February 2016 Road and Trail Conditions – Is there still snow/ice out there?

[Dickie]

Rode from Shirlington to Merrifield this morning on 32 Clements (forgot the studs).… 3-4″ of powder in most places except where the trail had been plowed (4MR to Shirlington Blvd and Custis/WOD intersection to N. Van Buren.) It wasn’t too bad as long as you could find fresh powder to ride in. The conditions were much worse where the snow had been compressed (foot traffic, vehicles, etc) as ice had already formed beneath. I’ll put the studs on for the ride home and hope for the best. One thing I wasn’t prepared for was the cold especially as I couldn’t get my core temp up due to riding so slow…. my toes were blue when I arrived at work. Crossed paths with DCV, only other cyclist I saw.

[sjclaeys]

What Dickie said. Also, the W&OD was being cleared westward from the Custis intersection at about 9:50 but was quickly getting covered again in snow.

[KWL]

What little I saw and rode of the 4MR trail looked nicely cleared at 7:30am.

[Tania]

W&OD at Sandburg. I didn’t get far even on 3″ tires. Snow up over my ankles – it’s rideable but I kept slow-motion falling because I was going too slowly (because duh I was afraid of falling) and after three times I turned around and vowed to get some flat pedals.

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[consularrider]

Are you normally on SPD pedals? If so, consider the Nashbar Double Track. Platform with pins on one side, SPD on the other. Of course, they are out of stock until the end of March at the moment.

I guess you could go with the Shimano M342 or its cousin the Nashbar Rodeo, but …

[hozn]

Rode the W&OD out to Gallows. It was a blast on these 700×30 (Xerxes) studded tires. The compacted stuff was a little bumpy, but finding the sweet spot on the edges of the pavement (or just off) was really (ok, relatively) fast riding. So much fun.

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[bobco85]

In Alexandria, parts of the Holmes Run Trail (Ripley to Duke) were plowed early on, so there was a good amount of accumulation in the plow tracks. Still, it was passable today but is quickly getting packed down, so a layer of ice may have formed on the asphalt. Bumpy but fun riding.

[KWL]

Key Bridge downriver side looks good (unless you are riding 4 inch tires with 240 studs…buzzzzzzz). The Rosslyn connector to the MVT is nicely cleared. Trollheim…and much of the remainder of the MVT to 4MR, um, no. I don’t think the rain and temperatures tonight will improve things by tomorrow morning. Perhaps by tomorrow evening I’ll be wishing for smooth skinny tires.

[Dickie]

Shirlington to Merrifield 7:30am… 35mm studs. 4MRT was slushy and icy but easily ridable all the way to George Mason. I took 4MR Drive from there to the WOD at Columbia Pike. WOD was pretty beat up and nearly unridable all the way to the Custis intersection. As long as you keep speed and stay out of the frozen ruts its doable but exhausting. From the Custis intersection to Van Buren the WOD is essentially clear. I then headed to the roads… Columbia to Little Falls to Park to the WOD at Citizens Bridge. WOD from there until Gallows was again rough… lots of slushy ruts with frozen stuff beneath, but it was getting better all the time… should be passable later today. Why on earth does Arlington County still refuse to clear the WOD east of Custis? It’s the only viable connection between Shirlington and Falls Church…. and judging by the footprints it gets a ton of traffic.

[Raymo853]

@DrP 134990 wrote:

Bluemont Glacier is receding (with a little help from the county) now possible to pass it on the trail, with the minor exception near the restroom building, but the area is easy to ride on.

Arlington was very good at clearing it yesterday.

[vern]

I took the WOD from Reston to Columbia Pike. Not to bad to Vienna, as a truck had travelled on the WOD (tree trimmers) and sort of cut a lane to ride in. From Vienna onward it was find a bike track from yesterday and try to follow that, as the entire trail to Van Buren is slush. Arlington cleaned its part, but then after Custis turn-off it becomes almost unrideable, as Dickie wrote above. This was the worst stretch of the trail for me. Wilson underpass was flooded, but not the Carlin. I was riding 2″ knobbies on an MTB.

[Terpfan]

If anyone rides the MVT tonight, could you do a report? I didn’t drive by in the morning to see. Hoping it’s all melted.

[AFHokie]

@Terpfan 135073 wrote:

If anyone rides the MVT tonight, could you do a report? I didn’t drive by in the morning to see. Hoping it’s all melted.

I rode from 4MRT to the George Mason Bridge around 8:30-9:00 this morning. The MVT had multiple sections with about an inch of slush along the airport.

Both bridges were still frozen with ruts from previous foot & bike traffic. It was bad enough I dismounted to walk across. (Even with the studded tires, I still max out my comfort level on ice rather quickly)

I hope today’s rain & higher temps turn it to slush by the time I ride home, but expect both to remain iced over.

[Steve O]

@Dickie 135040 wrote:

Why on earth does Arlington County still refuse to clear the WOD east of Custis? It’s the only viable connection between Shirlington and Falls Church…. and judging by the footprints it gets a ton of traffic.

They are not refusing. NVRPA has told them not to.

[jrenaut]

How’s the W&OD? Planning a hooky ride tomorrow morning on slicks.

[Author]

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