January 2017 Road and Trail Conditions

[consularrider]

@LhasaCM 151662 wrote:

http://mpdc.dc.gov/release/2017-presidential-inaugural-transportation-plan-0

There are also a TON of road closures around inauguration day…

A good day to stay out of downtown DC.

[LhasaCM]

@consularrider 151671 wrote:

A good day to stay out of downtown DC.

Not just day…some of the closures start Wednesday (the 18th) and continue into the weekend. Yay DC!

[Judd]

Potomac Yard Trail has a half inch accumulation. Not plowed or salted. Still perfectly rideable even with one hand while taking a selfie.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[sjclaeys]

Rode the W&OD from East Falls Church west to Hunter Mill Rd on 38’s with studs. W&OD is plowed to Fall Church, otherwise passable but getting tramped down.

[dkel]

@sjclaeys 151693 wrote:

Rode the W&OD from East Falls Church west to Hunter Mill Rd on 38’s with studs. W&OD is plowed to Fall Church, otherwise passable but getting tramped down.

I just rode a short segment of the same route, just between Shreve and West. I was fine on slicks—but they were 35s; I would have preferred knobs. It was powdery with a little crunch. No telling what will happen to it in the next couple of days.

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[mmk6151]

I took a look at MVT today. It is clear for the most part, bridges still have snow. I did not run into any packed ice. This is what it looks like:
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[Steve O]

Just rode out to Caboose & back from Arlington on my road bike with 28s.
There’s a 1/2 inch of packed powder. Since it’s been cold, no thawing and refreezing, so no ice.
Shouldn’t be a problem to ride on with any bike with any tires. #studsnotrequired

[bobco85]

I did a ride earlier today to check out the state of the bike routes around Alexandria, and here’s what I found:

Holmes Run Trail (going N to S)
– lots of snow and ice patches between Chambliss St and Ripley St
– plowed and salted between Ripley St and Duke St, really nice to ride on
– a couple of snow and ice patches between Duke St and Eisenhower Ave

Mount Vernon Trail (Alexandria only)
– mostly clear except for a few snow and ice patches on the bridges

Seminary Rd bridge over I-395, Kenmore Ave bike lanes, Van Dorn St buffered bike lanes, King St sidewalk/bridge over I-395, King St bike lanes, Commonwealth Ave bike lanes, Four Mile Run Trail detour, Four Mile Run/Potomac Yard Trail connector, Potomac Yard Trail (including detour), Wilkes St bikeway, Eisenhower Ave Trail, & Backlick Run Trail
– clear with a lot of salt

In short, unless you’re riding on certain parts of the Holmes Run Trail (like myself, grr), you should have no issues riding around Alexandria.

[Alcova cyclist]

When I first moved to South Arlington from western Fairfax, I noticed some of my neighbors had a bit of a chip on their shoulder about South Arlington always getting shafted by the county in favor of North Arlington. I thought it was silly at the time. But now that I’ve lived here a while, I find I am starting to feel the same way – and somehow, these pictures of the W&OD kind of sum it up for me.

Here’s a picture of where, when heading east, the trail splits — with the Custis (connecting to North Arlington) heading to the left and the the W&OD (connecting to South Arlington) continuing straight. Seems kind of a stark difference – so much so that you might not see a split at all except for the centerline of the W&OD that continues into the untreated, unplowed, still snow-covered trail to Southie. I expect this should be nice and icy tomorrow morning (The W&OD is untreated from Custis to at least as far as Columbia Pike).
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Coming from the other direction it looks like this:
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Anyone know who made the decision about what stretches of what trails to plow/sweep/treat and why? Are these the trails designated to get snow clearance going forward? The decision doesn’t seem to be specific to County boundaries, because the W&OD west of Custis is still Arlington County. It doesn’t seem to be that the W&OD isn’t treated by the county, because it’s cleared west of Custis. It doesn’t seem to be driven by usage, because (anecdotally at least based on my ride today) I saw more people out on the untreated W&OD southeast of Custis than I did on the cleared part west of Custis or on the Custis itself (or for that matter on the Bluemont Junction Trail, which goes through several north Arlington neighborhoods and was also evidently cleared).

[Arlingtonrider]

As I recall, Arlington was willing to treat or plow this section of trail but was told not to by some NovaParks group (I forget their exact name, it changed) that has jurisdiction over it. Their argument was about cross-country skiers. Several of us wrote to them, but to no avail. I get steamed whenever I think about it. Arlington DES might be able to provide you with more information.

[Steve O]

@Alcova cyclist 151776 wrote:

Anyone know who made the decision about what stretches of what trails to plow/sweep/treat and why? Are these the trails designated to get snow clearance going forward? The decision doesn’t seem to be specific to County boundaries, because the W&OD west of Custis is still Arlington County. It doesn’t seem to be that the W&OD isn’t treated by the county, because it’s cleared west of Custis. It doesn’t seem to be driven by usage, because (anecdotally at least based on my ride today) I saw more people out on the untreated W&OD southeast of Custis than I did on the cleared part west of Custis or on the Custis itself (or for that matter on the Bluemont Junction Trail, which goes through several north Arlington neighborhoods and was also evidently cleared).

Yes. The NVRPA has jurisdiction over the W&OD. Arlington over the Custis. The section of the trail that runs west from the Custis intersection to Lee Highway is, in fact, part of the Custis Trail, contiguous with the W&OD for that section. The County clears the Custis, the Bluemont Junction Trail, the 110 trail, and a couple of others. NVRPA has instructed the County not to clear its trail.

[kcb203]

@Steve O 151782 wrote:

Yes. The NVRPA has jurisdiction over the W&OD. Arlington over the Custis. The section of the trail that runs west from the Custis intersection to Lee Highway is, in fact, part of the Custis Trail, contiguous with the W&OD for that section. The County clears the Custis, the Bluemont Junction Trail, the 110 trail, and a couple of others. NVRPA has instructed the County not to clear its trail.

Should I mount studs this morning for my ride from East Falls Church to Chinatown (W&OD to Custis to MVT to Roosevelt Bridge to Foggy Bottom and DC streets)? Or will 23mm slicks be OK? Or put my cross tires back on for a little traction?

[mstone]

All those skiers you see this morning on the wod owe nvrpa a big thank you.

[Vicegrip]

W&OD falls church to Vienna untreated and crusty but not rutted. Rode with no problems on regular tread tires. No !!! moments.

[Crickey7]

The CCT was (this morning) untreated north of Fletcher’s but doable by even the skinny tires set, though IMHO best with at least 32’s with some knobs to them. Should be okay tonight if it stays below freezing.

[Author]

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