[Closed] 9 months in a row of Mud

Trail centres.

You might not like them as much as the open tracks (I know I don't) but at the moment, I'd do anything to avoid mud.

I walk through a park everyday on the way to work. There’s a puddle in the corner of a field that hasn’t dried out once since 2nd July last year. Occasionally the puddle more closely resembles a lake.

Last year between March - June it was bone dry and dusty. Next weeks forecast does look promising though.

Last year between March – June it was bone dry and dusty. Next weeks forecast does look promising though.

Also in 2015 and 2016 it didn't get that muddy until November. In 2017 it reached that level of mud in mid July and kept it up right until now with almost no break.

I'm not sure we've had 9 months of mud but we're coming up to 6 months and it's showing no signs of drying out.

In previous years we've generally had spell of drier weather during the winter which has allowed a temporary respite but not this year.

I'm losing the battle to stay motivated this year and can't be bothered to ride if there's any rain.

Trail centres.

You might not like them as much as the open tracks (I know I don’t) but at the moment, I’d do anything to avoid mud.

I've been hitting the trail centres more than ever in the last 9 months. But even Gisburn is full of puddles,and Cannock from what I've heard, has a particularly destructive type of mud (or sand?) that can destroy a drive-train in no time? Penmachno is apparently a continuous puddle, so you can't even get away with it at all the Trail Centres, even though some other ones I've not mentioned stand up to the water a lot better.

I walk through a park everyday on the way to work. There’s a puddle in the corner of a field that hasn’t dried out once since 2nd July last year. Occasionally the puddle more closely resembles a lake.

My local park is similar, pretty much only usable with boots or wellies on now. It hasn't been this bad since the floods in 2003 odd. To ride the local trails you need a wetsuit, goggles and a snorkel.

Fake news.

We did have a couple of weeks of snow and frozen dirt a month or two ago.

I’ve been hitting the trail centres more than ever in the last 9 months. But even Gisburn is full of puddles, Cannock (from what I’ve heard) can destroy a drive-train in no time, and Penmachno is apparently a continuous puddle, so you can’t even get away with it at all the Trail Centres, even though some other ones I’ve not mentioned stand up to the water a lot better.

I think that Gisburn is probably one of the worst with some sections that completely flood after rain. Dalby tends to be less bad than Gisburn in the wet. We've just come back from Dumfries & Galloway and the 5 main trail centres there were all firm and dry with only occasional puddles. After a week of riding, the bikes still didn't need a proper wash 🙂

FWIW, I've mostly ridden road this winter and the mountain bike has been a bit neglected. You still get wet and filthy, but not to the same extent and it's not quite as soul destroying to clean up afterwards.

Cannock won't destroy your drive train!

Tis my local and yes I am absolutely ****ing sick fed up of the ****ing mud. I have been over Cannock a lot more this year, virtually every week, sometimes twice a week. 2 days of no rain and the trails are mostly bone dry and remain hard pack. Which is more than can be said of the off piste or anything more local away from the fire roads.

I found the snow even more unsuitable for biking than the mud, I did one ride in March where I counted myself dismounting from the bike and pushing more than 10 times due to unrideable snow, another ride in late Feb where I turned back after 2 km due to a snow drift covering the route.

Completely agree with OP.

I've been almost defeated this season(s).

Been picking my days. Constant cleaning.

Cannock won’t destroy your drive train!

Tis my local and yes I am absolutely * sick fed up of the * mud. I have been over Cannock a lot more this year, virtually every week, sometimes twice a week. 2 days of no rain and the trails are mostly bone dry and remain hard pack. Which is more than can be said of the off piste or anything more local away from the fire roads.

Cannock from what I’ve heard, has a particularly destructive type of mud (or sand?) that can destroy a drive-train in no time? I'm not sure though if people are referring to the Monkey Trail or the off piste stuff ?

Agreed. Although I rode up at Antur Stiniog on Sunday and the rocky steep trails were bone dry save for one enormous puddle (like a pond) on one flat section!

Saw 2 guys had 'ridden' the new more natural mud trail and it didnt look like it had gone well at all! Total slop fest.

Bring on summer!

Although I rode up at Antur Stiniog on Sunday and the rocky steep trails were bone dry save for one enormous puddle (like a pond) on one flat section!

Antur Stiniog seems to never get that muddy apart from one trail (Bendy G) which is sloppy as hell. I only had a go on it once and it didn't go well at all.

AS can get dangerously slippy it gets when it rains. Especially on some of the slate sections on Black Powder.

Completely agree. I remember when it started raining, and down in the SW it was actually the first week of July, and since then it has been very regular. The snow then added to this and the ground is completely saturated, meaning puddles are forming and wearing away surfaces much quicker.

I rode some natural stuff near Afan on Sunday and has held up well, mainly though because it’s steep and rocky, so it drains well. However, Staunton two weeks before was awful.

Bearing in mind we’re less than 3 months away from July, I’m hoping we don’t have another wet second half of our summer.

The up side to all this water is that the ground is very soft which makes it ideal for fresh digging,  rebuilding trails and improving lines.

Spending an afternoon in a rainy forest isn't quite as good as riding in the dry,  but it is better than sitting inside and scowling out of the window.

Only really noticed it being awful from January onwards in the Dales.

Looking back at photos I've taken show plenty of dry, sunny days in the tail-end of last year.

Christmas Day, for example.

It dried out here on Saturday. Slop again now.

It looks like the Dales can handle water well, that picture looks completely different to (for example) what the state of the South Pennines and Bike would look like in December!

We been talking about this at home and think its rained nearly everyday since christmas in one way or another (couldn't find anywhere to get the data though). The multi user paths near me are the worst, the bike just gets covered in the 1.5mile stretch of path. With lighter mornings and nights the off road motor bikes are now about in the woods more oftern and making a right mess.

We need it to dry up so we can take advantage of that annual window between spring and summer where the muddy trails become dry and before the nettles and undergrowth close everything in/off. There are lots of trails that become virtually impassable after july.

Parts of that loop have been a total slopfest since January, it was more just to show that better conditions haven't been completely absent since last summer.

If you want to catch the dry conditions you have to ride more often, like three times a week or so.

Now it's spring the vegetation is sucking water out of the ground and combined with a bit of windy weather recently I had a lovely dry(ish) ride up Rivington the other week.

With lighter mornings and nights the off road motor bikes are now about in the woods more oftern and making a right mess.

Same at Lee Quarry the MX were here in full force on Sunday making a right mess as usual

Does depend where you are of course, the south and east of UK has had lower than average rainfall in 2017 and I was lucky enough to have dry conditions until early November. Now we've had more than average in March and early April, the Soil Moisture Deficit (SMD) is less than 1mm - i.e. saturated. Everywhere off road is pretty grim and not drying out just yet. Good for water resources, bad for biking.

Dont know about the rest of the UK but North West England certainly has had 9 months of mud, apart from certain trails which handle water particularly well (e.g. Garburn Pass).

The extremely  wet weather from July to October and equally wet start to Spring being blamed for "extending" the mud season

I’ve been mountain biking regularly for a few years and have never known 9 months in a row of full-on mud

I've been MTBing for about 25 years.  You weren't there for the year without a summer in I think it was 2007.  The Atlantic storms started rolling in in November 2006 and kept going for 18 months.  That was grim.

I'm replanning my local routes to stick to fire-roads and gravel.

If it wasnt for Zwift, you could count the number of proper road  rides I've had outdoors on one hand since January, mainly thanks to Beast From The East and some rain... And an ongoing third bout of not so good health (flu since Sunday).

This time of year is normally the best, dry and no overgrowth .

This year totally sucks, I remember the none summer when it rained every nightride during August but this is worse I can remember for mud and lack of motivation.

And Cannock Chase soil is very acidic, so the sand will grind bits and the acid dissolves them as well. Rumour has it so many Fox forks were being returned locally Fox and Mojo did testing locally and ended up changing the seal type used.

Nah. Nice Autumn sequed into a long, cold, snowy, frozen winter with some amazing trail conditions. Melt has been slow and steady and as a result the well-draining soils haven't been overwhelmed.

Supposedly up to 20c here next week. Trails are in ace condition.

Agree!! Totally sick of the mud now!! The constant rain for the last 3 weeks has made it even worse....bogs and puddles everywhere. I remember last year riding at the same time and thinking that it was time to start using my "good bike" as it was so dry! No chance of that this year. Its a mess.

It was strange out last weekend, although milder the landscape was still showing no signs of spring,...still feels like winter here, count me in as feeling well tired of the slop now.

Yes it’s not quite as bad as 2007 but it’s been generally terrible. I can’t even remember a nice, crisp winters day this year.

But now the plans are starting to drink I reckon 2 weeks of no rain and it’ll be mostly dry everywhere. It was almost drying out in Yorkshire a couple of weeks ago but then we had more snow and then rain.

Wonder what effect it’s having on the bike industry? Can’t see many riders being motivated to buy a shiny new Mtb but spares/servicing sales are probably going well

If you want to catch the dry conditions you have to ride more often, like three times a week or so.

Now it’s spring the vegetation is sucking water out of the ground and combined with a bit of windy weather recently I had a lovely dry(ish) ride up Rivington the other week.

It's a little early for that. We were commenting last Thursday that only a few buds have appeared on the trees down here in Swansea. Leaves are likely to appear over the next fortnight or so. (It's the trees that suck the ground dry, not the daffodils, although tbf the trees will be starting already even without leaves. 🙂 ) And I assume that you're further north so spring is a week or two later than down here.

And as to the original point - this is something that's come up in a few conversations lately. Without having any snow on the ground, and very little ground freezing, we've had over six months of wet slop. Massive standing puddles in local parks and the ground is so soft that even with riding 3 times a week all year I still feel unfit.

2 options*.

Move abroad, or take up a pub sport.

*optional bonus option is to man up and stop whining like a dailymailer.

I quite enjoy muddy night rides, they make it feel like winter.

Muddy daytime rides I don't usually bother with though.

Having said that, it has definitely dried out at times round here over the winter, it's not all been bad.

This Spring reminds me of 2013 and 2016 which both had a cold and freezing March followed by a wet and sometimes cold April and the biking season only getting going properly from May

Trail centres and Area 51, that's pretty much all I've managed.  One almost dry ride in the FoD.  Hate riding on the road, but I hate Turbo's more, so that's all I've managed to try to keep fit.

I think the Mudhuggers have grown into the frame/fork on my bike already...

I keep thinking back to 2012. (the year of Mountain Mayhem that we talk about in hushed tones).  Similar pattern in that even though it stops raining its not sufficient to dry out the trails then it dumps a load more to top it up. Gonna be some big puddles for the Dfyi Enduro unless it stops soon. Dome more miles on turbo than outside so far this year!.

I’m starting to get  more than a little fed up with it! I can cope with mud, but it’s been ridiculous for a while now.  Keep telling myself it’s going to mean a fab summer...reality is likely to be otherwise I’m sure!

I've just been looking at some rainfall stats. We've had less than 180mm so far this year. Local rivers are at "Low" levels according to SEPA monitoring.

As Grannyjone says the combination of constant rain in Lancashire and the moors getting chewed up by crossers has meant that some of the trails are in a terrible state .Cragg quarry is a bit like the water slide at Alton Towers with a pool of cold water in the dips.

I’ve just been looking at some rainfall stats. We’ve had less than 180mm so far this year. Local rivers are at “Low” levels according to SEPA monitoring.

Yes, I looked at some stats a few weeks ago. Odd isn't it. Around here we've had lots of bursts of heavy rain, but not normal Swansea rain, which is finer, mistier rain that gets everywhere and lasts all day. Still, despite having lower than average rainfall the fields seem to be more waterlogged than normal.

The stats aren't everything. January to March might have had low rainfall but in those months it  is so cold that it takes about  3 weeks of no rain to even get close to drying out trails, while in late March and April where it is warm enough for the trails to dry out relatively quickly, it has rained so hard that they haven't had a chance.

This thread is making me very sad ☹️

I could easily be wrong but I'm sure I checked last week and we were only at average rainfall for a few months.

Don't believe it.

Perception, it seems like it's constantly raining because you only remember the bad stuff.

Looking back on Strava and photos I've had quite a few nice rides this year. Peaks for example at the weekend was surprisingly good around ladybower.

Whoever said above muddy rides are fun. No they're not! When you have to pedal downhill...

Weirdly just over the border in Calderdale, it's been drier than normal, I'd say, It's wet on the tops fp'shure, but I've down so pretty dry rides recently, and now the trees are getting going it's drying out pretty well.

I'm with scotroutes - nothing unusual here in Edinburgh ( he is much further north).  I commute by bike and only been rained on once so far this year.

Keep / put mudguards on and just ride.

Luckily I live in an area that is mostly pebblebed heath and sandy earth. After 3 days of dry weather last week it was almost dusty in places 😉

But you're right it does feel like it never stops raining. We normally get a nice dry spell in Feb/March, but not so this year. I'm praying for a dry May/June, as I'm away camping once or twice.

Mudguards on the bike (fork crown, down-tube and rear) became my norm a few years ago. It may look silly to some, but I don't look like I've shat my guts after a ride unlike some of my more 'on trend' friends.

I wear full mudguards, problem is I take them off when I go to Spain then have to put them back on when I come back to England. Similarly if we get a good month of dry riding in the UK I'm always tempted to take them off only to soon put them back on again. Its a lot of faff.

Whoever says muddy rides are fun. Cleaning is not fun. The more mud, the more cleaning there is afterwards. Servicing the bike is not fun. More mud means more servicing.

As for the actual riding in mud ?Pedalling really hard just to move at 6mph on the flat is not fun. Having to get off and walk uphill due to lack of rear wheel traction is not fun. Walking into a pub mid ride covered in shit is not fun. Everything about mud is not fun, it only spoils things.

I was just about the comment on 2007 (I don’t think 2008 was much better?)

I remember summer 2006 being blazing, we we’re heading out at 5am to beat the heat, but ‘07 was horrific, I remember we had a nice Spring but sometime in May is started to rain and it didn’t stop till Oct, every single day the best you could hope for was drizzle. Even Afan where riders used to head to escape the mud had problems with lumps of trail falling away from the hillside.

im not sure winter was especially bad this year, it’s just gone on forever, this time last year the trees were green and it was warm-ish and sunny, this year and it’s only just starting to Spring.

OP - you seem a bit of a glass half empty guy, if you don't mind me saying. Right now I'm looking out of the window and the forecast and getting excited about the prospect of good weather 'just around the corner', you're still thinking about how rainy it was last year.

It's felt like a longish winter mainly because it dragged on through March with some proper winter weather, whereas last year it was dusty by mid-March.

Leaves are appearing now, which means transpiration is starting properly, and the ground will dry out fast once that happens, and dry out faster in between rainy days.

Enjoy!

West of Scotland natural stuff has been pretty normal last 9 months.  As said earlier, forecast here is settling and some dry trails beckon.

Off to Cairngorm this weekend too 🙂

Is there a good site for looking up monthly averages compared with historical data for an area. I tried to look up Aberdeenshire but had to use various sites and all I could really ascertain was that February was a bit colder than average this year. No surprise there then 🙂

Isn't this the new normal now.  As the planet warms up we will get wetter winters as the warm air holds more moisture.

So generally its going to get worse.

Bit of a problem with "9 months mud": if you bike more than 8 months in mud you will get sick as soon the first good weather pops up.

So if we reached the 8 month (is this the case?) .... - better stay with the mud then...

I wear full mudguards, problem is I take them off when I go to Spain then have to put them back on when I come back to England. Similarly if we get a good month of dry riding in the UK I’m always tempted to take them off only to soon put them back on again. Its a lot of faff.

Any mudguard that takes more than 1min to install on an mtb can gtf.

Yep I remember 2007-2008 when winter lasted forever. Round here (just over the tops from Calderdale) it's been just as bad for months, dries out sometimes, sure but not really for long - and the water plus fine sandstone is a bike killer. ANd the lack of sunshine is doing my head in too.

But.. inspired by Rachel Sokal's piece a couple of weeks ago https://singletrackworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/spring-forth-and-leave-the-doldrums-of-winter-behind/   I've decide to get out the old trailrakers and embrace the mud and crap while it's still here, taking a few shorter rides and exploring the odd track I've been meaning to for ages

weather forecast for next week looks fantastic!

Well Monday was ok in the Yorkshire Dales.

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I need to get some better mud tyres - haven't really had any since going tubeless and finding Trailrakers were warned against.  Although now I have Hans Dampfs on the Patriot I am feeling better about mud.

Problem is that a key trail on my local loops is now so soft it's barely passable, that needs working around.

Which way did you go up/down Weets, Pennine? Ground conditions?

I need to get some better mud tyres

Try Bontrager XR4 Teams. They seem to offer a decent compromise.

Last night in The South Downs was the worst mud I’ve experienced in 12 years. However, it’s not entirely weather related. When I first moved here it was mostly arable and the ‘shared’ tracks saw little farm traffic during winter and spring. A change of ownership has seen the entire area barbed wired and it’s now all livestock. The subsequent increase in huge tractor movements and rainfall run off from cut up fields has destroyed the tracks. The moment you pass through onto a no vehicle bridleway it becomes hard pack again.

it really boils my piss that farmers who have exclusive use of hundreds of square miles of fields choose to drive on the tiny tiny proportion that everyone else has access too and effectively destroy it without consequence. Farmers round here are miserable a holes with zero thought for anyone else they’re forced to share ‘their’ land with.

aaaaand done.

MH: I came down from Weets. My thinking being it would be a wet grind going up!  The grassy lower half was wet but managed to ride over all those cross channels albeit never quite knowing if the front wheel would dig in. The gravel track surface has been repaired too (easier climb from reservoir). Having said that it's been raining since then!!

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im not sure winter was especially bad this year, it’s just gone on forever, this time last year the trees were green and it was warm-ish and sunny, this year and it’s only just starting to Spring.

^^ This is where i am at, sure there have been some nice crisp frosty ride swhere the trials where firm...but this was swiftly followed by more snow than we've seen for years. Below is a picture from last weeks ride, landscape still looks locked into winter,,. it was very wet and not very spring like. Give us some sun ya bastard.

it really boils my piss that farmers who have exclusive use of hundreds of square miles of fields choose to drive on the tiny tiny proportion that everyone else has access too and effectively destroy it without consequence. Farmers round here are miserable a holes with zero thought for anyone else they’re forced to share ‘their’ land with.

back in my late teens used to work on a farm and we were encouraged to "chew up" any public access paths as to quote my boss "keeps the riffraff out"

My thinking being it would be a wet grind going up!

I've ground up it a few times this winter out of necessity, expecting it to be drying out by now is perhaps a bit optimistic.

I think partly its just this time of year, isn't it? Couple of nice days reminds us that spring and summer are coming, and we forget too soon that we'll still get rainy days and overcast. Plus everyone's had enough of winter, the  clocks have gone forward, just seems unfair when the rain still comes down.

I just want some sun and warmth.  As others have said now the trees etc are coming into leaf a bit of sun and a breeze will dry things out quickly.  Water shortages by end of May 😉

Far too much rain, months and months of the damn stuff. The odd good day here and there, and I have had some fun muddy rides but on the whole its been grim and way too long.

Have been trying to avoid the local trails to preserve them (Ambergate, around & about), and the only trail centre within an hours drive is Cannock which I enjoy riding but I don't have much motivation to make the journey again and again.

Commuting in to Derby there are now many new lakes appearing in fields. The swans and ducks that have taken up residence seem to be enjoying themselves at least!

Last night's ride was so wet and muddy it actually became amusing. The week-in, week-out routine of slogging and cleaning is starting to get a bit wearing.

On the point of farmers, there is one on my local Saturday ride who has fenced a right of way into, effectively, a stream. The field that people were previous able to cut out the stream by crossing about ten metres up the hill is not used for anything.

Luckily some of the more militant users have 'adapted' the shiny new barbed wire fence with judicious use of wire cutters, pipe lagging and insulation tape.

Oh, and amusingly on last night's ride......

Just as we were doing the last little bit in the woods before dropping into the pub our path was blocked by a lone Canada Goose. Clearly disorientated, it seemed to be mistaking deciduous woodland for wetland habitat!

If I head out on my local loop, will the boggy bit be rideable?

The regularity of the rain rather than the total amount does seem to be the issue.  Here in soggy Cardiff I think there was one dry-ish spell some time in the Autumn when the trails got reasonable, then it was back to rain every week, normally just enough to top things up.  There are places to ride, but it is getting a bit of a drag.

Perception, it seems like it’s constantly raining because you only remember the bad stuff.

If you mean it’s all in my head, then no! I can assure you it’s all in my shoes. And socks. Lots of water, every ride. 😁