Benji adopts the slithery path to zen in the darker months
Acceptance. Acceptance and change. That, to me, is the key to getting through winter. If done correctly, winter can be just as much fun as the other three seasons.
To remind you, the current four seasons of the UK year are: early mini-summer (formerly known as ‘spring’), autumn-with-more-daylight (summer), pre-winter (autumn), and winter (winter).
I do actually like winter mountain biking. And not in the usual ‘Type 2 fun’ way. I actually ‘like it’ like it. Winter should not be approached as something to be endured. Winter can be something to be enjoyed.
Ungreat expectations
At least you know where you are with winter. Or, more accurately, you’re often less disappointed and annoyed. Expectations are low with a winter ride. Winter rides will only ever be better than you expect them to be. They’re never worse. Sometimes they may play out exactly as expected. But they’ll never be a let-down. Unlike all the summer adventures you foolishly plan.
What are the problems with winter riding that aren’t (as) present during other seasons?
Lack of speed.
Lack of control.
Lack of comfort.
Too much time is required for post-ride cleaning up.
You’ll notice that I don’t list ‘wearing out components’ as a winter problem. That’s not to say that winter doesn’t wear out components faster. It does. But I don’t think winter wears stuff out at a significantly faster rate. In fact, I’d go on record as saying it’s actually summer soakings that ruin bikes more.
But, er, yeah, get some brake pads. Always buy decent brake pads when you come across them in a decent sale (probably during summer). A bumper pack of brake pads is considerably cheaper than attempting the pointless White Whale of having a ‘winter bike’. By all means give up mountain biking during winter. Go road riding instead. Just don’t bother with having a spare ‘winter mountain bike’. During winter, your mountain bike should be absolutely the most up-to-date and capable mountain bike you own.
The path to great-er-ness
While I don’t hold with the idea of a ‘winter bike’, I am a big proponent of having a ‘winter front wheel’. A what? A pre-prepared front wheel complete with mud spike and disc brake rotor. Honestly, it’s a game changer. You’re much more likely to quickly swap in a whole new wheel instead of finding the will (and time) to remove a tyre and install a different one. Just a spare cheap ’n’ cheerful wheel. No need to even be tubeless. Inner tube is fine. Having a mud spike front tyre IS like having another bike. It’s amazing and it’s probably the One Thing you should take from this well-meaning but didactic and patronising magazine article.
Anyway. Back to some solutions for the aforementioned problems.
Lack of speed. Solution: stop trying to go fast. Go steeper instead. Both up and downhill. Halve your ride distance but maintain your ascent/descent.
Lack of control. Solution: components and protection. Wear knee pads. Get hold of a modern lightweight full-face helmet (which are amazing things these days). Buy a pair (that’s two) of mud spikes, fit them and appreciate the ‘cheat code’ that they are. Winter riding is slow and draggy anyway, so if it’s going to be slow and draggy, you may as well benefit from the mind-blowingly increased grip you’ll get from aggro mud tyres. Slow your rebound down a couple of clicks. Possibly try a higher rise handlebar. As above, get rid of distance as your metric. Gradient is where it’s at during winter. And have more than one attempt at things. Yep, looks like a session.
Imagine coming out of winter not only with a degree of retained fitness but also a significant increase in riding skills and confidence? It’s yours for the taking.
Impossible dreams
As with most things mountain biking, it’s often about location, location, location. More than likely you’ll have to stop riding the same trails and loops you ride during the rest of the year. No matter what tyres you mount, no matter what jacket you purchase, no matter what ‘winter bike’ you source, it won’t ride like summer. Stop chasing that impossible dream. Go to new places. Steep places with tree cover. If you have no steep places with tree cover accessible from your doorstep, drive to some. Stop just going to A.N.Other aggregate-path-tastic trail centre. There are great woodland play areas within an hour of every single one of you. Probably. I have absolutely no evidence to back up this statement. But you get my point. Drive to some trees. Trees are rad.
Lack of comfort. This is related to clothing. Don’t bother with expensive jackets. I’ve personally never found that any jacket genuinely breathes during high humidity mild UK winter conditions. Take the money you’ve just saved by not buying an expensive jacket and… buy two cheap jackets. And two pairs of gloves. Spares, people. Spares is where it’s at with winter clothing. Yes, you will need to take a backpack to hold your spare jacket and gloves but it’ll result in a higher degree of comfort than riding pack-less in an expensive jacket and a single pair of gloves.
Too much time is required for post-ride cleaning up. To me, this is the main problem. Having a filthy ride is manageable but the sheer faff, discomfort and time required for the post-ride clean-up really does feel like a kick in the teeth. It’s the post-ride aspect that is the real reason we end up not liking winter rides. Solution: a pre-prepared post-ride zone. A place to de-muck upon your return. A place to strip off. A bag for your mucky clobber. A set of spare comfy clothes to put on. Hot drink capabilities (kettles are cheap). Maybe even a radio or speaker or just somewhere to place your phone so you can put something on to listen to during the whole post-ride clean-up.
Deal with it
The problems with winter riding aren’t going to disappear. They just need dealing with. Winter requires some time, effort and, yes, money. Treat it like you treat going on holiday. Don’t begrudge this preparation and expenditure. See it as an investment in your future self enjoying their life even more.
But, yeah. Brake pads…
