Quote Originally Posted by Barb
Now that this roadie has a mtn bike, I wanna know when the trails are ok. Is there some unwritten rules about too early in the spring? We are hitting the 50's for the first time this year but it is going to get cold again. Does this rut up the trails?
I just want to mention, as I don't think it's been specifically stated, that it's not about when you ride; it's about trail conditions. If your trails aren't closed during parts of the year for wildlife protection, you can ride them whenever, provided that they are reasonably dry (or whatever constitutes "safe from unnecessary tire damage" in your region). If the weather's been dry in the middle of the winter and you have a nice warm day, and you know that a certain trail will be dry, it's probably fine to ride it.

One of our local trail advocacy groups has started a site on which people can list the most recent trail conditions. Obviously, this is the kind of thing that requires a certain momentum to be useful, but there might be something like that in your area, too.