Just got back from 3 hours dragging myself through the mud of West Yorkshire.

I can honestly say I don’t want to off road again til its abit drier and warmer; anyone else feel the same?

no I love it, you are a big wussypants! have you though about road riding instead you don’t seem to be cut out to be a mountain biker 😀

Yep, came to that conclusion years ago.
I only ride off road in the winter when it freezes over, I can’t stand mud.
Proper fair weather mountain biker and proud…

you;re in the wrong game ben

or possibly the wrong country

Yes I f**king hate it. Happily I went out at 9 today when it was all frozen and sparkly – it was buff like a summers day 😀

No – I prefer dry summer days but today I went out for a bit and the sun was shining and the mud was at least semi frozen which is how I like it. I ride a rigid bike all winter and it gets a bit uncomfortable when the ground becomes really frozen solid.
commuting to work off road means I just have to ride whatever the weather and conditions are. I think it makes me appreciate the summer more though.

Time for a road bike… I think.

I love the mud. Nothing better than getting your drift on. Shave your legs and start wearing lycra, you are obviously not mtb’er material 😛

you;re in the wrong game ben

or possibly the wrong country
I couldn’t concur more.
Mud sucks.

its pants, ive just got back from california riding. Dry, sunny and no shit to ruin the stead…

There were a few sections I abandoned today that I won’t ride again til April or so – the magic of the new forest 🙄

yeh, i could ride them but we have no right of way here and I’d cut them up badly in an area where lots of other users are around – responsible nortiness, innit

(and I hate really muddy riding)

Yeah it’s shit in the UK, seemed fun in Canada though 🙂 Can still have fun I guess but I never have much confidence in the wet unless I’m riding hardpack. Don’t enjoy roots and that in the wet. This winter I’ll be mostly sticking to roads and skateparks when I get a bmx sorted 🙂

I don’t ride if it’s going to be muddy for more than a bit of the ride. Not from being soft IMO. it wrecks the trails, slower and less grippy than summer riding and means I have to spend as long as I did riding, cleaning the bike.
Surrey Hills, my local riding is getting trashed because people don’t stay away in the damp – bombholes, trail widening etc…

Brooess- nice justification for being a fair weather rider 😀

I hate mud and wet to be honest. I don’t know if that makes me a fair weather cyclist but I do enjoy cold and windy.

BenHouldsworth – Member
Just got back from 3 hours dragging myself through the mud of West Yorkshire.

I can honestly say I don’t want to off road again til its abit drier and warmer; anyone else feel the same?

no I fit mud tyres and put a little thought into route selection 😀

Lucky that in winter I can choose routes that are mainly rocky / hardpacked ground so don’t get bogged down and left feeling like I’m riding through treacle.

But love having enough big muddy puddles to splash in so that I can return home all dirty with a face splattered in mud (yes, childish I know, but I enjoy it 🙂 )

Embrace the filth!!!

i hibernate come winter (wet/cold).it’s part depression/asthma,part being a lightweight 😳 i have trouble staying warm at home,let alone going out in the freezing wet mud 🙂

Mud tyres, right clothes and realistic expectations. When the drier weather comes you’ll feel like a riding god! 😀

I used to love it in my twenties, and saw it as a challenge. Now I’m in my early forties I really can’t be arsed with it anymore! Especially the cleaning of bike and kit afterwards.

I do enjoy cold and windy.

Exactly, can’t been a turn on the front of a pack in the wind and rain but despite mud tyres it’s just very draggy round North Leeds at the moment and simply not enjoyable

/skip to the end

Get a road bike and embrace the Lycra, and enjoy not having to clean your bike at the end of a ride….or if you’re like me, ever.

Ah yes, bike cleaning (or rather lack of …) The reason I road ride more than mtb in the winter, even though I love splashing in the puddles.

Love it! Very satisfying coming back caked in mud after a good ride.

Got a cyclo cross race tomorrow.. strangley hoping it’ll be muddy as it makes it more interesting traction wise

can’t be arsed with it.

road bike ftw.

snow sucks as well

I really can’t be arsed with it anymore! Especially the cleaning of bike and kit afterwards.

I’ve got a rigid bike with hub gears for the winter – it’s much more enjoyable when you know you won’t have to clean it when you get home. In fact I never clean it.

get out and love and embrace it……………cos one day you wont be able to ride at all.

TO be fair it doesn’t really bother me other than the extra time you have to spend cleaning it all off.

It’s only really bugged me once, when my wheels got that clogged with heathy gloopy cack that they wouldn’t turn, so out came a handy stick and it got cleaned off to enjoy the rocky loose descent 😀

I enjoy the mud as long as I have the right tyres on.

The only time I get fed up is a few local routes that have clay mud that stops both wheels turning and you end up carrying for a few 100m.

Hate the look of them but have invested in a rear mudguard this year to keep the worst of it off my backside/front mech/shock/chainrings etc. Not fitted it yet though.

In 20 miles today i had everything, snow, ice, freezing sticky mud and thick fog – loved it!
It’s been a couple of weeks since i was out and i wasn’t looking forward to it TBH but my mate rang and we made plans..

Sliding down one of my fave little descents on fresh snow and with little visibility made it seem SO different 🙂

+1 to what Ton says as well.

Love Mud 🙂 Usually aim for it…

Only time I don’t like it is when it gets to the point that you have an extra 3 inches stuck to the soles of your feet, your bike has doubled in weight and the wheels are locked, and when you can’t carry it any further you try pushing it backwards and you bend the rear hanger cos the chain won’t run through the mech. But unless all my extremities are numb from the cold, I still wouldn’t say I ‘hate’ it 🙂

For some strange reason seem to prefer riding the full suss in the winter gloop, if I ride the hardtail its usually on a nice dry summers day. The full susser just feels more capable. So I too have just invested in a secondhand Alfine’d tubeless wheelset. Not to be fitted until mid-january though as I have committed to a silly singlespeed group trip to Wales…I’m not a singlespeeder…

I hate it to the point I stick to road riding when its wet

Snow and ice today, with some patches of mud thrown in for good measure. You’d hate it. 😉

I love riding in the mud!!!!! 😀 Nothing better than having both wheels drifting through the mud sideways at the same rate so its controllable. I prefer a good muddy downhill to a dry one a lot of the time.. it makes it much more exciting.
Cleaning everything off can be a bit of a pain but that’s it.

Especially the cleaning of bike and kit afterwards.

I always stick the clothes in the wash postride so no extra there and I ride SS in winter so it’s essentially hang on the hook until the next ride 😀

swampi – Member
I hate it to the point I stick to road riding when its wet

there are enough threads on road cycling forums of road riders getting dumped on their arses by black ice to encourage me to keep to the MTB for morning rides when there is frost about. Road riders do the opposite to Mtbers and switch to off-road during the winter when it gets cold and icy

Erm…..honestly, NO!!!

Repeat this mantra slowly after me…” MUD IS GUD”….hope that helps

Luv Stinkerbell 😀

you need another bike, a mud bike, i built up a SS CX for just that, the perfect bike for North London / Herts / Epping clay through the winter. All my riding was from the doorstep, i wouldn’t bother driving to get that covered in carp.

you have to have a bit of mud for the complete MTB ride