[S. Arlington Observer]

The contest has reached Biblical proportions. We’ve now been at it “40 days and 40 nights”.

[S. Arlington Observer]

@chris_s 134408 wrote:

So it turns out while working on some other stuff, hozn introduced a bug that was causing all recent rides to come back with swapped latitude and longitude. So your new rides were appearing….but in places like Antarctica and Iran rather than where you expected them. Looks like it is fixed now.

I’ve always wanted to go to Antarctica. I guess virtual is better than nothing.

Still in awe of you tech guys.

[S. Arlington Observer]

Also, note that the time stamp is not up to date in real time. (Not sure how it updates.) As of 2 p.m. it does not show my morning ride this a.m. but does show yesterday afternoon’s evening commute. It is great and I love it. But it isn’t actually in real time.

[S. Arlington Observer]

@DCAKen 134358 wrote:

Who’s been cycling in Antarctica?

Actually, different paths show for each team, but every team (I checked) had somebody cycling there. Must be an issue with Strava. Perhaps a default location when all else fails?

[S. Arlington Observer]

Excellent tool. Thank you!

[S. Arlington Observer]

@NickBull 134240 wrote:

FYI, This issue has hit the WaPo “Dr Gridlock” section:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dr-gridlock/wp/2016/02/04/shouldnt-snow-cleanup-include-trails/

As one would expect the haters are out in the comment section. Might be a good idea to read the article and offer positive support for snow removal.

[S. Arlington Observer]

I wasn’t around for the prior discussion three years ago. But I have used the Metro to transport my bicycle (in an appropriate time frame) and I totally do not support eliminating the rush hour ban entirely — even though doing so would occasionally be helpful to me. Navigating a cycle on a train and in a station full of people is disruptive. At peak times it would be downright dangerous for all involved.

I don’t begrudge somebody bringing up an idea and I sort of hate to see people jump on anyone for raising an issue. But debating the merits of ideas is always appropriate.

I avoid Metro whenever possible. It is a crowded, unreliable and very user unfriendly system. But it is the only option many people have and is vital to many. I can’t believe that anyone who has ever actually waited for an Orange or Blue line train in Arlington during rush hour would think adding bicycles to the mix is rational or reasonable. Blue line riders at the Pentagon or Rosslyn are lucky to even squeeze on a train (without bikes).

I suspect that most people who hang out at this forum would be highly responsible about Metro use during rush hour. But that does not include the entire universe of cyclists. If it was allowed to try and cram a bicycle onto a crowded rush hour train, plenty of selfish people would try. And we, the entire cycling community, would bear the blow-back.

Rules should be no more restrictive than public safety requires. The Metro is for all. But the public safety case for the rush hour ban is pretty strong and the practicalities of completely doing away with it are not very realistic.

As others pointed out, the bike racks on buses make a great alternative. I use that one almost every day and it makes a morning commute (which would otherwise not be tenable for me) possible. My only fear is the coming day when the two bikes per bus rack will be insufficient. (But at least that can be addressed with engineering … I hope.)

[S. Arlington Observer]

Sort of desparate for news of S Eads Street in Arlington, especially heading north from the 4MR trail. Would very much like to resume my cycling commute. Anyone been there in the last 24 hours or so?

[S. Arlington Observer]

@huskerdont 133658 wrote:

You call that a wind? Didn’t even blow me off me bike going back across Key Bridge. It’s not a real wind unless I have to put a foot down.

Yes, by day’s end I was aware of that. I think some of us experienced transient mid day squalls. I thought it was a sustained change. Sorry.

[S. Arlington Observer]

This seems as good a place as any to post a small rant and illustration.

Arlington has done a pretty good job of clearing the roads in the Courthouse and Clarendon neighborhoods, including bike lanes. (Much less so in Virginia Square.) So, taking advantage of the good civic services, I went for a midday ride and encountered this. I have no idea if it was left by a county crew, a county contractor or the private construction crew building the hotel around the corner. No markings on it to identify it.

No, it has not been there since the snow started. I don’t recall seeing it yesterday. Nor was it being used for any current hazard. And maddeningly, there were actually empty vehicle parking spaces all around it, but the bicycle lane seemed so much more inviting. (See the Jeep in front of it — spaces behind and in front of the Jeep and similar ones behind where I took the photo.)

There is so much public consciousness and education to be done. I am sure a contractor (or the government) would not simply park an item so as to block the automobile traffic lane of Veitch Street. But most people seem to regard bike lanes as temporary parking, storage, unloading or (in Crystal City, particularly) walking spaces. Anything but an actual transportation route.

Sigh

[ATTACH=CONFIG]10733[/ATTACH]

[S. Arlington Observer]

Hello Stalwart Commuters!

Heads up. I went out for a short midday ride and the weather has changed a LOT since this morning. The wind is much stronger (and about blew me over at one point).

Those of you heading west or northwest are in for quite a slog. Those heading east or southeast….just unfurl the sails and go with it.

Also, while it is a drying wind, it will probably drop the temps below freezing fairly soon after darkness.

Good luck.

[S. Arlington Observer]

@bobco85 133505 wrote:

I saw the Twitter update yesterday saying that the W&OD trail was cleared:

Then, I rode the W&OD Trail this morning. I argue that “cleared” is not the right word here (I replied to the tweet, BTW). It was mostly icy and rutted with many parts requiring one to dismount. Here is my evidence:

I think it is a great improvement, but it is not in a rideable state just yet.

Thank you for the report. That is very helpful. Not sure if I will chance it this evening or not, though I hope the temps and sun do some work to finish the job today. Were it not for your report I would have assumed it was “cleared” more than it obviously is. Again, thanks for the report. It really helps a lot.

[S. Arlington Observer]

Does anyone have a report on the Bluemont Junction trail between Ballston and the W&OD?

It is disheartening to hear that the W&OD is still rather difficult, but hoping that the sun today helps that along. But first one has to get TO the W&OD. Any news on Bluemontt would be most appreciated.

[S. Arlington Observer]

On a more satisfying note, cyclists had made good progress in wearing a path (via tire tracks) through the gap between Four Mile Run Trail and the Eads Street cul de sac. But it was not complete and would clearly be subject to refreezing in a very rutted condition. So, after riding home, I returned in my car with a shovel and finished clearing the path. With today’s warmth it should be quite clear by afternoon.

There was NO excuse for the County to leave this gap. County equipment cleared both the main trail and the road. The spur is a crucial connector between the two. It is on County land and, I assume, maintained by the County. It is marked as a prime route on County cycling maps. It is less than 100 yards between the trail and the cul de sac. It would have taken the trail clearing equipment almost no time to take the slight detour to make the connection complete. Epic fail.[ATTACH=CONFIG]10699[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]10700[/ATTACH]

[S. Arlington Observer]

I had a few hours to do a reconnaissance ride yesterday to check out the Four Mile Run (Arlington) Trail between Shirlington and S. Eads Street and Eads Street itself.

The good news is that the 4MR Trail was great the entire way. (I can’t vouch for the portion beyond Eads Street towards the MVT). It was, however, very wet and I will avoid it in the mornings so long as overnight temperatures are to drop below freezing. It is an easy ride, however, in the day and early evening.

Eads Street itself is a different matter. The northbound unprotected bike lane would be usable except that Metro workers have chosen to use it for parking since their usual parking shoulder is full of snow. The lower unprotected southbound lane is simply buried and did not not look usable at all. Further up toward the Metro the protected bike lanes are essentially unusable. This reflect’s the County’s hierarchy of values since both the road and the sidewalks are clear, except where roads intersect and mounds obscure the sidewalk. Basically its roads first, then pedestrians (except when the needs of cars intervene) and no concern at all for the bike infrastructure. I really don’t understand why both sides (the sidewalk and the road) of the protected bike lane can be cleared but the bike lane not be touched.

Anyway, I realized that there is a sidewalk all the way along Eads. I had actually never noticed that there was one on lower Eads as I am usually in the bike lanes. The sidewalk is mostly clear but interrupted in places with snow mounds (especially at intersections). And, of course, there are the pedestrians. One could possibly make one’s way up or down most of the street via sidewalk but I suspect there would be a lot of stopping and perhaps some portage along the way. In portions of Eads there is enough room to feel comfortable in the road itself. But in much of it that is not the case. Since the road is heavily used by garbage trucks, tour buses and large delivery vehicles I won’t be riding in the road.

[Author]

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