January 2015 Trail Conditions

[americancyclo]

Avoided the WOD from Shreve Rd to Washington. Trail looked mostly clear heading east when I crossed at West, but still some icy patches, so I took Lincoln to Washington and hopped on there.
Banneker still has some icy spots and some freezing snowmelt. Custis was clear, as was the S Curve of doom and Key Bridge.
Too cold for running sneakers, though.

[NickBull]

@rcannon100 106746 wrote:

Hi Mark
NPS put some sort of paint on it to make it super slick whenever wet, and thus it is always taking down cyclists.

The corner of death was taking down cyclists (including me) for many years before NPS put that paint down. A big part of the problem is the algae (or whatever) that grows on the wood and that makes it really slick even when it is only damp from dew. The paint is marine paint that is supposed to suppress algae growth and is also supposed to be less slick than the wooden surface when wet. In that sense, it’s probably an improvement over the wood. But I agree, it is still way slicker than most people expect and cyclists continue to go down in that corner. If the park service actually gave a shit about cyclists, they’d solve the problem. Making that part of the bridge concrete would not cost a lot of money. I’ve seen runners go down on that corner, too, so I guess they don’t care about runners either. As far as I can tell, the park service is mainly concerned about cars.

Nick

[hozn]

As americancyclo observed, W&OD was not too bad between Washington & Shreve. A few sections in Falls Church City, the bridge, and that usual part right near Shreve. Otherwise there was usually a trail. The W&OD was worst around Vienna, per usual, with fairly significant sections of ice & snow. Especially between Gallows Rd and Vienna. The W&OD through Reston is also pretty icy.

Glad I kept the studs on.

[dkel]

@hozn 106776 wrote:

As americancyclo observed, W&OD was not too bad between Washington & Shreve. A few sections in Falls Church City, the bridge, and that usual part right near Shreve. Otherwise there was usually a trail. The W&OD was worst around Vienna, per usual, with fairly significant sections of ice & snow. Especially between Gallows Rd and Vienna. The W&OD through Reston is also pretty icy.

Glad I kept the studs on.

Glad I have time to put mine on this morning. Thanks for the deets.

[Powerful Pete]

As of this AM’s commute:

1. Custis remains clear, but careful on the bridge over 124 (right after the strip mall with the Italian store and the Giant) … ice melt on the East side of the bridge has refrozen. There is about half of the path that is safe, but keep that in mind this evening on the way home!

2. Iod was fine. Beyond the cars, that is.

3. Trollheim was icy/crunchy but I was able to ride about 80% and flintstone the rest.

4. MVT from Trollheim to 14th Street Bridge is 95% clear, but there are a few largish ice patches to watch out for.

5. 14th Street Bridge is completely clear and A-ok.

[dasgeh]

Custis-wise, I’ll add that there’s ice in a line all the way across the trail on the East side of the bridge over I66 at the top of the Rosslyn hill. No problem to ride over in a straight line, but be careful trying to do anything fancy there.

I took my “snow route” — Fort Myer Dr –> Iwo Jima –> 110 Trail –> Memorial Bridge –> sidewalks along Henry Bacon/Constitution and all was clear, save a large slushy puddle at the bottom of the trail from Meade Dr to the Iwo Jima. Oh, and a crew blocking the sidewalk along Constitution near 20th to cut trees (when they easily could have pulled over and left a path …. grrrr).

Powerful Pete – I take it the bridge over the GWMP to the TR parking lot was ok? Any reports on the TR Bridge?

[Powerful Pete]

@dasgeh 106788 wrote:

Powerful Pete – I take it the bridge over the GWMP to the TR parking lot was ok? Any reports on the TR Bridge?

Yes, the bridge over the GWMP was surprisingly clear. No ice at all on the little hairpin of doom there.

[Phatboing]

@hozn 106776 wrote:

As americancyclo observed, W&OD was not too bad between Washington & Shreve. A few sections in Falls Church City, the bridge, and that usual part right near Shreve. Otherwise there was usually a trail. The W&OD was worst around Vienna, per usual, with fairly significant sections of ice & snow. Especially between Gallows Rd and Vienna. The W&OD through Reston is also pretty icy.

Glad I kept the studs on.

I could swear that the section from the bottom of Virginia Ln to Shreve had been cleared, but then who clears just that one section of trail and leaves the icy/snowy bits immediately east of Shreve untouched? It was really bizarre.

[americancyclo]

@Phatboing 106792 wrote:

I could swear that the section from the bottom of Virginia Ln to Shreve had been cleared, but then who clears just that one section of trail and leaves the icy/snowy bits immediately east of Shreve untouched? It was really bizarre.

I think the trees at Poplar Heights Rec Club create quite a bit of shade for that stretch of the WOD between Railroad and Shreve. Between Shreve and Virginia Lane, there is a lot more sun exposure. I’d wager it’s all due to melting. I live along that stretch and debated shoveling my driveway yesterday, but by noon, it had all melted from the sun.

[dkel]

I rolled from Falls Church (Railroad Ave) to Vienna (past Maple Ave) between 10:00 and 11:00. Long stretches are clear and dry, long stretches are very icy and messy. I wouldn’t go that way again myself if I didn’t have studs. Those shaded, frozen areas will stay that way until the temperature gets above freezing; the sun was up when I was out, and those areas showed no sign of melting. I guess those of us that ride that way should be used to it by now.

[Greenbelt]

A few icy spots where there’s bad drainage on the NE Branch trail. Best to “take the grass” in a couple spots.
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[TwoWheelsDC]

The W&OD bridges are completely iced over, but the crunchy snow adds enough traction to get across on slicks for the time being. Totally clear (east of Patrick Henry, anyway) otherwise. The MVT is clear, except the geese have really done a number (two) on the trail between 14th st. and the trollheim. Trollheim was pretty bad, but it’s snowy and crunchy enough that it’s not particularly slick. Just go really slow and it should be fine. Custis is covered in melt water in a few places that is likely to freeze tonight. Most of the northern lane of the trail over Spout Run was completely covered in water which could get particularly dicey.

[mikoglaces]

@chris_s 106661 wrote:

Make sure to tell the County Board. There has been grumbling from some circles of the county about the expense. The board needs to hear that it is appreciated.

I just did. Thanks for the link.

[brendan]

DC->Herndon late morning, studs:

Rhode Island, M St.: pretty normal.
Key Bridge: oh goodness, the wind, this ride going to be interesting.
Custis: perfect, thank you Arlington!
W&OD: pretty clear until falls church, then started seeing some snow/ice, esp. on the bridges. Cautious. A slow build-up of ice/snow patches the further west I went. There’s a section just east of Reston Town Center which was particularly icy where I bailed to the softer snow to the north of the trail for that segment. Probably would have been fine with the studs, but why risk it?

The ride should normally take about 2h20m (cargo bike+cargo). Took about 3h today. Also, the pedal came loose again about 2.5 miles from Herndon, re-torqued it. Might drop by Bikekinetic to talk with Pete if things work out on the way home and he’s still there.

[mikoglaces]

Two questions:

Is W&OD clear from intersection with Custis to Columbia Pike? I need to go to Bob and Edith’s in morning. If not clear I’ll take Custis to George Mason. I am riding studs but still, in the dark at 6 a.m. tomorrow I’d rather avoid anything dicey.

Is TR bridge clear?

[Author]

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