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Now that the temperatures are warming up here in northeast Pennsylvania its not to bad to ride with a good percentage of rain forecasted. Not saying down poor but a lite rain can make some easy trails hard and hard trails down right sketchy. Wet roots and rocks will sharpen the skills of even the best riders and change the whole dynamic of the ride. Only real complaint I have is getting a wet ass other than that trials are empty and will keep you much more focused. So enjoy the ride even if its a little messy and remember, its mountain biking and all the conditions that the weather deals out is all part of the experience.
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I’ll ride in a light to moderate amount of rain or I’ll try to dodge periods of rain. Here in WNC when it rains, it really rains (temperate rainforest) and things are prone to flash flooding. I don’t mind getting wet and muddy but, I try to avoid damaging trail.
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Riding in the mud trashes your bike and trashes your trails. How you treat your bike is your business but don’t destroy the trails we all share. If you really enjoy riding in the rain and mud, go ride on some gravel roads.
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Not on purpose.
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Easy bike nerd, simply saying a little rain is kinda fun. We dont have flow , soft trails in eastern pa, what we have is mountains. Trail builders just move rocks around and utilize fallin trees for some ridiculous obstacles. They themselves ride in any weather and wont entertain help building the trails but tell you enjoy them. Soft flow trails Im sure know-one would ride ,we all no better unless ya never built any trails. Like bmx jump building, you have to earn the right to even ride their trials so why would you wreck them. If you rely on a bike shop to do the ridiculous amount of hours needed to keep a mountain working at it best , absolutely do not get it muddy but if care for it correctly after every ride you’ll certainly get to experience more. If you wait for perfect conditions you will only ever end up wanting to ride. Gravel biking is equally as fun in the rain and some mud. Shred it all
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Nope…I am a fair-weather cyclist and proud of it!!
…and yes, I agree, here in the Northeast, if you wait for trails to ” dry out” you’ll have about four days in July when you can actually ride. So we do ride in mud – and some folks in mud and rain. : )
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Where you live makes all the difference between how good of an idea it is to ride in the rain: for the trails, and for your bike and the two categories don’t always line up.
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Heres one for ya, went out in rain today and just excellent ride and when i get back to the car here comes a older mom with the minivan heading out for a ride.These trails are no joke in good conditions and then add rain. Was just a drizzle but trails were already wet. Clipping in it was apparent she knew what she was doing. She was getting it done ,no regrets. Hats off to her and be safe
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SKeen put it correctly. Where you live, how many other people and groups use the trails, how sensitive other users are to trial damage and ruts, the condition of the trails and how much damage they sustain when wet, etc play a role in whether you should ride on muddy trails. I live near Helena, Montana with its network of single track in the South Hills and dirt road riding in the mountains of Helena National Forest and know some bikers who do not ride single track when the trails are muddy for concerns about erosion and damage. Last year I was riding a dirt road in the south Elkhorn mountains and ran into a patch of gumbo. I got about 2 feet before the mud clogged up the tires and I spent the next half hour scraping mud so the the point the wheels would turn. Eastern people may be unfamiliar with gumbo – it is a clay dirt which can absorb about 12 times in weight in water and turns into viscous glue when wet. Step in it and your foot will come up with 6 inches of mud.
For a dispassionate view on this subject here is an article out of park City:http://parkcitymountainbike.com/riding-wet-trails/
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Wow, thats certainly not something I would wanna ride in. Those type trails must be extremely hard to maintain and lots of hours to keep ridable. Our trails only require a tree to be cut away or built up to ride over if its to big. Not really much maintenance just cut in new when ya can and ride um. You just have to love riding rocks.Typically you will get between 4 to 8 miles tops in because of how much climbing you do at a average speed of 4mph.
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Yes, I ride in the rain.
I’m an IMBA Trail Crew Leader, I know what goes into building/maintaining sustainable trails. When raining, I ride rocky/rooty trails that see little (if any) damage from use. Ride a little slower as everything’s slippery when wet. I stay away from softer surface trails that might get rutted up from tires.
If our PNW brethren only rode when dry, they’d get 5-6 rides in….a year.
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Assuming we are talking about trails that hold up, yes. There are sandy trails not too far from me which are rideable after moderate rain. I notice I do it a lot less since I bought a smart trainer. I wear stuff out a lot less now.
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South mountain in eastern PA is the mountain range the local mtb riders get to ride where I live. A true mountain bike trail system. Look them up if your in town and check um out. Don’t concern yourself with any weather at the time the trails are open always and only damage is what the trails will do to you. Double black diamond rated they are and you will either love them or hate them depending skill level. Being a old bmxer I’d love to ride trails where dirt was formed and precious but for now popping off rocks into more rocks is my fix. Some may think that doesn’t sound like any fun but its all us locals know and a slick rainy day in the rocks puts sparkle in your eye for some. Sure wish my timing was better on the ride and I could have rode with the mom that showed up just as was finishing. She had to be a well seasoned rider is all I know because I’ve seen guys walk their bikes out on a damp day saying its way to sketchy for us. Oh yeah and its good to hear some can ride the trails in the rain and if you cant ,a trainer or beers it is that day
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I ride in the rain when the trail supports it. I think that is the sentiment I hear in this thread and that is nice. I feel most of the time you just hear nay sayers telling everyone not to ride in the rain or when trails are muddy. I think most of us take in to consideration if trails drain well and if they are just mud or mostly rock. No one wants to ride in deep mud. Not much fun. Being in the conditions is also part of mountain biking. We rocks, dirt, creeks, trees, etc… Rain is part of it and so is some mud. Like it was said earlier if I waited for the trails to be just right I would only get to ride a couple of times a month. I am not going to judge others’ choice. Conditions and trail make up varies so much across this country. It seems silly to have a hard fast rule about when to ride for everyone.
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Will I ride in the rain? Not on purpose. Lol. But, on a number of occasions, I have gotten caught out on the trails when a rain storm rolled in. It can certainly change the dynamics of a ride pretty quickly. While I embrace the challenge I don’t particularly care for the feeling of being saturated with rain/sweat dripping into my eyes/glasses, the lack of grip on my bars or the incessant squealing of my brakes. As it relates to riding wet trails, we really need to draw a distinction between riding muddy dirt trails vs wet sandy or rocky trails. My rule of thumb is that if your tires are leaving deep ruts that need to be fixed you shouldn’t be riding… otherwise, go get some.
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General rule of thumb with water/rain:
if it will take longer to clean bike, vehicle and me than it will to go on the ride itself … I ain’t doing it
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