January 2018 Road and Trail Conditions

[dkel]

@dkel 170826 wrote:

Going westward on the W&OD through Vienna just now, as I passed by Caboose Brewing, I spied car headlights approaching in the distance. At first I thought some dummy had turned onto the trail in the snow, but then I saw the yellow flashing lights and heard the sound of a service truck. I turned off shortly thereafter at Northside Park, so I didn’t actually cross paths with the truck, but from the sound of it, I’d say they were out making a pass with a brush or something. I have high hopes for an even easier commute home this afternoon. (I wish I had stayed at my turn long enough to see what they were up to, but I had gotten cold enough that I decided I could wait to find out.)

Looked to me like the truck I saw earlier made some progress on the W&OD eastbound through Vienna. There were some extended sections that were almost entirely clear, but I’d say about 80% is still thinly covered in packed, dry snow. I had no trouble on wide cross tires, but I tend to ride pretty cautiously. I’m just wondering if it will turn to ice overnight; hopefully not, since there was no melting at all during the entire day.

[wheelswings]

Addendum: I rode down the DC portion of the Crescent at about 5 pm. It has been cleared (yay!) and perhaps chemically-treated as well. There is still a layer of snow and what looks like ice on much of the trail, but it’s not at all slippery. There’s also a good deal of pavement showing through on the northbound side of the trail. I don’t know to what extent the snow will freeze overnight and whether there will be an icy veneer in the morning. But as of 5 pm the riding conditions were really good. w&w

[hozn]

@dkel 170852 wrote:

Looked to me like the truck I saw earlier made some progress on the W&OD eastbound through Vienna. There were some extended sections that were almost entirely clear, but I’d say about 80% is still thinly covered in packed, dry snow. I had no trouble on wide cross tires, but I tend to ride pretty cautiously. I’m just wondering if it will turn to ice overnight; hopefully not, since there was no melting at all during the entire day.

Yeah, they we’re pulling the trail blower they use for clearing leaves, etc. On this amount of snow that was reasonably effective. Though the unmolested snow was more fun.

[LhasaCM]

Rode the MBT around 8PM. Was curious how things had changed from what folks had shared on Twitter earlier in the day. Between T and Franklin, things weren’t too bad. Not completely cleared, but most of the trail had a clean pavement path to ride through. Things got worse between T and R; the trail behind the warehouse between S and T was pretty much covered again and fairly slick, as was the trail right before Randolph. The zigzag was a slippery mess, but once through that, it was back to being pretty good.

Will be an interesting morning commute, that’s for sure.

[Judd]

Did some scouting tonight around 7 pm.

LBJ Grove – was plowed this year. There’s a snowy patch on the ramp down to the bridge over the channel but otherwise perfectly clean.

Mt. Vernon connection to 14th street bridge was plowed. I didn’t go up the ramp to see if the bridge was plowed but it has been in prior years.

MVT south of 14th street had patches of snow. Some of it was getting a bit crunchy. I wiggled once on 32s. It had been plowed near the south end of the airport.

4 Mile Run was plowed but not as good as in prior years. There were snow patches near the sewage plant that may need to be navigated.

WOD from Mile zero to George Mason was plowed. There was a snow patch or two.

Hope everyone has a safe ride tomorrow if you choose to venture out in the bomb cyclone.

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[Brandon]

The W&OD from Vienna to the Custis turnoff is the same as yesterday, mostly covered in packed snow with some dry patches, but the overpasses and bridges are pretty clear and it didn’t really turn to ice overnight. The Custis trail from the W&OD turn off into DC REALLY cleared up from yesterday morning when I rode it. It was totally clear and dry pavement. MVT from TR island to the 14 st bridge was also the same as yesterday, some snow by the wooden bridge, but otherwise dry pavement clear.

[Emm]

I checked out the MVT today south of Old Town, but I avoided biking on it since my 1 mile ride through my neighborhood last night was scary enough. It’s mostly still covered in snow, with a few dry spots, and some very slick spots.

The trail segment by Belle Haven Park is covered in gum balls from gum trees, along with a few other parts south of Old Town. Those things are usually just annoying since if you hit them just right on a good day they can make your wheel wobble a bit, but when a massive quantity of them is mixed with slush and snow they become tiny little terrorists that seek to knock you over. A couple groups of them nearly took me out yesterday. So if you see them, just use extra caution. There’s enough of them on the trail that you can’t avoid running over at least a few.

Also, although the main roads (Fort Hunt, Sherwood Hall, etc) are in great condition, the neighborhoods south of Old Town near the MVT are mostly neither plowed nor treated with sand or salt. My neighborhood is a mix of packed snow, ice, and slush with very few clear areas.

[Crickey7]

The CCT is clear, as previously noted, on the Maryland side. On the DC side, one narrow track is mostly clear, but in general it’s all doable. There is a debate as to whether NPS actually tried to clear and did a crappy job, or just never even bothered.

[PeteD]

Picking up where Novaebike left off: W&OD Custis to Wilson is good; seems the plow blade had some wavy issues, but there’s enough clear to ride on dry pavement. Wooden Bridge after is clear. Once you get to the pass under Wilson, yea, that looks iffy – snow covered. I didn’t test it as I was riding to Arlington on Wilson, but since you can cross Wilson up top, might be better to do that instead.

The trail from Netherlands Corillion to Memorial bridge is clear, just some small icy drops where shoes had compressed that haven’t evaporated.

Lincoln Memorial to Washington Memorial is clear. North side of Washingtom Memorial, the outside of the walkway is clear, inside closest to the wall is hard packed snow/ice.

[dasgeh]

Custis (and spur) from Mom’s to IoD was great. Custis/MVT to TR Island parking lot was great. Most of the trail on the east side of the parking lot was covered, but I too the lot. The trail on the west side of the lot was fine, Trollheim to go to TR Bridge was fine, TR Bridge was fine. DC streets and sidewalks were great.

[Emm]

From the MVT South facebook page:
“The trail was in very slick shape this evening, as the temps hovered around 32 with freezing rain. With forecast temps of 28 at 7:00am tomorrow, I predict it will NOT be passable, unless you have studded tires.”

My driveway and front porch near the Tulane exit off the GWMP is already a sheet of ice, so I’d trust Adam’s prediction.

[rcannon100]

WOD from MVT to Bluemont: Asphalt trail on ground was fine. Any elevated trails have a sheen of ice on them.

[Judd]

Twitter report that the Met Branch is encased in ice.

https://twitter.com/embeeshea/status/950522147528691713

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[sjclaeys]

@rcannon100 171140 wrote:

WOD from MVT to Bluemont: Asphalt trail on ground was fine. Any elevated trails have a sheen of ice on them.

This kind of Sheen?

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Or this kind?

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[rcannon100]

@sjclaeys 171147 wrote:

This kind of Sheen?

[ATTACH=CONFIG]16086[/ATTACH]

Or this kind?

[ATTACH=CONFIG]16087[/ATTACH]

[Author]

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