WOD and Curtis Trail Condition on Feb 6, 2011

[RESTONTODC]

I'm planning to commute from Reston to DC on 2/7/11 but don't the conditions of trails. Can you provide the updates? Thanks.

[PrintError]

I'm thinking I might brave it. My neighborhood in Herndon thawed significantly last night. If it's clear, the W&OD outta be at least passable. Yesterday was a big help.

[CCrew]

I'm thinking I might brave it. My neighborhood in Herndon thawed significantly last night. If it's clear, the W&OD outta be at least passable. Yesterday was a big help.

Lots of black ice at 3:30am... Doable, but if it looks wet it was usually frozen.

[FFX_Hinterlands]

Ugh, I'm all ready to go West on the W&OD this morning. It's colder than I expected, perhaps I'll pass. Too bad it might be the only commute day for me this week.

[PrintError]

Ugh, I'm all ready to go West on the W&OD this morning. It's colder than I expected, perhaps I'll pass. Too bad it might be the only commute day for me this week.

Sorry, no report from me this morning. The morning traffic report said route 7 was jammed up due to an accident, so I took the street hoping to pass a zillion stopped cars. Alas, it was already cleaned up by the time I got there. Rats.

Today might be near 50 and sunny. If it thaws, I'll take the trail tonight and report back this evening.

[eminva]

Report from the late shift:

I set out about 8 a.m., picking up the W&OD at Gallows (avoiding the stretch between Cedar and Gallows that takes so long to thaw), riding a standard issue road bike, all the way through to Key Bridge.

I did not fall and I did not have to get off and walk at any point. I did have to go quite slowly through some sections. Especially in the shady spots, there are still some icy stretches. But there was usually at least one narrow patch of bare pavement through those areas.

Hopefully it will warm up nicely today and won't refreeze by the evening commute.

Thanks to everyone who was posting reports through the last few weeks. It definitely helped!

Liz

[RESTONTODC]

Liz,

Thank you for posting the detail report. I normally ride later 8:30 with same route WOD, Curtis, and Key Bridge but I chicken out this morning. Hopefully, it would dry up by Wednesday.

[gregmce]

Thanks for all the updates -- have been debating trying to leave work a little early today and to get some actual outdoor exercise with the good weather, but also didn't want to wipe out on the ice. I keep debating back and forth (was hoping for a small brick) but am right now crossing my fingers that the warmer temperatures have shaken off the worst of what was left.

[PrintError]

My friend and I will be hitting the trail around 5:30 tonight, hoping this beautiful day thawed some of the nasty spots. Will report back this evening.

[jabberwocky]

For anyone interested in conditions out west, I rode from Old Reston Ave out to route 28 this afternoon to see how things are. The trail is 95% clear. The other 5% still contained rutted snow and ice, but almost always had two clear tracks through it that were at least 12" wide (usually 2 ft or more though). I was on a road bike with slicks and did perfectly fine.

The only tricky thing is going to be when the temps drop. There was a lot of snowmelt on the trail, I suspect that things will get icy in places early in the morning and later in the evening.

[CCrew]

The only tricky thing is going to be when the temps drop. There was a lot of snowmelt on the trail, I suspect that things will get icy in places early in the morning and later in the evening.

Yeah, that's how it was at 3:30 this morning. Generally passable but when you saw a spot that looked wet you could be assured it was glaze ice.

[consularrider]

I rode the Custis and W&OD from Courthouse (Veitch St) to Vienna (Maple St). There is at least a six inch wide clear pavement strip the entire way. Most is clear, but the track is the hill before mile post 3 on the Custis,and then on the W&OD iin Falls Chruch between Little Falls and Great Falls, then both before and after the Shreve Rd crossing, and from Gallows Rd to Park St in Vienna. There will probably be reicing overnight if we get below freezing again.

[PrintError]

Friend and I rode from Clark's Crossing to the Herndon caboose tonight. A few spots of single-track, but otherwise totally rideable. We were both on roadies and slicks. SOOOOOOOOOO nice to be back on the trail as opposed to Route 7.

Definitely the black ice concern tomorrow morning, but I'll be out there anyway.