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Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill

Down in the Dirt
by Timm Muth
A monthly article by the author of Mountain Biking in North Carolina. Rants, raves, reviews and chain grease.

Mud Doggin' It - How to Ride through Smooshy Substances
 April 2003


Quagmires - they abound in the woods, lurking around dark corners, along seasonal streambeds, inside corners, or even drainages across an otherwise dry trail. Could be mud, sand, horse poop, or some other smooshy substance. You're cooking along, zipping through the trees with a smile on your face, when suddenly, both time and motion seem to slow down. Like an ornery horse with a mind of its own, your bike balks at crossing a mudhole; instead of gliding across, your trusty steed slows suddenly and sinks away beneath you. Gooey mud sucks your front wheel down, and your body, still moving at the same speed as before, begins a graceful flight over the handlebars and into the waiting quagmire.

Secret Mudhole Riding Tips:

ö So, the first rule of mudholes is - keep your butt back. This lets the front wheel float some, and travel over the mud, rather than sink and dig in.

ö Then, the second rule of mudholes must be - keep your butt back, and push the bike ahead of you as you enter the squish zone. If you can get the bike past the deep stuff first, then you can pull your body back into position, and let your momentum carry you the rest of the way across.

ö And the third rule of mudholes is -keep pedaling if at all possible. Mud and sand both suck up momentum like they were starving for it. And keeping your butt back won't help you any if you stall in the middle of the hole. Accept ahead of time that the back end is gonna wobble around some. Don't sweat about that: just try to keep the front wheel pointed towards the other side, continue to crank it, and enjoy your buddy's howls from behind you.

ö If the trail is a old double track, the mudhole will be shallower in the middle than in the two tracks.

ö If the trail is contouring, the hole will probably be deeper on the inside edge.

ö When in doubt as to the depth of a mudhole, pretend you're having a problem with your pedal, slow down, and let your buddy (or honey) go first.

The Mudhole Wheelie
Sometimes if the mudhole is short enough, I like to just wheelie across, and avoid the whole issue of the sinking front wheel. Just loft it up, keep pedaling a bit, and keep the front wheel straight if possible. The wheelie mostly eliminates the problem of the sinking front wheel, and keeps you a good bit cleaner besides. Plus if the mudhole is really deep, a wheelie is your only way of getting across. On a recent West Virginia trip ( the land of many mudholes), I figured out that you could wheelie across half a monstrous mudhole, touch your front wheel down on a protruding rock or grass hump, and bounce the front end back up to continue the wheelie across. Try the move on dry land first. It's not as hard as it sounds, and it looks really cool besides.

Mudhole Etiquette
There's no small bit of controversy surrounding the proper way of crossing a mudhole. Some say "Never, ever, ever ride if it's muddy. Walk your bike around every mudhole, or you'll damage the trail. Keep your bike clean at all times." This may sit well with some hardliners in the Sierra Club (no offense, I'm a card carrying member myself), but it's just not practical if you really want to ride on a regular basis. In my neck of the wood, it seems like it's always rained in the past few days. So we try to ride the trails that drain best when it's wet, and save the swampy runs for other days. For local trails that dry quickly, check out San-Lee, Regency Park, and Governors Creek. Avoid Devil's Ridge and Chapel Hill High. And for pity's sake, don't disregard the "Closed" signs and bandit ride Hog Run or Crabtree when they're flooded, cause that'll get you fined and get the trails closed for the rest of us.

Ok, back to the mudholes - here's the truth - trying to avoid the deep mud and ride around the edges will definitely make the mudhole bigger. So if you've got to ride through it, cutting through the middle at least doesn't make things worse. The best thing to do, in reality, is stop and lay down some corduroy over the mud (sticks aligned with the flow of water and hopefully perpendicular to line of travel), then continue the ride. The corduroy lets you ride across, keeps the mudhole from getting deeper, and lets things dry out some. If the mudhole is a perpetual trail item, then consider looking for a new alternate route through the woods. If you're new to the trail, or not set up for trail maintenance, then best to get off and push your bike through the trees around the mud. Note that walking around the edge of the mudhole will do as much damage as riding around it.

On the other side of that issue, few things make you feel more like a real mountain biker (or more like a little kid, for that matter), than to be slathered with mud from stem to stern. If I'm dirty, I know I had a good time, even if that meant taking a dive or two. So every time I see my wife's bike covered with mud, I just smile, cause I know that means she's getting our money's worth out of them. I love to ride, and mud is a standard trail feature, in my book; in fact, I prefer a muddy ride to a hot, dusty one. So shame me if you like, but when it's yucky out, I'm still gonna try to find somewhere to ride. You'll know me, cause I'll be the guy with the muddy grin on my face.



Old Dirt

 

 

 

"Bicycles are almost as good as guitars for meeting girls."
- Bob Weir