When can I hit the trails?

[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?

[Veronica]

A lot of the trails here are also in cow pasture or used by horses, so I don't worry too much about damage I may do. I don't like riding when it is so muddy the mud collects on my tires and eventually accumulates so much the tire no longer moves.


V.

[Biking Chick]

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?

The trails in our area (central & northern Wisconsin) are, for the most part, free of snow all though there are patchy areas in the shaded areas where you will come across snow, it is not 'written' but clearly understood by those of us who regularly use the trails that riders should stay off the trails until after the frost has come out of the ground. This keeps the ruts to a minimum.

Who maintains your trails? A call to someone from your local cycling club or a LBS to find out what the protocol is would probably be appreciated.

Cindy in WI

[SadieKate]

Yes, talk to your local shops. It's the amount of water on the trails. It will damage both the trail and your bike. The local shops will know which trails drain the fastest.

[Barb]

Thanks. I need to stop in and check out a sale today. I will ask about the trails.

[Irulan]

Is the a local mountain biking club? Most mountain bike clubs have that sort of information on their web sites. Some use a red light/green light system.
you can look up your local imba affiliate by state here
http://www.imba.com

It really depends on what kind of soil you have and how fast it drains. Riding in mud is really destructive. People either go around holes and widen the trails, or it just tears up the soil. Your local club can guide you.

irulan

[Irulan]

Yes, talk to your local shops. It's the amount of water on the trails. It will damage both the trail and your bike. The local shops will know which trails drain the fastest.

Mud itself will not damage a bike.. it's the not cleaning it off, letting things rust and the lubrication drying out that will mess things up.


Irulan

[SadieKate]

Irulan, probably depends on the quality of your mud. Some of our mud is like clay and you get huge gobs that can cause your chain to come off, wear your rims if you don't have disks, etc. I've seen paint jobs destroyed from mud causing a chain to derail. You end up having to replace cables and components more often because it just gradually works it way into the casings and other nooks and crannies no matter how good you are about cleaning. I've seen bikes inoperational on the trail because of the mud build-up.

Maybe your mud is friendly! Ours is not!

[Irulan]

When I do pick up mud, the bike always gets a thorough cleaning and lubeing as soon as we get home. Most mountain bikers I know don't worry too much about the paint: it IS a mountain bike after all. You are right of course in that mud is abrasive and that it can immobilize components. Around here, If the mud is of that nature mostly I'll chose not to ride as if it's that bad, most likely it's no good for the trails to be out when it's that gooey.

I just thought the comment about mud damaging a bike was odd...dirt riding is hard on a bike and we do our best to get the most miles out of them. Potentail mud damage is not something I'd ever considered, I just keep my bike clean and hope for the best. Then again, I'm not just getting over a very wet Norcal El Nino winter, either.

irulan

[bounceswoosh]

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.