pedestrians about this steep road who were saying it was treacherous and there in the background was my uncle striding out
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  9. #9
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    Nov 2018
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    Re: Icy pavements

    Thanks for the heads-up, Terry, I'll definitely try them either this year or next.

    Just had a really nasty experience on the walk back from work today, I thought the snow would all have melted off but there were a couple of stretches of pavement where it had compacted into solid ice. Normally I'd just walk in the road, but this is a particularly busy one and I wasn't about to chance it during rush hour at night. I'd just made it to a clear spot when I saw a friend slip (luckily she didn't fall).

    So glad I wasn't walking behind her, otherwise I think the fear would have left me stuck to the spot.

  10. #10
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