Arlingtonrider
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I just went out and poked around a little bit on 32 slicks. Lots of melting! Condition reports below.
For the Alexandria folks: Commonwealth to FMR is clear and dry, although there are a few small slushy areas in the bike lanes.
FMR has been clear and dry for days, but now some of the underpasses, especially those near Shirlington, have areas with water from overhead dripping, so be a little watchful for ice there when it gets colder.
Eads is clear and dry, and as is the rest of the trip into Shirlington from Eads.
The MVT is tempting, but there are still some very hazardous patches here and there. While long stretches are clear and dry, the overpasses, some approaches to them and some other areas still have ice, snow, slush, and/or black ice. I walked some of those. I was going to try to get up to Gravelly Point, but if you look at my strava route, you’ll see where I turned around. I was going to try to walk that too, but it felt pretty dicey even for walking my bike at that particular spot. Still, it’s getting much better!
I saw and was greeted by another FSer as I was rolling back down the MVT getting ready to go right on FMR.
Just bumping this up. @Arlingtonrider 103273 wrote:
The happy hour has been changed to Friday, Jan. 9. Same place and time – Capitol City Brewing Company in Shirlington at 6 p.m.
Getting here:
This is one time when transportation other than biking might be the best option for many of us. As of Thursday evening, the bridges and approaches were reportedly still icy and rutted and many trails or trail segments had large patches of ice. Nevertheless, there is a separate Freezing Saddles thread with convoy info for those interested.
It’s easy get to Shirlington by bus from the Pentagon metro stop. Most come non-stop directly to the Shirlington Transit Center, which is almost around the corner from Capitol City Brewing Company. The buses with direct routes from the Pentagon to Shirlington are the 7C, 7A, 7E, ART 87X and I think one of the 23’s or 25’s. You might want to check the WMATA trip planner. Lots of buses run at rush hour, but fewer head back later on, so planned options for leaving times could be helpful.
Car and bike parking info is at the end of this post. In addition to the bike racks shown on the diagram, there are numerous U racks under a cover near the bus station and also at the library down the street. Those with cable locks can also lock up to lamp posts. Kel and Casey know the area and will be keeping an eye out in case anyone needs help finding bike parking. (However, with the weather being this cold, I’m no longer concerned about parking for 77 bikes.
)While the event officially starts at 6, you’re welcome to show up earlier if you would like to. A few of us will be there setting up starting around 5:30.
The event:
Because we have such a large group, we are asking for a $5-$10 cash contribution to offset the cost of an appetizer buffet. Any leftover funds will be used for the final happy hour event.
We’ll have some area biking maps available as well as the reflective blue bike forum tags, which are probably pretty good identifiers for our group. In addition, I believe that Miss Myrna has volunteered to provide an opportunity to order Girl Scout cookie fuel for cyclists.
We have an area in the back of the room where panniers, backpacks and jackets can be left before you get your nametag and team number.
I’m reserving some nearby booths and/or tables in the main restaurant area where teammates and friends can get together for dinner or more food if the room gets too crowded.
Gold nuggets will be awarded at 7 pm and we may have a brief announcement or two. We’ll try to take some team photos if people would like them.
Parking:
Bike and car parking info is in the diagram below. The diagram shows a lot of the bike parking, but there are also a number of U racks under a shelter near the bus station just up the street, and more at the library. For those coming by car, Shirlington has several garages and parking is free in most of them after 5:00 pm.
Please let me know if you have any questions. Any other updates will be in edits to this post.
Looking forward to seeing everyone!
Hopefully it will be a little warmer and the roads and trails will be clear by then.[ATTACH]7310[/ATTACH].
