January 2019 - Road and Trail Conditions

[Steve O]

. Steve O would probably scoff at my timidity,

Coincidentally, I rode to Silver Spring this morning and rode up the CCT from Chain Bridge to Bethesda. I rode right over all of the icy spots without issue. I did ride with both hands on, though.

[cvcalhoun]

Coincidentally, I rode to Silver Spring this morning and rode up the CCT from Chain Bridge to Bethesda. I rode right over all of the icy spots without issue. I did ride with both hands on, though.

Yeah, I have never had a good sense of balance, and it's gotten markedly worse with age. I find it remarkable that I can still keep a bike upright, even when it's not icy.

[Steve O]

Yeah, I have never had a good sense of balance, and it's gotten markedly worse with age. I find it remarkable that I can still keep a bike upright, even when it's not icy.

The beautiful thing about a bicycle is that it pretty much stays up by itself. Those revolving wheels create stability that doesn't exist when it is standing still. And that we definitely do not have when we walk.
That is why it is actually EASIER to ride over a patch of ice than it is to walk.
I have, on numerous occasions, ridden by people struggling to walk their bikes on icy sections. If they would just get on and ride they would find it much easier. But they do not believe me.

Riding a bike is not actually about balance (OTOH, track standing is); it's about correction. I teach adult beginners to ride. I know they've got it when they wobble across the tennis court. They are not balanced very well, but their brains have figured out how to readjust as they go along. Your brain learned that decades ago and it will never unlearn it, even if you can no longer stand on one foot. Keep the bike moving and it will stay up; no actual balancing required.

[cvcalhoun]

The beautiful thing about a bicycle is that it pretty much stays up by itself. Those revolving wheels create stability that doesn't exist when it is standing still. And that we definitely do not have when we walk.
That is why it is actually EASIER to ride over a patch of ice than it is to walk.
I have, on numerous occasions, ridden by people struggling to walk their bikes on icy sections. If they would just get on and ride they would find it much easier. But they do not believe me.

Riding a bike is not actually about balance (OTOH, track standing is); it's about correction. I teach adult beginners to ride. I know they've got it when they wobble across the tennis court. They are not balanced very well, but their brains have figured out how to readjust as they go along. Your brain learned that decades ago and it will never unlearn it, even if you can no longer stand on one foot. Keep the bike moving and it will stay up; no actual balancing required.

I can assure you, that is 100% not true in my case. The first time I hit a rut in the ice, I try to compensate, and fall over. This has happened often enough so that I don't try it any more.

[Steve O]

I can assure you, that is 100% not true in my case. The first time I hit a rut in the ice, I try to compensate, and fall over. This has happened often enough so that I don't try it any more.

Aha! Don't compensate. Just keep your wheels straight as best you can. The bike will compensate for you.

[cvcalhoun]

Aha! Don't compensate. Just keep your wheels straight as best you can. The bike will compensate for you.

As best I can is not at all well. I'll stick to walking.

[ChristoB50]

The temporary wooden bridge (at the water treatment plant) had a very thin sheen of ice on the surface, but not 100% coverage. That bridge will probably be removed (based on the progress of sewer pipe removal) any day now...

More joy! Driving past the water treatment plant on my way home today, I noticed that the temporary bridge is in fact gone now!

[NickBull]

Aha! Don't compensate. Just keep your wheels straight as best you can. The bike will compensate for you.

If an icy surface is sloped, then gravity is going to make your wheels want to slip sideways. The icy spots south of the trollheim are flat, but some of the the icy spots south of Memorial Bridge are a little too tilted for me to want to risk it.

[n18]

Tried W&OD segment in Vienna from Tapawingo to Clark's Crossing, worst spot is when approaching Park Street intersection, foot traffic and what not made the ice deeper. There are large patches of thin ice, and the worst parts are when transitioning from ice/snow to clear pavement, couldn't get faster than 10 MPH with 25mm slick tires. Riding over snowy parts made it more stable. Just before Clark's Crossing and to the west seems all clear till Hunter Mill RD, but didn't go there.

[dasgeh]

Snow had covered the Custis & TR Bridge this morning. But as a benefit to the cold, it was not slick at all - just squeaky. Easy peasy to ride on.

I'll probably still take Key Bridge home, because I'm risk adverse. (But not as risk adverse as the APS parents screaming that they didn't cancel school because there is white on the street).