[PotomacCyclist]

@chris_s 133590 wrote:

Let’s start by trying a password reset (which yes, I know isn’t actually linked from anywhere right now)

I think I was able to log in yesterday after resetting the password. But I’m getting the same error message again now: “Invalid login attempt.”

Maybe something is happening with the browser autofill on the login page. Instead of my email address, the field is automatically populated with my username. I manually change it to my email address. I also type the password manually, in case autofill throws off the login for some reason. That still doesn’t work.

[PotomacCyclist]

15TH STREET PROTECTED BIKE LANES – At least part of it has now been plowed

At least part of the 15th St protected bike lane in DC was plowed on Friday. I posted about the section near U Street a couple days ago, noting that it was unlikely to be rideable on Friday.

I passed by there on Friday afternoon and that same section had been completely plowed, north and south of U Street. I don’t know how far south they plowed, but at least part (and perhaps most) of the protected bike lane is now clear.

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S EADS STREEET PROTECTED BIKE LANES – Still covered in snow

The S. Eads St. protected bike lanes in Arlington are still covered in snow, but there’s much less of it than at the beginning of the week. I think most sections of the bike lanes will be clear by Mon. or Tue. with the warmer weather. But crews will still need to remove the large man-made snowbanks. Some of those are still a few feet in height and they are blocking the bike lanes at some intersections, including at 18th St. Those big snowbanks won’t melt from a few days of mild weather.

[PotomacCyclist]

It looks like most areas will be cleared of snow by Mon. or Tue. just from the mild weather and the warm rain forecast for Mon. (and also a possible thunderstorm on Wed., with temperatures in the low 60s).

[PotomacCyclist]

I shoveled out an entire CaBi station this week. I ended up very sore for the next 3 days. (My forearms are still kind of tight.) Fortunately I don’t think I need to shovel any more stations. Most of them have reopened in my area.

While the initiative is good, Mother Nature might do the work first. There is going to be a significant amount of melting, especially on Sunday through Wednesday. I would guess that most roads, sidewalks and trails will be clear or nearly clear by Mon. or Tue. just from the mild weather.

There could be rain on Monday. With temperatures around 60F, that is going to melt a huge amount of snow. It will stay above freezing on Mon. night and Tue. will be back in the mid 50s. Then more rain and a possible thunderstorm on Wed., with temperatures back up to the low 60s. Only the largest snowbanks will survive all those mild temperatures and warm rain. The exceptions will be some shaded areas (likely on the MVT).

The snowbanks will be tough to handle manually. I’ve seen a lot of trucks and front loaders clearing some of them out. Since most streets are now plowed (I think?), the trucks can focus on clearing those out. I would be inclined to let them handle that work. I can’t even imagine how long it would take to shovel out a 7-ft high snowbank by hand.

The areas under the 14th St bridges and the Crystal City connector on the MVT could remain trouble spots. But the warm rain could clear out even those areas.

[PotomacCyclist]

I can view the map today, but I still can’t log on. I’m using a Windows 7 laptop and Google Chrome browser.

As noted on the other thread, I was able to sign in a week ago and post a road update on the site, but not since the snowstorm.

[PotomacCyclist]

S EADS ST protected bike lanes, Arlington — still covered in snow

Near the Crystal City Metro. They won’t be rideable on Friday morning.

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15TH ST NW protected bike lane in DC — still covered in snow

At and around U Street. This won’t be rideable on Friday morning either.

But the snowpack isn’t as bad as it was early in the week. Except for the snowplow-created snowbanks, I think both of those lanes could clear up by early next week, when the high temperatures could get into the 60s.

[PotomacCyclist]

@chris_s 133531 wrote:

That’s useful info – are you getting an error? I see your user account in the database.

The message reads “Invalid login attempt.” I was able to logon about a week ago, but not since the weekend. I’m pretty sure I’m using the correct password. If I’m not using the correct password, there’s no password recovery procedure.

[PotomacCyclist]

@chris_s 133511 wrote:

Just a reminder – if people are interested in a means of doing road & trail conditions on a map, I built one. Nobody’s using it at this point. If it gets some solid testing & there aren’t any show-stopping bugs I’ll push it to a wider audience.

I registered on that site/map. Before the winter storm, I posted a test update of a clear section of road. That showed up on the map. But a couple days later, I couldn’t log back in to the site.

[PotomacCyclist]

A lot more melting on the way soon.

Preliminary high temperature forecasts on Weather Underground

Thur. 40-42F

Fri. 39F

Sat. 44-46F

Sun. 47-49F

Then on Monday, 57-62F

Tue. 59-61F

****
No rain or snow predicted for those days (except to the south and east of DC on Thur. night).

Possibility of rain on Tue. night and into Wed. but temperatures will stay in the low to upper 50s, which means a lot of melting. Maybe the MVT could actually be usable by the middle of next week. Most or all of the remaining closed CaBi stations could also reopen by that time.

Some trails and roads will still be messy and inaccessible this week, especially in the mornings, but it may not be long before nearly everything is clear again.

[PotomacCyclist]

MVT under 14th St bridges still appears to be covered in a lot of snow this evening. From the Metro train, I saw tracks. Maybe truck or snowmobile. They looked fairly deep. I didn’t have a close look, but if I had to guess, I’d say there was still at least a foot of snow on that section of the trail.

[PotomacCyclist]

If I start doing more riding at night again, I may have to get one of those Bike Glow wire lights. They can be wrapped around the frame, providing much better visibility from the side. While they don’t provide 100 percent insurance against collisions, it definitely made me more noticeable when I used to have it. I got many comments from pedestrians, other cyclists and maybe a driver or two (generally positive or inquisitive). I could also tell that most people definitely saw me, whereas I’m not sure that’s always the case, even if if I have front and rear lights.

(The only reason I don’t have the light now is that my wrapping job on the frame wasn’t so great. Part of the wire got loose and wrapped itself around the pedal cranks. I ripped out the wires from the battery pack. I guess I could have fixed it with a soldering iron, but I haven’t soldered anything since high school and I wasn’t motivated to buy the equipment.)

I do much of my nighttime riding on CaBi. The front and rear lights help, but so do the slower speeds. It’s just a lot easier for everyone to avoid collisions at those slower speeds. I also expect that every driver pulling out of a parking lot or a cross street will be texting, so I plan accordingly. I guess I shouldn’t have to do it, and not all drivers text while driving, but when 10-25 percent are texting, that greatly increases the risk of collision if I assume all of them are being observant. It only takes one to cause injury and damage.

If I’m on my mountain bike, I generally ride slower at night. I put a higher priority on safety than time. (I don’t usually bike-commute at night anyway, and I haven’t done too much commuting on any transportation mode this winter because I’ve done a lot of work from home.) It’s much easier for everyone (me and other road/trail users) to avoid collisions at 10 mph than at 20 mph. High-viz clothing, lights, side lights, slower speeds and defensive riding won’t fully protect you from collisions. But in combination, they can greatly decrease the risk of collisions and crashes. It probably wouldn’t help if there’s some driver who is blind-drunk and racing at 70 mph down neighborhood streets. Fortunately that doesn’t happen too often, at least outside of certain holidays and certain neighborhoods with high concentrations of bars.

(I actually have more near-misses while walking through crosswalks as a pedestrian, for whatever reason. I wait for the WALK signal and I look for oncoming traffic and texting drivers, but it still gets tricky with drivers who are turning at intersections or who blow through red lights and into intersections and crosswalks at high speed.)

[PotomacCyclist]

Capital Bikeshare has reopened partially. Only about 20 percent of the stations are available right now. Check the official website or the Spotcycle app to see if your target station is open yet.

Most of the available stations are located in DC and Arlington. Two appear to be available in Alexandria. None of the Maryland stations are available yet.

http://www.capitalbikeshare.com/news/2016/01/22/service-alert-january-2016-snow-event

More stations will be opened once they have been cleared and verified, but it will be a slow and ongoing process. They are not rebalancing stations at this time. All of their efforts are going toward clearing stations of snow.

If you see that a station is clear but not yet activated, you can inform them through email or social media. Once they confirm that the station is usable, they will activate the station. Contact info is available at the webpage listed above.

[PotomacCyclist]

A very limited number of bike stations have reopened. Probably less than 20 percent of the total number. Check the official website or Spotcycle before attempting to use a particular station. If it doesn’t appear as active on the map, it’s not available for use.

http://www.capitalbikeshare.com/news/2016/01/22/service-alert-january-2016-snow-event

They will continue to clear and open additional stations, but it will be a slow process.

[PotomacCyclist]

@MFC 133358 wrote:

From the little I could see from the Metro, the MVT didn’t look clear at all.

That was my impression while looking down at it from the Metro Yellow Line. I doubt it would be rideable before next week, at the earliest. I’ll try to post a photo later today.

[PotomacCyclist]

I saw some CaBi stations in DC that were cleared of snow. I don’t know what percentage of the stations are plowed.

Yesterday’s mild temperatures melted a lot of snow but still not enough. I looked at another Arlington CaBi station, next to a road lane. The snow patch only extended about 6 inches back from the rear bike tires at the station, but it was about 15 inches high. I didn’t have a shovel and I was too sore to do any shoveling. But I kicked and pushed away some of the snow from the back tires to break up the snowpack. A snowpack 5 inches high will melt much faster than a 15-inch snowpack.

So I might do this over the next couple days, if CaBi isn’t up and running. I’ll pass by some stations. Instead of grinding myself into the ground trying to shovel them all out, I’ll just break up some of the tall snow banks by kicking away the snow. It only takes a few seconds and minimal effort. I’ll be sure not to push the snow into the road lanes or on the sidewalks. This will help with the natural snow melt as the temperatures get into the 40s and 50s over the next few days (except today). This will only work at stations where the snowpack doesn’t extend too far horizontally from the bikes and docks.

When I passed by the station I dug out the other day, I saw that all of the small snow patches that I left on the bikes had melted away completely. So it seems that in 50-degree temperatures, snow patches of 1-2 inches deep will melt in less than a day.

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