Trail Conditions — January 2014

[PotomacCyclist]

High temperature will be around 40F on Friday, and close to 50F on Saturday. No rain either.

(But there might be more rain or snow or both next week.)

[brendan]

@Dirt 76006 wrote:

It’s going to take a couple of days in the 50s to get rid of the ice in the shaded areas of the W&OD between Gallows and Hunter Mill. Some of those icy spots are 2″ deep. I’m afraid that we’ve got some sloppy days ahead before we really thaw enough to go roadie.

Reston has highs of 48 and 52 on Saturday and Sunday respectively. Fingers crossed…

[brendan]

@dlaxman31 76076 wrote:

I’m planning a ride from Mt Vernon Trail in Alexandria to Ashburn and back on Saturday.

How has everyone faired past say WFC area?

Mt Vernon Trail or W&OD?

[Fast Friendly Guy]

@DismalScientist 76094 wrote:

It took me down at approximately 0 mph at noon today. It was terribly embarrassing.

Yikes, Mark, hope you and the new bike are okay. Lucky you weren’t going faster!

[oldbikechick]

For those who have been on the Custis between Glebe and Rosslyn and MVT from Rosslyn to Memorial bridge, is it doable on a regular old hybrid with regular tires? Or better to stick to the streets one more day? Thanks!

[Dirt]

@oldbikechick 76118 wrote:

For those who have been on the Custis between Glebe and Rosslyn and MVT from Rosslyn to Memorial bridge, is it doable on a regular old hybrid with regular tires? Or better to stick to the streets one more day? Thanks!

I just got home from riding it. There are some icy surprises between Glebe Road and Falls Church. There are a few icy spots between Glebe and Rosslyn, but most are avoidable. Be very careful.

[JimF22003]

Hains Point actually did have some snow and ice on the road, especially on the north-bound side. The worst road hazard was the goose crap. I’ve never seen it so bad.

The gate was closed however, so I had to cyclo-cross it a bit to get around it. I wonder what the criteria are for keeping the gate closed?

[PotomacCyclist]

Do DDOT and VDOT have goose and seagull repellent? If so, I wish they would use it. It’s not just the crap on the roads. One of those seagulls decided to poop on my helmet (and glasses) a couple weeks ago.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]4607[/ATTACH]

[sleeplatekate]

Wow, the Matthew Henson Trail is still astonishingly bad this morning on basically the whole length. There’s a good bit of snow layered on rutted ice. Still too soon for road bikes!

[ATTACH=CONFIG]4608[/ATTACH]

[americancyclo]

@sleeplatekate 76142 wrote:

Wow, the Matthew Henson Trail is still astonishingly bad this morning on basically the whole length. There’s a good bit of snow layered on rutted ice. Still too soon for road bikes!

[ATTACH=CONFIG]4608[/ATTACH]

Do you have good on-road alternates? I’d never heard of that trail.

[TimV]

I got on the WOD at Vienna heading west this morning.

The Vienna to Hunter Mill section wasn’t too bad, some icy patches.

The worst sections as of this morning are:

Just past Hunter Mill:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]4611[/ATTACH]

On the decline of the Buckthorn hill:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]4612[/ATTACH]

Just past Wiehle Ave:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]4613[/ATTACH]

On the approach to Old Reston Ave:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]4614[/ATTACH]

After that there were still some icy patches – I get off the trail in Herndon.

I was on Schwalbe Marathon studs – 700×35.

I’ll report back on conditions with today’s “balmy” temps after tonight’s commute back to Vienna, but I suspect it will take this weekend’s temps to make a real dent in some of these bad spots.

[dasgeh]

@oldbikechick 76118 wrote:

For those who have been on the Custis between Glebe and Rosslyn and MVT from Rosslyn to Memorial bridge, is it doable on a regular old hybrid with regular tires? Or better to stick to the streets one more day? Thanks!

My entire ride: Custis from 20th St (a little east of Glebe) to Capitol Hill was fine this morning and could have been handled on any tires. There was some ice on parts of the Custis, but there was always a easy to see and east to navigate line around it.

[dlaxman31]

@TimV 76146 wrote:

I got on the WOD at Vienna heading west this morning.

The Vienna to Hunter Mill section wasn’t too bad, some icy patches.

The worst sections as of this morning are:

Just past Hunter Mill:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]4611[/ATTACH]

On the decline of the Buckthorn hill:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]4612[/ATTACH]

Just past Wiehle Ave:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]4613[/ATTACH]

On the approach to Old Reston Ave:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]4614[/ATTACH]

After that there were still some icy patches – I get off the trail in Herndon.

I was on Schwalbe Marathon studs – 700×35.

I’ll report back on conditions with today’s “balmy” temps after tonight’s commute back to Vienna, but I suspect it will take this weekend’s temps to make a real dent in some of these bad spots.

Look forward to your report on the way back. Trying to make a trip to ashburn and back. Thanks

[culimerc]

There will WOD and Custis exploratory rides this weekend.

[kcb203]

I tried to commute today from East Falls Church to Reston on my 700×23 road tires. I stupidly assumed everything had melted. I got to Gallows Road with a few long icy patches and then saw that it was all ice as far as I could see toward Vienna from Gallows, so I turned around and got in my car. A guy coming the other way said it was almost all snow/ice from 123 to Gallows.

[Author]

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