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Oh, what a beautiful morning….
Crisp, clear air, wonderful sunrise,
and a long line of bikes (well spaced, not a jam) on Custis from Spout Run up the hill to the bridge to nowhere. Mostly in florescent yellow/green jackets, but a few not (to lend some individuality) and most with red flashing lights. It felt like this was the cool way to commute (as opposed to a few weeks ago, bundled up, only seeing one or two others – the cold way to commute). Spacing widened so no back-ups at the lights in Rosslyn, which was also a bonus.

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@DismalScientist 188401 wrote:

LOTM (and other): Thinking about (parking or even flexipost) PBLs on residential streets, how does one deal with such prosaic issues as trash day or bus routes? Washington Blvd is a major bus route (2) collecting residents and delivering them to the Ballston metro and back home.

Same as they do elsewhere – the rider is screwed. See for example, Army-Navy Drive south and west of Joyce (it curves there). Heading SW, the bike lane is moved towards the travel lanes (there is also a bump out for peds to stand somewhere) and the bus pulls into it there. Heading NE, the bike lanes goes dashed and the bus pulls into the bike lane. I have had to sit and wait for the bus (much like on Fairfax) or go around the bus.

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@scoot 188260 wrote:

That move might backfire on the Pentagon reservation.

That is my fear. I have been trained over the years to not use cameras anywhere around work (whether at a gov’t site or a corporation (IP issues on top of others)) that I just do not try it (my personal cell is a flip phone, no camera for that reason).

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@huskerdont 188257 wrote:

Do you ever vary your route (or can you vary it)? Sometimes when I get a crazy harasser or have an incident, I just find it easier to go elsewhere for a bit so that person does not have the opportunity to plan and carry out some sort of crazy.

Thank you for the idea.
I do not see him everyday, so it is a bit random, but it has been repeated once or twice a month over the past several months. With the weather, I have varied my route just to avoid the MVT and the ice, snow, and slick Trollheim on several occasions. It may also be my timing (if I can just get out of the house a little sooner…).

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Ride started out great, cold, but great. All downhill from there – and not just literally.

Saw the tracks of a car that came down the hill along the MVT just before Trollheim (see comments elsewhere on that).

As I passed under the memorial bridge on MVT, noticed a truck was stopped on the road (the one further from the trail). A school bus behind it and several cars on the muddy grass just uphill from the roadway. And all other cars just stopped behind it. No idea if the truck had been involved n an accident or it just realized that it couldn’t go under the bridge (I did not notice its height).

As I went over Rt 110 on Connector Road (bridge from Boundary Channel Drive to the Pentagon main hub), where I take just right of middle of the lane because the area is all ruts and tire popping debris, my frequent harasser called out and told me the law said I needed to be all the way at the right (usually he just yells to get off the road and/or curses at me). I told him it was unsafe over there but he insisted I needed to be there, but then got behind me as we approached the policeman at the bottom of the hill. Black jeep-like vehicle, Michigan plates.

As I stopped at the traffic light at Fern and Army-Navy Drive, in the middle of the lane to go through the intersection (I was first in line), a car behind me started honking and telling me to get to the left so he could make a right on red. I yelled back that I was where I was supposed to be and his impatience was not my problem. I was not in the mood to be nice. Right side, left side, where do these drivers want me. Oh that’s right, NO WHERE. Grrrr.

This was a not so enjoyable commute. I keep thinking I need to tell the officers at the Pentagon intersection about the harasser, but I then expect him to try to run me off the road at a later time – he has that vibe about him.

I need to think pleasant thoughts or I will start biting my coworkers heads off.

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Yesterday a car was in this region, just off the parkway, but still at the top of the hill. No one around. It looked like the remains of an accident to be cleared out later.
Today there were clear mud tracks of a car sliding down the hill from there and then going up. So, two for the year in this area so far.

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@sjclaeys 187744 wrote:

Wouldn’t that create a gauntlet of passenger doors flying open into the bike lane with no bail out option other than to run into the curb?

And loads of pizzas flying into the air as cyclists cruised by while pedestrians didn’t notice. Because they don’t. The don’t on Quincy coming out the stores there and I have sat at the Italian Store window watching countless people not pay attention to much as they raced in and out of their cars and stores. This would be a disaster at this location.

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Likely that things are beginning to melt enough that this is of less concern, but W&OD from Custis to Shirlington was passable on 38s, but more slippery than I was expecting. The county drove their plow over the trail between Custis and Bluemont (both of which were plowed nicely) and the tire tracks were generally clear and easy to ride. After the Bluemont junction it looked like the trail was partially cleared (brushes? Is that wat gives it the striping – clear, mostly clear, clear, mostly clear, etc.) towards the end of the snow but before the sleet. The people walked on it and two other bikes. End result was that it was slick underneath, crunchy on top and I did a lot of fish-tailing (bridges were very bad in this respect, except for the one near Glen Carlin where someone shoveled a trail). It took much longer than I expected to go over it (if it were just snow, no problem, this was not that).
4MRT from Shirlington was plowed and beautiful (I got off at Mead).

I am assuming the warmth today will make this more slushy and I can take the new Washington Blvd trail (west?) home.

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I found a CaBi plus on Friday night, mostly because the rack I wanted to get a bike from was blocked as they were changing traffic lights at Quincy and Wilson (in prep for the bridge move?). Along Fairfax it was great – a bit of a shock to get power as I was trying to just get off the sidewalk (which was also under construction, so off the curb I went), but otherwise, nice getting decent speed along the road. When I started uphill on the Ballston Connector to the Custis, the power cut out a few times and similarly on the other hills as I rode it back along the Custis and to the docking station on Washington Blvd. Nice when it was working, but annoying that it kept cutting out when I needed it more. I did like the fact that there are baskets on the front that one could place larger items on than on the regular CaBi. I would use again if I found one, but the regular CaBis are just fine for me.

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@dasgeh 187357 wrote:

Trollheim was totally non-icy by the 9am shift

Ah, the sun is a wonderful thing.

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Trollheim very icy this morning, other wooden bridges icy too.

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I e-mailed the GWMP about this commenting that it seemed to get bad when the bridge work started (hoping that might be the issue). I received a reply:
“The water issue seems to connected with high water/rain totals over the last year or so, not necessarily the rehabilitation of Arlington Memorial Bridge. There are a number of factors that contribute to the water seepage your seeing (engineering, landscape, proximity to the river).

“Over the last year, the previous superintendent tasked me with addressing a number of MVT issues. The park created a program to work with stakeholders, neighbors and local jurisdictions to focus safety issues along the trail. One of the outcomes of that program, called Share Your Trail, was a number meetings, volunteer events and the creation of a non-profit to support successful.

“I will raise this for that working group as a concern.”

So, it is a “too much water” issue and we are stuck unless we get a major drought (not a good thing) or they do make changes.

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So, on Sunday there was a sign on the W&OD at the planned southern cutoff about the trail closing on the 18th. I gather that it did not close yesterday then?

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Okay, I know I started this thread and with a very specific region of the trail, but not too far from there about two weeks ago a car clearly went off the trail, as per the mud tracks. Still near Boundary Channel, but on Columbia Island, so recording that here just to keep track, although this is not the same area. So, count of 1 for the small region between Boundary Channel and Trollheim and a count of 1 for just south of Boundary Channel.

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Thanks all!

As per Drevil’s link, it sounds like my brakes won’t have issues (at least due to frozen/slushy hydraulic fluid) until a much colder temperature than I would like to be in. If I get water in my shifter cables, I might have issues. So the rear derailer cogs which appear to be plastic, but could be some other non-metal substance won’t suddenly crack? Like micoglaces, a flat in really cold weather would be bad, but otherwise it sounds like I cannot use potentially damaging my bike as a reason to not ride in single digits or lower. But it might keep me on routes where I can more easily find a bike shop or public transit should a flat occur.

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