Southeast - W&OD at night

Anyone bike it after dark? What's it like, are there sections to avoid or does "the park close after dark"?

I had a chance to ride the W&OD while visiting in-laws over Christmas. It's a GREAT trail!

It's only open during daylight:

http://www.wodfriends.org/safety.html

I've biked it after dark, usually by going out too far too late. It is very dark between Reston and Falls Church.

Which part of the WOD are you thinking of? Officially the trail closes at dusk, but I don't know about enforcement. Some parts in Arlington are well lit. Commuters use the Custis and WOD to get to East Falls Church and I often see night riders along Shreve Road.

I live in Arlington, but I was thinking about thw whole trail really. Just curious though. I would think enforcement at least close-in would be somewhat lax as it's a major bike commute route.

I'm getting a light soon and was thinking about possible places to bike at night without getting run over or attacked, that's why I asked.

WOD may be a mixed bag. I've got no problems with any of it in the day, but not so sure about night if I'm solo.

Where the trail runs thru neighborhoods in Arlington, Falls Church, Vienna, Reston, Herndon, Leesburg, and Purcellville it's partially lit and partially seen from streets. The stretches in between are pretty remote and dark. Might be nice under a full moon, but it's also lonely out there. Depends on your tolerance.

How about around the Mall and Hains Point for night riding. Well lit, patrolled and probably not much traffic.
Or some of the good biking roads in North Arlington and Falls Church, like Wilson, Military, Williamsburg Westmoreland, Great Falls etc. You could probably create a pretty good nighttime road ride.

I haven't tried Military yet, and I think Williamsburg is probably even better at night traffic-wise. I've used it for my commute (which I've only done a couple of times). It would have been nicer if I could have relied on W&OD but I'm sure it's not a necessity by far.

Guess I'll fiddle around.....

thanks all.

You could try a triangle - Military, Williamsburg and the lit parts of the WOD and Custis. Get in some good hill work.
I've used that route for training. Expect that it would work at night as well as day.

That sounds nice..

Did anyone see that they're (finally!) replacing the bridge deck between 28 and the rest stop? If it's any where near as smooth as the 2nd bridge, it'll be a HUGE improvement. It's a bone-jarring ride across the bridge, and I won't miss it.

Now, if they could only make some progress on the Piney Branch bridge between Hunter Mill and Vienna - the gravel detour is getting pretty dicey on the road bike - anyone know when it'll be replaced?

Did anyone see that they're (finally!) replacing the bridge deck between 28 and the rest stop? If it's any where near as smooth as the 2nd bridge, it'll be a HUGE improvement. It's a bone-jarring ride across the bridge, and I won't miss it.
The wood bridge over the creek near the Loudon County Parkway? Good! I always hated that bridge.
How many wood bridges does that leave? Arlington and Falls Church?

Sweet, I hate those bumpy, rattling planks.

I think that there are only 2 others - The big one in Falls Church, then a short one in Arlington. The Arlington one is no big deal, but the FC one would be nice to see it replaced.....but I'm happy to see that there's an overpass at all. That's a busy crossing @ street level...

I can live with FC - Piney Branch is my big pet peeve @ the moment.

Now if they'd only put overpasses @ the Gallows Rd, Maple Street and Hunter Mill crossings.....

can live with FC - Piney Branch is my big pet peeve @ the moment.

It's infuriating me lately. I would be one thing if you saw at least ONE GUY doing something. They roped it off and just plain are ignoring it. How long has it been, a year and half now?

It's been about 7 months (June 2006) according to WABA and the FWOD websites....both say that it'll take "several" months. Since the new bridge deck is sitting on site, it's really a question of when they're going to rebuild the foundation, which I guess wouldn't be before we get out of winter......so April is the EARLIEST I'd guess. Maybe they could run a roller or two over the detour in the mean time. Those loose patches aren't always easy to spot, and I may just keep on the hybrid until it gets done.

BTW, here's a pic of the foundation that has to be fixed:
http://wodfriends.org/icons/stonework4.jpg