Weather. WTF.

[Gary]

View from my garden right now...

Trails aren't even all that wet.

 

[Gary]

Years since I made an Analogue choc Gary. Things have moved on. It’s all E-chocs these days ?

Don't worry dude. The milk is nuked in a modern leccy microwave. it's actually quicker than an E-kettle

 

[Doomanic]

I dunno why you're spending so long cleaning kit though. No bike (and kit) should take 2 hours to clean. I'd recommend installing a hot water hose where ever you wash your bike and havingyour bucket/brush/rags/lube all to hand there as well. i use my hose to rinse down all my riding kit before stuffing it in the washing machine.
Probably helps I live in the middle of nowhere and can just strip off whenever I want but the the whole lot from mankyAF bike to clean, lubed and ready to ride again, wet clothes in the machine and a brew/beer to drink genuinely never takes me any longer than 10 mins.

I knew this was coming!

 

[Doomanic]

actually the sun's out over the Surrey Hills right now, but don't be deceived, it's a trap.

Sunny in the Mudlands too, but it'll still be like riding through slurry out there, except where's it's a clay soil when it'll be like riding through glue.

 

[Gary]

i honestly can't understand WTF folk manage to do to take so long to wash a bike and get undressed @Doomanic

it's all snow above a 300ft here so as long as you stay on the top half of the hills you don't get minging until the last descent

 

[Doomanic]

Sunny in the Mudlands too,

Aaaand now it's pissing down. I think I jinxed it.

 

[Kaelidoz]

I loved the snowy-ish winter we got last year. It was my first winter as an everyday bike rider. I enjoyed riding it so much more than this year. Now there are branches and deep mud everywhere. I just moved in so I did a few kms around the place but that's it.

Like Gary I'm commuting through cold winds and rain. It's not hard but rather a very repetitive and unrewarding commute. I don't really enjoy it but I still feel better overall after riding than driving. Although the car looks very tempting in the morning...

I can't wait to cruise with my friends. What I can wait for tho is all the summer bugs.

 

[p3eps]

I was out this morning. Although it didn’t rain, it had been bucketing all nights and the trail was sodden.
Had to scrape crap of my back and ass before I was able to even put my gear in the washing machine.

Quite enjoyed it, but my feet and ass were soaked.
The uphill sections were like a stream as the hills tried to dry off!
Need to invest in a pair of waterproof shorts - as all the ones I have are rubbish. Something goretex preferably!

 

[Waynetta]

Absolutely hideous out! sleet, hail , snow, rain, wind in no particular order. Sun came out too for about 10seconds. I Don’t mind riding in muddy conditions for a couple of rides then it becomes a chore with cleaning and lubing, not to mention freezing cold hoseing my self down. On the plus side it makes you really appreciate dry trails and warm weather.

 

[jooles]

I am normally fine with wet weather riding but it’s starting to really get to the point where I just can’t be arsed with it!

The last 4 weeks have been ridiculous in the U.K. and even just going out for a 1 hour ride means about another 2 hours to clean kit and bike!

Anyone else at the point of getting totally pissed off with it?!

/moan over

Was thinking just that myself today in South Wales. I just run with the dog and do some indoor rowing to keep fit. You wouldn't find be on a road bike sucking in fumes though. .I'd rather get muddy and fall off. Fingers crossed for these stormy times to go and also allow poor flooded folk some respite

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

i honestly can't understand WTF folk manage to do to take so long to wash a bike and get undressed @Doomanic

it's all snow above a 300ft here so as long as you stay on the top half of the hills you don't get minging until the last descent

It’s my 5 layers of crash protection. Takes me 1:50 to remove it all. Washing / cleaning takes no time, you saw my YouTube vid, right?!

 

[Mikerb]

I have managed weekly rides picking out the odd days with no rain. It has been so windy that if there are a couple of days with no rain things dry out quite well. I guess I am lucky in that both my local forest spots are on sandy soil and sloping ground so stay rideable even with the amount of flooding we have all around. I rode down in Haldon Forest Park (Exeter) last Friday and that was fine as well. As far as bike cleaning is concerned I leave the bike out in the wind or sun if there is any after a ride, the just brush off and wipe with a damp cloth and towel. Using a silicon spray...something like "Shine" on the bike makes it easy to clean off.

 

[Mikerb]

I was out this morning. Although it didn’t rain, it had been bucketing all nights and the trail was sodden.
Had to scrape crap of my back and ass before I was able to even put my gear in the washing machine.

Quite enjoyed it, but my feet and ass were soaked.
The uphill sections were like a stream as the hills tried to dry off!
Need to invest in a pair of waterproof shorts - as all the ones I have are rubbish. Something goretex preferably!

I wear Altura mtb trousers or mx trousers....=dry bum. Just was the mud off under a cold tap after.....or occasionally sponge off with Nikwax Wash solution. A couple of times per winter season pop them in the washing machine on a 30 degree wash with Nikwax Wash then repeat the wash cycle with Nikwax TX Direct. I give all my DWR gear the full Nikwax treatment a couple of times in the winter....in between just using the Nikwax wash is enough to keep them waterproof

 

[R120]

Cleaning the bike doesn't actually take the long, its the f'ing clay that clogs up the jockey wheels on the derailleur that's the pita - it like a bloody cement paste in there after every ride.

 

[Beekeeper]

Officially the wettest February in U.K. history ️

 

[Beekeeper]

I think I’ve now decided on my next ebike. I’ll get a lot more use out of it than my current one.

 

[Mikerb]

Officially the wettest February in U.K. history ️

I am always sceptical about those " hottest/coldest/wettest" reports. The biggest influence on our weather in the UK is the position of the jetstream and that is so chaotic in pattern that no one can accurately forecast it ahead of time. In 2011 it formed what they call a holding pattern right through the spring and summer months resulting in sw/w winds beaufort 4 to 5 day after day for several weeks. As a winsurfer I remember that year as the best summer in all the 30 plus years I have windsurfed. Most others bemoaned the "worst summer on record"!!

 

[Waynemarlow]

Sorry I'm a mud sadist, love it, would play in it all day long, just like we used to do as a kid, why the consensus of the liking of smooth hard pack trails, which any body including your non riding partner can do, when instead every trail whether its up or down, becomes a technical trail. So much fun to be had.

You just got to have the mindset to accept that you're only going to do 10 miles in 2 hours instead of the 20 you used to do ( non Ebike ) or 20 instead of 30 on the Ebike, same time outside, just not the distance.

 

[Zimmerframe]

It’s my 5 layers of crash protection. Takes me 1:50 to remove it all. Washing / cleaning takes no time, you saw my YouTube vid, right?!

And don't forget, everything gets filmed... from multiple angles, so he has to clean one bit, film it, then make it dirty again so he can film himself cleaning it from a different angle

 

[Gary]

Feb 2020 isn't exactly

ahead of time

is it?
Feb Rainfall surpassed previous recorded levels days ago over most of the UK. I think it's still sitting at the second highest on record here. But there's 6 hours left. So fingers crossed
Shame Norris Mcwhirter's no longer around to get his wee book out, eh?

it's actually snowing here now!
The shitey wet stuff not the lovely fluffy white Eeb friendly/clean stuff

 

[Zimmerframe]

I think I’ve now decided on my next ebike. I’ll get a lot more use out of it than my current one.
View attachment 26802

I think @GrandPaBrogan has one of them, or at least something very similar...

 

[Janc]

I am normally fine with wet weather riding but it’s starting to really get to the point where I just can’t be arsed with it!

The last 4 weeks have been ridiculous in the U.K. and even just going out for a 1 hour ride means about another 2 hours to clean kit and bike!

Anyone else at the point of getting totally pissed off with it?!

/moan over

Even finding a bit wet n windy for windsurfing some days!

 

[Mikerb]

Feb 2020 isn't exactly

is it?
Feb Rainfall surpassed previous recorded levels days ago over most of the UK. I think it's still sitting at the second highest on record here. But there's 6 hours left. So fingers crossed
Shame Norris Mcwhirter's no longer around to get his wee book out, eh?

it's actually snowing here now!
The shitey wet stuff not the lovely fluffy white Eeb friendly/clean stuff

What I mean is that if the weather was anything other than chaotic the heavy rainfall in February could have been forecast. It may well be the wettest february but only because the current type weather ....atlantic storms....more often occur in November. ...at least here...and Jan/ Feb are more often than not dominated by high pressure and colder temperatures. Throughout my c 70 years the only constant in the weather from year to year has been warmer temperatures in the summer compared to winter. I have seen drought, floods, heavy and prolonged snow even on the south coast. Its just weather!

 

[Gary]

it was forecast.
A few days before.
believing a forecast any further in advance than that is naive at best foolish at worst

 

[Mcharza]

I feel you, UK riders. We have had the driest Feb in a history, but damn it's too cold. This morning -8 C and it's freeze your balls

 

[ImSundee]

Kinda annoyed with todays weather was ment to be horrible all day, and tbh its been lovely out. sunny most of the day.

 

[R120]

Sorry I'm a mud sadist, love it, would play in it all day long, just like we used to do as a kid, why the consensus of the liking of smooth hard pack trails, which any body including your non riding partner can do, when instead every trail whether its up or down, becomes a technical trail. So much fun to be had.

You just got to have the mindset to accept that you're only going to do 10 miles in 2 hours instead of the 20 you used to do ( non Ebike ) or 20 instead of 30 on the Ebike, same time outside, just not the distance.

I too like riding in apocalyptic conditions, and actually riding an ebike makes conditions that would usually be unrideable viable, providing you have the right tyres. One of the reason I ride my hardtail emtb so much is that in weather like this not having to worry about dealing with bearings and linkages makes going out for a blast on the bike so much more appealing.

 

[Simoto123]

I got out and stayed warm and dry today. Bike is covered in shit but then again it was when I set off. I came from weekend warrior downhill where it was saturdays pushing up with the lads. If you don’t ride in the wet you would hardly ever get out. An ebike makes the weather bearable for me. If you get bored, cold and wet just turbo home.
Its pussies and a lamentable lack of commitment after spending fortunes. Shame, lol.

 

[Simoto123]

Except the commuters, you guys are machines.

 

[Gary]