Photo by Andrew Barron
Flickr Creative Commons
I’ll begin this with a caveat: I’ve never actually been mud riding. But I do know folks who have.
If you’ve never heard of mud riding, it’s a fairly simple concept: take one pick-up truck, add people, find some mud, drive around in it. Isn’t that messy? Heck, yeah. But some of the best things in life are – ribs, for example. I, myself don’t see the fun in slinging mud into every nook and cranny of my vehicle. Especially knowing that I’d eventually have to clean up the mess. I’m pretty sure the folks who were eager to pile in the pickup on Saturday night are none too keen on pitching in at the car wash on Sunday morning. But somehow the trucks do get clean. Sure, you’ll see an occasional truck-shaped mound of mud on the road, but they’re really the exception.
Photo by lostinthesparks86 Flickr Creative Commons
I couldn’t tell you how mud riding got started. I reckon it just took one person to get their truck stuck in the mud and think, “hey, this is cool.” And they told their friends, and they told their friends, and so on.
Probably girls have been known to go mud riding, but I think it’s mainly a boy sport (and I use the word “sport” very loosely). Call me sexist, but I think the desire to revel in filth rests on the Y chromosome.
If you’re tempted to try mud riding but don’t actually own a pick up, I reckon an SUV would do. I would not, however, try it with a Volkswagen Beetle (old or new) or any sort of four-door family cruiser. And whatever you do, resist the urge to take someone else’s vehicle out for a quick trip through the local mud pit. If you’d like to remain on speaking terms with them, anyway.
In fact, if you’d like to try mud riding, the best thing to do is find someone who’s already going and tag along. That’s what most people do, which I reckon is why they call it “mud riding” and not “mud driving.”
Have you ever been mud riding? Would you do it again?
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