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Winter wheelin' -- All-weather bikers hit the trails even at night
By Greg Johnston 
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
Add a new character to the list of the half-crazed who roam the Northwest landscape at the most ungodly of times: The winter mountain bicyclist.
With the dedication of a year-round road cyclist and the resiliency of a winter steelhead angler, the winter mountain biker rides, come hellish rain or devilish cold.
"We schedule rides -- and rain or snow, shine, whatever, we're going to go riding," says Mike Curley of Tacoma, president of the Single-Track Mind Cycling Club.
"Everybody in the club enjoys riding extremely, and in the Northwest, you can't let weather slow you down or you wouldn't be doing anything."
They even ride at night.
"You really have to experience it," Curly says. "It's really a rush."
They even ride in snow. Even at night in snow.
"It's a super-fun thing to do," says John Zilly, local mountain biking guidebook author and year-round rider. "When the snow is fresh and not crusted over, you get pretty good traction."
Zilly offered to take the writer out on a winter ride, and it proved exhilarating, if extremely wet and moderately muddy. However, as Zilly explained and our ride demonstrated, it is not an activity that should be undertaken without preparation, nor without an understanding of the impact spinning wheels can have on rain-softened trails.
"Winter riding is really weather-dependent and terrain-dependent," says Walt Shostak, like Zilly a member of the local Backcountry Bicycle Trails Club. "Generally, you want to avoid more sensitive trails because you're just going to beat them up."
On softer trails, multiple wheels rolling through mega-mud can cause serious erosion.
So most off-season mountain bikers ride on "hardened" trails, designed to withstand heavy trampling. These include old railroad grades such as the Iron Horse State Park Trail, or trails designed for motorcycles and off-road vehicles.
"Probably the best place around here to go mountain biking in winter is Tahuya State Forest," Zilly says. "It has 110 miles of trail and lots of them are open to motorized off-road vehicles, and because of that they have been hardened."
That's where Zilly took us on our ride during one of the rare recent clear days between howling late-fall storms. Skies were blue, the forest deep green and the trail pocked with endless pedal-deep puddles of brown.
Explaining proper riding etiquette, Zilly advised that we pedal "right through the middle of the puddle."
Huh??????
"Going around causes braiding and widening of the trail and eventually erosion," he explained.
Actually, it seemed appropriate. And to be out in the cold air pedaling briskly among salal, wild rhododendrons, hemlock and fir was rejuvenating, even though our cheeks were chilled and our socks wet by puddle No. 333.
Another bit of etiquette: Skidding is always unacceptable to conscientious mountain bikers, Zilly says, and in winter it is even more damaging to trails.
Before setting off, Zilly oiled the bicycle chains thoroughly. Despite that, one of us snapped a link well into the ride, in fairly deep forest, under a sinking sun. Zilly took a chain tool out of his repair kit and had the bike spinning again in minutes.
"Maintaining your bike properly -- it's even more important in winter," he said. "Things can happen. If you don't know how or aren't prepared to fix those minor breakdowns, you can be in trouble. Spending the night out there in winter is a much bigger problem than in summer." (See related story.)
It is wise to ride with at least one other person in winter, and at least one member of each party should pack a chain tool, a tube patch kit, bicycle tire iron and air pump. Many mountain bikers also carry an extra inner tube.
Between winter rides, you should check your bearings and brake pads.
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Your local cycle shop can do the job for you if you don't know how.
Brake pads wear rapidly in winter's mud and grit. "I go through a set of pads in about three rides," Curley says.
In terms of technique, winter riding is no different from summer riding, except that you usually must pedal slower because of puddles and occasional trees or limbs blown onto trails.
It's even a slower go and more challenging at night, when riders mount lights on their handlebars. "You're riding over stuff you normally wouldn't because by the time you hit it, it's too late," Curley says.
Weather proof clothing is essential. Many riders wear riding tights or polypropylene long underwear and shorts, sheathed in rain pants of "breathable" fabrics such as Gore-Tex or coated nylon. Jackets of breathable fabrics are best because they allow ventilation of sweat, and they're usually layered over pile or synthetic fleece and polypro, fabrics that wick moisture and retain warmth when wet.
The feet are most prone to chill. On our ride I wore leather hiking boots, well-coated in waterproofing grease, while others wore Gore-Tex- lined boots, and these worked well. Other riders wear Gore-Tex socks, or waterproof booties that fit over riding shoes.
"No matter what, you're probably going to get wet and cold, but you can slow it down," says Curley.
Because you can get deep into the forest quickly on wheels, it is important to carry food, water, map, compass, matches in a waterproof container or a protected disposable lighter, and a knife.
Just in case you get caught in an unsaintly winter situation.
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