Riding Jeffco trails in the winter

[mcdelroy]

Given that riding when trails are mushy can give rise to ruts and damage, what's the protocol for riding Jeffco open space trails in the winter with snow? Is it bad form to do so?

How about night usage. Like hiking or snow shoeing? The signs say closed at sundown. Are there any trails acceptable to use after dark?

Marc

[gotdirt]

snow doesn't always equal mud (in the initial stages anyway)... if the ground is frozen for example (like it is now) then you should be good to go. only when the snow has melted considerably and has saturated the dirt below does it become a problem. keep in mind that not all muddy conditions are created equal-- a little mud isn't such a big deal (part of mtn biking in CO), but it becomes problematic when the trail is so gloppy that you're leaving ruts. leaving tire tracks ain't no big thing, leaving channels in the trail behind just leads to erosion (and deeper ruts)... not to mention wreaks havoc on the bike's drivetrain usually.

all JCOS trails close an hour after dusk. you can apparently night ride at GM (city of lakewood park).

[mcdelroy]

Hey gotdirt I checked out the COMBA page. Lemme know when COMBA's doing trail work. Depending on what I have going on at the time, I'd like to lend a hand.

Marc

[gotdirt]

green mtn was primo conditions today...

dirt was moist enough to stick to your tires, but not get thrown all over the bike nor tear up the trail.

gmsnow.jpg

(hope you got out too)