Rico's Rants: Don't get too upset over a little mud.

Rico's Rants

It's that time of year again. Everyone is pumped to get out on the bike without four layers and a full beard to keep the frost bite away. With more people on the trail come more problems, however.

One problem here in our neck of the woods is spring rain and muddy trails. Nothing sparks more of a debate on the socials like a picture of a good, old rutted-out mud hole on your favorite trail. Mud is murder, right?

Muddy MTB trail

No, mud is not murder.

This happens every year, and every year there is a group of yahoos who rip through the mud just a bit too early. They could be hikers, horses, bikes or even the motos. But guess what? The trail survives! It has for decades and will survive again. I promise.

I am not advocating riding in the mud unless it's a cross race, but don't waste your energy freaking out when some folks decide to tear up your local one track. Go back in a month, and that same mud hole will be a dusty smoothed out section just like it was last year.

With that said, it doesn't hurt to educate a little bit. So here are some guidelines I follow when I ride trails in spring:

  1. If the mud is sticking to your tires and building up, it's time to turn around.
  2. If there is no good way around the mud hole without creating another trail, turn around.
  3. If you can hear the mud squishing under you weight, turn around.
  4. Ride early when the ground is still frozen if you have to get out.
  5. Check local trail condition reports to see if trails are dry before you commit to a ride.
  6. If you really have too, you can always suck it up and ride the road bike….

What do you think about those tips? Does mud make you mad? Comment below.

Eric Rasmussen

by Eric Rasmussen

Eric, AKA Rico, is a long-time competitive road, MTB and cyclocross racer. He has been gracing Bikewagon with his bearded presence since 2013.