Winter is here, not with a vengeance but its here.  Global warming is seeing that winters are getting milder and summers are getting, well I’m not quite certain what they are getting, but they are certainly getting different.  Gone are the snowbound winters of my youth and the steaming hot blue skied summers.

What depresses me about Britain in winter is that the roads are damp for months on end.  It is impossible to keep your car or bike clean and probably the best thing to do under the circumstances is cover it in vaseline or grease, plenty of WD40 and just let the dirt accumulate.  When Easter comes give it a good clean and it will come up almost like new.

What about the roads.  There is no doubt about it the roads are greasier in winter than at any other time of the year.  A combination of rubber, grit and damp often means that roads, particularly leading up to roundabouts are like a skating rink.

Only a week ago, I was crossing a roundabout and at one of the other junctions a hapless motorcyclist (actually on a scooter) had slid off without another vehicle in sight.  A few car drivers had stopped to help him, he was a boy probably 17 years of age and he was sitting on the pavement looking forlorn and his pride and joy was spread all around him.  I guarantee that the next time he approaches a roundabout in winter he will not be doing it using the sides of the tyres cranked over at an angle of 45 degrees.

The four main winter hazards are:-

1. Slippy road;
2. Leaves
3. Gravel
4. Diesel spills.