My Morning Commute

[eminva]

Yes, I just posted on the “Trail Conditions” thread about my fall. I wasn’t going to out you, dcv. 😮

Liz

[consularrider]

I got a late start this morning since I had to first drive (shock and horrors) my son to Washington-Lee because he had to be there early to start delivering singing valentines with his Madrigal class. It turned out to not be such a bad thing, last night’s rain/snow had left a lot of moisture on the roads and MUPs so there was black ice, but no snow accumulation. Being out made me rethink my bike choice and when I arrived back home, I got out my Raleigh M60 winter setup with studded tires. That will definitely feel like over kill on the ride home when it is sunny and close to 50°F. Also being late I only took my my short Custis commute instead of the longer W&OD/4MRT/MVT. I did loop around Bluemont and Bon Air Parks and noted the ice covered wooden bridges and am glad I did not have to deal with the Roosevelt Trollheim. Maybe I’ll take the short route home and switch bikes to enjoy a nice evening ride!

[jabberwocky]

The ice was patchy out in the hinterlands too. I went down making my turn off the shoulder of 7100 and was much more careful the rest of the way in.

[TwoWheelsDC]

I think I left late enough that ice wasn’t an issue. The Custis had a few frosty patches, but even the S-curve was fine by the time I rolled through. Thankfully, I don’t have to turn on the TR troll, I just ride straight through up to the bridge, but it did look pretty well glazed over. The cold actually helped at KenCen, making the detour through the grass LESS slippery since the muddy ground was partially frozen.

[ShawnoftheDread]

I kept my regular 35s on and had no problems on the roads or trails. There was a lot of frost on the W&OD, but nothing seemed slippery. 4MR and MVT were fine, and I was my usual cautious self by the TR troll and had no issue. Even rode down the detour path at the Kennedy Center. I’m glad I read these threads after I got to work or I would have been nervous the whole ride.

[Terpfan]

@dbb 43812 wrote:

My afternoon ride was awesome!

From the intersection of 15th and Maine to the Virginia side of the bridge, I must have passed 200 rain-dampened cars going very slowly. If I’d only had a video cam, I’d be putting that video on a continuous loop so I could relive the moment.

I could only come up with two reasons for the cars going slowly. Either traffic sucked or the motorists were enjoying their commutes so much they were trying to make it last. I’m going with the latter.

I missed the commute yesterday as I had a work fly out to meeting early morning and fly back in the evening. Speaking of which, does DCA have bike parking? I wanted to ride in and ride back, but then I realized I have absolutely 0 idea if they have bike parking. I’ve seen the cutoff to go down to the airport, I’ve just never done it. On days like that where it’s a fly-in/fly-out scenario and with me living so close to the airport, biking would have been preferrable to cabbing and I could tell my employer I’m saving them money (or not tell them and take the cab fare money and put toward my bike–albeit that would be more dodgy).

Anyway, I mention this missing commute because as I landed I saw a text from my fiancee to see if I was back to come pick her up. Evidently the 11Y (Mt Vernon Express that runs up GWP) broke down at the exit ramp to GWP/395 right past the bridge. So it was blocking all traffic from taking the off-ramp sometime between 6:30/40-7:15ish last night. Ergo all the cars you saw backed up.

[consularrider]

@Terpfan 43883 wrote:

I missed the commute yesterday as I had a work fly out to meeting early morning and fly back in the evening. Speaking of which, does DCA have bike parking? I wanted to ride in and ride back, but then I realized I have absolutely 0 idea if they have bike parking. I’ve seen the cutoff to go down to the airport, I’ve just never done it. On days like that where it’s a fly-in/fly-out scenario and with me living so close to the airport, biking would have been preferrable to cabbing and I could tell my employer I’m saving them money (or not tell them and take the cab fare money and put toward my bike–albeit that would be more dodgy).

Anyway, I mention this missing commute because as I landed I saw a text from my fiancee to see if I was back to come pick her up. Evidently the 11Y (Mt Vernon Express that runs up GWP) broke down at the exit ramp to GWP/395 right past the bridge. So it was blocking all traffic from taking the off-ramp sometime between 6:30/40-7:15ish last night. Ergo all the cars you saw backed up.

I have seen a couple inverted U bikes racks at the northern end of the airport near the first trail connecter as you head south. From other threads, I seem to remember that there is no real consideration for bicycle parking at either Reagan National or Dulles.

[crysb]

@dcv 43837 wrote:

this morning’s commute:

saw culimerc, then crysb, then crashed on ice at WOD/Custis turnoff, then saw eminva in gtown, who also just fell on ice.

the guy behind me who saw me crash said he just fell too – i think the same spot as eminva, crossing cedan lane?

ice: +3

Ugh, I should have shouted a warning about the W&OD/Custis ice patch. I almost lost my footing (wheeling?) there, and took it a lot slower the rest of the ride. DC had no ice anywhere, so I didn’t know what I was in for in VA.

[mstone]

@consularrider 43886 wrote:

I have seen a couple inverted U bikes racks at the northern end of the airport near the first trail connecter as you head south. From other threads, I seem to remember that there is no real consideration for bicycle parking at either Reagan National or Dulles.

To be fair, they don’t really expect you to bike to Dulles, so why would you be able to park there?

[dasgeh]

@consularrider 43886 wrote:

I have seen a couple inverted U bikes racks at the northern end of the airport near the first trail connecter as you head south. From other threads, I seem to remember that there is no real consideration for bicycle parking at either Reagan National or Dulles.

Actually, there is bike parking at Reagan National. It’s near the random elevator from Metro that goes down to the ground level, where you have to go outside to get to the airport. I know, because I’ve accidentally taken that elevator before. I don’t know how to get to those racks, though, and I’m not sure how safe they are.

[TwoWheelsDC]

I was so excited to take the road bike this morning and get a fast ride in this evening. And then I re-checked the forecast this morning….rain! Argh! So much for that idea.

[consularrider]

@TwoWheelsDC 43958 wrote:

I was so excited to take the road bike this morning and get a fast ride in this evening. And then I re-checked the forecast this morning….rain! Argh! So much for that idea.

Ditto … but since I have my road bike set up with Crud Roadracer fenders for the winter, I road it anyway. After the heavy mtb with studded tires yesterday, this morning felt like I was floating on a cloudy.

[dasgeh]

NPR convinced me that the rain won’t start until later. Let’s hope they’re right.

PS. Is the meteor a weather event? I was surprised to see it on weather.com…

[Mikey]

@dasgeh 43976 wrote:

NPR convinced me that the rain won’t start until later. Let’s hope they’re right.

PS. Is the meteor a weather event? I was surprised to see it on weather.com…

They don’t call them “Meteorologists” for nothing.

[oldbikechick]

Hi all- I normally commute from North Arlington to downtown, but today need to go to a dinner party in upper NW DC after work. I see on the map that it’s about 9 miles. My question: Is it relatively flat so I can go slow and arrive relatively sweat-free to the dinner party, or is it like my normal Custis trail commute uphill all the way?

Thanks for any insights

[Author]

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