Mountain Biking - Knocked the air right out of a Newbs sail yesterday!

Just by telling him the trails were too muddy to ride. There he was, in a full team tri suit with the local bike shop's logo and racing emblem. ( Our shop gives a good discount on new bikes and parts if you want to fork out 30 bills for a racing team membership, It's worth the money, and most newbs take advantage of it to get a discount on the bike they want to buy. This guy, even forked over for the full team outfit! Stylin, was he! ) We told him we had been riding the multi use, wood chipped trails at the history museum, because the singletrack was way too muddy and you could see it suck the life right out of him.
"Wood chipped" he exclaimed. But with a quick recovery he asked how to get there. It's only a mile or so from the trailhead were we were, but he hopped back in his car to drive to the trails. We continued saying our goodbyes and loading our bikes and as I loaded the wifes bike, I turned my head at the young man as he was pulling out and saw that big grin that comes with the anticipation of riding a bike.:thumb:

Good for you. Some of the members of our local club have been frothing at the "culprits" riding our trails in the wet. They're suggesting gestapo like tactics to deal with it but I feel like education is the wiser approach.

Awesome, wood chips or not, he was gettin ready to shred!


How wet it too wet? I rode last monday and it was a little soupy and didnt get bad till I was halfway in. I was making tracks.

How wet it too wet?

That's the 100K question. It's dependent upon soil type, traffic loads, drainage patterns (both natural and engineered), age of trail, local custom, and the prejudices of others. IMO your best bet is to contact the local land manager or whomever is in charge of trail maintenance (and volunteer some time and effort while you're at it).

We started in on the north facing slopes that don't get sun. It was soup over ice, but the tires weren't packing and we weren't leaving ruts. The minute we turned onto a south facing slope it was all over, the tires packed up and quit turning, and the ruts were going to be two to three inches deep.
One of the local trail coordinaters was there cleaning the mud off his bike, said he was getting out.
We walked out right then, ran into two others others that had made the same choice. So we ended up with a group of five for a "social" ride on the wood chips.
Of course with Ed along we had to hit a couple stair sets along the way. and he found an Iron beam on supports in a construction site, that mad a nice skinny with a 2 foot drop to flat at the end!

I am a roadie from the early 70's and just started MTB as a cross train and more biking fun. My first single track ride in my area had several with an attitude like yours and some nice helpful riders also. I thank the helpful expert ones and try to stay away from the "experts" like you.

I thank the helpful expert ones and try to stay away from the "experts" like you.

Is your reading comprehesion bad? I said the tires caked up to the point that they wouldn't turn. You read that and determined I had a bad attitude? Whatever dood!:thumb:

I've unfortunately never met B2B in person; but can tell instinctively that the guy has one of the best 'tudes of anyone around.

b2b I jumped too quick but having come over from the Road Bike and reading some of their threads. I labeled you way too fast. If it was that bad you made a good call. I am still healing from the scrapes from my first single track ride with one fall but at the slower speed and on dirt and it did not give me the road rash I had from racing wrecks in the 80's. Keep riding and give us newbie MTB guys the help we need and the sport will continue to grow.

It's all good man! Yeah if I'm thinking it's too bad, and Ed thinks it's too bad and one of the trail coordinaters is thinking it's too bad, then I felt justified in telling the guy it was too muddy.

I've unfortunately never met B2B in person; but can tell instinctively that the guy has one of the best 'tudes of anyone around.

What???? He is a trail Nazi! Shame on him for running some poor noob off the trails........booooooo....hissssssss....boooooooo!!!!!!!! He's almost as bad a Gutsro

I hate when its too muddy, one of the local trails near me actually has gates that they close to the parking lot if its too wet during the winter, problem is i think the guys seem to lazy to open em back up sometimes so its closed for like half the winter or at least thats what it feels like.

but the worst i've ever had was i showed up to the trail parking lot and there was a sign saying trails closed for controlled deer hunt, actually at the dh place near me the unwritten rule during hunting season is bikes only on sundays, at least we get the rest of the year.

b2b I jumped too quick but having come over from the Road Bike and reading some of their threads. I labeled you way too fast. If it was that bad you made a good call. I am still healing from the scrapes from my first single track ride with one fall but at the slower speed and on dirt and it did not give me the road rash I had from racing wrecks in the 80's. Keep riding and give us newbie MTB guys the help we need and the sport will continue to grow.

Yeah man you really stepped in something there...;) "The Hick" is a good guy. He's really patient with noobs. Heck...he waits for me all the time:thumb:

It was really muddy, man. If I'd had my "crapper" with more tire clearance, I could have ridden quite a bit of trail. That doesn't make it right. Soupy mud holes 'round here turn into erosion pretty quick. Erosion turns into another trail coordinator saying..."Umm...nope, no berms. Gotta let the water drain, not pool." We need to err on the side of cautious b/c the hikers will win the battle if one ever ensues. Mainly b/c this trail we were riding was adjacent to the Governer's Mansion...the Guvn'ah uses the trails as a hiking/walking activity. She could pull a string or two and have us hoodlums ousted.


He's almost as bad a Gutsro
I thought it was Gnarstro?:mad:

^ you just need a govnerner who rides

Any new Guv would be wonderful ;)

^ you just need a govnerner who rides
Her husband does! I see him out all the time. Many times his bike will be locked up at the side gate to the lawn.

I dunno man. mus is only really bad when you're riding with other people and they're in front of you.

my eyes! my EYES!!