What’s your technique for mudholes?
10-30-18, 12:57 PM
#26
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This is actually the opposite of what you should do.
Do not ride around the mud - that leads to trail widening. Keep singletrack single. Ride through it.
In many areas mud is unavoidable (temperate rainforests like the PNW, higher latitudes, etc.) but is fine to ride through if the loam content is high. Again, the last thing you want to do is ride around it on singletrack.
There is no reason to worry about ruining the "trail" by riding through the mud in many of the previous photos. Those aren't trails, they are roads.
Do not ride around the mud - that leads to trail widening. Keep singletrack single. Ride through it.
In many areas mud is unavoidable (temperate rainforests like the PNW, higher latitudes, etc.) but is fine to ride through if the loam content is high. Again, the last thing you want to do is ride around it on singletrack.
There is no reason to worry about ruining the "trail" by riding through the mud in many of the previous photos. Those aren't trails, they are roads.
It still seems more logical to go around the mud hole. Create a new path around the perpetually wet area and there is overall less trail wear. Makes sense to me, and I see it done around where I live, so i figured its just sort of what is done as a default. If a low lying area is wet to the point of standing water while the rest of the singletrack is in good condition, then rerouting the trail around a few trees that are on higher ground seems like a good thing.
But you are the OG, so ill defer to you.
10-30-18, 01:06 PM
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I guess.
It still seems more logical to go around the mud hole. Create a new path around the perpetually wet area and there is overall less trail wear. Makes sense to me, and I see it done around where I live, so i figured its just sort of what is done as a default. If a low lying area is wet to the point of standing water while the rest of the singletrack is in good condition, then rerouting the trail around a few trees that are on higher ground seems like a good thing.
But you are the OG, so ill defer to you.
It still seems more logical to go around the mud hole. Create a new path around the perpetually wet area and there is overall less trail wear. Makes sense to me, and I see it done around where I live, so i figured its just sort of what is done as a default. If a low lying area is wet to the point of standing water while the rest of the singletrack is in good condition, then rerouting the trail around a few trees that are on higher ground seems like a good thing.
But you are the OG, so ill defer to you.
IMBA, MBOSC and many other trail organizations have suggested that riding though is better than riding around, for the reasons I stated above. Many publications have discussed the same.
10-30-18, 01:44 PM
#28
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did a little of each last night
11-01-18, 10:04 AM
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I have done a lot of trail maintenance over the years, which leads me to try to stay off the trails when I know it is a mudfest. But encountering mud holes is just a fact of life in some areas.
I manual trough them when I can. Otherwise I try to ride through rather than widen the trail, because..... see my first statement. However, if there is standing water in the mud hole, and I don't know how deep it is..... I'm probably going around it.
Oh, and one thing you should NOT do is throw a bunch of sticks in the mud hole. It makes it worse in the long run.
I manual trough them when I can. Otherwise I try to ride through rather than widen the trail, because..... see my first statement. However, if there is standing water in the mud hole, and I don't know how deep it is..... I'm probably going around it.
Oh, and one thing you should NOT do is throw a bunch of sticks in the mud hole. It makes it worse in the long run.
11-01-18, 11:22 AM
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you ever dump gravel in a mudhole?
11-01-18, 01:50 PM
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11-01-18, 02:43 PM
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I'm looking forward to doing some trail riding at night this year. Work is about to get crazy and I won't get anytime to ride, but once Christmas is over I'll be back riding. I figured I'd get a light along with a new trail bike at the start of the new year, and look out trails at night.
it's pretty darn fun & just a tad creepy. cpl weeks ago I could swear I heard bigfoot throwing big rocks into the water next me. there was the sound of water splash but also the sound of rock hitting rock ...
then on my last nite ride while crossing near a beaver dam I heard a weird noise. totally spooked me. turned around & the bike w/ light only to see a canoe on the edge. so fun!
11-01-18, 03:58 PM
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