[Dirt]

Actually, as of now, Pennsylvania Avenue cycleway has been plowed so that all of the snow from PennAve is piled into the cycleway. It is 3-4 feet deep in snow at the west end of the Cycleway.

[Dirt]

I passed three plows that were stuck in the snow on my ride home.

[Dirt]

Be careful on the roads out there. I was out early this morning, made it 5 miles into my commute and turned back. The trails were not passable and the way drivers were behaving on the roads could best be described as using “Wild Wild West” rules. If a driver felt like the road was better on the left side of the road, s/he would do so regardless of who was there. I found myself facing cars head-on while riding on roads that were almost completely clear on at least 4 occasions. When you consider I only encountered 10 or 11 cars that were not snow-plows, it doesn’t bode well for cyclists out there.

The plows around Falls Church did an awesome job.

[Dirt]

Hey SQ: Bike Lane Reston had a few different winter shoes. Last time I was there I took a good look at Shimano’s winter shoe. Looked nice. Not quite on the scale of the Lake 302s, but worth a look. You probably won’t have to get your Shimano winter shoes restitched in the first month of riding them like you will with the Lakes. Call them and see what they have. You and I talked about sizing, but I forgot what we talked about. I’ll likely get the roadie version of the Lake boots since I’ve started back doing road rides in this stuff. My feet were a little chilly on Sunday… even with show covers and chemical foot warmers.

I have a set of flats on my MUni if you want to try them with snow boots.

[Dirt]

Trainers are the work of Stan (that’s what I called Satan when I was a child). I would rather brave pretty much anything than ride on a trainer. I can’t even remember which friend I loaned my really expensive rollers to about 5 years ago. I hope they’re enjoying them.

[Dirt]

@consularrider 2116 wrote:

I saw some signs on Sunday west of Vienna saying the trail would be closed, but didn’t stop to look at when or what for.

They’re paving through Reston. I was out that way on Sunday and didn’t stop to read either. I did notice new blacktop approaching Reston Towneeeeee Centreeeeeeee.

[Dirt]

@skreaminquadz 2121 wrote:

Now if I could find some Moose Paws I’d be all set.

Dood… when it gets freaky cold like Monday morning, lots of folks go with flats and winter boots. I haven’t ridden when it is cold enough to ditch the Lake boots for flats here in the DC area, but years ago when I lived in Colorado, that was fairly normal February footwear…. even on road rides. Joe reminded me of that in a different thread around here.

Glad the Moose Mitts worked for you. Catch up with you soon.

[Dirt]

Just grew it back for the winter. I’m on week 3 and have made the transition from prickly to furry, according to my bride.

Moose Mitts definitely rock. They were a bit big for my fancy-pants road bike, so I decided to try a set of Bar Mitts. I like them quite a bit. They’re very warm. The moose mitts are my faves for drop bars though because I can move around to different hand positions. With the Bar Mitts I’m locked into riding the hoods… and really only one position on the hoods. I did a 60miler on Sunday and was wishing I could have moved around on the bars a bit more.

Bar Mitts on my fixie.

I was off commuting Monday and Tuesday of this week. I rode, but was working from home because I’m on deadline for some stuff and needed peace and quiet. I’ll be back on tomorrow for Snowpocalypse 2011 tomorrow and Thursday. Should be fun.

I’m sometimes splitting my brain power between my surroundings and solving problems of the universe. That leaves little brain power for recognizing people and chatting. No offense is intended. I’m just a little slow in the social uptake when riding. Say “hey” next time you see me. I’ll figure it out eventually.

My mountain bike is usually really easy to identify… it has jinglebells on the handlebars. I haven’t moved the bells over to my fixie since the warrior’s death of my mutant fixie cross touring bike. That’s on my ToDo list.

Should be a good day for moose mitts and other hand warming solutions tomorrow. (Good segway to get back on topic before ending this rambling post, eh?)

Later!

pete

[Dirt]

Thermometer at the office reads 53 degrees. Kinda makes the studs on the mountain bike seem a bit silly.

[Dirt]

It was icy this morning, but I’m guessing the 54 degree temps that we’re experiencing at this moment in time might take care of that. There might be some icy patches in the shade, but I’d guess that there’s gonna be a clear line that can avoid it.

In theory we’re supposed to get a freeze tonight. Not supposed to get more precip until tomorrow night though.

Good luck.

Pete

[Dirt]

There were patches of ice on the W&OD in Vienna and Falls Church, but they were soft enough to just ride over. The section east of Lyon Village on the Custis and the ramp down to Teddy Roosevelt Island are still pretty icy.

Great ride in. Glad the rain stoppped right after I left the barn.

[Dirt]

W&OD through Falls Church was still in pretty rough shape on the ride home. Slushy ice is the best description I’ve got .

If we get a freeze tonight, there is gonna be some serious ice tomorrow morning. If it stays above freezing, it’ll be a mellow ride into the office.

Have a good night y’all.

[Dirt]

Amen to what CCRew said. I don’t have a life, so I ride my bike instead.

[Dirt]

It will be warm enough that I think a lot will clear off. Shaded areas might not though. Refreeze tomorrow is going to be really ugly in the areas that do not clear today.

[Dirt]

I had the fat snow/ice studded tires on today and they were very good. I think the cyclocross studded tires I have would not have fared as well. I saw that one person had been on the W&OD either late last night or early this morning. Other than that no-one had been out. Only saw 2 walkers and one person trying to run.

It was MUCH easier to ride than it was to walk. I got off the bike once to photograph and almost fell on my face… even with serious winter boots on.

[Author]

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