[Dickie]

@GB 109525 wrote:

Well Dickie and I had different experiences riding the same trial. I was riding 40mm marathon studs and found the WOD west of Arlington pretty terrifying.

The snow got between the studs and the ice so there was no traction until the tire slipped and the down hill side of the tire pushed the snow out of the way for the uphill side to bit.

So I didn’t fall, and the ride only took 3 mins longer this morning than yesterday, but the combination of hidden ice ruts and limited traction made me very nervous for most of the ride.

I found the worst parts to be (eastbound) just after Park st in Vienna and just after Shreve Rd in Falls Church.

I skipped the WOD section east of Shreve exactly for that reason. The ice ruts yesterday were still really bad and I knew the snow would make them worse. That’s why I took to the roads between Van Buren in Falls Church and Shreve.

[Dickie]

Ice chunks topped with wonderland sprinkles; not a coffee, just my commute.

[Dickie]

West bound from Roslyn to Fairfax, 7:00 am, on studs:
– Wilson Blvd – Fairfax Blvd – Custis Connector: All good, slush, 1/2″ – 1″ accumulation, Bike lane missing in parts, had to take a lane.
– Custis – WOD connector: A few slick spots where the snow is covering ice patches, take your time and you’ll be fine
– WOD to Van Buren: Cleared, dusting of snow, very ridable, dry pavement in a few places… pretty sure they brined Brandymore
– Van Buren – Columbia – Maple – Park – West – Leesburg Pike – Gordon – Shreve – WOD: Slush, 1/2″, tire ruts, powdered snow, easy to ride
– WOD – Virginia Lane: Some buried ice ruts, more powdered snow accumulation 1.5″
– Virginia Lane – WOD – Gallows: Ice ruts hidden by 2″ snow, stick to the center of the trail and you should be fine
– Gallows – Mosaic District: heaver snow totals 2″-3″, roads slick but not too bad.

[Dickie]

@Tania 109396 wrote:

Dickie – how is the mile from Gallows to Virginia Lane (skinny slicks)? If I can get to Virginia Lane, then I can take Boomer2U’s route to the Custis. Otherwise I’d have to take Shreve from Gallows/29 and there’s zero shoulder…

Hey Tania, yeah, pretty much what Boomer said. I generally skip the Gallows intersection and take Lliff to Sandburg and then hit the WOD skipping about 100 yards of the trail and making for a much easier transition to the trail. The section from Sandburg to the 495 bridge is a bit dodgy with only a narrow strip of pavement showing. From there you have a decent amount of clear and dry pavement until you hit the top at Virginia Lane.

[Dickie]

I’ve been riding the WOD from Gallows to the Custis interchange this week and I can attest that the Fairfax and Falls Church sections are still bad unless you have studs, and even then it’s bone shaking with all the ruts. Got home last night to find that my rear wheel cracked at the rim seam…. perhaps taking the moguls at speed wasn’t the best idea

[Dickie]

Had planned on going, already had my route mapped but cracked my rear wheel last night on the way home, had to multi-mode metro commute this morning… boo!

[Dickie]

@brownnugen 108794 wrote:

That is the reason why I got the Planet Bike Borealis lobster gloves. The liner and outer glove are designed to be separate. I like it because I can go with just the fleece liner, just the shell or both. I don’t like using just the shell because when my hands get sweaty, the shell smells. At least with the liner, it will absorb the sweat and is easily washable.

The liner works well, but feels like it is a cheap fleece that won’t last too long before it starts to tear. When it bites the dust, I will just go out and buy a nicer quality liner.

I’ve been pushing the Borealis for a few years, I love these gloves. I use merino wool liners and they have never let me down… super warm, suer versatile, easy to dry and clean, cheap…. their only achilles heal is rain, they are sponges.

[Dickie]

Was thinking if going but not sure how yet. Probably streets all the way.

[Dickie]

My wife and I will probably be heading down but we have not looked at the logistics yet…. more likely than not we will drive down, park 10 miles out and ride in the rest of the way. I suspect we will just do a day trip unless hotels are available (doubtful). I’m probably most interested in the men’s road race or the TT but who knows… September is a long way off according to my calendar.

[Dickie]

Work has me in knots for a while, bummed to ride past a dark quite Java Shack at 6:30.

[Dickie]

Custis was pretty slick this morning at 6:30. I was on studs so I didn’t notice but I saw one runner go down (she was fine), and another later on nearly lost it too…. I’m thinking it was worse than I realized (as my bike made crunching pretzel noises beneath me).

[Dickie]

@Greenbelt 106909 wrote:

In spite of our slackeries and illnesses, we’re only a few points behind the dreaded Maryland Inquisition. I think we can out-sleaze them for sure.

Oh, I’m on it!… and what did the Python boys say about the Maryland Inquisition?…. oh wait.

[Dickie]

@lordofthemark 106818 wrote:

Maybe its because I never got one of those fancy bike computers, and did not get Strava till I got my smartphone, but are most people really uploading from a bike computer to a home or office PC? Its really, really easy to do it on the phone, and Stava is pretty economical with data and power, AFAICT.

One of the big differences between the phone and a dedicated bike computer is real time viewing (unless you mount the phone on your bars and have it running the whole time). I find some motivation in seeing my stats as they happen so I prefer using a Garmin/dedicated bike computer that I plug into my computer each morning to upload my rides, others like my wife prefer not to see them until the end of the ride so she is fine using only her mobile phone and uploading directly to Strava.

[Dickie]

@ShawnoftheDread 106495 wrote:

I’m reluctantly planning to use studs tomorrow. Unless there’s no snow on the ground when I wake up .

Unfortunately I do all my bike switching and maintenance at the shop, so I put on the studs last night… you can all thank me later, no snow, no ice.

[Dickie]

@sjclaeys 106471 wrote:

Yes, we will all be studs for riding tomorrow morning.

smart ass

[Author]

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