Trail Conditions — January 2014

[Terpfan]

Has anyone been on the MVT south of Old Town? I’m curious on the status of it. I rode over to Metro (Huntington) today and just took Kings Highway. I definitely pissed off some motorists who rarely see cyclists on the stretch from Harrison Lane to oh the Metro, but the sidewalks were either snow packed or largely covered in ice (plus I hate riding on sidewalks except as a last resort).

[Anonymous]

@Terpfan 75702 wrote:

Has anyone been on the MVT south of Old Town? I’m curious on the status of it. I rode over to Metro (Huntington) today and just took Kings Highway. I definitely pissed off some motorists who rarely see cyclists on the stretch from Harrison Lane to oh the Metro, but the sidewalks were either snow packed or largely covered in ice (plus I hate riding on sidewalks except as a last resort).

No, not the trail, but I took Fort hunt to the Rt.1 overpass up to Washington St into Old Town yesterday, and that was fine. There was still some snow and ice on the overpass, but never across the whole width, there was always enough bare concrete to ride on. The sidewalk along Washington was atrocious, but as long as you get off the sidewalk once you get up there, it’s fine.

[hozn]

The W&OD is much improved, though still some long stretches of snow/ice.

Out west:

Near Vienna:

But also:

[Raymo853]

Penn bridge looks good.

My GF road her 29er the MVT out to Mt Vernon and reports it was ok south of Four Mole Run trail.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Greenbelt]

@bikenurse reports that the NE branch trail in Prince George’s is in much better shape tonight, with ice and snow just in smaller patches and at least a narrow line of dry asphalt in most spots, rather than the opposite. The big puddle at the trail bridge will likely freeze hard again tonight though — that needs to be traversed in the grass.

[Phatboing]

W&OD from Gallows to Falls Church: a lot is clear, but the stretches that aren’t clear are covered in doom. DOOM!

I couldn’t tell if my studded tires were any help, because I had some real pant-wetting moments there.

Also, achtung for the dog-scheisse.

[dkel]

@Phatboing 75735 wrote:

W&OD from Gallows to Falls Church: a lot is clear, but the stretches that aren’t clear are covered in doom. DOOM!

I rode the tiny stretch of the W&OD between Shreve and Broad St, and found it frustrating and slow on regular 35s (I didn’t even make it all the way out to Shreve). I guess I’ll be taking the streets until we get another warm spell. Nuts! I miss the trail!

[Phatboing]

@dkel 75737 wrote:

I rode the tiny stretch of the W&OD between Shreve and Broad St, and found it frustrating and slow on regular 35s (I didn’t even make it all the way out to Shreve). I guess I’ll be taking the streets until we get another warm spell. Nuts! I miss the trail!

Was that you bouncing around on the ice after citizens bridge, then? Around 6, maybe?

[dkel]

@Phatboing 75739 wrote:

Was that you bouncing around on the ice after citizens bridge, then? Around 6, maybe?

No, my bouncing around was all at around noon. It’s my day off, so I was doing bike errands, which is almost as much fun as bike commuting (the main difference being the errands are shorter than the commute).

[Steve]

South Cap St is now totally clear on the bridge and from bridge to Base.

Also the 110 trail is now totally clear.

[dbb]

MVT from 14th Street Bridge to the Crystal City Connector had about 30 feet of snow/ice and the rest was either clear or had a good clear line. CC Connector was a bit worse but clear enough that I will ride the rode bike with 25s tomorrow.

14th Street Bridge was clear and dry.

[guga31bb]

After reading all your reports, I was very happy to take Custis home for the first time since it snowed last week. The only dicey part was just west of the Glebe overpass, and even that wasn’t so bad. No more going down Lee Hwy — success!

[americancyclo]

W&OD from the Arlington county line to Shreve Rd is still full of surprises. Better than last Friday though, which was like wrestling a snake made of elbows.

[Dirt]

@americancyclo 75746 wrote:

W&OD from the Arlington county line to Shreve Rd is still full of surprises. Better than last Friday though, which was like wrestling a snake made of elbows.

Custis is the same way. Take it slowly and you’ll be fine. There is some glare ice in a bunch of places, but I rode it with slick tires and didn’t have any problems. I just rolled across the glare ice.

[Greenbelt]

Amazing what a little strong midday sun can do — Anacostia trib trails pretty much back to fully operational.

[Author]

Posts