Why, of why? Some of the trails I was on today had massive puddles that had ever-increasing circles of tracks around the outside – thus increasing the erosion of said trail & size of the puddle.

Why do people on a bike designed for all weather conditions feel the need to do this? Makes me very 👿

Also the bloke on a full-sus I saw stopping and carrying his bike over a puddle today deserves special mention. Twonk.

I do it so as not to get my nice multicoloured 5 10s dirty. Do you have a problem with that? 😀

so you can see what’s underneath a muddy puddle then. 😯

My dad went round a puddle a couple of weeks ago…and rode into a thorn bush (ending rather painfully…)
I went through the puddle and came out cleaner than I went in!

I’m always dubious about puddles in unknown places as you never know what lurks beneath!

if you ride through them you get all wet!

my dog ran straight through a puddle the other day. went head over heels as it was about 2ft deep. i laughed quite a lot.

if you ride through them you get all wet!

or get there first and pop a manual. you avoid the worst of it and the guy you’ve just pulled ahead of gets soaked.

Out in the Lakes yesterday, one of the trails was full of puddles. We rode straight through them all (could see the hardpacked base of the trail and it was only an inch deep anyway), every walker we saw stepped around them.

👿

My Shimano M086 shoes let water straight in the top through the mesh. If it’s cold and wet, I will try and avoid this from happening by riding around deep puddles!

if you ride through them you get all wet!

Only if you go slowly 😉

The manual/wheelie (as jambo said) is the best option.

I’ve never come a cropper in a puddle on the bike – especially if it’s on a trail and you can see tracks going in & out, you know it should be fine. Just always make sure the front is slightly unweighted.

My initial point was about the damage it causes though – really annoying!

I “stalled” in a puddle that must have been 2′ deep at Nant-y-Arian today and had to extracate myself by wading out, but my feet couldnt have been any wetter anyway!!

doing a whip as you ride through is bets for soaking other riders…..:)

also works for cow pats etc..

doing a whip as you ride through is bets for soaking other riders…..:)

whip? same as a cutty?

I embrace pudddles and found myseld bunnyhopping with glee into them yesterday at afan!!

Talking of puddles anyone noticed that the FC have put a dirty great ditch on the wettest section of the w2 link yesterday forcing us twonks to widen the trail

I’m with the op. If you don’t want to ride through puddles only ride Spain in the summer. Ridding round them only cause more erosion and is selfish and irresponsible.

Because in STW land having Crud catchers looks poncy, whilst mincing around puddles doesn’t 😯

Annoys me to, a lines a line.

If you are really worrying about erosion, perhaps you could spend an hour of your time filling the hole in.

no one gonna mention that riding through the middle of the puddle may make it deeper? contrast to going around and making wider..?

so you can see what’s underneath a muddy puddle then

Agreed. You try riding through a few on Salisbury Plain. You never know what you might find in the murky depths….

oldgit – Member

Because in STW land having Crud catchers looks poncy, whilst mincing around puddles doesn’t

Is the correct answer. I see this a lot. Use a mudguard and don’t acare about he puddles.

People carry on doing this you end up with trails tens of mtres wide

no one gonna mention that riding through the middle of the puddle may make it deeper?

because (on a trail as opposed to in the wild) it doesn’t

You should see the erosion caused by walkers around the smallest of puddles up on the ridgeway, they should be banned!

Bassspine – No more than 26″ deep I suspect

I enjoy a power wheelie over puddles. Guarantees a reduction in wet-time and an increase in the chance of my mate getting wet from my spray back…..unless of course it’s on the moors and my power wheelie lands me just at the edge of the puddle which turns out to be about two foot of mud, stopping the bike dead, but of course not me.

igm – possibly 13″ 😀

Whenever I see a muddy puddle I stop, retrieve a straw from my backpack and drink the fluid in order to leave the trail dry for others.

It really is quite tasty!

The correct trailside procedure when encountering a STW’er.

Good thread, trail erosion and widening by us is only going to become a bigger issue. The clue is in the name of this website.

Bottom brackets don’t like being submerged. As I’ve discovered in the last 24 hours.

personaly im a puddle lover i like nothing more than splashing other riders and jumping around in/over them good for nearning to bunnyhop lengths

And can you all ride through and not around dog poop.

And can you all ride through and not around dog poop.

Glitter Gary Said:

Whenever I see a muddy puddle I stop, retrieve a straw from my backpack and drink the fluid in order to leave the trail dry for others.

It really is quite tasty!

Do you crack out your knife and fork as well?

bassspine – what are you meaning by ‘trails’ and how come they don’t exist in ‘the wilds’?

Quirrel – So it was you that saw me. I usually use my hands, knives and forks are so middle class.

crap rant. 4/10.
punctuation, no random capitals. pfft.
silly boy. oh – hang on 😉

riding through unknown puddles can provide much entertainment for others….

on local trails my mate and i will often find some debris to fill in a boggy puyddle and/or dig a small channel so that the water can escape.

i agree that riding around puddles is a daft exercise considering we are riding big bikes designed for muddy conditions and that it increases trail erosion.

puddles are also fun when you bunny hop into them soaking your fellow riders.

I rode into a puddle on the whw years ago. Turned out the water was hiding a hole about 2ft deep, I exited over the handlebars to every ones amusement but at least the bike wasnt bent 🙂

cant beat a good bow wave motoring through… 😮

@ gordimhor, that’s exactly what that chap in the first photo did!

This is why I ride round puddles now….