Soggy ground - Noah’s Ark or the big freeze…

one piece crank

Well-Known Member
I’m officially sick of this wet weather. All my local single track (no car travel required) has been a swamp for over a month. Yeah I’m riding a fat bike, but in these conditions it would just make bigger ruts. So I’ve retreated to deer trails along the Delaware River, and low and behold they’re dry! Lots of leaves and only a few diversions where the River has back-flooded feeder streams. Plus, riding to/from I get in a lot more miles of spinning and steady-state heart rate.

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Say 10+ years ago there was a trail network built-up by BMX’ers, some really cool sections (like a 20-foot drop-in). The trails are still there but overgrown, flooded multiple times now, and a large section is fenced off by EPA crap. I’ll try to re-claim some of them over the Winter.

Near disaster…

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I've accepted that will have a lot more rain until the ground freezes, so the fatboy is getting front and rear mudguards so I can explore more and keep the crap off my BB! Not sure if I’ll like them or not but it’s worth it until everything can freeze solid!
 

Ian F

Well-Known Member
It's definitely been a wet 2018 season. So far, we've mainly ridden at Pennypack as it seems to drain fairly well, leaving only a few random mud puddles.
 

one piece crank

Well-Known Member
As soon as I get home I'm heading out on two wheels in the snow! I hit adjacent farm field perimeters for about 5-7 miles. Gotta hurry though, before they become mud pits...
 

one piece crank

Well-Known Member
Very glad I got to ride on Thanksgiving and black Friday! There was about 1cm of crust over mostly bog, on trails that normally drain fairly well? Under my 4.6" tires, the noise sounded like riding on a trail of bubble-wrap. Absolutely crazy.

Trails returned to mush after Saturdays higher temps, and then back to a bog by Sunday.
 

icebiker

JORBA: Morris Trails
JORBA.ORG
Woo-hoo, swamp city again! I’ll be workin in the garage - either the old Land Rover or bleed the fat bike brakes, hmmm....
Yep, my list today includes:
Clean FS and SS bikes
Replace a tube
Put ski racks on truck
Sharpen and wax the snowboards
Finish ice-studding my spare fatbike wheelset
Unclog daughter’s sink

Started with the last one first (nasty). The rest is therapeutic. :).
 

one piece crank

Well-Known Member
Went out for a nice ride today - light drizzle and full-on flooding. No trail access, so I pretty much hit my property and farm fields I have permission to ride. Normally the field grass and stiff weeds are too thick to pass through, but flowing water lays it all down really nice. Fenders on, riding in low-range, kicked-up a wake most of the time, and tried to keep my pedals out on the down stroke.

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qclabrat

Well-Known Member
Went out for a nice ride today - light drizzle and full-on flooding. No trail access, so I pretty much hit my property and farm fields I have permission to ride. Normally the field grass and stiff weeds are too thick to pass through, but flowing water lays it all down really nice. Fenders on, riding in low-range, kicked-up a wake most of the time, and tried to keep my pedals out on the down stroke.

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Can you pop over a link for the fenderz?
 

one piece crank

Well-Known Member
Can you pop over a link for the fenderz?

Both fenders were around $15 on-sale. The front fender is a Portland Design Works Mud Shovel. So far I like it. Super-easy On/Off, but not much BB mud protection.
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Rear fender is still a work in progress, but I started with a Big Buck Board "front" fender, and added a rubber mudflap at the BB. So far I like the mudflap BB protection, but I want to heat/bend/squeeze the Big Buck so it nests between the upper seat stays, and extends coverage up/back. In it's current position it collects mud on top of the fender 'cause it's sitting too low. I have already changed mounting straps so they fasten on the seat tube side (not between the fender/tire). This makes it much easier taking On/Off. When I do repostion it higher I will make a longer mudflap running all the way down to the BB.

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one piece crank

Well-Known Member
I haven't even checked my local trails - too much standing water in the ditches en route. So I've just been hitting the canal path along the Delaware. After 18 miles yesterday I am seriously sick of gravel paths! Only five more days of daylight riding (vacation) before I have to go back to satan (night) rides...
 

icebiker

JORBA: Morris Trails
JORBA.ORG
I haven't even checked my local trails - too much standing water in the ditches en route. So I've just been hitting the canal path along the Delaware. After 18 miles yesterday I am seriously sick of gravel paths! Only five more days of daylight riding (vacation) before I have to go back to satan (night) rides...
Yep it’s bad everywhere. Standing water, soft ground and it’s going to get warmer again this weekend. :-(
 
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