Trail Tips | Mud Riding

My brother Aaron in stage 3 mud

Cloud cover concealed our view of the sun for most of the day.  It had been cool all morning and the afternoon wasn't warming up as we had hoped.  A light jacket, an energy drink and a positive attitude, as it turns out, is all we needed.  Recent snow storms had left many north facing trails with the task of absorbing all the extra moisture.  On this day my favorite riding buddy and I made our way to Picture Rock in Lyons Colorado.

I've mapped this trail before (see Picture Rock blog post, 09/18/12) but this time our ride would be cut short because of trail conditions.  Late comers to Picture Rock this past Sunday would have found the trail closed around 2pm and had we not run into a Park Ranger along the way, who granted us permission to continue, we would have tried another location rather than poach a trail.

As it turns out, these trail conditions gave us a unique opportunity to test some mountain biking skills.  Mud and water pose a number of challenges to both man and machine.  The first thing to prepare for of course is the slop - you will get dirty.  Mud is only an inconvenience if you let it.  Proper technique and the right attitude will make any mud ride one of the best you'll ever have.  We passed 3 stages of mud on our ride, each with it's own dynamic.

The first stage was mud with no standing water.  This is my favorite because it's a little dirt hedonism.  The only thing you want to be careful of is losing control.  Mud is slippery at any stage and rolling too fast can cause an abrupt shift in momentum and can easily force you out of control.  Be especially careful around rocks, trees and ledges.  Thin tires will cut through a lot easier and may provide a bit more traction.  On fat tires you'll want to attack it head on and upright to avoid sliding over the top.  Shift your weight to the back tire for more traction and keep the front end light.  Once past your tires will be caked with mud; enjoy it while you can because it'll clear off quickly.  Mud from these spots isn't too soggy and doesn't get into critical components too often.

The second stage is mud with standing water.  This is as they say an acquired taste.  These 'mud' puddles hold water well and up here in the Rocky Mountains these puddles are sometimes mixed with rock, which is quite tasty.  These puddles may be more water than mud, which is a little easier to handle - make note of these spots because they are a great place to clean off your shoes.  The worst we had to deal with was a little brake squeal.  The squeal will fade as your pads dry so don't sweat it.  Your feet could get a little wet too but that doesn't last for long up here in Colorado; wool socks work best.  These spots are a blast if you don't mind getting a little wet and dirty.  We had great traction so we were able to hit these with some speed on the way down but be careful because wet rocks are usually slippery and could end your afternoon early.

Stage 3 mud is sure to discourage all but the most dedicated rider.  These spots are soaked with sloshing mud, they offer little if any traction, they completely obscure the path underneath and will scatter muddy debris all over your bike.  This mud poses a number of issues for a mountain bike.  Gritty mud can make its way into so many areas it's hard to decide what to worry about most.  I was particularly concerned for my suspension because I know how costly these repairs can be.  I decided to reduce the travel and even lock it out for some distance to minimize the potential of pulling mud and water down into my suspension.  Brakes will also be affected.  Mud and water will make it into those tight spaces and cause all sorts of sounds.  Be cautious when this happens because chances are you will have lost braking power and if you're going downhill this could be very dangerous.  My cranks were also contaminated and that ever annoying grinding kept me company all the way back to the car.  These are all sure signs that a thorough washing is in order.

So how do you ride through these spots.  The easy answer is you don't.  My brother and I did our best through these spots but ultimately decided to dismount.  If you are driven to try then approach these spots slowly and try to stay balanced.  Stay in the saddle if possible and enter on a middle to low gear (easy pedaling).  If you are forced to stand just keep the pedals moving and be ready to lift the front tire for added rear traction.  I don't recommend trying to switch gears if you can help it.  Climbing through such spots is so much harder than descending through them.  I like to keep my front end light on the way down and let the mud fly.

I should mention that our Park Rangers do all they can to keep our trails in good condition and when they close our trails it's always for good reason.  A well maintained trail is a safe trail plus our Rangers work hard to protect the natural environment so let's all abide by the rules and keep our trail systems in fine condition. 

I'd like to thank my brother for joining me on this ride.  We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into but it turned out to be one of our greatest rides ever, thanks bro.  View our ride at connect.garmin.com/activity/308520321 and hope to see you on the trail.

Alan