[brendan]

@bobco85 78914 wrote:

Anybody know who was “featured” in the Morning Notes on ArlNow today?

Dunno, but they are wearing my favorite cycling coat!

[brendan]

Light on helmet. Done.

[brendan]

The weather was so beautiful today, so Erin and I just had to hit the trails…

…and apparently we lost our minds and decided to ride the C&O towpath. Knobby tires in mud is annoying…but parts of the trail were more like wet clay, which kept sucking my tires in and not letting go. I think my quads doubled in size after the first hour of that. We made it to great falls and decided to head back along more civilized, paved travel arteries…and spent a good half hour cleaning off the bikes when we got home.

[brendan]

My morning commute was great, esp. considering it was my first bike commute this week. But my late afternoon bike commute was just heavenly. Sunshine warmth, 99.9% ice-free trails, bikeyface.

PS – also, possibly: tailwind directly behind me for once.

[brendan]

@Terpfan 77171 wrote:

It felt worse than today than since the polar vortex nonsense to me. Probably because I was riding into the wind. But my fingers were so cold (stupid hand warmer doesn’t do justice down the fingertips (i need the lobster claw gloves) that I stopped at the Washington Monument bathroom to warm up for 5 minutes before finishing the last 2 miles of the ride. I bet the winds will change direction tonight.

The Washington Monument bathroom has been a miracle worker on some of my very very late night sub-freezing rides home from DC socializing. Even when the Park Police busted me for using it after it was technically closed. “No, officer, there’s no one else in here except for me…and my bike.” I guess their concerned about illicit activities…

Favorite part of my commute tonight was getting home, peeling off the layers directly into the washer and putting on the fuzzy bathrobe. Also: leftover pizza.

[brendan]

@PotomacCyclist 76590 wrote:

If police are going to be on the trails in non-emergency situations, I’d prefer that they rode bikes, not cars.

I too would prefer bike-mounted law enforcement for non-emergencies. I suspect the difficulty is getting sign off (and trained-up cycling police) by the varying jurisdictions.

Some of the trails are not wide enough for a car and oncoming bike traffic at the same time. On FMRT, there is a retaining wall along part of the path, so it would have been impossible for an approaching cyclist to squeeze around the police car. Cars can also damage the asphalt of paved trails.

True, but a somewhat weaker argument as the NVRPA also drives trucks regularly along the W&OD and (portions of?) the FMR trails for trail maintenance purposes. In my experience, the staff are also very good about driving slowly/cautiously and pulling over when they spot oncoming non-motorized traffic, or even (sometimes) overtaking non-motorized traffic. No complaints.

So far, no police car sightings.

[brendan]

@consularrider 76465 wrote:

In the morning there is frequently an Alexandria Police car parked across from the Arlington Water Treatment plant. I can never figure out what the officer is doing there, maybe it’s a mandatory break? We’ve mentioned before about seeing police cruisers and county and park maintenance vehicles routining using the trails. For the police, it seems to be related to some sort of incident on the trail. After one of those I see an increased police presence for a couple of weeks. I expect the broken flex posts are more likely because of county vehicles than the random confused driver.

The section of the FMR trail east of the plant has a bump-out (bump-in?) where it intersects a road. I came across a drunk driver with his car stuck up on the large boulder right there one night having a hell of a time trying to figure out how to get it back down.

Called 911, rather than interacting with the clearly angry drunk, but he drove off before they could find him…

…drove off eastward on the trail, then up an embankment onto the highway (route 1?) destroying some signage, vegetation and parts of his car along the way.

Luckily, no reports of injuries.

[brendan]

@TrikerOne 76436 wrote:

Those bollards are getting knocked over on a regular basis.

By bikes or cars?

[brendan]

FYI: DC->Custis Trail->W&OD westward->Milepost 16 (east reston-ish) was entirely clear of snow, ice, and slush. That’s where I got off (my office is right at mile 16).

There were a few puddles and I was soaked to the bone. In other words, nothing to complain about.

B

[brendan]

Anyone ride Reston <-> Vienna late Saturday or anytime Sunday and care to comment on the trail out there?

Want to get a better sense of the melt for a possible commute DC -> Reston and back tomorrow w/ big dummy, about 35 lbs of clothes/cargo, 205 lbs of me. Nokian w240s.

Not allowed to fall at all.

Thanks.

[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?

[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]

I am disappointed that Dirt hasn’t posted any selfies showing him commuting with the bike snowplow on the W&OD this morning.

[brendan]

@TwoWheelsDC 54472 wrote:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/130836925/reclaimed-bicycle-chain-link-earrings?ref=v1_other_1

Heh, I always thought quick-links would make good (and useful) jewelry…

[brendan]

I’ve moved into the “just lightly clean and relube the chain, infrequently, until it (and probably my cassette) needs to be replaced” camp. This is usually indicated by my chain breaking.

Next issue: what do you do with old chains and cassettes?

Brendan

[Author]

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