[Dirt]

W&OD between Vienna and Washington BLVD in Falls Church is intermittent ice. There are many sections where there isn’t a clear line through. I didn’t have a problem without the studs this morning, but I did slip around a bit. A bit of momentum and smooth riding dealt with it fine.

Falls Church to Custis turn-off is still clear, with a few very visible icy spots.

Custis is mostly clear. There’s a clear line through pretty much everything until you get to Lyon Village. There’s a little black ice on the right side of the S of Certain Death. Easily avoidable, though it wasn’t very visible in the dark. East of Lyon Village there are some sections that are completely covered in ice and snow. Again, nothing that cross tires and smooth riding couldn’t deal with. Just a bit slippy.

Happy riding!

[Dirt]

Traffic can be HECK!

[Dirt]

I did a 16 mile each way commute on a Catrike Speed (unsuspended, zippy-fast trike on skinny tires) for 3 months this year. My ride consisted of about 5 miles of small suburban back streets (with 2 large street crossings (Rt. 50 and Rt. 29 both in Falls Church)) followed by 11 miles of W&OD, Custis, Mt. Vernon and bikeway along the National Mall. My commuting times were 5am and usually about 4:30pm.

Snow/Ice: The cattrike was okay in the snow and ice as long as it was smooth and not more than 2″ deep. I had a few situations where I had an icy climb and I had to make sure that I had a good bit of momentum so that it didn’t matter if I spun the back tire on the icy parts.

Visibility: My trike was neon pink. I banded it with 3m reflective tape all over the place. I used 2 flashy lights on the back, one on each side of my helmet and one facing forward in addition to my normal headlight. I had a custom flag made because I couldn’t find one that matched the color of pink on the trike. I had one “dooring” close call and the usual people who ignore the stop signs/ red lights on the Custis in Rosslyn. I was never hit on the trike.

Bumps: Generally the W&OD is pretty good with bumps. The bridges (and getting on and off them) usually had me lean forward a bit so that I didn’t bump my back against the bar that goes behind the seat. The bumps on the Custis trail, on the other hand, were definitely something I felt. They’d probably do better with a rear suspension trike. Some of those tree root bumps are over 2″ tall and really abrupt. I tended to be kind of a banzai trike rider. The instructions on the Catrike state that you should NEVER a) get it up on 2 wheels; b) get the trike airborn; or c) hit the brakes so hard that you lift the rear wheel. Doing so will void the warranty. I did a, b and c starting with my very first ride and almost every ride since. I rode it down the cobblestones in Old Town Alexandria. That was fun, but rather challenging. I launched curbs on more than one occasion (which must be done at high speed or you wail the idler gears on the curb. I even got to the point where I could bunny-hop (sort of) the expansion joints on the new Wilson bridge bikeway.

Roosevelt Bridge is too narrow for Trikes. You’ll fit on it, but if you meet up with anyone, you have to get up, pick up your trike, let them pass, then put your trike down again. My trike is sub 30 pounds, but that still isn’t pleasant in the middle of a ride.

Serious Benefits: In the days leading up to or following a national holiday that has any kind of parade, there is a special commuting lane that is created specifically for recumbent trike riders on the National Mall: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pedrogringo/4517120317/in/set-72157623845504494/

One of the recumbent (bike) guys I see almost every day has been commuting all week. He rode up the bridge from Roosevelt Island to Rosslyn in the ice both yesterday and today. He’s awesome, though he won’t say “hi” to me.

Hopefully that helps a little.

Pete

[Dirt]

It is like that every winter. I often have the studded tires on for months on end… even if there’s only ice on 15% of the ride, I’m still going to use the studs.

[Dirt]

W&OD from West Street to EFC is still snow packed and icy. Plowed areas through East Falls Church to the Custis crossing under I-66 is clear, but there are patches of ice that sneak up on you. The Custis climb up from under I-66 is pretty nasty. Custis is then intermittent snow/ice and clear. The hills are pretty treacherous.

In all I’d say that about 30% of my commute is on snow/ice. Fun stuff.

[Dirt]

Talked to my friend Patrick this morning. He said that between 20 and 25% of the CCT from Bethesda into DC is snow/ice. Still pretty ugly.

[Dirt]

Exactly. Dang they’re heavy though. I had to totally change my gearing to make the hills pleasant today. I love the bad weather riding. Gives me the chance to use different toys.

Happy riding.

Pete

[Dirt]

Thanks for the update, Brett. Welcome to the forum. Thinks are going to be not pretty for a little while. We’ll likely get a little melt each day, but as things refreeze the dreaded black ice shows up.

[Dirt]

I’ve got a friend that is VERY happy with is Trek 1-series road bike. He got it at Revolution Cycles. They did a good job of setting him up and fitting him on the bike. The 1.2 is a little below your budget. The 1.5 is a hair over. Sales might get the 1.5 into your price range. The frame is reasonably light and responsive. I rode 3 centuries with him last year along with a bunch of really long rides. He couldn’t be happier.

I know other manufacturers will have similar bike specifications to the Treks. The 1-series is just the one that I’ve ridden.

My best recommendation is to find a shop that you like and test ride as many as you can. That will help you find the fit and features that you like and meet your budget.

Best wishes,

Pete

[Dirt]

I saw it in action last night. It worked perfectly. Bikes get to cross twice during the cycle of lights.

[Dirt]

I rode the fixie mountain bike yesterday. It was perfect. I kind of like a fixie for snow and ice riding because with using my legs for rear brakes, I’m much less likely to break traction. I need to change the gearing on the commuting fixie so that it is a little more reasonable for the spiked tires.

[Dirt]

Hey Chris. Nice to see you over here. Hope your ride in today goes well. Should be kinda interesting and fun. Rubber side down, sir.

[Dirt]

Welcome Chris! Good to see you here.

Jimmy is right. Last night was fun. I had a long day. Hit the road at 0530 and didn’t get home until almost 2200. I had a blast on the ride home though.

Lets talk trail conditions: Mount Vernon is mixed hard pack and ice. All of it is bumpy. There were still some clean lines where you could ride in untouched snow, but they were getting picked over. When I rode it at 8:30pm, it was already starting to freeze up. I had no problems with traction on the main trail with mountain bike tires aired down a little bit (Continental Mountain Kings (29×2.4) @ 26psi). The boardwalks and bridges are very slick, but if you stay loose and go with the flow, you should have no problems. LOTS of people had slipped and fallen (runners and cyclists) on the downhill going from Roosevelt Bridge onto the boardwalk. I joked earlier this week about someone bowling a spare on the slippery boardwalk. Last night someone bowled a perfect 300 game. With the tires I described above and going at an easy pace (7 or 8 MPH) I had no trouble at all. Not even close to a slip or slide.

Roosevelt Bridge is going to be okay in the morning. It was mixed hard pack and untouched snow last night. At 8pm or so, I was the third person to ride across it. A bunch had walked it and that made the hardpack bumpy.

Custis and W&OD between Rosslyn and Merrifield were in good shape. Probably a dozen cyclists had ridden it and lots of walkers. The hills in Arlington were a little slippery, but the snow was still soft. There were some parts that were thawing, and they will be icy today. All of the hardpack and ice will be VERY bumpy this morning from people walking on it. Kids had used the Custis trail for sledding at 2 or three spots. That made for GREAT riding last night and traction will still be good this morning. By tonight when it starts freezing up again, though, that’s gonna be very slippery.

The real danger is the streets. Some of the main drags are clear and will be fine with mountain bike tires. Many of the main streets have been plowed, but are still icy. I was out at the store this morning and I was thinking the studded tires would have made things a little easier. I was fine on mountain bike tires, but I could have rolled faster and with a bit more confidence with studs.

Sorry that post is so long. I rode almost 20 miles last night because I wanted to play in the snow. I’ll definitely be out there again today. My morning 6-mile ride wasn’t enough for me today.

Have fun. Be safe.

Pete

[Dirt]

Cool that we expanded your view on when you can ride.

Since the snow is pretty much either fluffy or packed and the ice hasn’t really kicked in yet, I chose a fairly aggressive mountain tire today, over the studs. Continental Mountain Kings seem to do really well in this kind of stuff. I thought about riding my fixie with Cross tires, but noticed after riding home last night (with Tim for part of it) that the back tire was a little more bald than I’m comfy with and I didn’t feel like changing the gearing to a slightly less leg-busting gear. Grabbed the MTB and the problem is solved.

Have fun out there, y’all. This is the fun stuff. If you’re riding near traffic, be REALLY careful. They’ve got nominal control of their vehicles at best.

[Dirt]

@girlonabikedc 1479 wrote:

(sorry for the crappy phone pic. The bike signal is on the left, in the middle)

Coolness! It is really cute! Thanks for the photo.

[Author]

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