Ride 044.

 
Queuing to start

perhaps we better just follow someone who knows what they are doing

A control point waiting to be dibbed

This can't be right - there's no snow on the map

Another control point

Howard needs some support when he realises we are nowhere near a cafe.

Couldn't EBOR do something about this mud?

At least we were spared having to go up there.

Looks like the closest we'll get to an action shot.

We probably would have got 200 points if it hadn't been for this

Point 12, bridleway/path junction. stone gate post, 15 points

 

 

                       Date:   5th march 2005            Distance: 22.25 miles

Knayton Trailquest 

Something a bit different today, we entered a Trailquest, a mountain bike orienteering event organised by EBOR; cycling with purpose and not even a café to spur us on.  Although, sitting in a sleet lashed sports field waiting to register it wasn’t so much our purpose as our sanity that was in question. People who’ve not had a go at mountain bike orienteering before tend to be a bit puzzled as to the nature of these events; hopefully I can fill in the gaps in the course of this article and maybe encourage a few more cyclists to participate in this curiously compelling activity. 

As I’ve noted earlier it wasn’t the best of starts weather-wise but the Gods deigned to dry things up enough for us to get registered. Three MBO virgins, Oz, Howard and Chris plus one experienced competitor, me, although I do have the some kind of record for possibly the lowest ever MBO score in one event - minus 225 points.  

First of all everyone entering must be a member or associate member of the TCA (Trail Cyclists Association), becoming an associate was quick and painless and above all, free. Moving to the next queue, one picks up one’s ‘dibber’ the electronic gizmo which records every move made during the event, before registering your entry – in the relevant class, it was a surprise for a pair of youths like Oz and me to find we are veterans. It’ll be even more of a surprise for some of the other Terra Trailblazers to find they are super-veterans. A map showing the area of the event but not the actual control points is available at registration but tends to be obscured by rather earnest types dressed in the type of friction-free clothing more commonly seen on Olympic swimmers or downhill skiers, bulging with honed musculature as opposed to our lager and cake defined torso’s. 

Once registered it was back to the cars for last minute coffee and pan de chocolate just in case the breakfast carbs were running low. On the bikes and back to the start queue, it came as a bit of a novelty to us predominantly weekday riders to be amongst so many other cyclists – we probably don’t see this many in a whole year. At the front of the queue details are downloaded from the dibber into the first control box and you are issued with your map, the next control box records your start time and your let loose into the world, hopefully to return within the allotted time – three hours in this case, having stuck your dibber into as many control points as energy, motivation or pub opening hours allow. The maps are marked with all the control points and their relative value, varying between five points and thirty points, mainly the further away or harder to reach the control point is the more points it is worth. Also issued at registration is a little ‘cheat sheet’ detailing the precise location of the control point e.g. stone gatepost, telegraph pole etc.  Finishing outside of the allotted time is penalised using a sliding scale of points reductions (which explains the minus 225 score) 

Our foursome regrouped in the car park of a tantalisingly open pub to study the map and decide our route. Owing to deep snow six of the control points had been removed, luckily for us they were the ones on the top of the escarpment which runs along the Western edge of the moors, a bit less climbing. Conditions were fairly poor all round, snow and mud, but the sleet had a bit of a rest for most of the afternoon. It’s amazing how quickly we became caught up in the event, working out distances and estimating speeds relative to points value, a lot of the control points were low down and adjacent to roads, so off-road mud wading was kept to a minimum. We’d opted to pootle round as a foursome checking the same control points and just enjoying the day out, trying not to get in the way of the more serious competitors who were hurtling grim-faced and unsmiling along the lanes as though their lives depended on reaching the next checkpoint. It’s only a game you know lads. 

We visited a few control points, including one suspiciously easy 25 pointer without any major incidents, except Howard’s puncture. There was something of a tortoise/hare dynamic in our foursome – no names, the tortoises finding the control points while the hares hared past them. 

Back at the finish we all rolled up pretty much together with 7 minutes to spare, downloaded our dibbers into a piece of electronic wizardry which told us we had 90 points and no penalties. It issued a little printout with every control point we’d visited and the time we’d taken to reach each one – clever. All that remained was back to the cars for more coffee, cake and biscuits – an enjoyable day out, something different which we doubtless do again, shifts permitting. Perhaps we might even take our score into triple figures. 

Results here. Click Osmotherley, then click results.

 


 

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