Category: Competitions

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Spring Dark & White MBO Score – Hayfield

Sunday dawned as warm and sunny as Saturday and I decided it was the perfect day for not just some mountain bike orienteering but also a lengthy trip in my Triumph Spitfire, fresh from a service and recent MOT. I’ve had the spitfire since I was 18 and this year it is 40 years young! With the bike on the back, it really shows how small it is compared to a modern car!

The venue, Hayfield is brutal, nestled in a valley near Manchester there are hills in what seems every direction. With my #pearlizumi #pichampion kit on I decided to not try and avoid them, just get on with it and soon I was off and pushing up rocky tracks towards the top of Chinley Churn. I then headed in a clockwise direction through New Mills before climbing seemingly never ending hills ending up to the North of Hayfield at ‘Robin Hood’s Picking Rods’, whatever they are, and Crown Edge Rocks.

I was a little early and ended up a slightly disappointing mid-table but I can feel my fitness slowly returning. Afterwards, there was a great atmosphere for the Winter Series prize giving – the man of titanium, Killian Lomas, again scooping the overall win.

On the way home the sun baking down on my bonce had me stopping in Buxton for some sun tan cream – spring must finally be here then!

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First Open 5 – North York Moors

I’ve been meaning to do an Open 5 for years, however there has always been something else on or some other excuse. One of the perks as part of my Pearl Izumi Champion Team  is an entry to an event and the Open 5 seemed to fit the bill as something a bit different.

The event concept is you have 5 hours to visit as many checkpoints (all worth different scores) as you can on bike and by foot – navigating !

Alan Hartley, a friend who has done loads of open5’s has given me lots of tips about kit, transitions and strategies and the bike is ready – time to drive up to North Yorkshire !

#endureandenjoy365 #pearlizumi #pichampion

 

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National Orienteering Inter-clubs Qualifier – Parkhall

The UKs national Inter Clubs Orienteering competition is the Compass Sport Cup / Trophy. The Trophy is for small clubs and this year Walton Chasers has shrunk into the category.

I was meant to be at a Dark and White Mountain Bike Orienteering event but a 3 line whip from the club captain (my wife!) found me in Stoke on Trent at the deceptively tricky Park hall Country Park. The weather was amazing, so much so I probably should have put some sun tan lotion on my head!  With my new #pearlizumi #endureandenjoy laces in m y shoes, I went out fairly hard at the start and ran well, sticking mainly to the path routes as the undergrowth would have needed a suit of armour to get through. I had a slow leg where I did try and go straight, but everyone else seemed slow too and I only lost 35 seconds or so thrashing around in the brambles and one mistake out the far end. The map wasnt great and I spent a couple of minutes trying to workout what was up and what was down until I relocated on the carpark! My legs struggled to keep the pace towards the end and I did start to slow over the last few controls.

I ended up 8th which I was happy with given the straightforward navigation and best of all Walton Chasers pipped the Potteries and we go through the the final in Devon in October 🙂

Results here

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Chillington Hall – orienteering  planning

Walton Chasers last event at Chillington a few years ago got it a reputation. A reputation – based of fact, that it was a bramble fest – armoured trousers needed. I took on planning an event on this area for a couple of reasons, we had a very small window at the close of the shooting season to update the map (which I can do) and the sheer challenge of producing some hopefully enjoyable courses on such a difficult area!

I concentrated on providing huge routechoice legs, keeping people out of the brambles and hopefully provide runners with some beautiful vistas and views of the estate grounds.

I had to arm chair plan the courses over the winter and gained access at the beginning of Feb – just a month before the race. A recce showed lots of felling and the brambles even worse, but we did get access to the grounds around the hall itself and most of the parkland so I concentrated when re-planning on making the most of those.

A week before the race and along comes Doris (the storm) – big trees down and a very waterlogged area with lots of mud!

I put out all the controls on the day before the race, just leaving me to check them and wake them up on the morning of the event (electronics). Saturday was beautiful, almost perfect spring day – Sunday though dawned cold with a front racing through which caught me good and proper out on the area with torrential rain which then turned to sleet and snow.

By the time the runners rocked up it had improved and then event went well with over 150 competitors enjoying the parkland, with the start and finish based in the ‘model farm’.

Quick analysis of the GPS routes people post afterwards shows the big route choice routes seemed to have worked – so happy bunny me!

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ZWIFT at BIM Show Live

My day job is as an Information Management Consultant for Major Construction Projects and Estates Management at PCSG – whats that exactly I hear you say – well its making sure the right document, drawing or 3d computer model is available in the right version at the right time to get things built and then to maintain them going forward – sometimes the acronym BIM is used – Building Information Modelling but my role goes well beyond that.

Anyway the UKs main conference on BIM – BIM Show live was this week in Newcastle. I was speaking with one of my clients and generally networking but one of the exhibition stands run by BIM Technologies had a zwift hill climb challenge to raise awareness and money for MIPIM charity ride later this year. (MIPIM is the worlds premier property and development conference in Cannes)

Olly Thomas from BIM technologies is taking part in the Legal and General MIPIM bike ride and he cajoled me to have a go at the challenge (not that I needed much persuasion)

The leading time was 2.41. Ive never ridden a zwift before and on the TACX Neo it was amazing – I went out way to hard trying but soon settled into a decent rhythm and using the gears to keep the cadence high.

With about 20 people cheering me on I smashed it in 2.27 but was completely broken afterwards and it took me about 30 mins before I was back to a normal temperature, even then with no blue inhaler with me I was struggling with wheezing for a couple of hours !!! you dont think youd need an inhaler at a BIM Conference !!!

Later on someone pipped me by 2 seconds and finally Olly jumped back on and managed 2.17 but ill take a vets victory I think 🙂

Good luck to Olly on his way to Cannes – you can sponsor him here https://race-nation.com/sponsor/e/65001

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Forest of Dean – double header

The attraction of foot orienteering and mountain bike orienteering on the same day, a couple of miles apart and in the lovely Forest of Dean was just too good to ignore. The morning of the event dawned rainy and cold in Stafford by the forecast for FoD was good which overruled my initial thoughts of binning it due to a very light morning dose of manflu – well a runny nose…

The foot orienteering organised by Bristol Orienteering Club was superb, a gorgeous mature forest and well planned. I got into a great head to head race with someone I knew, Gavin Clegg, after I fluffed a control and had a great time. Good too was to catch up with my old junior coach Anne Donnell – now 86 and unfortunately unable to get out into the forest she was helping at registration, pointing people in the right direction. 

I shoved a tiffin and can of drink down my neck and then headed up the road to the Cannop Valley mountain biking centre – which was heaving with riders, the day having turned out to be really quite nice!

The Mountain Bike Orienteering was really well planned by Black Mountain MBO on an excellent map and after 2 hours of pedaling I finished tired and happy ready for the long journey home. 

Event report here

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World MTBO Masters Championships 2016

britishteamWow, what a weekend…. Talk about burning the candle at both ends and in the middle, I came back completely shattered and longing for a long sleep but a great time with lots of old friends.

The event was completely centered within the city of Kaunas, the races taking advantage of the dense path networks inherent to rolling forests so close to large populations. The long race was well…… Long, very long, very very long and I was completely out of my fitness comfort zone. The mass start race was organised as a one person relay, riders coming back through the start zone a number of times, riding the various sections of the course in different orders.

I had a good start but as I came through the start after the second map I realised I was not racing any more, it was just a case of a challenge to finish the course. I eventually rolled in after well over 3 hours, completely broken…

Unfortunately there were a few problems with the Sportident Air in the results and with my experience of the system and my role at the event as  IOF Juror I spent a fair bit of time after the race helping out.

The Saturday brought the middle race in a spectacular venue across a huge bridge a short ride from the city center near the university district. I was much happier with the distance and had a good race but again I spent a fair bit of the afternoon in my role as a IOF juror before heading out to dinner that evening a a late night with lots of friends from all over Europe.

sprintmapSunday morning brought a hangover and very tired eyes as we headed out of the city to a beach alongside a river where the Sprint race was to be held. Luckily I had a reasonably late start so well the clock beeped my start time I was fine. The sprint race was one of my best ever races, on a fantastic map and other than a spidersweb of purple lines well planned. Riding off track was allowed so I used some foot O skills a little cutting through when I made a mistake but essentially had a great ride. Coming into the finish was great fun along a springy singletrack next to the river. As I crossed the line I heard my name called in second place…. there were a few riders left to finish so I didn’t hold out much hope but as I watched the screens over the next half hour it became clear I really had had an excellent ride and I was in third.

Unfortunately I found out to my embarrassment at the prize giving Id actually been knocked into 4th after a rider was reinstated however I was really chuffed with 4th.

We had another good night out in Kaunas on Sunday before I got up at stupid a’clock to head for home and straight to work. Overall a fantastic event and well done to the rest of the British team, particularly Charlie who yet again came hoe with a clutch of medals!

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World Masters MTBO 2016 – Lithuania

This month 5 years ago I ended my burst of late 30s fitness jumping off a garage roof in Russia at the World Cup MTBO final in the sprint. I kept going that week but the long race from which I retired with sore race was my last proper international race.(see here!)  This weekend completes my return to recreational racing with the World Masters Champs, running alongside the World Cup final in Kaunas, Lithuania. The last 6 weeks hasn’t been the ideal prep, I trashed my ankle at the World foot O champs spectator races and then got a dose of manflu which to be honest is still lurking under the surface.

Anyway I picked Lithuania as its flat (hills were never my strong point) and there is a large team of British Masters going out so the ‘Holiday’ side should be run.

Friday is a mass start long race – I am just going to chill out at the back of the race and see how it goes, enjoy the orienteering and riding as it will be all too easy to have the red mist come up and blow up after 90 minutes and start making mistakes or worse still hurt my back.

I am really looking forward to the middle and sprint races on Saturday and Sunday but not the silly o’clock return flight home on Monday morning.

The event website is http://www.mtbo.lt/ for more details

Entry lists are on Eventor https://eventor.orienteering.org/Events/Show/544