August 2016 Road and Trail Conditions

[Steve O]

@VA2DC 144897 wrote:

14th/15th St N from Rhodes to Taft was just repaved, meaning there was clean, unblemished pavement from curb to curb. I swear that by the next day, there already was broken glass in the westbound bike lane in front of the garage entrance to the building on the corner of 15th & Scott. There is always broken glass in that spot. Whenever it gets swept up, fresh broken glass appears again within days. This spot baffles me, because it’s not in front of a bar or restaurant, and it’s not close to a crosswalk or a pedestrian doorway. Is there some sort of broken glass fairy that makes the rounds to ensure that certain spots are always covered? :confused:

Maybe it’s like the Pacific Gyre Garbage Patch. You know, plastic that goes into the N. Pacific Ocean anywhere ends up all together in one place. Similarly, broken glass anywhere in the Courthouse area accumulates there due to some sort of natural phenomenon.

[huskerdont]

So that paint was pretty much as advertised. Lipstick on a pig (with apologies to pigs, which are actually nice critters, I understand).

[bentbike33]

@huskerdont 144955 wrote:

So that paint was pretty much as advertised. Lipstick on a pig (with apologies to pigs, which are actually nice critters, I understand).

Well, it is 2 different colors!

[dasgeh]

@bentbike33 144960 wrote:

Well, it is 2 different colors!

But now it covers the whole bridge! I go straight to the TR Bridge, and was able to avoid paint-related slippage before…

[Tim Kelley]

@dasgeh 144977 wrote:

But now it covers the whole bridge! I go straight to the TR Bridge, and was able to avoid paint-related slippage before…

When going over slick surfaces, going straight is the safest way of doing so. It’s once you start turning and your weight isn’t directly over the bike that you have problems.

Think about when you went mountain biking out in Colorado (you don’t slide out going straight over loose dirt, you slide out going around turns over loose dirt).

[huskerdont]

@Tim Kelley 144978 wrote:

When going over slick surfaces, going straight is the safest way of doing so. It’s once you start turning and your weight isn’t directly over the bike that you have problems.

Think about when you went mountain biking out in Colorado (you don’t slide out going straight over loose dirt, you slide out going around turns over loose dirt).

Yes, but for people on the MVT going north, the paint starts on the latter part of a right turn where it’s pretty difficult not to lean. For folks coming across the TR bridge, there’s still the slightest bit of a curve there at the bottom of the hill, but it’s slight enough that you can keep your center of gravity over the bike if you pay attention to what you’re doing.

Don’t they believe this paint is supposed to have increased friction? It might be a slight improvement over wood with natural slime on it, I guess. I still don’t like it much, but seeing it probably would make some cyclists slow down.

The planking through here really just needs to be replaced. In the picture, you can see how bad it is. A slip on new wood might cause a rash or a little splinter, but the “splinters” you could get from that thing now could really do some damage. And, it’s a horrible ride–that part’s okay though; after all, it is Trollheim.

Lousy bridge conditions? Throw some paint on it! Lipstick on a pig.

[Tim Kelley]

@huskerdont 144980 wrote:

Yes, but for people on the MVT going north, the paint starts on the latter part of a right turn where it’s pretty difficult not to lean. For folks coming across the TR bridge, there’s still the slightest bit of a curve there at the bottom of the hill, but it’s slight enough that you can keep your center of gravity over the bike if you pay attention to what you’re doing.

Don’t they believe this paint is supposed to have increased friction? It might be a slight improvement over wood with natural slime on it, I guess. I still don’t like it much, but seeing it probably would make some cyclists slow down.

The planking through here really just needs to be replaced. In the picture, you can see how bad it is. A slip on new wood might cause a rash or a little splinter, but the “splinters” you could get from that thing now could really do some damage. And, it’s a horrible ride–that part’s okay though; after all, it is Trollheim.

Lousy bridge conditions? Throw some paint on it! Lipstick on a pig.

My riding advice was directed towards Gillian who rides straight through that section. If you’re turning, you should slow down.

Last time around the paint NPS put down had anti-mildew agents in it. Not sure about the new stuff, but I suspect is something similar.

Signage warning folks of conditions would be helpful, but replacing the entire bridge with a different surface (like concrete!) would be the most effective in keeping people safe.

[bentbike33]

@Tim Kelley 144982 wrote:

… replacing the entire bridge with a different surface (like concrete!) would be the most effective in keeping people safe.

Actually, I think if only the intersection and the curves under the TR Bridge ramp were redone in concrete, nearly all crashes (due to non-ice slippery surface, anyway) would be eliminated. Setting aside money questions, however, any reconstruction changing the footprint of the boardwalk would be extremely difficult because wetlands.

[bobco85]

I don’t think paint is going to work for the zig-zag area where people are crashing. Trollheim needs anti-slip strips like the ones shown here:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]12334[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]12335[/ATTACH]

Note: I would only use the anti-slip strips in the zig-zag area. The rest of the boardwalk could have the paint treatment. It will make navigating Trollheim bumpier, noisier, and less dangerous.

[dasgeh]

@Tim Kelley 144978 wrote:

When going over slick surfaces, going straight is the safest way of doing so. It’s once you start turning and your weight isn’t directly over the bike that you have problems.

Think about when you went mountain biking out in Colorado (you don’t slide out going straight over loose dirt, you slide out going around turns over loose dirt).

Yes, I always was able to avoid turn-related slippage. I was talking about paint-related slippage. The grey paint that’s been there for a while is more slippery (IMO) than even the wood. Hopefully the new paint will be better, but if it’s not, then they’ve taken away the wood option.

And no, I did not go mountain biking in Colorado. But that’s a good one.

[Tim Kelley]

@dasgeh 144986 wrote:

And no, I did not go mountain biking in Colorado. But that’s a good one.

Make Grant watch the kiddos next time!!

[ursus]

It looks like there will be a detour onto the gravel west of Vienna for two months starting tomorrow. (I only half-read the sign.)

[tbronder]

@VA2DC 144897 wrote:

14th/15th St N from Rhodes to Taft was just repaved, meaning there was clean, unblemished pavement from curb to curb. I swear that by the next day, there already was broken glass in the westbound bike lane in front of the garage entrance to the building on the corner of 15th & Scott. There is always broken glass in that spot. Whenever it gets swept up, fresh broken glass appears again within days. This spot baffles me, because it’s not in front of a bar or restaurant, and it’s not close to a crosswalk or a pedestrian doorway. Is there some sort of broken glass fairy that makes the rounds to ensure that certain spots are always covered? :confused:

I work in the Bayou building a block further up the road, so I hit this glass patch pretty much every day. The spot is right in front of the loading dock for the Odyssey condo building, so I suspect it’s detritus from trash/recycling service that accumulates in the bike lane. Seems to be disproportionately Heineken bottles, not sure what to conclude from that…

[viennabiker]

@ursus 145052 wrote:

It looks like there will be a detour onto the gravel west of Vienna for two months starting tomorrow. (I only half-read the sign.)

I stopped and read the message and promptly forgot about it until you posted this. I did a bit of googling and found this on the Friends of the W and OD site:

• Attention, Trail Users: impending detour on west side of Vienna
The creek that runs along the north side of the W&OD Trail in the vicinity of the western boundary of Vienna (between mileage markers 12 and 12.5) has produced significant erosion to the old railroad embankment (see photo). If corrective steps are not taken promptly, the Trail will soon be undermined. For this reason, on or about August 29th, NOVA Parks will begin a project to restore and to armor these steepening, crumbling northern slopes. This work will require a detour for Trail users along the gravel equestrian trail that parallels the paved trail to the south. NOVA Parks will grade and improve the gravel trail before opening this detour, which will span approximately 1,000 feet and be in place for roughly two months. When practical and safe, NOVA Parks will open the paved trail on weekends during the period of construction. Any questions regarding this project should be addressed to Project Manager Tim Heisler, who may also be reached by telephone at 703-352-5900.
http://www.wodfriends.org/news/

The good news is that the trail will still be open on weekends; the bad news is that on weekdays there will be a gravel trail. I remember a couple other occasions–one back in 2006 or 2007 and one in 2012 or so–in which restoration work required detouring to horse trail slightly west of where the work will be done now. Those detours could be negotiated on a road bike as I remember, but not without difficulty.

Some of the embankment work dates back before the Civil War, I believe. If only the work had been done right then, it wouldn’t require maintenance after a century and a half.

[hozn]

The gravel there is really pretty tame; I wouldn’t/won’t hesitate to ride it on road tires, but it is also easy to detour up in the neighborhood — zig zagging “parallel” to Beulah and coming down Clarks Crossing. Or, heck, just ride on Beulah itself to Clarks Crossing. I often do the zig-zag detour for fun to incorporate Brookside hill. I learned this from Vicegrip’s Strava tracks.

[Author]

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