trail conditions in NOVA/NW DC?

[emurray]

Hello —

I’m fairly new to biking and brand new to winter biking. I was hoping to take advantage of the warmer weather this week to go on a 25-30 mile mid-day ride on some combination of the Custis, Mt. Vernon, W&OD, and Capital Crescent trails. Can anyone advise me as to which of these might be in the best shape this week? I’ve noticed that the weather forecast is for highs in the 40s this week and lows in the high 20s. Does this temperature range generally mean that the rain from this weekend will freeze overnight into ice that will last throughout the day on the trails? Or will the mid-day high temperatures melt the ice?

Any general or specific guidance would be much appreciated. Thanks very much!

Elizabeth

Topic

[Just161]

Elizabeth,
I did the “clockwise” loop of Mt. Vernon south > 4 Mile Run NW > W&OD NW > Custis east on Saturday afternoon, and the trails were in excellent shape. Dry, ice-free. Some were even salted.

Buyt you’re right, some of the wetness from this weekend might stick around, caught in this freeze-thaw cycle we’re looking to be in this week. Mt. Vernon and Custis usually dry out pretty well in this kind of weather – I can’t speak for W&OD, CCT, or 4-Mile run. Anyone else have any insight?

[eminva]

I rode the W&OD and Custis this morning and they were fine. A few small puddles had frozen over, but they were easy to see and avoid. It looked like they were already melting and might be gone completely within a day or two, if temps rise during the daylight hours.

Liz

[CCrew]

@eminva 1634 wrote:

I rode the W&OD and Custis this morning and they were fine. A few small puddles had frozen over, but they were easy to see and avoid. It looked like they were already melting and might be gone completely within a day or two, if temps rise during the daylight hours.

Liz

Thanks Liz. Back from vacation Wednesday am, so I’ll be out there dodging deer at 3:30 am Wednesday morning!

[emurray]

Thanks for this helpful advice – I really appreciate it. I went on an uneventful (if cold) ride yesterday on the Mt. Vernon and Custis trails.

Elizabeth

[acc]

The W&O was fantastic today between Vienna and Sterling. Clear, sunny and very few pedestrians or cyclists.

[CCrew]

@acc 1650 wrote:

The W&O was fantastic today between Vienna and Sterling. Clear, sunny and very few pedestrians or cyclists.

Was beautiful this morning from Rt 28 all the way to DC. Cold at 3:30am, but refreshing. They’re in the midst of paving through Reston by the look of it, clearly being done by the lowest bidder… LOL. Can’t complain though, the stretch between Wiehle and the golf course was getting somewhat iffy and anything is better.

Nice was getting to work back from vacation and seeing the nice new beautiful bike lane down 15th street.

[acc]

I agree the stretch right around Wiehle, an intersection I do not care for, needed attention. I noticed some sections yesterday near Hunter Mill that will probably deteriorate during the freeze/thaw cycle this winter. I will head out to Reagan National tomorrow and see how it is holding up. Today I’ll face the horror of bad disco music in a spin class.

[Author]

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