W&OD and Custis Conditions 02/22/2011

This topic has 18 replies, 9 voices, and was last updated 14 years, 5 months ago by Dirt.

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February 22, 2011 at 1:17 pm #909773

Dirt
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Light snow on top of soft ice. Mountain bike or cross tires should work well. I saw tracks of riders with them and they didn’t appear to have any problems. A light thaw followed by freeze will turn this stuff to ice pretty quickly though.

Back streets that haven’t been plowed are icy in Falls Church, Arlington and DC.

Happy Riding.

Pete
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February 22, 2011 at 1:47 pm #925092

PrintError
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Herndon to Vienna on the W&OD, same as Pete. Snow was still soft and absolutely no problems riding on it.

The roads were slushy and nasty though. Had a few pucker moments on Lewinsville with it. 1/2″ of snow and the roads weren’t cleared? Dang…

February 22, 2011 at 5:48 pm #925096

PrintError
Participant

Update: Looking around at the various traffic cameras, seems like anything in full sun is melting nicely. Glad it was only a dusting, and hopefully this will thaw the trail nicely.

Will report on actual Trail condition tonight when I get home.

February 22, 2011 at 11:58 pm #925108

PrintError
Participant

Trail Report:

W&OD is clear from Clark’s Crossing to Hunter Mill.
Hunter to Sunrise Valley (Buckthorn) has a light coating of snow that will most certainly freeze overnight. I recommend extreme caution for ice and black ice.
Sunrise Valley to Sunset Hills is mostly clear except under the bridge. Shaded spots have about 1/2″ of crunchy ice, should be crud by morning. Again I recommend caution, but I’ll be out there on my CXB tomorrow.
Sunset Hills to the Oak Hill school is mostly clear. A few small patches and the transitions from trail to street are a mess.
Oak Hill to Old Reston Ave, especially east of the American Dream Way bridge, is a straight up mess. The tall trees almost completely prevented any thaw at all. EXTREME CAUTION on this stretch tomorrow morning. I might even be walking the bike, we’ll see.
ORA on to Herndon, mostly clear with a few patches, most notable under Reston Parkway, the bridge over Town Center Parkway (totally white), and the other bridges onward west to the Herndon Caboose. Trail is clear, bridges are a light coating.

Since the on-road portions of my ride are completely thawed, I’m switching back to the CXB/Armadillos for tomorrow. Making the trek today on Spikey, my studded tire MTB, was a piece of cake.

Ride safe everybody!

February 23, 2011 at 12:10 am #925109

acc
Participant

Thank you, that helped me figure out where to workout tomorrow. I am waiting to hear about the arrival of a new cyclist in your family.

Best wishes,
Ann

February 23, 2011 at 12:32 am #925110

OneEighth
Participant

Mt. Vernon from the 14th Street Bridge to 4-Mile Run, 4-Mile Run, and the W&OD until Custis were clear except for a handful of spots that either hadn’t thawed completely or that had enough standing water to result in icy conditions for tomorrow’s commute. Most of the questionable spots were on the section of the W&OD between Columbia Pike and Wilson Blvd. Custis wasn’t so nicely thawed. Plenty of icy stretches remain there.

February 23, 2011 at 12:52 am #925111

Dirt
Participant

Custis is 80% clear but there are still some long sections that will be solid ice tomorrow morning. East of Lyon Village will be seriously slick tomorrow.

W&OD is 90% clear, but there are a few patches. The hill just east of East Falls Church Metro (after the Sycamore Street Underpass) is still icy on both the up and down side. Bridges are frozen.

Lots of opportunities to fall down and go boom.

February 23, 2011 at 3:21 am #925112

Ellen
Participant

Hello Dirt – I really appreciate you taking the risk and reporting back for the rest of us. I’ll skip my ride tomorrow, again. I heard the temperature is supposed to be around 40 tomorrow. Maybe trails will be clear and safe for the commute Thursday.

February 23, 2011 at 1:03 pm #925115

JimF22003
Participant

Great updates from the regulars. I’m mostly a fair weather rider. I’m going to try the W&OD from Gallows > Custis > MVT > 4Mile-Run > and back loop tonight.

February 23, 2011 at 2:30 pm #925120

Dirt
Participant

You’re welcome. I had a work meltdown last night, so I drove to work today. I do it so rarely that it is very odd for me. I love the extra time with my wife though… a little extra sleep + carpool time. Nice morning.

Have a good day y’all.

February 23, 2011 at 3:51 pm #925128

LeeDiehr
Participant

I brought the mountain bike and plan to ride home from Falls Church to Ashburn today. I figure there will be some slush to deal with. I’m really looking forward to spring.

February 23, 2011 at 4:14 pm #925129

PrintError
Participant

Lee, be careful under the bridge in Reston. It hasn’t thawed at all!

February 23, 2011 at 6:41 pm #925130

LeeDiehr
Participant

@PrintError 2617 wrote:

Lee, be careful under the bridge in Reston. It hasn’t thawed at all!

Thanks for the heads up.

February 24, 2011 at 6:30 am #925140

PrintError
Participant

Trail is 95% clear now except for that typical section in Reston by the power station. Ridable with extreme caution there. Otherwise, pedal on and stay warm!

February 24, 2011 at 4:36 pm #925142

LeeDiehr
Participant

Yep, 95% clear from Ashburn (trailside park) to Virginia Ln where I get off. I was able to ride skinny tires all the way this morning. Everything will be clear after the rain this evening.

February 25, 2011 at 1:15 am #925148

roadCruiser76
Participant

Has anyone been out to the western portions of the W&OD – particularly west of Ashburn? Just wondering about the conditions out there.
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