January ’16 – Trail Condition: That time they predicted mind-boggling amounts of snow

[hozn]

@Tania 133578 wrote:

Hopeful the two plows will meet in the middle today…

According to FB, the plows did meet (at Maple Ave)! And they’re done for today. So W&OD is “plowed” from ~Wiehle -> Shirlington. (I’m guessing a fair bit of that is still gonna be pretty slushy/slick, but I will ride it this afternoon.)

[TwoWheelsDC]

This is the west side of the Lee Hwy/W&OD intersection. Looks like they cleared snow from the right turn lane on Fairfax and piled it onto the trail/sidewalk. Definitely was not like this yesterday.

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[vern]

@hozn 133635 wrote:

According to FB, the plows did meet (at Maple Ave)! And they’re done for today. So W&OD is “plowed” from ~Wiehle -> Shirlington. (I’m guessing a fair bit of that is still gonna be pretty slushy/slick, but I will ride it this afternoon.)

Kindly attach a plow to the back of your bike so I can enjoy the cleared rut headed west!

[rcannon100]

Windy. No seriously…. howling!!!

[JimK]

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This afternoon in front of the train station in Vienna. The plow moved a lot of snow off the trail, but a couple of inches of packed snow remains.

[slowtriguy]

@rcannon100 133647 wrote:

Windy. No seriously…. howling!!!

Windy but at least it helps dry out the surface.

Fairfax-Custis-W&OD-Van Buren-Columbia-Maple-Great Falls-West was largely fine except for:

– No bike lanes WB on Fairfax after Taylor. OK if you are comfortable taking the lane, not if you aren’t.
– Short bit of snow on the east end of the Fairfax/Custis connector, no biggie
– There will be ice at the Custis/W&OD junction and the Banneker Park basketball court when the melt refreezes

Happy riding everyone!

[hozn]

@JimK 133652 wrote:

This afternoon in front of the train station in Vienna. The plow moved a lot of snow off the trail, but a couple of inches of packed snow remains.

Same story further west. Since wet it was very slow going. I bailed on the trail at Meadowlark connector to take Beulah and didn’t bother with any of the other newly plowed stuff around Vienna.

[notinthe18]

@LeprosyStudyGroup 133561 wrote:

Sidewalk on 27path/overpasses between Pentagon and Memorial Bridge yesterday afternoon after the melt:
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This morning, other side of overpass as last pic, so from other direction:

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4 joggers crossed paths with me this morning as we picked our way every 20 feet over the 2-3 foot walls of ice boulders completely blocking the path on the bridge. There’s an empty median in the middle of the road. Completely ridiculous bad snow removal practice.

Surprising no one, this was in exactly the same shape tonight still. (And a lady in a Jeep Wrangler nearly took me out at a crosswalk at the Memorial Bridge VA side circle.)

[Subby]

The MVT is a freaking disaster. Unless you have a fatbike or a goddamn monster truck don’t bother. Crystal city connector on the airport side is a mess on either side of the overpass (under which is clear). Eads St. bike lanes are mostly covered in snow but less so as you get toward the sewage plant. 4MR is almost 100% clear. WOD is clear past Columbia Pike until you get to the pond. At that point it is an icy haphazard mess (I mean really, what kind of effed up plowing plan is that?) until you hit the Wilson underpass. All clear to Van Buren after that – I mean there is a little ice near the basketball court, but you can powerslide through that jank.

[KWL]

@rcannon100 133583 wrote:

…Potomac Yard Trail ~ looks like it was cleared, but then the road plows came through and threw snow boulders onto the trail. It is dodgy.

That’s strange. I rode down the Potomac Yard trail from 4MR to Braddock Road around 12:15pm today and there was only a short section from Target to East Glebe that wasn’t totally clear. Even that was negotiable with some care.

[vern]

The WOD between Great Falls and the top of the hill west of Citizens Bridge wasn’t awful, but was packed west of there so I bailed and jumped over to Shreve. In Vienna I saw what JimK illustrated on the previous page. I must say that I didn’t find Lawyers Road between Vienna and Hunter Mill at rush hour, in the dark, into the headwind, to be a fun alternative to the ice and snow clogged WOD, but it was exciting!

[Boomer Cycles]

@vern 133669 wrote:

The WOD between Great Falls and the top of the hill west of Citizens Bridge wasn’t awful, but was packed west of there so I bailed and jumped over to Shreve. In Vienna I saw what JimK illustrated on the previous page. I must say that I didn’t find Lawyers Road between Vienna and Hunter Mill at rush hour, in the dark, into the headwind, to be a fun alternative to the ice and snow clogged WOD, but it was exciting!

I rode the WOD tonight, west of the Citizen Bridge to Virginia lane, and found a lot of snow pack and ice. I had to walk my bike through a long stretch of packed snow & ice by the Popular Heights tennis courts (mile 7.5). You would be better off taking Shreve Road from the cement yard all the way to Virginia Lane as forget the WOD between mile 7 to 8. (I was riding a steely hybrid tonight, with 26 × 2 inch tires w/ Knobbies).

[consularrider]

@Subby 133665 wrote:

The MVT is a freaking disaster. Unless you have a fatbike or a goddamn monster truck don’t bother. Crystal city connector on the airport side is a mess on either side of the overpass (under which is clear). Eads St. bike lanes are mostly covered in snow but less so as you get toward the sewage plant. 4MR is almost 100% clear. WOD is clear past Columbia Pike until you get to the pond. At that point it is an icy haphazard mess (I mean really, what kind of effed up plowing plan is that?) until you hit the Wilson underpass. All clear to Van Buren after that – I mean there is a little ice near the basketball court, but you can powerslide through that jank.

You make me wish I was there with the Pugsley. One possibility for the problem with the W&OD snow clearing plan is that it is not plowing and doesn’t get started until well after there is packed down snow/ice from pedestrian traffic.

[PotomacCyclist]

15TH STREET PROTECTED BIKE LANES – At least part of it has now been plowed

At least part of the 15th St protected bike lane in DC was plowed on Friday. I posted about the section near U Street a couple days ago, noting that it was unlikely to be rideable on Friday.

I passed by there on Friday afternoon and that same section had been completely plowed, north and south of U Street. I don’t know how far south they plowed, but at least part (and perhaps most) of the protected bike lane is now clear.

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S EADS STREEET PROTECTED BIKE LANES – Still covered in snow

The S. Eads St. protected bike lanes in Arlington are still covered in snow, but there’s much less of it than at the beginning of the week. I think most sections of the bike lanes will be clear by Mon. or Tue. with the warmer weather. But crews will still need to remove the large man-made snowbanks. Some of those are still a few feet in height and they are blocking the bike lanes at some intersections, including at 18th St. Those big snowbanks won’t melt from a few days of mild weather.

[hozn]

@vern 133669 wrote:

I must say that I didn’t find Lawyers Road between Vienna and Hunter Mill at rush hour, in the dark, into the headwind, to be a fun alternative to the ice and snow clogged WOD, but it was exciting!

Sorry to have led you astray there. It is hard to judge evening traffic/conditions from those in the AM.

P.S. It was good to see you at Van Buren!

[Author]

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