Spring MTB

[Greg]

This will be my first full spring on the mountain bike. With no foliage yet, I've found riding to be a lot easier since you can see further up the trail and can adjust your riding accordingly. When there's a full canopy and low growing vegetation, obstacles seem to come up quick. Still, I can't wait for mid summer riding and flying through a tunnel of green.

 

[JD]

MMMMM. Green tunnel.

 

[bvibert]

It seems very similar the last couple of rides I took at the end of last season.

 

[gmcunni]

i can't get motivated to get the bike out and take a ride.

 

[o3jeff]

It seems very similar the last couple of rides I took at the end of last season.

Wait until you hit the new trail, lots of mountain laurel at the beginning, no wonder the bears like to hang out over there.

 

[Greg]

i can't get motivated to get the bike out and take a ride.

My first ride was funk city. Just no confidence at all. Second ride was waaay better and after the third ride this weekend I'm totally into it. Just prepare yourself for tainted love again... :lol:

 

[JD]

The taint can take a beating.

 

[kingdom-tele]

do you fellas mean the cuzif?

 

[jarrodski]

takes a while... are you into rain riding yet? gotta get the days in. it sucks for the first 20 minutes or so, but after you're completly soaked, screw it, then it's good ripping. I used to view it as a mtb bike version of a powder day for a long time.

 

[Greg]

Rode in the rain a few times last year. You're right, no biggie once you acclimate.

 

[bvibert]

Riding in the rain isn't too bad, but I don't prefer it. My biggest concern is ripping up the trails too much if it's raining hard.

 

[jarrodski]

Riding in the rain isn't too bad, but I don't prefer it. My biggest concern is ripping up the trails too much if it's raining hard.

really? your biggest concern? come on now...

 

[bvibert]

really? your biggest concern? come on now...

My biggest concern when trying to decide to ride in the rain or not. Getting wet is not a concern.

 

[jarrodski]

My biggest concern when trying to decide to ride in the rain or not. Getting wet is not a concern.

i have this vision of not enjoying powder days on skis so as to not mess up the snow...

 

[severine]

i have this vision of not enjoying powder days on skis so as to not mess up the snow...

Not the same. I know what Brian is saying. It's sort of like the Leave No Trace philosophy of hiking. Takes a lot more for a trail to recover from damage. Can't really compare it to snow, which is evanescent anyway.

 

[bvibert]

i have this vision of not enjoying powder days on skis so as to not mess up the snow...

Ummm... No I'm not concerned about messing up the snow.

It's pretty widely accepted that riding in mud can permanently breakdown the soil. I want to continue being able to ride where I do, that's the reason for concern. That said I did several rides in the rain last year, where the ground wasn't too soaked.

 

[Greg]

Brian is a tree hugger.

 

[Grassi21]

Going for a lunch time ride with the work bike crew. Cranbury Park gnar here I come.

 

[bvibert]

Brian is a tree hugger.

It's not nice to make fun of me just because I periodically fall off my bike and have to hug a tree to stop myself from tumbling down the mountain.

 

[JD]

I rode in the rain yesterday. We actually kinda got caught out in it. I felt like it was really summer all of the sudden. As we cranked down the dirt road in between some singletracks it was raining, we were all three in short sleeves, shorts, and the rain felt great. Not cold in any way, just what we needed to keep our temps down. By the time we were popping out of Tony's Trail, the rain was starting to soak in and the trail was getting a little schmeezy...so I didn't feel like we did any damage. There is a difference between wet trail and soft trail. In some areas you can ride on trail in the rain. If it's really well packed and gravely, in others the trail softens up pretty quick. A good general rule is if you're leaving a rut in the trail, it's too soft. You are creating a low spot of channel along the trail for water to pool, or flow down the trail. The major concern for land managers like state and local govs and private land owners in dealing with MTB use is impact. Riding on soft trail is by far the biggest cause of impact on trail networks. Mud holes form and stay long after the rest of the trail dries out, people start trying to ride around them, the trails get wider. People ride right thru them and the mud hole gets longer. The asthetic of the "singletrack" experience is ruined. Go to places like chimney rock in Jersey. When I started riding there it was 99 percent singletrack. Now it's a disaster. Riding in the mud has it's place. If you are out on a true adventure ride, on dirt roads or ATV trails where the users have allready caused so much damage that you tire track will go unoticed, Bwap away! But the days of going out into your local trail network, or worse, showing up at someone elses when trails are obviously soft are over for reasonable trail users, and if anyone thinks it's still OK behavior, it's becasue they have never spent any considerable time trying to care for a MTB trail network. If it rains a bunch....GO BOATING!