| Sat Apr 28 @ 9:00AM - Winter Trail Work Day |
| Sat May 05 @ 9:00AM - Winter Trail Work Day |
| Sun May 20 @ 9:00AM - Winter Trail Work Day |
| Wed May 23 @ 6:30PM - Waters Edge Bike Night |
| Sat Jun 23 @12:00AM - 05:00PM 331 Racing Alum Creek Phase II Time Trial |
- Central Ohio Mountain Bike Organization • Re: Anyone doing the Mohican 100m or 100km race?
- Central Ohio Mountain Bike Organization • Re: http://capcityshorttrack.wordpress.com/
- Central Ohio Mountain Bike Organization • http://capcityshorttrack.wordpress.com/
- Central Ohio Mountain Bike Organization • Re: New Trail Stickers
- Central Ohio Mountain Bike Organization • Pre-Registration has OPENED for the Showdown-June 23rd 2012
Winter Riding
When riding in the winter remember one thing “colder is better.” That’s because when the ground is frozen it’s hard and won’t rut. The best time to ride is when the trail is completely frozen. Once the trail has gone through a freeze-thaw cycle it gets very sloppy and the tread is soft when it’s not frozen. The freeze-thaw cycle is just what it sounds like. The freezing overnight temperature freezes
the tread and then the above freezing temperatures of the day thaw it back out. Even if we have not had much rain there is still moisture locked in the dirt. This causes the ground to act as if we just received a good rain. Unfortunately with cooler temperatures in the winter the trail can’t dry out as fast as the summer so it needs several more days to recover and dry out after a freeze-thaw cycle (unless it stays below freezing). The best time to ride is first thing in the morning. By 9 or 10 am the sun shining on the trail has already thawed it out even when the daytime temperature is still below freezing. Cloudy days will help keep the trail frozen when it’s cold enough. If the temperature is hovering just around freezing then the trail may not freeze overnight but if it’s in the 20s or below it will freeze overnight and will be good for a morning ride. If the daytime temperature stays in the low 20s or below it will probably stay frozen even if the sun is out.
There are plenty of us that enjoy winter riding and the trails will remain open as long as the tread is frozen or dry. Please use your best judgment when riding the trails in the winter and stay off them when the tread becomes soft. Soft tread ruts easily and causes erosion, rough trails and trails that puddle and drain slowly after it rains. So while we may not be able to ride as often in the winter, taking care of the trails now will help them hold up better in the rain for the spring and summer, which means we can ride more often next summer. We will try to keep the status of the trails as up to date as possible so be sure to subscribe to the e-mail alerts.
Galena, OH