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The blog of Mark Stodgell, Orienteer and Mountain Biker. In his spare time works as an IT Director
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Climbing in public

Down in Cornwall for the week on holiday I spent a while pouring over an OS map trying to find a big steep hill on which to do a series of punishing low cadence reps on.

I found the perfect incline a few km down the coast from Treyarnon where we were camping.

The climb up from sea level to approx 80m at Mawgan Porth is vicious and has a very steep hairpin towards the top before a gentle gradient for the last 100m which makes for a brilliant thigh burning session.

The added plus was that there could be no wimping out once started as it was a very public hill, circling a pitch and put course, and with a slow stream of beach goers trudging back up the hill to their cars and caravans giving me very strange looks as I slogged my way up and wizzed down the 3.5 min climb.

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Memory Lane

church, cheddon fitzpaineI’ve had a couple of weekends down at my parents in Taunton recently and have spent a few hours training in the lanes and old villages, soaking up the memories and enjoying fine views over the Vale in the May sunshine.

Quantock Orienteer’s were holding a‘JOG’ (Junior Orienteering Training event) one Saturday afternoon, organised by Judy Craddock who with her husband Roger introduced me to Orienteering in 1982. I thought I would drop in and say hello and after a natter ended up scuttling around a sprint score event in my cycling shoes skidding around the corners on my cleats, trying to beat 12 mins, as well as helping out a bit before continuing my training ride up into the Blackdowns.

Queens College was a great little map and the planning caught me out forcing me to retrace my steps for one control I could not get too because of uncrossable walls and fences. It was good to see lots of old faces and I will try to make a few more QO events in the future when I am down in Somreset.

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Dark & White Summer #3

The third round of this summers Dark and White evening series was a little closer to home South of Buxton near Longnor. I even managed to nav my way through some tiny lanes to avoid Ashborune’s rush hour (a sly route Julie P had suggested) and got there for a fairly early start.

There was a stiff wind blowing from the South and I had a feeling this would be an issue out on the course affecting route choice as the area is very exposed.

I decided that the valleys to the West would be fairly sheltered so headed off anticlockwise with the wind behind me. I completely cocked up my first checkpoint with a right schoolboy error. I always carry my control descriptions stuffed up my shorts, only resorting to them if I can’t see a checkpoint when I get to the centre of the circle but this time I paid for it, standing on top of an old railway bridge looking down to my first control on the cyclepath far below. Muppet! I should have known the organisers wouldn’t have put the control on a main road !

I had no choice but to leave it and cut my losses but I’d just thrown away 10 points !

I rode fairly well, and missed out a few controls not on my route, knowing there was no way anyone would clear up on this bigger than average map and finished strongly up the old railway line to the finish 4 mins late.

Those 10 points cost me 2nd place and I ended up 6th – Doh!

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Dark and White Winter 2010-11 League Prizes

I got my hands on my booty for coming 2nd in the Dark and White winter league last night.

A box full of Clif bars, a nice big book voucher and a bottle of skwirt lube. Thanks to everyone at Dark and White and their sponsors.

                
                 
    

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Dark & White Summer 2 – Chapel le Frith

Round 2 of the Dark and White Summer evening series was centred on Chapel en Le Frith in the North of the Peak District. Another area I know reasonably well, adjacent to Castleton and Mam Tor. I had forgotten though quite how deceptive some of the smaller looking climbs immediately around Chapel are and I was soon out of the saddle working hard.

Although there was a pretty obvious route around most of the controls there was a section which brought some pondering.

In the end I picked a daft route through 8,12 and 17 going right around via the top of Winnats pass in an attempt to save some climb but it was simply just too far out of my way and I lost at least 7-9 mins on those who just in and outed 12. I lost a bit more time, as others did, just after number 16 trying to find the top of the bridleway down to Malcoff. I was nervous at committing to a fast decent down through a field full of sheep with no obvious path on the ground but in the end did pick the correct gate, though judging by tyre marks at other gates a few others went the wrong way.

I nailed the route in from my last control through Chapel and finished a couple of minutes late but well down in 12th position, my dodgy route choice having cost me big time.

Results available at http://www.darkandwhite.co.uk/results/2011SummerLeagueRound2overallplaces.html

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British Orienteering Relay Championships 2011

After a very agreeable night in a local spa hotel, complete with jacuzzi to ease those aching limbs (we blew lots of nectar points), the drive to the relay event was only 5 minutes. I’d heard the area was perfect terrain for a relay from some of the locals and they were right: it was an amazing mix of bell pits, low-vis, runnable forest and complex path networks.

Again, trying to save my legs for the few weeks training to come before the next World Cup race, I jumped at the chance to drop from the Chasers men’s premier team to the men’s short race. It also meant I’d be in with a chance of some proper head-to-head racing at the font of the pack, rather than hanging on to the back in the premier race.

I ended up wearing my prize from the individual as I couldn’t find my normal Thorlo socks, luckily the Smartwool Trail Socks were in the bottom of the bag from yesterday. Pulling them on they felt sort of cuddly, and very soft !

On the horn I was part of a huge pack of 60 or so runners, the mass start being not only Men’s Short but also M18, W40 and M60. The young guns all went off a full pace, leaving us wiley elders in their wake but we soon drew them it when the nav got a bit more interesting.

I got good start keeping towards the back of the leading packs but running my own race trying not to get distracted.

After a taped route over a road bridge crossing, we dived into the area of complex bell pits and vague contour detail. I ran clean and ended up coming out on my own having dropped the pack. I accelerated, held it together and kept ahead through the spectator control and the last few technical controls before a slog back up the hill to the finish arena. Punching the last I knew I was well up but felt great when the commentators announced me in 4th place, about 1.5 minutes down on the leader and about 20 seconds behind 3rd.

May be it was the lucky prize socks, they certainly kept my feet nice and comfy.

http://www.smartwool-socks.co.uk/ 

I handed over to Allan Williams whose solid run brought us up to 3rd but, unfortunately, teams tend to put their big guns out on last leg and Gaz Little couldn’t hold on so we dropped to 10th .