Trail Conditions — January 2014

[Subby]

Glorious, glorious late morning of fresh powder on WOD/4MR/MVT. Saw between 5-13 tire tracks the whole way. The quiet sound of gliding through powder is the best. One or two ninja ice spots, but nothing new from yesterday.

[rcannon100]

Custis at Washington & Lee High School: snow covered

[dasgeh]

I took the Custis from Cherrydale, and it was covered with beautiful powder. It was my first time riding on snow, and it was no problem… until I got to the connecter, and in the turn at the end of the downhill before the bridge, got stuck on some icy ruts and went down. Lucky I was going pretty slowly – I almost saved it, but managed to take a handlebar to the thigh. Ugh. I stayed to the left on the rest of the connector, and the rest of the trip (troll bridge -> TR bridge -> 25th -> Virginia -> sidewalks along Constitution -> Jefferson ) was totally fine. Roads in the District were completely clear. I suspect that the trails will be rutted and icy tonight, so I’m planning on bus home. Again. Sigh.

Still, it was an amazing ride in, and I’m glad I did it.

[consularrider]

@dasgeh 75914 wrote:

… got stuck on some icy ruts and went down. Lucky I was going pretty slowly – I almost saved it, but managed to take a handlebar to the thigh … I suspect that the trails will be rutted and icy tonight, so I’m planning on bus home. Again. Sigh.

Still, it was an amazing ride in, and I’m glad I did it.

Sorry to hear about the spill. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the bright sunshine we are getting will help melt off a lot of the light snow and that it won’t refreeze before dark because I want to ride the long way home tonight.

[Phatboing]

@dasgeh 75914 wrote:

Still, it was an amazing ride in, and I’m glad I did it.

This right here sums up Freezing Saddles rather neatly.

[dkel]

I took surface streets the whole way, since the W&OD is such a death trap west of Falls Church. Now my bike is regurgitating brown sludge. Hate. It.

[ShawnoftheDread]

This morning I saw the Park Service clearing the Lincoln Memorial plaza with one of these. Looks like it would drive up a trail pretty nicely, and wouldn’t damage the trail like a plow might.

http://www.bobcat.com/publicadmin/getImage.do?id=22063&width=300

Think if we all bought one we’d get in trouble for driving it on the trails?

[NickBull]

@dasgeh 75914 wrote:

… went down…

Ouch. Glad you’re OK. I was looking forward to riding on road tires today, but it wasn’t to be, so studded tires it was. I got surprised in several places by ruts or clumps of ice hidden under the snow but kept my balance over them.

[jrenaut]

@ShawnoftheDread 75924 wrote:

Think if we all bought one we’d get in trouble for driving it on the trails?

No, not at all. You go ahead, I’ll be right behind you.

[bobco85]

@ShawnoftheDread 75924 wrote:

This morning I saw the Park Service clearing the Lincoln Memorial plaza with one of these. Looks like it would drive up a trail pretty nicely, and wouldn’t damage the trail like a plow might.

http://www.bobcat.com/publicadmin/getImage.do?id=22063&width=300

Think if we all bought one we’d get in trouble for driving it on the trails?

I like the idea, but with this wrinkle thrown in so it might have a better chance of being adopted by the NVRPA:

Plow only one side of the trail. This way, the cleared side can be used by cyclists and pedestrians, the snowy/icy side can be used by cross country skiiers and dog sledders, and the painted yellow line won’t get damaged. Multi-use at its finest!

[Phatboing]

Composed following a harrowing icy slide on the W&OD from Gallows to Falls Church:

This path doesn’t want to be easy
The snow’s done the melty-refreezy
The frozen road home
Will break me a bone
Should’ve taken the bus; oh jeezy.

Conditions are vaguely better than this morning: the snow has cleared where it was naked pavement last night, but has remained where it was icy. So instead of sneaking up on you, the ice will look you in the eye when it tries to kill you.

[TwoWheelsDC]

Bluemont is mostly passable, with patches of snow-sans-ice, but there are some hidden ice ruts.

[Subby]

I have a feeling there is going to be a decent amount of black ice tomorrow on WOD/4MR. Brandymore Castle hill in particular seemed like it was going to be iffy, but there were other spots, too. There are also still some hidden ice ruts.

Be careful!

[hozn]

Yeah, the W&OD was still pretty icy and rutted out west of Falls Church, and nicely hidden by snow as others have noted. Another day for the studs. Le sigh. Maybe road tires Friday?

[cyclingfool]

Ditto on the MVT this afternoon. Love my studs because they keep me on the bike even when conditions are crummy, but man I can’t wait to get my regular tires back on!!!

[Author]

Posts