The dirt today is perfect—you could call it hero dirt.
It rained a lot this weekend, but since then we had a few sunny days which is the recipe
for dust-free, well packed tread that’s utterly delectable… well maybe to earthworms.
I guess my point is that a little rain can be good for the trails.
This is why you’ll see people watering dirt jumps to keep them from crumbling, and why
places like the rainy Pacific Northwest have such amazing riding.
But too much water is not good.
And even on a perfect day like today, you’re bound to find spots in need of some help.
I’m talking of course, about wet muddy sections that haven’t drained.
I’m sure you’ve seen people shouting on Facebook that riding in the mud is bad.
But today I’m going to explain why that’s not always the case.
First of all let me be totally clear: if the forest service or land manager closes a trail
due to heavy rains, go ride some gravel until they open it back up.
I’m not suggesting you seek out muddy trails to ride.
In fact this Saturday we had a big event in Brevard with bike demos.
It rained all day long, so everyone just played foot down and had skidding contests in the
parking lot.
Sometimes you just need to make the best of a situation and wait until the weather clears
up.
But should you set out into the forest, in good conditions, and with the best of intentions
only to encounter a muddy section, the absolute worst thing you can do is try to go around
it.
The reason for this is written in the tire tracks.
This little mud pit is in the early stages of becoming a big mud pit.
This gorgeous narrow section of sweet Singletrack could someday, look like this.
As riders avoid the mud pit by riding around the edge, they gradually encroach on otherwise
undamaged forest, and increase the size of the mud pit they were trying to avoid.
Many do this with the best of intentions, because someone on Facebook told them to avoid
the mud.
But fixing a muddy spot can be a relatively simple repair.
It only becomes complex and labor intensive when a social trail is created around the
mud pit.
Not only does the trail crew need to repair the drainage, but also restore the trail to
its original state.
Here, you can see two social trails around this one mud pit.
You could blame it on lack of maintenance, but the forest service here is wildly underfunded.
Groups like Pisgah Area SORBA rely on volunteers and donations to pay for tools and insurance.
So if you encounter a section like this and don’t want to create more work for your
local ORBA, there’s a simple rule to follow.
Just stay on the trail.
Riding directly through a mud pit is better than riding around the edge and gradually
creating new damage.
Trail widening is one of the most difficult problems for workers to solve, as they need
to block off sections to allow vegetation to grow back in.
A big hole in the trail just needs to be filled in, and the adjacent drainage improved.
But riding directly through a trouble spot isn’t the only way to get through.
You could also do a manual or wheelie.
Some have said that this exposes the trail to one less wheel, but that wheel has twice
the weight.
The real reason for a manual or wheelie is to prevent yourself from getting messy.
Your front wheel is the one that will spray water and mud directly at you, and therefore
this actually works.
While it doesn’t really help the trail, it is an incentive to ride through and not
around puddles.
But if you really want to leave no trace, there’s only one way to do it.
Assuming you can pop off a root or rock, or if you have a real solid bunnyhop, small problem
areas can be circumvented altogether, without cutting into the adjacent forest at all.
Not only is this actually beneficial to the trail and those who maintain it, it’s fun.
So if you were looking for a practical reason to work on your jumping and hopping skills,
there you have it.
I made this video short and shareable so it can serve as a little public service announcement
to new riders.
Some of us live in areas where avoiding mud entirely just isn’t possible, but I must
reiterate that I’m not condoning slosh fests.
If you know a trail is a mess, just keep off of it until the sun can do its job, and when
you encounter a section like this, yank back on your bars and take flight.
Thanks to Pisgah Area Sorba for giving me their blessing on making this video, and should
you wish to support them I’ve dropped a link in the description of this video.
Thanks for riding with me today and I’ll see you next time.