When is your favorite time to ride

[Yukonrider]

That ISN'T clear skies and sunshine? Everyone likes that, do you like riding in the rain? At night? In wet leaves?

I like riding in the rain and mud almost more than riding on a beautiful day, something about it. Its even more fun at night.

[kevin267]

light rain, or misty and wet just after some rain. Best is whistler bike park in the rain scaring tourists away

[donkeykong]

i like riding before a storm and when it's starting to get dark. it gets all ominous and windy, you're not sure when it will start, and you have this sense of urgency that if you don't ride fast enough you'll get hosed. kind of a motivator.

wet leaves is my least favorite though.

[bfree]

Muddy, windy, nighttime, leaves, hot, cold, whatever. Just no riding in the fucking rain. Call me a pussy, call me whatever, I grew up in Seattle and still despise it.

[gravitylover]

My favorite time to ride is the time I am on my bike

[altagirl]

I love riding in the rain. But I don't love destroying my drivetrain, BB, etc. by grinding mud into it - or I guess more accurately, I don't love the time and money required to fix my bike after a mud ride. Obviously it depends on the type of dirt/mud - some isn't bad at all. But I admit there are plenty of times I'll pass on riding in the rain because I'm not willing to destroy my bike.

So with that in mind, I'd probably take frozen fall rides over leaves and just a bit of snow.

[bagtagley]

There are some great spots here where the trails are almost entirely small rock and pulverized shale over sandy soil. It gets dry and loose fast, but also drains really well. I love those places right after a rain. I did a long ride last year the morning after a big nighttime rain storm, and it was amazing. Quiet, grippy dirt and a nice cool fog. Of course, by afternoon that fog turned into crippling humidity, but luckily I was wrapping things up by then.

[Edgnar]

Sunset. Before or after a storm.

[Chugachjed]

Midnight in June/ July

[123ski]

super early morning in the summertime when the moisture from the dew is still all over the ground so everything is tacky, the light is barely out, and nobody else is awake yet. The weather isn't hot that time of day either.

[LaBelle23]

Snow shuttles -- Sept/Oct timeframe. 3-4 inches on top of oreo dirt and it doesn't get much nicer. Add in the need for route finding with more snow since the evidence of the trail is gone and it goes up a few notches.

An hour after the summer storms. The spandex morning set flees home and the locals have the trails back in their best form.

Days where we have weird weather (happens a lot at 10K) always makes for the special rides. Ground fog after hail, PNW conditions in CO in June, etc. have been the ones I remember most.

[ski_adk]

I love the fall...from just after the first fall monsoon right up until the snow flies. The singletrack just feels so buff and smooth at that time of year. The temps are almost always perfect and the golden glow of aspens just makes it feel that much better. Not to mention it always happens to be around the same time when my legs are finally in their best riding shape...

[funkendrenchman]

When the temperature is such that you don't break a sweat on the uphill and don't get a chill on the way down.

[adam]

I love the golden hour.

[bagtagley]

In Utah, Fall was by far my favorite time of the year to ride. Cool temps, tacky dirt, empty trails, and on rides like the Crest, you could see ahead for miles without the leaves on the trees. Those cute little aspen leaves even helped to keep the trails moist.

Fall is different here. The trails get more crowded, hunting season gets going and each ride brings an additional layer of slick (dry or wet), rock hiding, hub-deep leaves. It's great riding up to a point in time when, for me, it gets a bit tedious. Spring is my new favorite time of the year to ride. And, as far as riding goes, it looks like it's already here.

[JoshP]

My favorite time to ride is at the end of the day, right before it is time to go to the GLC for jugs of Kokanee .

Fall is definitely my favorite time to ride though. We usually get a bit of rain in Utah, which helps pack down the moondust, and makes everything tacky and awesome. The crowds leave Moab, and it is cool in the evenings, and not too hot during the day. The feeling that "this could be my last ride of the year before the snow flies" sets in, making every ride even better.