Planner's Comments
This was our first attempt at MTBO. We’ve had an annual Bike-O for quite a few years now, but it’s been of the Trailquest format and I’ve been badgering Richard to let me have a go at MTBO. He’s been afraid that if we opened it up like that we would get greater numbers than we could cope with – our organisation is quite relaxed and managed with very few officials. Well, he relented and the numbers flooded in – not !
We could have coped easily with double or more but a number of factors probably prevented that – the main two being the time of year (schools just finished and people going away) and how remote we are.
Having said all that, from the feedback you gave at the finish you all seemed to have enjoyed the forest and the courses I planned. The map was taken from last years British Championship (foot-O) map and converted to MTBO symbols. I found a really good guide to the conversion process on the web by Martin Bergstrom of Swedish OF, translated to English and posted on a New Zealand website. I’ve sent a copy to Tony and if anyone else would like it, just let me know. Having been lead planner for BOC2014 and having mapped the southern part of the area you rode in, I know the area pretty well and was able to judge how fast the various paths might be to give them the appropriate symbol. Please let me know if there were any you thought badly wrong. I also rode some of them myself to check. My riding is not technically very strong so the video clip of actual riding on those trails that Tony found and sent you all was very helpful, too.
So, the courses. Being my first attempt, I checked the results from previous events to get a rough idea of the lengths required and then thought about the different demands of bike v. foot orienteering. I realised that the challenges are distinctly different and where a matrix of roads and paths would be little challenge navigationally on foot that on a bike it would be quite different. So, I set to to finding a few really challenging route choices with lots of decision points along the way and, I will admit, linked them together with a few shorter simple legs.
Having planned the 3 MTBO courses I added some extra controls to make up the two hour score option. To make score competitors really agonise over where they should go, I put one control at the bottom of the northern escarpment with really only one way down and back up and made it worth 20% of the total points on its own. Nobody took the challenge, although Fred did admit to considering abandoning his bike and running (probably sliding, it’s so steep!) down and back, but then saw sense!
I’ve enjoyed the process and think I might have another go in 2017 (2016 is a busy year O wise for both NATO and me) and extend further west where the trails are not as steep but significantly softer if it’s been wet.
Thank you to Richard for allowing me this chance and organising in his quiet (if worried!) efficient way. Thanks also to Joanne for her assistance in putting out the controls on the very top, manning the Start and then collecting the same controls. Finally, thanks to Paul for his calm running of the computer side of the event and producing the results so efficiently, all we have to do now is improve his jokes !
And thank you to the competitors for making the effort to travel to Thrunton.
Adrian Barnes
Please visit RouteGadget - and upload your route and see where others went and where other courses might have taken you.
Guidance to upload a route to RouteGadget
Advantages of using RouteGadget are: