Getting back into riding after a pretty sedentary December has been tough in the past few days…until today. Fast, drifty, and 1/3 the time to wash the bike. I hope the cold snap lasts!

Apart from ruts, it’s weird how the bike wants to rail along in the gap rather than smoosh it’s own. It’s a trade I’m happy to make.

Anyone else enjoying the choc-ice?

Yep – dawn ride this morning (best time as the ground has had all night to freeze up)

Planning another tomorrow

I was just thinking today walking the dog “what tyres for frozen mud?”

The hard mud ribs can be pretty tiring and slippy.

I am thinking it best to ride the 29er with high volume soft compound tyres this weekend.

Hmm, sounds like a slippery slope towards fatness.

I love riding when the mud has frozen, provided it’s not on Bridleways that are heavily hoof marked.

A few years back we spent a day around the Surrey Hills where the daytime temperature never got above -5. All the trails were as grippy as it gets and we had a great day. Shame the hose on my Camelbak froze. Hoping to get out on Saturday morning and ride in the snow, if it comes.

My first night ride since I was in my 20’s!

11 miles this evening in a frozen Epping forest. Everything froze, my toes, brakes, Camelbak, the mud I collected on the bike and my shoes.

My feet looked like 2 dog poo’s after the ride.

Eyerideit – I’m due to go to Epping today – is it slop or frozen slop?

frozen mud 😀 frozen puddle 😯 frozen mud 😀 frozen puddle 😥 frozen mud (etc)

(WTF would I know ? Southern Hampshire correspondent)

It does make things more interesting on the way to work. I agree with the OP, feels like the bike is on rails.

Stayed above freezing in Exeter last night, good ride, most of the puddles have gone and the mud is firming up.

scaredypants 😆

The ice topped mud pies are a bit interesting, they make me wince a little.

last night frozen ride, was ace, fricken brilliant!
I love the cold weather, though maybe my toes don’t agree

It takes a bit of getting used too. Our local trails are really, really cut up and rutted. So now they’ve half frozen, I’m enjoying the Russian roulette element of guessing if its solid ice, choc ice or creme brulee.

Out again tonight and I think its going to be very sketchy! Great fun! 😀

-5 on last nights ride , very frozen ground and some funny moments with the ruts.

@Kryton57 it was well on it’s way to being solid yesterday. But the gloop is still there under a frozen crust, it doesn’t quite kill your momentum now but it’s still tough going in sections.

From Chingford to High Beech was petty sloppy but the other side wasn’t too bad. If the weather holds up it’ll be brilliant by the weekend.

I’m off out in about 5 mins.. just getting kitted up…

it’s sodding cold out there though.

Thanks Eyerideit – looks like i’ll take the hardtail or singlespeed today. If ‘er indoors gives me permission to ride somewhere sunday i may even take the fs for a rare spin!

I’m really looking forward to a few days riding on hardpack again..

It’s a stunning day in deepest Surrey, shame I’m not on the bike..

BRRRRRRR that was chilly. Frosty horse churned trails are TOUGH !!!

i’m not surprised, you weren’t out long enough to warm up. 🙂

Kryton57, Lippits was really good. Fast all the way down just a bit boggy at the bottom.

I was on my SS last night and it felt harder going than usual, that may be due to the other 4 pushing harder than on weekend rides. They were all on their geared FS’s. Quite a few frozen mechs, seized jockeys. I was the only one not to have a technical. But I could have really done with some front suspension and maybe a granny ring. 😯

here’s one of the guys strava http://app.strava.com/activities/37758561

frozen mud frozen puddle frozen mud frozen puddle frozen mud (etc)

(WTF would I know ? Southern Hampshire correspondent)

Sounds suspiciously like my ride through the New Forest last night… ‘Constantly surprising’ would be a fair description 😆

Kryton57 – Member
i’m not surprised, you weren’t out long enough to warm up.

1hr 5mins…. i only get an hour for ‘lunch’

well, my lunch hour turned into 2.5hrs – nightmare ride! My ss chain device broke a the furthest point from home, which meant an hour of ride a bit/fix, ride a bit/fix. I’ve torn my camelbak, and got a puncture. On top of that I’ll have to make up the work time this evening.

eyerideit – i didn’t know of the Lippets hill trails and it seems you ride a lot of different trails to me. I wouldn’t mind discovering them – are you riding this weekend?

You know that bit on every MTB vid where the rider goes into a corner too quick, both wheels slide through the dirt then he hit’s a bit of bank/berm and power weelies out looking super cool?

That was me on Tuesday 🙂

A short but fast and sweet decent (starts with a big drop to get your speed right up then levels out into a series of gentle flat corners through some shrubs and small trees). All winter it’s been running a bit slow so not much need to brake. Now it’s frozen solid and running ridiculously fast! Felt the bike slide into a corner (think quad bike width but shallow tracks), didn’t want to lose speed so pedal like a madman, front wheel rises yyyyyyeeeeeeeeeeeHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAA I’M A RIDING GODDDDDDD!!!!!!!!*

*any similarity with any real deities is purely coincidental and in the riders head

Wyre Forest was bloody hard work last night, all the mud had a frozen crust that you sank through then had to pedal through 4 or 5 inches of thick mud with the added difficulty of the frozen top layer, was hard work but fun, where there was no mud it was nice and fast and plenty of grip except for the obvious sheets of ice across the trail.