We’re coming to the tail end of February part 2, and of late I’ve been riding with at least one rider who is excellent in the mud (his wife also confirmed this to me!) so it’s been good to watch and follow more capable riders through the mire, making me in turn less cautious.
It’s the hoof prints that throw you off-line hereabouts not the mud per-se.
Conversely, one pal finally came out with us two weeks ago and was all over the place in the mud, even being thrown off on a descent. He was angry with his tyres and frustrated with his poor fitness: the moral being that if he’d ridden in the winter months he’d have been fine with his tyres, the mud and his fitness. He bailed out after an hour as he was out of his depth.
In February part 1, I took to the roads and kept a good fitness level that way. Pedalling for 3-4hrs without a break is not something we do off road, so it was a good set of training rides and one I’ll be continuing to do & can recommend too.
I think full length Lycra bibs are the way to go. Unlike the photograph above – 90% of my body was made in the North East but my ankles seem to have been made in Surrey! 😉