My Morning Commute

[Subby]

I specialize in not particularly competitive segments!

[ebubar]

Best part of freezing saddles? Water bottle is ALWAYS chilled!

[Geoff]

Very quiet this morning, only one other rider on the Custis. Guess the rest of you had the day off.
But the sun rising over the monuments, as seen from the MVT, was very nice.

[dbb]

My telecommute commute

[Fast Friendly Guy]

It sure is beautiful….until the slush freezes into the ….
RUTS OF DEATH!
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[consularrider]

I did my ususal extended MUP commute starting at 8:30 am. As above the W&OD between Ohio St and Columbia Pike was ridable (26×1.75 studded tires) and I took 4MR Dr into Shirlington for HDCC. Fell once when I rode to close to the edge of the trail where there was a four inch drop off. I enjoyed my coffee and bacon cheddar scone at Best Buns with arlingtonrider and Fast Friendly Guy. At 9:25 I headed over the 4MRT. There was a well packed line from Shirlington Rd and past the I-395 underpass. After that it was a mix of some snow and some ice, but relatively easy to navigate with my icebike setup except my rear rerailleur kept freezing up. My real probems started on the MVT north of the 4MRT. The MVT is a mix of small snow drifts (two to eight inches deep) and wind scoured ice/packed snow. I slipped again when I got to close to the trail edge in once minidrift. Going under the 14th St Bridge my rear derailleur cable cable loose so I finished my ride into Rosslyn on the 12t rear cog.. Not wanting to deal with the TR Trollheim wooden walkway and the elevated crossing of the GW Pkwy, I took the crosswalk by Memorial Bridge and rode via the cemetary. The side trail there was mostly packed snow and I rode the cleared roadway around the Iwo Jima Memorial. I’ll have to go down to our garage a lunch and see if I can reset the derailleur cable. I think I’ll stick to the cleared streets for the ride home.

[OneEighth]

The streets were not bad. Slushy with the occasional lump of ice, but fine on 25’s. Just gotta be willin to take as much of the lane as necessary.
The sidewalk going across the bridge into Gtown looked partially cleared but also pretty bumpy. I took the road.
Be careful riding on the cleared streets with studs or knobbies.

[DaveK]

@OneEighth 75342 wrote:

The streets were not bad. Slushy with the occasional lump of ice, but fine on 25’s. Just gotta be willin to take as much of the lane as necessary.
The sidewalk going across the bridge into Gtown looked partially cleared but also pretty bumpy. I took the road.

Ditto to the above. Streets are fine. I didn’t even attempt my normal commute which would include the Memorial Bridge sidepath and the 110 trail connector around the cemetery. I expect that to be impassable for at least a week…

[dasgeh]

@DaveK 75348 wrote:

Ditto to the above. Streets are fine. I didn’t even attempt my normal commute which would include the Memorial Bridge sidepath and the 110 trail connector around the cemetery. I expect that to be impassable for at least a week…

So what’s your alternative? It seems to me like the only bridge you can get to without going on a trail is Key, and even there you’ll want to cross on the sidepath…

[OneEighth]

I used the road crossing Key.
Timing is a factor for sure.

[DaveK]

@dasgeh 75360 wrote:

So what’s your alternative? It seems to me like the only bridge you can get to without going on a trail is Key, and even there you’ll want to cross on the sidepath…

I rode through the city up Pennsylvania to M Street and the Key Bridge. I had no trouble taking the lane on the bridge, although I heard somewhere (maybe twitter?) that the sidepath on one side had been cleared. Remember I’m also going against traffic. I’d do it though even if I was going in with traffic. Got to pay those bills…

[OneEighth]

Got a look at the up-river sidepath on Key this evening. Saw mostly lumpy ruts.
Took my piece of the lane.

[aguy7]

These are the conditions in which I don’t bike. Took a bus and two trains to go the three miles to work (NE to SW), but I just don’t enjoy or feel comfortable or safe when the part of the road on which I usually ride, heck, today, when the whole road, is a salty, slushy, icy, snowy, wet, mess. I was amazed at the crush of humanity on the Metro at 10:30 A.M. When I got to the office I was clean, dry, and unfrazzled, which wouldn’t have been the case if I’d gotten out there with the cars on a bike. I did see a couple of cyclists at it, bless their hearts. Fortunately this doesn’t happen often here.

[Arlingtonrider]

Please be smart everyone, especially any BASF participants new to winter riding. Tomorrow morning will be much worse than today in a lot of places due to melting and refreezing.

I’m pretty obsessed about daily bike commuting, but I plan to take a bus and metro to work as many days as needed until most of the ice is gone, and if I want to ride, may take a CaBi out for midday errands or spins, taking the middle of the lane when needed to avoid icy areas. Hopefully this will all be gone soon!

[rcannon100]

@Arlingtonrider 75382 wrote:

Please be smart everyone

Echoing this. I am off the bike too (altho eying those CABIs). Taking advantage to let the hamstring heal and do this weird thing where you glide through a liquid while paddling your arms while, with subartic temperatures, wearing nothing more than shorts. Odd stuff if you ask me.

[Author]

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