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

[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!

[hozn]

@consularrider 133681 wrote:

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.

This is a condition that would likely suit the 4″ tires perfectly. I was thinking I should have ridden my MTB, although I am not sure it would have saved time in the end over just taking the detours. But made me think I may get some more aggressive studded tires for heavier snow and ice conditions.

I don’t think the packing down from ped traffic is an issue (since the “plowed” trail was also hard to navigate out west where there was very little pedestrian traffic), but definitely the fact that it is not actually a plow makes a huge difference. Sounded like the conditions this year played a big factor too; the thaw and re-freeze made it tough for their equipment. I am assuming that is why they didn’t get as close to the ground as they did last year in many areas (?)

I am grateful for this snow blowing; it is much better than years past.

[lordofthemark]

W&OD from Walter Reed to Columbia Pike is mostly good, but from the Pike to Rte 50 is terrible. On the positive side, I learned a lot about riding on snow and ice, and what the Dew is capable of.

Edit: From Bluemont to EFC much better. From EFC to Vienna challenging. I find that falling onto snow is not that bad.

[bikepedantic]

Unofficial DC plow tally –

Cycletracks – 15th St NW, L St NW, Penn Ave, 1st St NE, M St NE (all full length)
Trails – MBT (M to Franklin), Suitland

Sunday, we’re making another attempt at M St NW

[seunpu]

W&OD west of Herndon is in rough shape. Some plowed sections but most of the trail is still snow covered and not rideable

Heading west from Clairborne

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Heading west from Smiths Switch

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Heading East from Smith Switch

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[vern]

@hozn 133686 wrote:

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!

No worries! I got home, which was the object. I think I would have felt a lot more comfortable if I was on my road bike with slicks rather than the MTB. That way, I would have been able to ride a traffic speed on downhills and would have had that illusion of speed = comfort.

Good to see you too.

[Terpfan]

Has mvt melted any? Hoping this 96 hour spurt of well above freezing solves ot. But i havent seen it

[Powerful Pete]

@Terpfan, MVT is melting, but remains unpassable as of this afternoon.

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WOD is passable, but it takes some skills and preferably studded/wider tires…

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[Joan]

@Terpfan 133706 wrote:

Has mvt melted any? Hoping this 96 hour spurt of well above freezing solves ot. But i havent seen it

Some sections of MVT have bare pavement, but most are still snow-covered. This afternoon, I biked north from just S of WW bridge almost to power plant with minimal slowdowns for snow/ice (taking Royal St to Jones Pt instead of path thru woods).

MVT near airport still snow-covered except bridge over 4 mi run is clear.

WW Bridge path is plowed but not salted. Snowmelt across path was icy in shade even with temps in mid-40s.

[PotomacCyclist]

The temperatures weren’t that warm today. Only in the low 40s. The serious melting on the MVT and other trails will take place on Sun. through Wed. Especially Mon. and Wed.

There was some re-freezing last night and early this morning. But temperatures will remain above freezing continuously, at least in DC and Arlington, from now through next Saturday morning. Even in the more distant suburbs, temperatures could stay above freezing from now through at least Fri. morning.

[PotomacCyclist]

@Powerful Pete 133713 wrote:

@Terpfan, MVT is melting, but remains unpassable as of this afternoon.

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That appears to be about 4-5 inches of snow still on the trail. If so, I’d guess most of that will be gone by Mon. evening and almost certainly by Wed. night.

[Terpfan]

Thanks, I will just huff it over the Longbridge route tomorrow I suppose. Tricky part will be remembering how to connect to mvt from there rather than Memorial as it lools like 14th was done. Anyone been by the marina? I recall reading it was a mess. Hence wondering if the footpath around lake may be just as easy as marina.

[dasgeh]

@PotomacCyclist 133682 wrote:

S EADS STREEET PROTECTED BIKE LANES – Still covered in snow

Did you report this via Arlington’s snow clearing website? I believe they’re not taking reports there any more, so you may want to try Facebook or twitter. Options listed on this site: http://emergency.arlingtonva.us/weather/snow-ice/snow-removal-phases/

[gibby]

@Terpfan 133744 wrote:

Thanks, I will just huff it over the Longbridge route tomorrow I suppose. Tricky part will be remembering how to connect to mvt from there rather than Memorial as it lools like 14th was done. Anyone been by the marina? I recall reading it was a mess. Hence wondering if the footpath around lake may be just as easy as marina.

As of Friday evening, it still required some bike hauling, but part of that was due to riding on road slicks. The wooden bridge should have a wide enough path by Monday morning, tho the path thru the park may still be crunchy. The parking lot was rideable, even on Thursday, and the deadly icy patches should be gone. Humpback Bridge still had a section with about 2 feet of snow, but once thru that, it should be pretty smooth up to the 14th St Br.

The biggest problem may be figuring out which layers to wear in this crazy temperature swing.

[bentbike33]

Some random reports from a ride to scout my regular commute route…

The W&OD west of Lee Hwy. to I-66 has lots of snowy-icy spots. Some of them have frozen ruts to redirect your wheels. Be careful. Once into Arlington County, the W&OD is nice, even reaching full width in spots as far as the Custis terminus. Watch the ice field at the junction, though.

The Custis is nice too, although it can get narrow, so slow down for joggers/peds. As long as there is snow on the bridges, there will be good potential for ice fields if it gets below freezing at night, which it did last night. Spout Run is probably the worst. The sinkhole near Quinn street has been patched.

The TR Island parking lot has not been plowed. I turned around here.

[Author]

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