Sandy – Trail Report – W&OD

[OneEighth]

Update.
Got some help from another cyclist and a couple of walkers and got the downer tree mostly out of the MVT by 14th Street bridge. The 4 Mile Run underpass under Route 1 was still blocked at the end where it meets the MVT but was completely passable as was the rest of the trail. Honestly, road tires are fine.
Low tide in Alexandria is expected at approximately 4:30 AM tomorrow with high tide at just after 10 AM. So, as long as you come in before 8, I would expect you to be fine on the underpasses. Low tide in the evening will be just after 4 PM.
Happy riding.

[mstone]

Looks like the potomac has crested at paw paw, still climbing at point of rocks & little falls stations.

[culimerc]

Between Va ave and Reston Town Center; Coming down off Virginia Ave towards Gallows there are LOTS of leaves. Very slippery on a downhill with a turn, relax take you time. Other than that, minor leaf and twig mess, and the pine tree down near Hunter’s Mill is about it.

[viennabiker]

This morning I rode from around Milepost 10 (near Cedar Lane) until the Custis turnoff (around Milepost 4) It was pretty clear. As noted by culimerc, there are a lot of leaves immediately west of the I-66 overpass (the hill between Virginia Lane and Gallows). And there is another patch of leaves in Falls Church near Sycamore (at the sharp turn).

Puzzled by mstone’s comment yesterday; the W and OD seems in much better shape than the Custis and did not see a lot of leaves except where noted in this post and my post yesterday. Perhaps mstone is referring to area between Milepost 4 and Shirlington?

[vvill]

The only thing I noticed this morning that was particularly dangerous: the layers of wet leaves on the turns between Brandymore Castle and the basketball court.

[Dirt]

Gates on the Shirlington Connector were closed and locked at both ends. Water is 2′ lower than it was a few days ago. No flooding, but debris right before you get to the MVT.

East end

West end

Flood waters have receded quite a bit.

Shirlington Connector near MVT

[TwoWheelsDC]

My new commute takes me on the trail that runs parallel to the Madison Manor portion of the W&OD on the opposite side of 66 that connects the W&OD to Potomac St., Powhatan St., Highland Park, and McKinley St…I don’t know what it’s officially called, but I’m calling it the Westover Connector (of Temporary Peril). It clearly does not get a lot of traffic, so I guess it’s up to me to ride it so much that the leaves clear off, but there is a lot of debris buried under there and you have to be extremely careful.

[viennabiker]

I rode this afternoon from National Airport to Vienna. The W&OD is now pretty clear, but the Shirlington connector is still closed. There are a few spots where there is a bit of debris (some power line repair work around milepost 2 left some muddy tracks on the trail and the pile of leaves between Brandymore Castle and Sycamore is still there, if a bit drier). But other than those spots, it just looks like the aftermath of a windy day.

[DismalScientist]

@TwoWheelsDC 34878 wrote:

My new commute takes me on the trail that runs parallel to the Madison Manor portion of the W&OD on the opposite side of 66 that connects the W&OD to Potomac St., Powhatan St., Highland Park, and McKinley St…I don’t know what it’s officially called, but I’m calling it the Westover Connector (of Temporary Peril). It clearly does not get a lot of traffic, so I guess it’s up to me to ride it so much that the leaves clear off, but there is a lot of debris buried under there and you have to be extremely careful.

That’s where I go to down forties when my kids get to me. :rolleyes:
Watch out of the occasional deer that might hang out in the little woods on the west side of Ohio.

[Author]

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