Seems like, no matter how dry the conditions are, one always encounters a muddy spot or two, on any trail. This leads to a couple of problems. The first, and more obvious, is that riding through the goop has a nasty habit of stopping forward progress. Putting a foot down in the much is unpleasant. Falling over in it is a real mess. The second issue is that of “trail widening.”
A conscientious rider does not want to widen the trail. Riding around the mud, or other obstacles, beats down the forest floor, and causes further erosion. Trails should be ridden is such a way so to decrease the impact on the landscape. We’ve all seen this. The trail is nice and narrow, good singletrack, until the mudhole. At the mud, the trail begins to get wider. More and more riders seek to “sneak by” around the edges of the mud. The mud hole gradually gets wider. Eventually, the trail is very wide, and filled with mud. And the rider still has to negotiate the soft and messy stuff.
In a future post, we’ll discuss methods of trail maintenance that can help to eliminate and contain this problem. For now, let’s consider what the rider may do to cope.
Reading the trail: Assume you haven’t been on this particular trail before. You see a mud obstacle ahead. Slow down and look closely. Can you see tracks that emerge from the other side? Local and frequent riders will know if there is a bottomless sink, or a “wheel eater” in the middle of the hole, and they will pick lines that avoid such problems. If you can see tracks that both enter and leave the mud, then it’s rideable, and you can accomplish it too. You may wish to walk it the first time. Or you may want to back up on the trail to get a stronger start at it.
The Technique:
- Maintain good speed. This is definitely a case where “momentum is my friend.”
- Downshift
- Shift your weight back on the bike, keeping the front wheel light.
- As you enter the mud, pull up on the bars and increase power to the pedals.
- Try not to move around on the bike a lot.
- Be ready for another downshift in the middle.
- Think “light”
- Use weight to steer. Avoid turning, or “sawing” the front wheel. Front wheel pivot motion will slow you radically. Least is best.
Additional considerations:
Avoid riding in the rain, or shortly after it. If it is a particularly wet trail, you may want to decrease tire pressure slightly. Softer tires give more traction and tend to “float” through the mud a bit more readily. However, if it is really wet and muddy (recent rains) you probably should not be riding that trail. Repeated, heavy trail use on wet trails is damaging.
Taking a curve in the mud. Move to the outside of the trail before entering the muddy curve. Take the line that “clips” the inside of the curve. This involves the least amount of turning. Use your weight to steer the bike.
One last caution: If you are riding with others, slow down and wait until the rider ahead of you clears the mud. If you follow too closely, and the leading rider stalls, then you all get stuck.
Remember to clean your bike promptly after a “mud bath.”
Today’s Term(s):
Snake A reptile. Do not kill them. Just avoid them. Remember this is their home. You are a visitor.
Poison Ivy learn to recognize this!
Half-track n. a trail so narrow and/or overgrown that you'd hesitate even to call it singletrack.
Stoppie n. A “nose wheelie.” The act of balancing the bike on the front wheel only, with the rear wheel in the air. Usually accomplished by accident, or encountered in the middle of a tall tale.
This series, running every Tuesday, is intended to help those who are new to mountain bike riding. By no means is it an exhaustive treatment, but it is our fond hope that it will help you, the beginner, to begin to enjoy riding your bike off road.
Future Topics:
Hydration
More on carrying “stuff”
Trail Care & Maintenance
Bike Types
Your next mountain bike or Mountain Biking 201
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