MUD SEASON PSA

It's that time of year again -- MUD SEASON 😱

All biking trails in BETA land are too soft to ride responsibly at this time. All biking areas are currently considered "Red -- Do Not Ride". Stay tuned for detailed trail condition reports in the coming weeks which will be shared on our website and on social media.

Love your trails, protect your trails -- please be patient and give them time to harden before visiting. Hiking or riding soft or muddy trails can quickly lead to lasting damage. Mud season damage (like that pictured below) is preventable, but we need YOUR help.

Riding season is around the corner. Hold strong -- you got this! This is the perfect time of year to dust off the stationary setup, ride on a gravel road or the Rail Trail, and tune up your bike so it is in prime condition when the trails are finally ready to visit.

Thanks y'all! We are looking forward to seeing you on trail when the time is right.

Read on for examples and more info on what mud season damage can be so troublesome.

A berm at East Branch Community Trails (EBCT) whose smooth surface was recently scarred by a set of bike tires. In order to restore this berm to its proper smooth status, the BETA trail crew or local volunteers will spend dedicated time fixing it this Spring. If they were not held up fixing preventable damage like that pictured above, the trail crew and volunteers would have spent that time working on other projects (like the as-yet-unnamed enduro-style trail being built at EBCT).

If you've visited EBCT, you know there are lots of beautiful, skillfully-formed berms -- how many of them will need help this Spring because of mud season damage? The answer to that question depends on how many people misjudge or ignore the trail conditions and visit before the trails are ready.

Please do you part in protecting the trails by waiting until the tread has hardened before hiking or riding this season.

Another scene of damage at EBCT. While this image is less striking than the sliced-through berm above, it shows how even minor wet spots (already a headache for the staff and volunteers who care for the trails) are made worse by mud season damage.

Ruts left in the mud will be preserved unless they are fixed before the tread hardens. Those ruts will hold water on the trail for longer than normal, making this small wet spot bigger and more serious with time.

If the trail crew or volunteers don't have the resources to fix these ruts before the tread hardens, this wet spot will grow into a bigger and bigger headache with time. If damage like this crops up all over BETA land, our major projects will be delayed.

Love your trails, protect your trails -- please be patient and help support our work by waiting for the tread to harden before visiting trails this Spring.

​Thank you! You got this!