Wait for the mountain bike trails to dry before you ride
Edward McIlvain posted a convincing column yesterday over at YourHub.com about riding on wet mountain bike trails in the Golden/Denver area. I’m certainly guilty of trying to get out too early after a rain storm (we don’t have much snow down here) but the short term enjoyment quickly fades as the long term consequences become apparent. Aside from junking the trails for people who ride after you, there is always the real risk that land managers and other trail users will seek to ban mountain bikes for good. Plus, mud just ain’t good for your bike’s drivetrain.
Like McIlvain says in his article, no one wants to be a “trail Nazi” but sometimes it’s important to be responsible for the good of the mountain bike community. Hold off on riding just a little longer and remember that a wet spring means a beautiful green summer in Colorado!
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March 29th, 2007 at 9:58 am
Yep, we’ve got snow here again today in the Denver metro area (2-6″) just as the trails were all starting to dry out. I’ve only ridden Green Mountain and Dakota Ridge/Red Rocks (plus gravel roads) in the metro area so far this year. We’re still weeks away from anything epic opening up.
Sometimes I wonder why they don’t just completely close the open space trails when any and all trail users will do damage. It’s not to say that the majority of damage isn’t irreversible but it’s just better practice. Boulder County has implemented this at a few of their open space parks as well as putting up advisories that they would rather you use a different trail due to muddy conditions to reduce damage. Would you be pissed if you showed up to your local trail and found that it was closed due to muddy conditions? Maybe I’ll start a poll on the forum…