Mountain biking is something that most would agree is fun to do, however mountain biking in the rain is something that might be an entirely different thing. Depending on where you live at, you may live in a place that has more sunny days than rainy ones or you may live in a place that sees more rain than sunshine.
Mountain biking in the rain can be fun or, if you do not like being in the rain at all to begin with, it can be something that is entirely miserable. Therefore, whether it is fun or not for you is more of a matter of personal preference.
However, there are other factors that can play a part in whether or not mountain biking in the rain might or might not be fun for you to try. Knowing what these factors are and just how the rain will affect both you and your bike can be a great way to know if it is something that you would enjoy or not.
How Riding In The Rain Affects You
One thing about the rain is that it can get into your eyes depending on how hard it is raining and which direction the wind is blowing. Obviously if it is raining hard and the trail has you riding straight into the wind then more of the rain is going to get into your eyes.
This, along with the amount that it is raining, will make it harder for you to see where you are going on the trail, since if it is raining hard you will have to see through the rain. If it is only drizzling you will be able to see much further and not as much of the rain is likely to get into your eyes.
Rain added to the dirt of the trail turns quite easily into mud. If you are someone who does not like mud, then you will quite possibly not enjoy mountain biking in rainy weather since this is to some degree an unavoidable part of mountain biking in the rain, unless you can find a trail that is entirely rocky or raised boardwalk in order to keep you up and off of any dirt.
There are things that you can wear that are waterproof that help prevent you from getting too wet, and these can often keep off some of the mud as well, though if it is pouring then some of the rain will quite likely find a way to get through anyway. Some of the things that you can wear are rain jackets, a helmet that keeps the rain off of your head, waterproof pants, and other things.
One important thing that you need to wear if the trail is muddy is a pair of goggles. You will be much more likely to have fun mountain biking in the rain if your eyes stay clear and you are not having to wipe at them so that you can see where you are going.
Rainwater getting into your eyes is one thing, but mud getting into your eyes is another thing entirely and it is very dangerous. Not only will mud getting into your eyes potentially both hurt your eyes and make you more likely to crash, but there can be things like parasites or bacteria in the mud that can be really bad if it gets into your eyes.
Another thing that can affect your enjoyment of riding in the rain is the temperature that it is outside. If it is still hot and it is raining then sometimes the rain can feel quite nice as it helps you to stay cool. But if on the other hand it is hot and it is only drizzling then this can make it really humid and not nearly as comfortable.
The other option here is that it can be really cold and raining, even if the temperature is close to being freezing. If you get wet with the temperature this low, then it can make your fingers in particular quite numb as well as any other part of you that gets wet.
Rides like this can be quite brisk and refreshing if it is only drizzling or raining a little, however in order to avoid getting hyperthermia you should keep your rides short, especially if you get wet, and you should also have a warm place that you can go to in order to warm up at the end of your ride.
How Riding In The Rain Affects Your Bike
Riding in the rain not only affects you, but it also affects your mountain bike in a variety of different ways. You should be prepared for these differences and should always ride at a slower speed on the trails if it is raining because of these things.
As mentioned, you will not only have a hard time seeing very far ahead of yourself on the trail, but braking to a complete stop will be harder for one thing. One reason why raining can make it harder to brake is due to the trail getting muddy and some of that mud getting in between the brake pads on your bike and the part of the wheel that it is supposed to press up against.
The other reason why the rain can make it harder for you to come to a stop is that your bike can continue to slide forward even after you tires have stopped rotating around. This is especially true if you are going downhill and the trail is wet.
Besides braking, turning your bike can also become something that will take longer for you to do too. This is because the rain can make your grip on the handlebars not be as good, especially if your fingers are numb due to the temperature being cold.
You should be careful that your fingers do not end up slipping off of the handlebars by not jerking the handlebars too quickly or too hard, and you should also give your hands more time in order to turn the bars. Even when your hands do turn the bars, it will still take longer for you bike to turn.
If the trail is at all slick or slippery at the place where you are trying to make your turn at then it is entirely possible for your bike to skid some to the side when you try to make a turn in the rain. For this reason, you should slow down a lot more than you normally would long before you hit a turn, especially if the turn is a sharp one.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are a number of things that can affect how fun mountain biking in the rain might be for you. If you love getting wet or muddy then this can be a great excuse to dive right in and hit every single puddle along the way.
While you should try to avoid the most difficult of the black diamond mountain biking trails in rainy weather, you will find that even the shorter and easier trails are more challenging and that these will take you longer to do than they would if you rode them in nice weather.
If you do decide to go mountain biking in the rain then it is important that you clean your bike well afterwards. Mud in particular can cause your mountain bike to rust if it is not rinsed off of your mountain bike. Any mud that you might miss can also affect the other parts of your mountain bike too.
It can get in the brake pads as mentioned and can mess these up or can cause these to wear out faster. It can also get into the chain on your bike and in between the chain and the teeth of the gear, causing friction here and even causing the chain to stretch out and the teeth to wear down and making these need to be replaced if you do not take care to wash your bike thoroughly if you get it muddy.