Well that's a good start to the year!

Bummer allthe way round!  Accidents are no fun, but sounds like you have plenty of company...I agree MTB - nice change of pace if nothing else...

Could be worse mate, I did the same on Monday and have a 3 part fracture of the right proximal humerus. Gabba was nearly unscathed though and bike okay except for scuffed shifters.

Turbo in the garage is my way forwards, 6 weeks plus until I'm back on the roads 

Good luck with the MTB!

Many thanks. 

Hsialoc
Try ride with GPS as well, here's one loop
https://ridewithgps.com/trips/9883440

You can find the trails on strava or an open source map downloaded on to a GPS.
Alternatively, head up there and just ask, mtb'ers are generally friendly folk !

Was in the same boat as you a couple of years ago; my first crash was at about 18 mph I just slid along the deck and then got up.  The second was at about 2 mph trying to turn across a road, went down hard on both wrists and broke one.  I won't risk the road bike if it is 3 degrees or less now, 5-6 weeks off is no fun, never mind anything else that could have gone wrong.  I blather on to all my roadie mates who have all ignored me, and now one of them has gone down and broken his arm.

I ride MTB as well as road anyway, so just increase the number of rides on that.  Down on the south coast there aren't THAT many days when it is 3 degrees or under, so not a huge issue but I like riding over the Downs anyway.  My MTB has 2 inch knobblies, which aren't great off road but I've yet to have any kind of issue on road with them.  Like someone else posted, don't wear your best road gear on your mtb, it will get covered in mud and shite and look old and grubby very quickly.  

I haven't ridden "up north" but I know there are loads of trails around Peaslake and Pitch Hill.  There's the Downslink from Guildford which would get you close to the South Downs at Steyning, but the 'link is quite dull once you have ridden it a couple of times.  

I now prefer it when it is -3 to +3, the trails make a great sound when you ride over them and you don't have to worry about how deep that muddy puddle is, or what might be at the bottom of it.

I also think I get a better work out off road; the bike is heavier and takes a lot more effort to keep moving.  Average speeds are pitiful but you have to forget about that.

I also run, as others have said your heart rate will be higher and you can get a good work out in half an hour.  I probably take 15 minutes to get ready before a bike ride in winter and 10 to get un-ready after, so it is much easier to get a work out if you only have a short time frame.  Afterr the first 5 or so runs, it gets a bit easier and you can start to enjoy some aspects of it.

As others have said mtb is the way forward and peaslake is the place to head.
If you are just getting back into it, I would start with Holmbury hill as the trails are a bit more gentle there and build up to pitch/winterfold hill trails where they can be very steep (ie an off can mean you're falling all the way down the hill). Search for yoghurt pots, telegraph trail, waggy, I should coco and Barry knows best (which is a bit faster/steeper). If those are too easy, head to pitch hill, look for proper Bo, t1, bullet head, proflex forever twat.
If that's too basic head to winterfold, and look for evian, secret santa, Northern monkey, Charles Bronson and flytipper (if you have a screwide loose).
I use my mtb to commute when snowy/icy so you'll be fine as long as you take it easy. That said 10 miles there on an mtb is quite hard work and don't underestimate the effort required on the trails. Last weekend a 2 hour mtb ride produced a similar strava suffer score for me to 50 mile hilly road rides. If the conditions are wet it can be very hard work.
If you really want to bike there, there is the London Brighton off road route which could take you out there but you will be tired on arrival.
Good luck

Get mountain bike out and go exploring.

I wouldn't use most of my road kit on my mountain bike - as you correctly state, it could get snagged and ripped, but also because the mud can stain like mad.

Use the same base layers, but get a cheap set of tights, top and gloves that you don't mind trashing.

When I was getting back into cycling a few years ago I cycled up the bridleway on Box Hill that runs from the bottom of the zig-zag to the top on a cheap MTB. It was bloddy hard work. Not only is the gardient steeper in parts than the zig-zag half of your energy is lost trying to get traction on the loose surface.

There is also the trail that runs along Juniper Bottom which is nice and a less steep alternative.

Seems to me that riding an MTB would be a great way stay fit in the winter as shorter rides would suffice for the same effort as riding on the road. However a certain degree of technical ability and nerve is required (neither of which I have). 

Personally I'm going to stick to an indoor trainer and Trainerroad.

Leave the road bike at home and get out on the Mtb

When the roads get icy its just not worth the risk, chances are you may end up hurting yourself and damaging your bike, even worse if you come off in traffic and get hit (seen this happen on a icy country road)

You have some great trails right on your doorstep in the Surrey hills

Peaslake is the best place to start from, plenty of parking on the hills and by the village (good pub food)

There are so many trails to choose from, ranging from pure xc to full on downhill and everything in between

main ones to look out for are Barry's knows best (Holmebury hill) Evian (Pitch hill) Summer Lightening (Leith hill) but there are many more

I tend to travel up there every other weekend, its an hour drive and i get a good few hours of great fun, it gets real busy on weekends and by 11am the main carparks are full (there are smaller ones dotted around on the hills) but once your out on the trails its surprisingly quiet

As for off road gear just buy a cheap waterproof jacket (£13 decathlon is what i use) this keeps me warm and  is inexpensive to replace if damaged

Bad luck. I crashed recently and wrote a bike off so feel your pain. Get well soon.

Cant remember Monday or Tuesday they had weather warming specifically about ice on the road. 

Sorry to hear about what happened.  

I nearly slipped myself on side roads. 

I have just fitted my Conti Top Contact winter tyres onto my getting about bike, they are the original ones, with "sharp rubber", the mark II do everything with lamellae, I have recomended them on this site before, with somewhat mixed results.  They will stay on probably until March or April, very road, though 26inch, no tread for mud and they spin and slide a lot muddy grass.  For me, they are perfect for this time of year, when that crispy hoar frost gets you in the morning, and for patches of ice.  But mostly for when there is only a chance of ice, which may get you suddenly, especially on bridges.  They give me that little bit more confidence and I haven't had the front dissappear on me like I did with the knobblies, which is why I got the spikes and then the winters.  They are not full on spike tyres, I have those for the good bike, and they are for proper snow and ice and not needed for me for the past 3 winters, I am a southerner.  But I still put the winters on the commuter every year about now, I will not give a full lean into corners, but I can still accelerate and brake when the going gets crispy, not full on, but thats more care than anything else.

Some of the reviews of the mark IIs put them through far more extreme conditions than I would want to.

They work for me, and I really hate losing the front with no warning, less so when slow on a corner and of course it's fun to get the back out sometimes.  But the winters give that bit more traction and confidence.

Cont claim to have brought their winter tyre tech over from their car tyres.

Jogging/running gives you immense heart rate work. If you haven't been running for a while, you're going to be in for a shock at how high, and how fast your heart rate gets there if you even remotely push it. 

I wanted to do early morning 5am rides, but in the end I started doing short runs as moving the bike out makes noise and I don't like to disrupt the missus' sleep. Nothing more than 5 miles so far. Have some gravel and mucky trails nearby, so it's kinda fun too, bit of road/trail running. 

Really serene early in the morning. Feels so nice out around 0deg. 

Try a slow jog and see if you can get into it.

Tip: you need way less layers than on the bike. Even sub 0 I'll be in one base layer and an ultralight jacket. Weighs like 50 grams or something fun. And I'll sweat buckets in that. Same with gloves, seems I need only a thin layer when running, but on the bike nothing keeps my hands warm. 

Btw, I wrecked my knee off-road in icy conditions donkey's ago. Not sure offroad is a good way to avoid injury. Falls are way more common..