Custis Trail from Lee Hwy to Rosslyn: The trail is mostly clear except for the dregs from when the county appears to have plowed the trail. There is also some sand on the trail. The trail is very wet with small pools of water.
MVT: MVT from Roosevelt to 14th St bridge is clear of snow and ice but is wet. The bridge from Rosslyn to MVT at Roosevelt has small patches of hidden ice.
14th Street Bridge Trail: clear of snow and ice but is wet.
Temperatures are expected to dip below freezing at the end of the day today, near 5 pm. Wet trails could quickly become icy and dangerous.
Monday, January 6, 2014
Saturday, January 4, 2014
Trail Report: MVT from 14th St Bridge to Roosevelt
The MVT trail from 14th Street Bridge to Roosevelt is mostly pavement with significant patches of snow pack and ice. Some portions are completely covered with snow pack and ice. There were a number of joggers on the trail but I only saw one cyclist.
Trail Report: Hains Point
NPS has the gate closed to the HP loop. The closed loop road does not appear to have been treated or seen car traffic. Therefore the loop road has significant patches of ice and snow. It does not appear to be safe for road bikes wishing to do loop laps. In addition, in order to get around the closed gate you must bike up and over the snow covered grass.
On the plus side, with HP essentially closed, the red fox was highly active and was making many appearances.
On the plus side, with HP essentially closed, the red fox was highly active and was making many appearances.
Trail Report: W&OD at Bluemont
Just returned from Bluemont park. The W&OD and 4MR trails have a solid crush of packed snow on them with intermittent sheet ice. If its dark and it looks like pavement, its probably frozen melt and very slippery. There were several cyclists out successfully (but gingerly) navigating the trail. Both W&OD and 4MR were solidly covered with a hard packed snow crust.
Friday, January 3, 2014
Dear Arlington County Board Candidates: Do You Support Arlington Cyclists?
 |
| Photo by Arlington County (CC) |
Board Election - I asked the candidates about their positions regarding Arlington County and cycling. You can see the response of Libby Garvey, Kim Klinger, Terron Sims, Melissa Bondi and Peter Fallon here. These responses were also posted on the Bike Arlington Forum.
The Arlington cycling community would once again be interested in your views on cycling in Arlington. Feel free to use the questions below as a starting point to discuss your views of cycling and Arlington. Please send your responses to my email (I have sent messages to all of the candidates for county board) or you could post them below in the comment section, and I will repost them as posts.
Do you bike to work? If so, how often? Do you cycle otherwise?
Arlington County is going for a Gold Certification as a Bike Friendly Community. Do you support this effort? What do you feel Arlington could do in order to obtain that Gold certification? How should cycling fit within Arlington's transportation plan? How does Capital Bikeshare fit within that plan?
Arlington County supports bike commuters as part of its transportation plan. And yet the bike paths - the arteries of bike commuters - are under Parks and Recreation jurisdiction. Parks and Recreation regularly closes the trails down during rush hour, fails to clear the trails of snow after storms, and drives its vehicles down the trails. Should the bike trails be considered vital transportation arteries? Should they be placed under the jurisdiction of the Department of Environment Services? Should the trails be clear of snow after storms? Should Parks and Recreation be able to close down the trails during rush hour in order to prune trees?
A notorious problem in Arlington is known as the Intersection of Doom. This is the intersection of N Lynn Street and the Custis Trail (Lee Hwy) near I-66 and Key Bridge. It is a dangerous intersection where cars regularly run red lights, and there is rarely police enforcement. What can be done to make the Intersection of Doom safer?
Phoenix Bikes is proposing moving its youth program to a new location along Four Mile Run and Walter Reed Drive. This will give Phoenix bikes more room to expand its programs and greater access to potential cycling customers. Do you support the new location for Phoenix Bikes?
Additional Question: "I would ask the candidates to explain their position on the proposed Columbia Pike Streetcar and whether they support including the construction of a CONTINUOUS cross-county parallel bikeway as an INTEGRAL part of the Pike Streetcar project."
Is there anything else you would like to share with the Arlington cyclist community?
UPDATE: Two candidates has confirmed they will be providing responses soon.
Sports Recovery for Geezers
Recently I have been doing a lot of reading about sports recovery. During the season of holidays, I always overdo it. I go on some extra wonderful, extra-long bike rides, hike with the rescue dogs, and do some heavy chores around the house. By the end of vacations, I am always wondering why I am so fatigued. The first answer is obvious. A good exercise routine includes rest when the body rebuilds - and during vacations "rest" goes out the window.
Here are some recommendations from sports literature about how to improve your recovery after workouts. Some of these are obvious, and yet I frequently need to be smacked upside the head to be reminded to do a better job.
- Drink plenty of fluids. When you exercise, you sweat. Your body needs to be replenished. During extended workouts, start drinking early and regularly (don’t wait until you are thirsty).
- Eat healthily and soon after work outs. Again, after an extended workout, your body needs to refuel. I have repeatedly read that you should have a good meal of protein and complex carbohydrates soon after hard workouts.
- Rest. Your body needs time to repair and restore, and your body needs more time as you get older. Failing to have proper rest cycles means you could be digging yourself into a fatigue pit.
- Sleep. One of the joys of exercise is that it helps you get a good night's sleep. One of the joys of a good night's sleep is that it helps restore your body, giving you the ability to exercise.
- Avoid Overtraining. For instance, during breaks going on like bike rides, hiking the Billy Goat Trail B with the dogs, and rebuilding a flower bed probably amounts to overtraining. Dramatic alterations in activity level are not sustainable. Changes in exercise levels should be moderate. If you want to do a marathon or bicycle a century, engage in a training program that builds up your strength.
- Cool Down. Finish your work out with a gentle period of exertion. One pro cycling team finishes the race day with 10 minutes of gentle spinning to help the legs warm down.
- Massage. One of the favorite stations on a bicycle tour is the massage stop. A good massage can help restore your muscles.
- Ice Baths. Haven't tried it but professional athletes swear by them.
- Stretch. After a hard work out, engage in gentle stretching of your muscles.
My personal take aways: With age, sports performance decreases and sports recovery time increases. But this doesn’t mean giving up. The health benefits of an active lifestyle are well established - and as one friend said, "It's better than the alternative." Instead, for me, it means being more deliberate with my training, and in particular, making sure I don’t overdo it and find myself in a fatigue pit. By being more deliberate, I can continue hiking the Billy Goat Trail and cycling out the W&OD for a good long time.
Sources:
- Training for the over 50s, 2Peak
- Lifelong Exercise and Strength Training in Older Adults, Urban Athlete, Jan. 11, 2012
- Effects of age and gender on physical performance, Age (Dordr) NIH. 2007 September; 29(2-3): 77–85
- 7 Recovery Strategies Used by Pro Cyclists, Active
- Ride Hard, Recover Harder, Bicycling
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)