Clifton Problems

Over in Caledonia Mall, Clifton, someone selfishly attacked a car doing a bit of smart-car parking, by pulling up their wipers

Nearby, another car, KL51UUY manages to get by unscathed. We have mixed feelings here. Yes, smart-car parking finds a new space, but it makes double parking harder, and this road is ideal for a bit of double-work.

In Clifton Village proper, we can see the real problem: mud covered bicycles and their rides, taking up the pavement. by leaning them against dustbins.

Apparently the Ashton Court golf course cafe no longer has its "no muddy mountain bikers" sign up. We say every cafe in the city needs such a sign.

Mountain bikers vs Everyone

There's a sign at the Golf Course Cafe in Ashton Court

No Muddy Bikers, Please, Or Any One With Muddy Clothes To Use The Seats In The Cafe.

Helps Us To Keep It Nice For Everyone.

  Thank You For Your Co-operation.

Some people may think the sign is incorrect, it should say "keeps it nice for everyone else", but remember: cyclists of all forms are underpeople, and do not count. They should be grateful that they are allowed in to buy cups of tea to be consumed outside.

Like the South of France

We are very excited to hear that when a Football World Cup camp is built it will not be like Glastonbury, it will be like the South of France.

This must a different Ashton Court from the one near Bristol. Here is it in February

A few months later, the snow went away

The only time we have seen the mud dry out was September last year.


Now, compare this to the South of France. It is sunny, the mountains look lovely.

There is faint hind of mud on the bike, but nothing to worry about.


If there is to be a world cup football campground for two weeks on Ashton Court, the only way to pull it off would be to cover the entire area in a wooden floor first.

50 Acre wood: closed for maintenance

The main MTb trail at 50 acre wood is about to close for two months due to forestry work.

According to the trails group:

The trail will close in mid-April (the 14th has been give as the most likely date) and will re-open after 2 months. The yellow "family" trail along the bottom will remain open as a diversion. Trail days can continue over there in the meantime so hopefully when it reopens it will be in better shape than ever.

One might think that doing forestry work during the wet and miserable months would be the right thing to do, rather than when more people are out using dry trails. But the forestry people need nice weather for their work, which only spring provides. Riding the trails during the spring months -the months where, in 2006, 2007 and 2008, we actually saw dry days for weeks at a time, would make everyone complacent and lazy.

What can be done in the meantime is fix those trails up from the winter mud, the next Ashton Court trail day is going to be on Saturday 11th April; they'll be working on the middle section of the Quarry trail. 50 acre wood work will take place on Sunday April 19.

Ashton Court: spring mud

Spring: last time to enjoy the snow before next winter, and in Ashton Court, last time to enjoy the mud before the summer rains return. It's not ideal though.

It's warm and dry enough that a lot of people are coming out, out without mud tyres, instead bringing all-round MTB tyres and the optimistic belief that they can get round without getting covered in mud.

These spring mountain bikers are trying to get round the course mud free, here skirting round the deep puddles.

This is widening the trail. It was tighter during the deep winter mud season; all these people trying to stay clean are downgrading the area. They should embrace mud and set their bike up for Bristol, not dryer places like Wales.

Ashton Court: warm, dry and unnaturally pleasant

For anyone planning on taking advantage of the warm weather and heading out the woods near the city, we have an emergency warning that mud conditions are bad. No snow, no mud, no water. We have some photos here of how much better it was last month, so people can reminisce about how good it's been this winter, except for those people still living in denial.

The strangest thing about this Sunday morning's ride is how busy it was. People going round 50 acre wood, the trail by the wall, the trails by the quarry -the latter being fixed up by the Bristol Trails Group as we speak -more help there is always welcomed, Mar 21 being the next work day.

Today, this same path as above is now a pale dusty brown, with lots of people riding round the recommended direction, and a fair few going the other way, though as spring sets in, those people need to recognise that contraflowing is something you can't do a midday on a weekend any more -too dangerous at busy times. Certainly lots of people had to keep diving out the way when we contraflowed it at race speed.

The biggest problem with warm dry weather is that it is so unlike normal Bristol MTB conditions that people aren't going to be geared up for it -even the technique is different, as cornering and route planning changes, and we locals don't know what to do when there aren't knee-deep swamps of mud to land in when things go wrong. You need to take off all the warm clothes, the thick gloves and drop down to T-shirts; you may even need to think about tyre changes, but that's possibly a bit premature.

The last three years, March-May have been warm and dry, but a monsoon kicked in at the end of May, just before half-term, with fresh rain and mud that lasted until September. Presumably those conditions will recur this year, so rather then switch to general purpose tyres for S/W England and Welsh conditions we should accept that this aberration of warm and dry won't last. Just put the mountain bike away for a few weeks, do some road work, hang round the gyms that are now empty again as new year's resolutions have waned, and generally avoid the dry stuff.

What it is good for, incidentally, is evening work. The gate is open until 19:15 even though it's still dark from 18:00, and with almost no mud to wash off, night rides are easier.

Mud: enjoy it or leave

Here are some other people out enjoying the excellent mud-with-snow conditions on Ashton Court this sunday morning

Expressions of glee on their faces, "chaos! everything!" they say, as they sprint past, faster than I could cycle for the last five years.

Leaving nothing but a trail of mud up the back of their clothes as they vanish into the next mudfield.

Elsewhere, over in 50 acre wood, some people didn't seem so happy. One of them pushing their bike up, the others pining for Spain and looking doubtful about claims that these mud conditions are excellent.

While Spain is good, the pound euro rate renders it a premium destination. Even wales is an expensive trip abroad, or a long pedal. Get used to Bristol, get used to mud. Or leave. now. Your weaknesses have been noted. Especially you at the back, pushing. But, you were wearing shorts, which makes up for things. This time.

Ashton Court: Best Mud for a decade!

While Friday's snowfall gets rained away, it is giving way to some of the best mud conditions Ashton Court has had since the mid 1990s. Snow, ice, slush, mud, muddy water -all of it, all at the same time!

Route planning is difficult. Do you commit for the straight through the puddle option, which will have traction problems, swerve left over what looks like snow, but could be a snowbridge, a thin layer of snow over mud, or go for that shallow mud that could be workable, but it could turn out to be a mudbridge, mud on ice on a deeper pool of mud?

There's no way of knowing until you commit: what wonderful uncertainty.

What would you do?

This is why Bristol is a cycling city. Not for the slightly widened St-W to Muller-Road path, but for the excellent mud at weekends and evenings. So we are grateful that on the night of the launching of the Cycling City route, that they managed to organise such excellent mud.

Big Air at Eastville

A polite note from one of the Trustees of the Narrows advises that offroad biking round their St Werburgh's wilderness area is not encouraged. Alternative offroad commute options are to be used. Here is one: UWE to Frenchay Park road via the Portmerion estate, and down that track. Over at the roundabout, and then turn right into Eastville park. Which brings you to the Eastville Park Technical Area, here being used properly by someone who knows how to handle a bike: "K".

In a fit of user incompetence picasa managed to delete the video, where he described his bike -Specialized Hardrock- with some nice uprated Marzocchi Bomber forks. With the way he was getting the bike over the jumps, those forks are earning their keep more than most of the MTB suspension forks taken round our city. Nice riding, and a reminder that there some excellent places in-city to push a bike to its limits.

A very muddy christmas!

Thursday December 25, 2008. A day to celebrate.

Thursday: Thorsday. Thor - the Viking God. A good of thunder and thunderstorms. And what do thunderstorms bring? Rain. Which, when mixed with soil, produces Mud.

Thor, then is the Viking god of mountain biking. Let us celebrate him by getting out there and covered in mud.

There are long-whispered rumours of a secret downhill race in boxing day, one down the various staircases of Bristol. More details on this would be welcomed. If it doesn't exist, then we should organise one. For now: Ashton Court golf course cafe, 10am, boxing day, with whatever Santa brought you.

Mud conditions: fresh winter mud on a solid base

After last week's anticlimax at Ashton Court, due to inadequate mud for the time of year, it's good to see a week of heavy rain has brought conditions back to what they should be for early December. Fresh winter mud on a solid base.

There's lots of puddles, and around the puddles 1-3 cm of slippery mud; very liquid and hard to gain any traction on. Beneath that there's a more solid layer that tyres may get a bite into. Gate closes at about 17:30; the suspension bridge is open to all traffic.

It looks a bit frostier this morning, which may turn the upper layers of mud and water into something crustier. There is a risk here, the "mud bridge", in which you ride onto what appears to be a solid layer of mud only for it to break under your weight and drop you into the pools beneath. Follow mountaineering best practises for glacier work here and send the heaviest and most clumsy person out in front.

No Mud?

Ashton Court is the official home of mud. Even if you dont go there you can see the people returning, get a feel for conditions, just by looking at mountain bikers on their way home.

Its disappointing, therefore, that Sunday's cyclocross race seemed to choose a mud-free route.


Down the "non-technical" side of the woods, a bit of a zigzag in the trees, then uphill

While not dry, it isn't mud. Not like 50 acre wood or even the entrance to Ashton Court itself. And as for Leigh Woods, well, that's something to fear.

While its more fun than, say, a sunday morning road ride out in that biting wind, it's not really Cyclocross. Here, for reference, is a video from a recent event in Oregon, a video by my friend John "Mud Bath" Wilson, someone who has the luxury of a hot water tap in his back garden so he can hose himself and his bike down after such events, all in one go.

That's what cyclocross is about. Watching grown men wallow in mud. Perhaps at the next event on the schedule things will be better.

Fresh Winter Mud!

It's been a bit dull out there recently -no good rainfall since August, leaving mud conditions in Ashton Court/Leigh woods a bit boring. Summer mud that was collecting into ruts

But here in Bike! is someone bringing the good news that with this week's rain, we've got fresh winter mud to get out and enjoy

The CX races begin at 10:30 am for the sprogs, later for juniors and grownups out by the quarry. Conditions will be ideal.

DIY Mudguards

Now that winter is here, mud conditions are looking excellent, but they do make the bike -and you- dirtier

Someone in the bike shop had this little home-made mini-guard for front suspension bikes out of an old inner tube.

It looks like you take one old tube, slit it sideways to make it wide, then wrap it down from the crown to the crossbar of the lower fork bits and back up again, with cable ties to hold everything in place.

Whether it is any use or not is not known to us. Proof -with photos- that it works welcome. It probably stops some of the water the wheel lifts up from going into your face, but that's about it. It is cheap if you use a punctured inner tube with too many patches to be considered worth repairing again, and should adapt to the suspension nicely. Worth a go.

Mud dock racing night

Singletrack have news of a Mud Dock/Iron Horse event on Wednesday,

It involves sprint races on old style roller wheels (the ones that can go wrong), and there will be prizes along with drinks promotions. Given the MTB theme, presumably they will be making more like November Ashton Court night riding by throwing mud in your face, spraying cold water at your exposed fingertips and banging your shoulders with a tree from time to time. All of which you can enjoy for free.