[consularrider]

I rode the full Arlington loop, the W&OD out to Falls Church Grove St, plus the 14th St Bridge and around Hains Point this afternoon. There were no ice/snow problems anywhere, but watch for ice remainders along the sides of the trails and an occasional three to four inch round ice patch that can still throw you if you are not careful. Tomorrow I’ll get my road bike back out and enjoy it through at least the weekend.

[consularrider]

If you are on a road bike, the first thing you have to look at is how wide a tire can you fit on your current bike. I believe the narrowest studded tire is a 700X32. A wider tire with a knobbier profile works better in snow. A studded tire is best on ice. I believe Dirt had some good comments. If you are interested, look at the studded tire discussion at http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/studdedtires.asp.

[consularrider]

Didn’t try the trails this morning. Had clear ride up Washington Blvd to Fairfax Dr to Wilson/Clarendon into Rosslyn at 7:30 am riding on Schwalbe Marathon Winter 26X1.75 studded tires. These weren’t so good on the trails last night, but are great on what was on the road this morning. None of the bike lanes are clear, of course, but all regular travel lanes on Fairfax, Wilson and Clarendon were clear. Most drivers gave me plenty of room and didn’t seem impatient with me.

[consularrider]

The W&OD was open when I rode through at 6:30 pm, Thursday. The snow was pretty well churned up from walkers/runners and only a couple of bike tracks between Columbia Pike and the Custis Trail intersection.

[consularrider]

As of 7:30 this morning, December 16th, it was still closed with the detour onto the 4 Mile Run Trail.

[consularrider]

Thin layer of snow on most of the wooden walkway by Roosevelt Island on the MVT this morning. It didn’t look like anyone had slid out at the 90 degree split going over Roosevelt Bridge. There didn’t appear to have been many north bound riders as of 8:15 am.

I think we need this one in reverse order with most recent post first, or will we have a new thread daily on snowy days to make it easier to read the relevant information?

[consularrider]

Tim,

Can you provide some input as to what neighborhoods were included in the cancelled ride?

Thanks.

[consularrider]

I’ve used the racks with both a 26″ tire old school mountain bike and a 700 tire hybrid. Both have fenders and I had no problems.

[consularrider]

I use mostly SmartWool, but also have the woolie booley and Bridgedales. So far this cold season, I’ve had warmer feet using a Smartwool tight with their light PhD cycling socks as an over layer. This gives me more room in my PI shoes so that the toes don’t get as cramped as when I use my thicker socks alone with about the same level of warm (two layers of wool).

sierratradingpost.com has a number of meriono wool Bridgedale socks on sale now. REI just had a sale on Smartwool.

[consularrider]

I’m pleased to hear that as well since I prefer to take the lane along this stretch. Actually, the sharrows need to be extended all the way down to Lynn St. I have found it to be very dangerous to ride in the bike lane along Clarendon due to the number of cars pulling out of cross streets (especially by the Wooster lofts and Oakwood Apts), vehicles obstructing the bike lane, cars bearing right at 16th St N and then others at 17th St N by the Starbucks, and the disappearance of the bike lane by Il Radichio and again at Oak St. Was almost hit twice on Friday morning’s commute.

[consularrider]

@invisiblehand 1248 wrote:

The Roslynn Death Zone!

(5) Anecdotally, the Lynn St bike lanes heading towards the Key Bridge are typically blocked about 1/2 the time by something. Moreover, I believe that there is a garage, loading/unloading area, or something similar prior to the I-66 EB entrance ramp. Cars tend to pass in the through lane and cut across to pass slow traffic heading to the garage or unloading people on a regular basis. So pretty frequently, I slide over into the through lane all the way across the bridge when travelling northbound on Lynn St.

Since Arlington County was supposed to be having an increase presence in Rosslyn, I wish they had made more of an enforcement effort along Lynn St. I haven’t been able to figure out the reasoning or design for the bike lane on Lynn St from Wilson Blvd to Lee Hwy. As mentioned above, the bike lane is blocked 99% of the time by commuter buses in front of Cosi for the evening rush hour. Also, the lane there goes right over the Metro ventilation grills that are extremely slick when wet. Just before this, there are two parking garages where drivers always seem to come part way out because otherwise they can’t see around cars parked along that side of the street. The drop off just before the I-66 entrance ramp is frequently full of cars waiting and extending into the right turn lane. This causes drivers to drive in the bike lane that is to the left of it. Then the bike lane suddenly ends at the eastbound Lee Highway light and cyclists have to deal with the sudden merger with cars as they cross the I-66 overpass bridge before getting on the Custis/MV Trail at the westbound Lee Highway light. A rethinking of this design needs to be done immediately, or last least have a heavy enforcement effort that keeps the bike lane open. Given all the dangers of riding in this bike lane for just two blocks, I take the lane here.

[consularrider]

I used a pair of BarMitts on my commuter all last winter, kept the hands warm and dry. I have a different bike for this winter and have to see if they will fit over the brake/shift lever setup.

[consularrider]

At least this time they are not in the middle of the acutal crosswalk!

[consularrider]

@Tim Kelley 1132 wrote:

I’ve taken a handful of friends up 41st street and the majority of them have tipped over on the last little really steep stretch.

Perfect example of my own personal light-hearted schadenfreude…

Yep, that was me on Sunday, tipping over at 2 mph.:eek: I made it riding my old mountain bike without too much trouble, think I made on my old road bike with a 30/28 combination. As I said, I’ll keep trying.

[consularrider]

I tried 41st St uphill from Chain Bridge for the first time with my new road bike. Found I couldn’t make the 25 – 30% grade with my 34/26 lowest combination where the road effectively becomes a sidewalk/path for about 10 yards. Guess I need more hill work.

[Author]

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