April 2015 Trail Conditions

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Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 23 total)
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  • April 3, 2015 at 12:13 am #1027381
    ShawnoftheDread
    Participant

    Not sure I believe you.

    April 3, 2015 at 1:08 pm #1027392
    Sunyata
    Participant

    @consularrider 112952 wrote:

    No more snow reports!

    If it snows, we know who to blame… [ATTACH=CONFIG]8244[/ATTACH]

    April 3, 2015 at 1:28 pm #1027397
    PotomacCyclist
    Participant

    [ATTACH=CONFIG]8246[/ATTACH]

    April 4, 2015 at 12:24 am #1027457
    brendan
    Participant

    @PotomacCyclist 112973 wrote:

    [ATTACH=CONFIG]8246[/ATTACH]

    Tires snakes. Why’d it have to be tire snakes?

    April 4, 2015 at 3:05 am #1027460
    PotomacCyclist
    Participant

    Slippery When Wet. Not Whitesnake.

    April 10, 2015 at 5:14 pm #1027889
    Mikey
    Participant

    Be careful out there today. NWS is calling for one or two lines of severe thunderstorms to blow through our area today between 3-6pm. For those who rode during the winter and think they can ride through anything now, here are some quick tips when you get caught out in a spring storm.

    1) Find cover. Lighting is REAL, The reason you are safe in a car is not the rubber tires, but the steel cage around you that directs the electric charge around you and to the ground. You don’t have that on your bike.

    2) Pre-plan bail out points. Take a mental look at your commute and plan bail out points about every mile or so that if need be you can wait out a really bad storm. Remember you can get struck by lightening even when the storm isn’t over you and the sun is shining on your face.

    3) They call them “Widow-makers” for a reason. Wind is an even greater threat than lightening. High winds bring down large tree limbs with the only warning being a sickening snap sound. People die from tree parts falling on them often. When tree limbs are swaying its time to find a better route, or find cover.

    4) Check the radar before you leave. It may make sense to wait 15 -30 minutes for the initial squall line (usually the most severe) to pass. Don’t just look at where the storm is look at where it is going. Wind direction is misleading when you are riding, because surface winds tend to blow toward the storm (low pressure system) not with the prevailing winds.

    5) If you think DC Metro drivers are bad, wait until it rains and they really can’t see anything. I seek out more traffic free or separated routes when it rains even if it takes longer. I rarely ride on the sidewalk, but I do when a storm is blowing through and I am trying to get to my next bail out point.

    Okay, others may have more info. this topic has been done a few times on this forum, but I thought I would revisit it.

    April 10, 2015 at 6:01 pm #1027894
    OneEighth
    Participant

    Correction – only steel is real.

    April 10, 2015 at 7:10 pm #1027904
    vern
    Participant

    @Mikey 113501 wrote:

    Be careful out there today. NWS is calling for one or two lines of severe thunderstorms to blow through our area today between 3-6pm. For those who rode during the winter and think they can ride through anything now, here are some quick tips when you get caught out in a spring storm.

    1) Find cover. Lighting is REAL, The reason you are safe in a car is not the rubber tires, but the steel cage around you that directs the electric charge around you and to the ground. You don’t have that on your bike.

    2) Pre-plan bail out points. Take a mental look at your commute and plan bail out points about every mile or so that if need be you can wait out a really bad storm. Remember you can get struck by lightening even when the storm isn’t over you and the sun is shining on your face.

    3) They call them “Widow-makers” for a reason. Wind is an even greater threat than lightening. High winds bring down large tree limbs with the only warning being a sickening snap sound. People die from tree parts falling on them often. When tree limbs are swaying its time to find a better route, or find cover.

    4) Check the radar before you leave. It may make sense to wait 15 -30 minutes for the initial squall line (usually the most severe) to pass. Don’t just look at where the storm is look at where it is going. Wind direction is misleading when you are riding, because surface winds tend to blow toward the storm (low pressure system) not with the prevailing winds.

    5) If you think DC Metro drivers are bad, wait until it rains and they really can’t see anything. I seek out more traffic free or separated routes when it rains even if it takes longer. I rarely ride on the sidewalk, but I do when a storm is blowing through and I am trying to get to my next bail out point.

    Okay, others may have more info. this topic has been done a few times on this forum, but I thought I would revisit it.

    Not happening. Stand down.

    April 10, 2015 at 8:42 pm #1027915
    consularrider
    Participant

    I didn’t get my usual Ohio ride in yesterday because when I drove through the areas with my usual trails (Athens, Chillicothe, and Lebanon) there just happened to be severe thunderstorms with lightning and threats of hail in each. Sigh.

    April 16, 2015 at 8:46 pm #1028254
    datgl
    Participant

    Has anyone else tried to have the new sign at Connecticut on the GBT removed? i talked to someone in Park and planning and they put in a service request to have it removed, but she didn’t sound very helpful, mostly irritated that someone would complain about it.

    April 17, 2015 at 1:21 am #1028270
    ebubar
    Participant

    @datgl 113898 wrote:

    Has anyone else tried to have the new sign at Connecticut on the GBT removed? i talked to someone in Park and planning and they put in a service request to have it removed, but she didn’t sound very helpful, mostly irritated that someone would complain about it.

    I’ll second that notion. It is horribly positioned for anyone trying to use the sidewalk/trail.

    April 17, 2015 at 11:04 am #1028282
    datgl
    Participant

    @ebubar 113917 wrote:

    I’ll second that notion. It is horribly positioned for anyone trying to use the sidewalk/trail.

    If you’d like to call Park and Planning, their number is 301-670-8080. I figure the more the merrier.

    April 17, 2015 at 2:55 pm #1028295
    DCAKen
    Participant

    I’m hoping this is a temporary situation. I posted about this in another thread. They appear to be rebuilding the sidewalks at the intersection as they get rid of the old wood light poles. On the east side of the intersection, the new posts were in the middle of the sidewalk before they reconfigured the sidewalk.

    April 17, 2015 at 4:01 pm #1028305
    dasgeh
    Participant

    Someone asked about whom to report it to on Women & Bikes, so I assume they reported. Personally, I suspect this is one of those cases where you’re going to have to have a County Board member (or whatever electeds you have up there in Maryland) make a call. My advice: take a picture, tweet and shame.

    April 21, 2015 at 12:30 pm #1028492
    vern
    Participant

    Lots of debris on the underpasses to Carlin Springs and Wilson on the WOD. Carlin Springs was better, witht he debris confined mainly around the railing, with some tree branches protruding into the lane. Under Wilson there was lots of dirt/sand, with a ridge built up about 8 inches high in the east bound lane just as you enter the underpass from the west.

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