January 2015 Trail Conditions

[gibby]

@DismalScientist 104384 wrote:

Cross on the southern sidewalk on Memorial Bridge. Go straight through 2 parkway crossings onto Washington Blvd/Route 27 bike path. This icy the 2 block stretch of icy crap. Walk if necessary. Turn left into the Pentagon north parking lot. Take Boundary Channel Drive 1/2 mile through the 395 interchange. Go straight on Clark/Long Bridge Park Drive. Turn right on 12th and left on Eads. Go through Crystal City and past Glebe Road. Turn right on 4 Mile Run trail to Shirlington. This way is suitable for slicks if you walk the Wash Blvd trail.

Good to hear there are some slick-worthy areas out there. Potomac Ave looks clean from Monroe Ave thru CC, so it looks a good/better commute with some humping across Humpback and 14th St Bridges tomorrow.

[kingman762]

@kingman762 104240 wrote:

The MVT from memorial bridge onto the trail along 27 is an icy mess. The trail along 27 up to the Pentagon reservation is also a mess…

Still a mess… Cow paths appearing, navigable if you ride slowly in a straight line and pay attention to your balance.

[Subby]

Went the same way this evening. 14th street bridge is unacceptably bad. Off ramp down to MVT is icy crap halfway down. MVT is mostly ice but there is a lot of snow covered ground to the left and right on which you can ride (off the trail).

4MR still a dream. WOD mostly clear until after Columbia Pilke where it turns into single track and mega fun packed snow. Still need snow tires unless you are massively confident on slicks (I’m not).

Everything is good until you get to the underpass after the basketball court. Icy and packed snow to Van Buren which is now clear.

[ramblingrider]

@Greenbelt 104331 wrote:

Has anyone been out on the Anacostia Tributary trails today? I’m guessing it’s icy footprints and no fun, but hoping the sun helps a bit today. Need to ride downtown tomorrow with a heavy load…

From what I can see, the area behind the West Hyattsville Metro is icy, so I’m guessing much of the Northwest Branch Trail is the same, at least.

[brendan]

Any word on Hains Point? If it’s open & clear, thinking of spending several hours tomorrow trying to catch up on lost miles…

B

[hozn]

The W&OD — especially between EFC and just west of Vienna — seemed more treacherous (slippery) this AM, as there was a little melting in the sun to make the “dry spots” often little ice slicks. More sliding around this AM than I can remember from any other ride [and I’m riding studded tires]. Luckily no actual falls, just had to unclip a few times or I might have fallen.

Must be nice for y’all that can just ride the treated Arl Co trails and surface streets to work. And have a tailwind in the mornings. … Man, I should get a job in the city!

[gibby]

@Subby 104406 wrote:

Went the same way this evening. 14th street bridge is unacceptably bad. Off ramp down to MVT is icy crap halfway down. MVT is mostly ice but there is a lot of snow covered ground to the left and right on which you can ride (off the trail).

Things looking much better this morning, especially without the bone biting wind. Got the road bike back out and cruised up Long Bridge Rd easily thru PNT N parking lot, lagoon bridge crossing has a wide clear path and the sidewalk to the parking lot is doable tho still icy in spots. The parking lot is clear and dry, the pathway up to Humpback has some icy spots and the bridge was a walk/slow ride affair.
14st Br has some definite softening going on and with a narrow ice free path that makes it doable on slicks.
..looking for a drawer soil-staining-free ride home tonight, tho probably not on MVT.

[alrob]

Arlington carefully cleared the Four Mile Run trail (Anderson Bikeway) along Glebe Rd., the 395 underpass, and the W&OD in Shirlington between its eastern terminus and Columbia Pike. These stretches are totally clear and rideable now. However, north and west of Columbia Pike the W&OD hasn’t been touched, and most of it is unrideable. I bailed out onto Carlin Springs and then used the roads to get out to Great Falls St. on my way out to Tysons. I hear it is OK west of the Custis junction, because they cleared the Custis which is shared with the W&OD at that stretch. I don’t know why they would clear the Custis but leave the W&OD untouched (except for, ironically, the part of the W&OD through Shirlington that is easily bypassed and tends to melt off much quicker than the part they didn’t touch. They DID clear the untouched stretch of the W&OD last year. It seems that they should save their resources so that they can at least plow all the trails and skip some of the brine pretreatment if they have to in order to make ends meet. By now it is hardened into ice and isn’t very plowable until we get above freezing. The part they didn’t clear is one of the last stretches to melt on its own. That is the stretch that should receive the highest priority. They did not do any brine pretreatment on this stretch either.

[Tim Kelley]

As of last night, the Route 50 trail, from S Courthouse Rd/Walter Reed Dr down to Rosslyn paralleling Fairfax Dr was very spotty. Certainly passable in the downhill direction on a mountain bike (except the clover leaf uphill at Washington Blvd and 50) but in an exciting single track sort of way.

https://goo.gl/maps/85ae3

[Phatboing]

@hozn 104417 wrote:

The W&OD — especially between EFC and just west of Vienna — seemed more treacherous (slippery) this AM, as there was a little melting in the sun to make the “dry spots” often little ice slicks.

Yeah, I didn’t even bother.

Oak St in Vienna is less terrible, though now I have studded tires. But they’re on the fixie that I’ve only ridden thrice, so I think these things cancel each other out as terror-mitigation strategies.

[Subby]

Terror is half the fun. I have a boring white collar job. Occasionally riding the edge between staying upright and wiping out hard is good for your blood chemistry.

[Arlingtonrider]

Just curious – are you enjoying your terror with or without studded tires today?

[ShawnoftheDread]

@Subby 104438 wrote:

Terror is half the fun. I have a boring white collar job. Occasionally riding the edge between staying upright and wiping out hard is good for your blood chemistry.

Care to remind us on the number of spills you’ve had in the last couple of years?

[Subby]

@Arlingtonrider 104442 wrote:

Just curious – are you enjoying your terror with or without studded tires today?

With – I’m not a psychopath!

[Subby]

@ShawnoftheDread 104443 wrote:

Care to remind us on the number of spills you’ve had in the last couple of years?

Bah – only on 23s. None on 32s!

[Author]

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