My first winter ride!

BlackSpur

Did my first off-road ride in winter today! A little bit of wooded track which didn't look to bad from the outside, but it was covered with clay mud and wet leaves inside! Also, unseen to the eye, most of the ground was horribly rutted, so the downhills shook my bike to bits. However, it was so much fun! Im gonna try to get out as much as I can this winter, especially with the weather being so mild.

Anonymous

good on ya, at the risk of sounding like i'm 'not a real biker' i hate riding in the winter and think it is a completely different discipline to riding in more clement weather.

i hate the cold, the wet, the increased maintenace required and the getting covered in crap, oh and falling off more often. i get the impression it doesnt matter how good you are at riding (im pump by the way) the winter is always better at getting you off (fnaar fnaar) than you are at staying on!!

mind you, im off to thetford tommorrow

BlackSpur

My bike is in the garage, covered in leaves and gunk atm - it started raining as soon as I got back so I used this as an excuse to leave it 'till tomorrow.

Anonymous

haha, theres nowt i like more than the excuse to leave cleaning till tommorrow

ill let you know how my first winter ride was when i get back in.

dav1

i love winter riding, hate cleaning the damn thing afterwards though.

I started going early on my way to work but when it got seriously muddy my bike would have to stay covered in crap till the weekend which has put a limit on things unfortunately.

oh and you call -1 fog mild? I doubt we will get a warm winter like we did last year but dont let that stop ya riding

BlackSpur

Here in the East Midlands the weater is pretty damn good - lots of light, very little rain or wind. I'm sure it will only last a few days... No hope of a white Christmas though.

Martyn50

I was on the black route in Thetford last fri, got covered in mud and god knows what else. Pretty tricky in places where the ruts had frozen making the chances of an off very high but managed to stay on! Cleaning your bike's like cleaning the car- Is there any point if your gonna get it minging again in a matter of days? Drown it with GT-85 I reckon!

BlackSpur

Cleaned it yesterday - I had forgotten that our outdide tap freezes over in winter! Bike cleaningwith a sponge and bucket is not fun. :evil:

Anonymous

went for a ride yesterday at thetford, took the willow and had a blast untill i got some weird clicky grinding feeling at the cranks whihc really upset me.

got it home and dis-assembled then re-built, all seems fine now, must be those gremlins again!!

Marek-Mex

I don't really like the mud as well, but have to deal with, any way, the tip is : as I don't have any space at home to clean my bike, before the mud get dry, clean it using your drink bottle, fill it with warm water (and take some more bottles like 2L bottles to refill every time) and squeeze it. It makes the job as a presion water machine.