July 2014 Trail Conditions

[DanB]

@dbb 89587 wrote:

Somebody has “begrimed” the MVT

I tried to see how far up the W&OD these markings went on my ride home today. The last ones I remember seeing were in Falls Church. I agree that they’re directional markings. When the < is pointing to the side, it seems to mean there is a turn coming up. My best guess is that the w stands for Washington and is directing riders downtown. It makes me think of my first attempt riding to work about 2 years ago. When I crossed Lee Hwy on the Custis Trail bridge I wasn’t quite sure where I was and how far I needed to go. I thought I might need to get off the trail at one of the many “off ramps” before it took me south into Arlington. Of course I was all wrong, but what I noticed is a lack of signage for the obvious destination of downtown DC. There are other signs along the trail which point to closer points of interest, such as communities, Metro stations and parks, but none for DC destinations. Has this been discussed already?

[consularrider]

All of the 4MRT crossings between Columbia Pike and Madison Manor were flooded with dangerous fast moving water (including the Carlin Springs underpass). The W&OD under Carlin Springs was not flooded, but only a couple of inches from the water coming over the trail. The Wilson Blvd/W&OD underpass was flooded, a least a foot deep.

[Phatboing]

Someone was breakfasting and grooming on Gallows northbound, for in the bike lane I found:

• Banana peel
• Comb
• Toothbrush

(not necessarily in that order)

[Tim Kelley]

@Phatboing 90256 wrote:

Someone was breakfasting and grooming on Gallows northbound, for in the bike lane I found:

• Banana peel
• Comb
• Toothbrush

(not necessarily in that order)

Who brushes there teeth and THEN eats a banana??

[baiskeli]

@Tim Kelley 90258 wrote:

Who brushes there teeth and THEN eats a banana??

This guy.

[IMG]http://www.kimballstock.com/pix/CHI/03/CHI_03_RK0300_01_P.JPG[/IMG]

[cyclingfool]

That’s one heck of a chimp… managed to grab yellow even with reflectors (#SoNotElite) on his bike.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@baiskeli 90289 wrote:

This guy.

[IMG]http://www.kimballstock.com/pix/CHI/03/CHI_03_RK0300_01_P.JPG[/IMG]

Prehensile feet > Clipless pedals.

[dcv]

hello, i’m right here

[Terpfan]

Awesome ride this morning. I sometimes see the bald eagles down by Belle Haven Marina, but this morning I watched one swoop down from the sky straight into that green algae glazing the top of the water and come up with a fish in his talons. I’ve seen a few other birds catch prey before (including a hawk catching a field mouse 10 ft in front of me on the trail in the fall), but this was a particularly impressive show by the eagle.

Reminded me of how much I love riding the MVT, even with the bumps, the people failing to call passes, etc.

[dasgeh]

On the way to Sunday’s awesome Kidical Mass ride, the dasgeh family took the W&OD. Unfortunately, the pedestrian signal at Columbia Pike was not working — we were there for 3 signals, and didn’t see it turn to “walking person”, despite pushing the beg button. It created a particularly dangerous situation for cyclists traveling southeast, as we couldn’t see the traffic signal for FMR, so couldn’t know when the light for Columbia Pike traffic was about to turn green.

While we were there, a large-ish group of road riders were headed northwest, but had been on road on FMR, and were transitioning to the trail. This intersection just isn’t built for that possibility, and a number of cyclists ended up stranded on the asphalt in front of cars as the Pike got green. Again, no safe. Does this happen often? Is there someone that could be done? Aside from a new curb cut, I’m at a bit of a loss.

[dasgeh]

On the way in past the White House on Pa Ave, I noticed a ton of temporary barriers “at the ready”. I stopped to ask a friendly, bike-mounted SS agent if the road would be closed this afternoon for the return commute and he said “most likely”. You are all forewarned.

(Personally, I hate the alternative of going North, so will either just take Madison across along the Mall or take “E St” on the South side of the WH)

[skins_brew]

Rhode Island was closed from Armentrout to ?

[ATTACH=CONFIG]6344[/ATTACH]

I had to take the NE Branch vice Trolley Trail. RI Northbound was still closed this morning.

[consularrider]

I rode the 4MRT from Glencarlyn to Shirlington this morning and discovered that the stream crossing at Columbia Pike is again flooded because sand and gravel have again clogged the space under the concrete slab ford. I have sent a message to the Arlington trails email address on the sticky in this subforum. Did anyone else report it? This must be the result of last week’s heavy rain and shouldn’t still be the case almost a week after the event.

[Dickie]

@consularrider 92771 wrote:

I rode the 4MRT from Glencarlyn to Shirlington this morning and discovered that the stream crossing at Columbia Pike is again flooded because sand and gravel have again clogged the space under the concrete slab ford. I have sent a message to the Arlington trails email address on the sticky in this subforum. Did anyone else report it? This must be the result of last week’s heavy rain and shouldn’t still be the case almost a week after the event.

It had been like that for nearly a week. Being that I have only just started using this trail over the last month I figured it was a normal occurrence so I didn’t mention it. Looks like your report worked, it was dry and clear as of this morning.

[Author]

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