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’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.

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.

This thread is making me very sad ☹️

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.

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.

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 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.

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 🙂

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.

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.

weather forecast for next week looks fantastic!

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.

I need to get some better mud tyres

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

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!!

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”

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.

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!

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!

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.