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In contrast to RCP, the CCT was in admirable condition. Really a nice commute this evening. Sidewalks heading up the hill (toward the District) from the trail’s Mass Ave exit are completely covered on both sides of the road, unfortunately. Not a problem at 8:30pm but could be annoying during rush hour.

Anyone else feel like some drivers still have lingering anger from last week?

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On my first bike commute since the storm, I was surprised (ok, not really) to discover that RCP trail is still partly covered with snow & ice, at least the section south of Conn. Ave. I would have thought that clearing a major recreational and commuting trail like RCP would be a priority, especially for a park that is basically just a highway anyway, but apparently not.

Maybe I could have made it through on my hybrid, but I opted for city streets, and guess I will be for at least a few more days until mother nature does the Park Service’s job for it. (Am I being too harsh here??)

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@bentbike33 127432 wrote:

The very high humidity today means water is condensing on surfaces that are below the dew point (i.e., did not get any sun today). Handling on the Trollheim seemed especially squirrelly even though it appeared to be mostly dry.

Be careful on the way home.

No joke — especially when slurried w/ wet leaves, like on the CCT exit to Mass Ave… Ouch!!

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Thanks both for your replies and for the welcome. I’m glad to hear that you haven’t heard of any incidents, though the advice to be well-lit and consider carrying mace are useful reminders. I’ll continue to use the trail in the evenings and will post my sad story here if I run into trouble!

As a side note, I was in Minneapolis for the past two years. One of the most useful commuting trails out there runs through a rough neighborhood and has periodic safety issues. Although they are fairly rare, and the trail is well-lit (making it easy to spot potential trouble ahead), the incidents are widely publicized and tend to lead cyclists to use less convenient (and slower!) on-street routes at night. Still, there are usually cyclists about until at least 10:30 or 11pm, and there is definitely safety in numbers.

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