Trail Conditions — January 2014

[sjclaeys]

@Steve O 73531 wrote:

Good thing you brought the water bottle.

Yes, it made for a nice ice pack when I got home.

[jrenaut]

As of 1030AM January 4th, the DC entrance to the 14th St bridge is all ice. I didn’t go very far, so it’s possible it’s okay further along. Hains Point is ice beyond the gates. Again, I didn’t investigate further. DC roads are mostly clear. Bike lanes tend to come and go.

[rcannon100]

Just returned from Bluemont park. The W&OD and 4MR trails have a solid crush of packed snow on them with intermittent sheet ice. If its dark and it looks like pavement, its probably frozen melt and very slippery. There were several cyclists out successfully (but gingerly) navigating the trail. Both W&OD and 4MR were solidly covered with a hard packed snow crust.

[Fast Friendly Guy]

@sjclaeys 73548 wrote:

Yes, it made for a nice ice pack when I got home.

Steve, you’re too much!!

[eminva]

Looks like a big truck or trucks went through on the W&OD east of Park Street in Vienna. Don’t know how far they went, but their tires smoothed down the snow into a nice double track. Easily rideable on studded tires. At least for now.

Liz

[ATTACH=CONFIG]4410[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]4411[/ATTACH]

[bobco85]

I did an Ice and Snow Arlington Loop (counter-clockwise, started/ended at Quincy Street, here’s the route on Strava: http://www.strava.com/activities/103961311) late this morning and have very good news for the Custis trail. (Edit: I did this ride on my mountain bike).

Early on my ride, between the Fairfax Drive access and George Mason Drive bridge, I came across an Arlington County crew (I said good morning) working on the trail. They had a pick-up truck with trailer and a mini digger which looked to have been stuck in a ditch. Later on in my ride I came across them again (I think they recognized me after I thanked them because I heard one of them say, “You’re still going? Take a break!”) at the bridge over Lee Highway at the top of the S Curve of Doom. They were using shovels to clear the trail at that point.

The Custis trail is the best and is now very passable, although probably not for those with skinny tires just yet. It now has a ~5 foot wide mostly clear path in the middle of the trail. Still a few spots where things are a little slippery, but in general (save for the hill climbing, obviously) it was the easiest of the trails I took today.

The W&OD and Four Mile Run trails are mostly packed snow with some ice patches (obviously not changed since rcannon was just on there around the same time I was). However, be very careful as you approach the bridges around Shirlington (under I-395 and under West Glebe) as they feature 10-20 feet of smooth ice on either side. The detour slalom is actually kinda fun to ride, though

The Mount Vernon Trail is covered in less-packed snow than W&OD and FMR and has similar icy spots. There seems to be one dominant rut running the length of the trail, probably from someone who was riding during the early part of the storm when there was sleet, so be mindful of it when you choose your lines in the icy parts. Be careful on the first bridge south of Gravelly Point, as it features a lot of smooth ice. Be careful on the bridge over I-66 between the Intersection of Doom and Roosevelt Island, the hairpin turn you must make is almost completely covered in ice (stay towards the edges and grab the walls if needed).

A big thank you goes out to the Arlington County crew who made the Custis trail a lot safer today

[KLizotte]

@jrenaut 73572 wrote:

As of 1030AM January 4th, the DC entrance to the 14th St bridge is all ice. I didn’t go very far, so it’s possible it’s okay further along. Hains Point is ice beyond the gates. Again, I didn’t investigate further. DC roads are mostly clear. Bike lanes tend to come and go.

Would it be possible to cross the entrance to the bridge with studded tires??

[dbb]

A 3.5 mile non-sleaze ride to check out the FMR bridge project and conditions of MVT at DCA. Pics from about 4 pm today.

Trail clear except where it ain’t. Was on a road bike with 25 mm tires so I push carted my way across the snowy/icy spots. I saw riders on bikes more befitting the conditions move through with no problem.

The gate mentioned in other threads. Hope the contractor will put cones out to block the trail at the split where the detour would be taken. I’ll shoot them an email.

The MVT at the south end of DCA is in pretty good shape.

The Crystal City Connector was pretty snowy. Trail and roads clear and dry on Crystal City side of RR tunnel.

[consularrider]

I started heading west on the W&OD from Ohio St just before noon. While it had been plowed and had some salting, both sides of Brandymore Castle still have some ice/packed snow. The plowing stopped at East Falls Church Park and the trail west of that is packed snow/ice through the bridge over Broad St (I didn’t go any further) Then I turned around and rode the Arlington Loop clockwise with an on street detour into Clarendon where I believe I passed rcannon as I headed west on Key Blvd. I also rode an extension from Crystal City through Potomac Yards, over Braddock Rd and back up Commonwealth Ave. The Custis was plowed the whole way to the TR Island parking lot. However, there are numerous sections that still have ice issues. Particularly bad were the bridges across Spout Run and the GW Parkway which were sheets of ice. Heading south on the MVT the TR Trollheim wooden walkway is still snow covered, mostly packed, but the snow can slide so watch out for the trolls grabbing your wheels. Where the MVT gets good sun it was mostly clear, shady areas still had crusty snow/ice and the bridges at Reagan National were ice covered. The travel lanes on Crystal Dr and Potomac Ave were clear (but some snow spots in the bike lanes) and the Rte 1 railroad bridge sidepath before Slaters Lane had been cleared. Commonwealth was mostly clear with some snow in spots in the bike lanes. The 4MRT from Rte 1 to Mt Vernon Ave was clear, but from Mt Vernon Ave to Shirlington Rd it was mostly crusty snow/ice covered with some very slick patches. The W&OD from Shirlington Rd to George Mason was mixed clears spots and ice spot with a relatively clear line available. From George Mason back to the Custis intersection it was still packed snow or crusty snow/ice. The snow on the wooden bridges had well packed lines, but again, the snow could shift. I was very glad I had the studded tires.

[Jason B]

How about north Arlington streets? Anyone riding a roady around? I was pretty much confined to doing loops on my steel CX. Not fun to say the least.

[Fast Friendly Guy]

@eminva 73578 wrote:

Looks like a big truck or trucks went through on the W&OD east of Park Street in Vienna. Don’t know how far they went, but their tires smoothed down the snow into a nice double track. Easily rideable on studded tires. At least for now.

Liz

Why heck! …that’s the next best thing to plowing (if you’ve got studs, of course)

The killer is frozen ruts and grooves EVEN with studs! I’d like to go on record as saying “bikes were never intended to go sideways, EVER!” ….and that’s exactly what those danged ruts and grooves make me do! It scares the #$%^ out of me!

Dave

[Greenbelt]

As of early this afternoon, the Anacostia trib trails were in passable shape for bikes with CX or better tires and lowered tire pressure. There are some frozen puddles in the usual low spots, and the wood bridges have deep but passable soft snow. The main trails are a mix of dry in spots with sun, and packed snow about an inch deep or so in shady areas. Some crusty walked on areas, but not too glaciated. Not bad overall. Rain tomorrow should help do more clearing on the asphalt, but the wood bridges might get pretty nasty.

[sjclaeys]

@Jason B 73594 wrote:

How about north Arlington streets? Anyone riding a roady around? I was pretty much confined to doing loops on my steel CX. Not fun to say the least.

The more primary side streets like Harrison and Patrick Henry are in good shape, though with a limited shoulder and they may get slick at night.

[Phatboing]

The W&OD between Falls Church and Vienna is pretty navigable if you have chubby tires, but there were a few slushy patches that promise to turn into ice overnight. Past Vienna going towards Reston, there are patches of ice, but nothing too bad. I went on a sheet of ice that crunched beneath me. SO satisfying. Like bubble wrap under my tires.

[jrenaut]

@KLizotte 73587 wrote:

Would it be possible to cross the entrance to the [14th Street] bridge with studded tires??

Probably? I’ve never used studded tires, but it didn’t look any worse than the pictures that people have been posting and saying “you’d be fine with studded tires”. So I would guess you’d be fine, but can’t say for sure.

[Author]

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