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

[consularrider]

@ginacico 132772 wrote:

8:30 PM on the W&OD at Ohio / McKinley.

About an inch (I scraped my toe to the pavement, so you can see the depth). Only two sets of tire tracks. It’s a beautiful evening for a little snow ride, where are you guys?!?

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Just don’t drive anywhere. Cars are wiping out all over the neighborhood, and I-66 is a parking lot.

I’ll bet you wish I left the Pugsley in Arlington after all. Montana will be a pain for you, and be careful on the driveway.

[consularrider]

@PotomacCyclist 132782 wrote:

25 traffic crashes reported in Northern Virginia tonight, 163 state-wide in Virginia.

http://www.wusa9.com/story/news/local/virginia/2016/01/20/100-accidents-reported-va-snow-creates-traffic-nightmare/79091316/

Expect everything to be a mess tomorrow morning. And on Friday. And Saturday. And Sunday.

Don’t forget Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday … especially if you get two feet of heavy drifting snow.

[Fast Friendly Guy]

My class was over at 9:30 but I didn’t get on the road until 10. I was riding the Black Battleship (aka Blackie) Trek Cross Rip with a bit of tread, but certainly could have used my wheels w studs! Everywhere was a layer of ice with an inch or two of fallen snow. It was so slippery cars were going sideways! From MU I took Glebe, a few side roads, then Lee Hwy W. to EFC. I stayed on the sidewalk most of the way, not because it was easier, but I wanted to be away from sliding cars! I averaged 5 MPH, Garmin paused accidentally so I didn’t record the 2.5 mile ride home.

This morning, the trails should be okay for studs. We haven’t had a thaw yet, so the footsteps and wheel trails from last night haven’t yet formed the frozen footsteps of death!

[slowtriguy]

I rode from Falls Church to Ballston 0720-0755ish, on a Kona Jake with stock tires. Route: Falls Church city streets to the W&OD from Spring to the Custis, then Custis to Vermont St., then city streets to Ballston near the Metro. Overall, conditions were fine, with mostly light and relatively smooth snow on the trails. City streets in Arlington were a bit dicey near Washington-Lee High School but otherwise fine.

Stock tires on a Kona Jake.

Lots of tire tracks on the trail, so though I only saw one other rider, I know there were lots of us out.

Happy riding, all.

[Alcova cyclist]

Side roads were slick but passable.

Roads on Fort Myer were in great shape as always (it’s good to be well-funded…)

Trails/sidewalks/MUPs from Iwo Jima Memorial along 110, over Memorial Bridge and down the mall are untreated and still covered in snow. So far not terribly icy — or at least I didn’t hit anything too bad. It was navigable on standard road tires (getting my studs tonight hopefully).

Memorial bridge itself looked great — if I had to do it again, I’d definitely stay in the road over the sidewalk.

[DrP]

Given the evening commute description of the Rosslyn hill by Brendan (http://bikearlingtonforum.com/showthread.php?6843-My-Evening-Commute&p=132783#post132783), I decided to alter my usual route. In this case, Custis to W&OD to 4MR. They were just fine. Appears to have been less snow east of Columbia Pike – or there had been more wind. If the sun and warm Ts today melt and DRY it off, it should be fine this evening. If not, the W&OD was beginning to rut up a bit. 4MR by the sewage plant was completely clear – excellent neighbors! Even the switchback from 4MR to Potomac Ave was easy to ride up. My access to Custis, Harrison, had been salted overnight, so much of that was pavement (unlike last night when I fell on it). Potomac had snow, but not much and was easy to ride.

In general I went slower than I would have were there no snow, but not a lot and mostly just for caution and a few crusting up areas.

I am on a hybrid with the stock 38×700 tires.

[dasgeh]

So Arlington trails haven’t been plowed? Does anyone know if there is a planned to plow them today? (I have a meeting tonight, so I just need to know by about 6:30pm)

[TwoWheelsDC]

The major roads in north Arlington are just wet, although there is some crud in the bike lanes. Williamsburg, however, clearly was not treated at all last night and was completely snow-covered. Good luck riding up or down that hill without studs.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@dasgeh 132805 wrote:

So Arlington trails haven’t been plowed? Does anyone know if there is a planned to plow them today? (I have a meeting tonight, so I just need to know by about 6:30pm)

I thought they didn’t plow below a certain threshold…like 2 inches or something. There were plows out last night, but they were putting down salt, not actually plowing. I assume it would be the same for the trails, but I absolutely could be wrong.

[Tim Kelley]

The Rt 50 trail was untreated and had a few mtb tracks on it.

Side streets around Columbia Pike were a slick mess. I helped push a rear wheel drive sports car up a hill.

[KWL]

Should the title of this thread be updated? Photo of the MVT from this morning. Probably ridable on just about any bike, though it was comforting to have the fat tires under me.

I saw 5 cyclists, 6 runners and NO SKIERS. Remind me again why the trail isn’t cleared.

[Tim Kelley]

The Custis Trail is untreated.

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[sjclaeys]

By far, the best commute of the past two weeks. Took W&OD to 4MR to MVT to 14th St bridge. Perfect conditions for studded tires and I was never cold.

[BTC_DC]

I was coming from Del Ray area, and I thought the roads would be better than the trails as is often the case. Especially since I only have slicks, and just try and do the best I can on those.

Potomac Ave was fine for the most part, but sections of Crystal Dr. were pure sheets of ice, somewhat disguised by the alternating sections of wet pavement. Same problem in DC on 23rd St. NW at the top of the hill by the State Department. Lanes again became pure ice, and could barely stay up even with a foot down.

I am guessing this is the case in many areas, with sudden transitions from wet to ice, and sometimes difficult to see that change in shadows.

[jrenaut]

Assume any bike lane in DC is full of snow. If it gets a lot of direct sun, or if a lot of cars drive in it, you might be okay. Otherwise, assume it has not been cleared at all.

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