Daily Snow and Ice Report

Our Community › Forums › Road and Trail Conditions › Daily Snow and Ice Report

Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 17 total)
1 2
  • Author
    Posts
  • December 14, 2010 at 1:43 pm #924149
    skreaminquadz
    Participant

    Great idea Pete. And thanks for the trail update – I think I’ll use my cyclocross tires for my commute tomorrow.

    December 14, 2010 at 9:08 pm #924164
    consularrider
    Participant

    Thin layer of snow on most of the wooden walkway by Roosevelt Island on the MVT this morning. It didn’t look like anyone had slid out at the 90 degree split going over Roosevelt Bridge. There didn’t appear to have been many north bound riders as of 8:15 am.

    I think we need this one in reverse order with most recent post first, or will we have a new thread daily on snowy days to make it easier to read the relevant information?

    December 14, 2010 at 10:19 pm #924165
    invisiblehand
    Participant

    @consularrider 1445 wrote:

    Thin layer of snow on most of the wooden walkway by Roosevelt Island on the MVT this morning. It didn’t look like anyone had slid out at the 90 degree split going over Roosevelt Bridge. There didn’t appear to have been many north bound riders as of 8:15 am.

    I think we need this one in reverse order with most recent post first, or will we have a new thread daily on snowy days to make it easier to read the relevant information?

    Thanks. I’m heading over the Key Bridge.

    December 14, 2010 at 11:36 pm #924167
    Joe Chapline
    Participant

    @consularrider 1445 wrote:

    I think we need this one in reverse order with most recent post first, or will we have a new thread daily on snowy days to make it easier to read the relevant information?

    I don’t see a way to change the order thread by thread, but I changed a setting for the whole category “Road and Trail Conditions.” I didn’t see any change after I did that, do you?

    HOWEVER, you can change the order for yourself in “Settings,” one of the links top right when you’re logged in. In the left sidebar, under My Settings / Forums / Forum Settings / Thread Display Options / Thread Display Mode, you can change it to “Linear – Newest First.” (It’s easier than it sounds.) All threads in the forum will display that way, though.

    Do let me know if you see anything that’s different. I changed that setting and didn’t change it back.

    December 15, 2010 at 12:20 am #924168
    Joe Chapline
    Participant

    @consularrider 1445 wrote:

    I think we need this one in reverse order with most recent post first, or will we have a new thread daily on snowy days to make it easier to read the relevant information?

    I’ve been looking into this, and we have the capability to make a whole category, such as “Road and Trail Conditions” only display recent threads. We could move that category to the top, and set it to only display threads from the last two days, or three days, or whatever we want. What do you think?

    We could rename the category “Daily Snow and Ice Report.” We could still have a separate “Road and Trail Conditions” category, or something similar, if we need a place for threads that should hang around longer.

    December 15, 2010 at 1:25 am #924170
    Dirt
    Participant

    As an individual you can click on Settings and go down to one for how threads are displayed. Select “Linear, Newest first”. That’s what I use all the time anyways.

    Custis and W&OD were clear on the way home, as were the streets around DC. The wind threatened to push me backwards from Falls Church back into Arlington. I needed one more tooth on my rear cog to be able to combat it more aggressively. Oh well. It was a fun ride and I stayed warm.

    December 15, 2010 at 1:52 am #924171
    invisiblehand
    Participant

    @consularrider 1445 wrote:

    Thin layer of snow on most of the wooden walkway by Roosevelt Island on the MVT this morning. It didn’t look like anyone had slid out at the 90 degree split going over Roosevelt Bridge. There didn’t appear to have been many north bound riders as of 8:15 am.

    I think we need this one in reverse order with most recent post first, or will we have a new thread daily on snowy days to make it easier to read the relevant information?

    Hey … for a few reasons I decided to go over the TR Bridge. Other than a few spots immediately adjacent to the outside wall, the path was clear. The MVT was clear going north and virtually clear all the way to Rosslyn after the parking lot.

    December 16, 2010 at 9:20 pm #924186
    skreaminquadz
    Participant

    This afternoons commute home was quite eventful. I clearly brought the wrong bike, my single speed with 23cc tires made it entertaining to say the least. I had fun though. Fairfax Drive wasn’t fun with all that traffic but once I hit the trail the fun began ; ) Have fun out there but be safe!!

    December 17, 2010 at 2:46 am #924189
    ChrisJ
    Participant

    Anyone want to guess what the Mount Vernon trail is going to look like tomorrow AM?

    December 17, 2010 at 10:56 am #924191
    Dirt
    Participant

    Welcome Chris! Good to see you here.

    Jimmy is right. Last night was fun. I had a long day. Hit the road at 0530 and didn’t get home until almost 2200. I had a blast on the ride home though.

    Lets talk trail conditions: Mount Vernon is mixed hard pack and ice. All of it is bumpy. There were still some clean lines where you could ride in untouched snow, but they were getting picked over. When I rode it at 8:30pm, it was already starting to freeze up. I had no problems with traction on the main trail with mountain bike tires aired down a little bit (Continental Mountain Kings (29×2.4) @ 26psi). The boardwalks and bridges are very slick, but if you stay loose and go with the flow, you should have no problems. LOTS of people had slipped and fallen (runners and cyclists) on the downhill going from Roosevelt Bridge onto the boardwalk. I joked earlier this week about someone bowling a spare on the slippery boardwalk. Last night someone bowled a perfect 300 game. With the tires I described above and going at an easy pace (7 or 8 MPH) I had no trouble at all. Not even close to a slip or slide.

    Roosevelt Bridge is going to be okay in the morning. It was mixed hard pack and untouched snow last night. At 8pm or so, I was the third person to ride across it. A bunch had walked it and that made the hardpack bumpy.

    Custis and W&OD between Rosslyn and Merrifield were in good shape. Probably a dozen cyclists had ridden it and lots of walkers. The hills in Arlington were a little slippery, but the snow was still soft. There were some parts that were thawing, and they will be icy today. All of the hardpack and ice will be VERY bumpy this morning from people walking on it. Kids had used the Custis trail for sledding at 2 or three spots. That made for GREAT riding last night and traction will still be good this morning. By tonight when it starts freezing up again, though, that’s gonna be very slippery.

    The real danger is the streets. Some of the main drags are clear and will be fine with mountain bike tires. Many of the main streets have been plowed, but are still icy. I was out at the store this morning and I was thinking the studded tires would have made things a little easier. I was fine on mountain bike tires, but I could have rolled faster and with a bit more confidence with studs.

    Sorry that post is so long. I rode almost 20 miles last night because I wanted to play in the snow. I’ll definitely be out there again today. My morning 6-mile ride wasn’t enough for me today. :D

    Have fun. Be safe.

    Pete

    December 17, 2010 at 2:51 pm #924194
    consularrider
    Participant

    Didn’t try the trails this morning. Had clear ride up Washington Blvd to Fairfax Dr to Wilson/Clarendon into Rosslyn at 7:30 am riding on Schwalbe Marathon Winter 26X1.75 studded tires. These weren’t so good on the trails last night, but are great on what was on the road this morning. None of the bike lanes are clear, of course, but all regular travel lanes on Fairfax, Wilson and Clarendon were clear. Most drivers gave me plenty of room and didn’t seem impatient with me.

    December 17, 2010 at 7:42 pm #924201
    ChrisJ
    Participant

    Mount Vernon was fine this morning. Lots of snow still my 35c CX tires cut though it without an issue. Slowed down around corner. Did a little shopping in Old Town before heading to work. Roads where fine down there.

    December 17, 2010 at 8:03 pm #924202
    Joe Chapline
    Participant

    Thanks for the posts everyone! I wanted to remind you that we have the “Recent Snow and Ice Reports” section set up so that threads will disappear after a week. This one will disappear in a few days unless I change the settings. My idea was that you could start new threads for each new report, rather than posting to one long thread.

    The problem with the long thread is that new users have to navigate to the end of it to see recent posts, until they figure out how to change their settings. Let me know what you think — I’m happy to set it up whatever way works best for everyone.

    December 20, 2010 at 2:50 pm #924215
    Brendan von Buckingham
    Participant

    Ft. Myer gate to Memorial Bridge. My first winter on this route and not good. The big bend on the steep slope where Marshall hits 110 was completely ice-packed. So were long stretches of trail up against the cemetery wall where the sun never hits. Memorial Drive and Memorial Bridge were fine once I got there this morning. I’m guessing it will stay ice covered until we hit 40 degrees for a day or two. I’m switching to my long route on Key Bridge/Virginia Ave until then.

    December 21, 2010 at 1:21 pm #924224
    Dirt
    Participant

    W&OD from West Street to EFC is still snow packed and icy. Plowed areas through East Falls Church to the Custis crossing under I-66 is clear, but there are patches of ice that sneak up on you. The Custis climb up from under I-66 is pretty nasty. Custis is then intermittent snow/ice and clear. The hills are pretty treacherous.

    In all I’d say that about 30% of my commute is on snow/ice. Fun stuff.

  • Author
    Posts
Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 17 total)
1 2
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.