Too Wet?

[skiandmtb]

So here I was today, about 24 hours after yesterday's rain, the only car at Rosaryville. I started riding, and noticed that I had been making some tracks about 3/4 mi into the ride...just past the stream. Guilt overcame me (thank 12 years of Catholic school) and I turned back.

The question is...What constitutes too wet to ride? How do you gauge it?

L.J.

[martin]

Seems to me like you made a decision right there when you decided to turn back. An inch of rain in Gambrill is not quite the same as an inch of rain at Avalon - generally speaking common sense takes the lead - and by the sounds of it, you've got it :)

[bikerRob]

....The question is...What constitutes too wet to ride? How do you gauge it? L.J.

6/05/05 >> This is not an easy thing to answer because it involves so many factors. I think of it as the "When to ride equation". ...First, most importantly: You have to know the trail system you are riding and know what the trail conditions are like when they are prime. Most trails will have some muddy spots. How much mud is the real key to knowing. You can't really know unless you ride said trails on a regular basis. Regardless, I feel there are a number of things that can help you decide if your riding some where you don't normally ride.

1) If your tires are loading up with mud and not clearing (at all) it's a good bet it's too wet to ride.
2) If your riding up a moderate hill and the rear tire is losing traction, also the bike is sliding all over the trail and you see very little dry/firm spots...it is probably too wet to ride.
3) If you are sinking in (say, a half inch) on usually dry areas...it's time to go home.

Places like Rosaryville usually take a while to dry out if the weathers' been wet...which it has. What I do to judge when to ride is to keep a close eye on the local rain gauge (National Weather Service) Click on to the 48 hr History and it will give you rainfall amounts (hourly or six hour encriments) I like using Weather Bug because it also gives a 24 hr. rain read-out as well as other readings for other significant factors like wind, humidity and cloud cover.
I knew today would be too wet simply because of the amount of rain that fell in the last 24 hrs and the fact that there was no wind, high humidity (97%) and lots of clouds. Even as I write, conditions haven't changed...the air is very, very damp. It's real hard for trails to dry when conditions are like this...even when there's no rain.

For me, that means a ride tomorrow either towards the Watershed (Frederick) or perhaps north of Frederick. I'll be looking for trails with lots of rock. I've been planning on riding Michaux St. Forest for a while so maybe that's what I'll do (if I don't sleep half the day...yeah, I worked today.. :o )