rob_bell wrote:
I am prepping for horrible conditions.
I live an hour away. Our local news last night showed a graphic that made it look like Stillwater could get close to 4 inches of rain next wednesday and thursday.
It's been very cold here the last month or so. The ground is frozen and dry right now, so road conditions would be perfect today. I think the roads will be destroyed if it rains next week, but i really hope I'm wrong.
Here are some tips to deal with muddy gravel races.
- Pick a tire which gives you plenty of clearance. I would usually do Land Run on 35s or 38s, but I'll be on 32s to maximize mud clearance.
- Carry chain lube with you and use it frequently.
- If you feel some binding when you are pedaling through thick mud, stop pedaling immediately and clear the heavy mud off your bike. Then walk until the road dries up. If you keep pedaling, you'll be one of the 50 or so people who will break your rear derailleur off next weekend.
- It's usually faster to dismount before the mud and walk through than it is to try to ride through, fall over, walk through, and then clean your bike. You'll see plenty of people do the latter, but few do the former.
- Keep your eyes far enough in front of you so that you can see the sections other riders are successfully riding vs the sections that people are falling over in
- It isn't intuitive to some, but the wet mud/puddles are actually better to go through than the mud that looks dryer. The dryer "peanut butter" mud will stick to everything. The really wet mud won't build us as quick. A puddle will actually wash some of it off.
- Put some bar tape under your top tube, or wrap it around your top tube. If you have to shoulder your bike for a few miles, you'll be happy you did this
- Apply some protection to your frame where mud from the tires will rub (inside the chainstays, seat stays, and fork legs). Aluminum HVAC tape seems to work pretty well.
- Apply some clear packing tape along the bottom of your downtube. As you reach down to scrape the mud off, it will avoid the frame from being scratched. You can do this to the chainstays too. It all depends on how much you care about how your bike looks.
- Carry plenty of tools. You can use an old piece of shift cable to pop open your chain's quick link. Have a multi tool with a chain breaker in case you need to convert to SS. Have tubes, CO2, a pump, tools to remove your derailleur, thru axles, etc.
Oh crap! I looked at the forecast and saw rain possible Tuesday and Wednesday but didn't look into it further than that... I can't imagine 4" of rain on clay roads goes anywhere quickly. I am torn between wanting a dry (and easier) year or a mudfest so I have a better story to tell! Thanks for the tips... it sounds like I will just be tossing most everything bike related I own in a bag and will sort it out Friday before the race.
Edit to add... thank you for the tips! I watched a video from a couple of years ago and was initially confused as to why people were dragging their bikes through a muddy river until I saw what they looked like coming out. Makes complete sense.