MTB Orienteering

"MikeyOz" wrote in message...

Quoted message said:

was in a LBS the other day and picked up a brochure on MTB Orienteering
and have decided im going to give one a go, just for something
different, hopefully a bit of fun, was wondering if anybody else had
done one of these ??? tips ?

my goals are;

Not to get TOO lost
try and manage to find every marker
and
too not double the distance of the course (see first point)

finally, anybody know where can I get one of those map boards for your
bike from ?

--
MikeyOz

Here http://www.wildhorizons.com.au/gear/mapboard.html

A bit expensive until you get hooked. You can fashion something up using zip-ties elastic bands and a real-estate "For Sale" sign.

I've never done one of these, but have done a couple of adventure sprints which included navigation on Mt bikes and used to do a lot
of rogaines (on foot)

1. Make sure you can read a map - sounds obvious but...
2. Know where you are all the time.
3. The shortest distance between two controls is often not the quickest way
4. The control point descriptions are useful.
5. Have fun

Parbs

[i][quote="MikeyOz"]was in a LBS the other day and picked up a brochure on MTB Orienteering and have decided im going to give one a go, just for something different, hopefully a bit of fun, was wondering if anybody else had done one of these ??? tips ?[/i]

my goals are;

. Not to get TOO lost
. try and manage to find every marker
and
. too not double the distance of the course (see first point)

finally, anybody know where can I get one of those map boards for your bike from ?[/QUOTE]
Hi,

Did my first one of these a couple of weeks ago and had a ball! It was only short but hilly and hot (Qld).

Main lesson learned was read the instructions carefully. This one was supposed to be on tacks only, although some aren't of course. We took a couple of short cuts across country and were disqualified, after coming in second. The tracks made it much longer of course.

We didn't have map boards, but I think if you check to the MTB forums you'll find instructions on how to make your own. They are a bit expensive, but some of the LBS' will stock them. I wouldn't worry about it too much depending on the event. If it is track only and you can ride one handed and read you'll be fine. Otherwise it will depend on how competitive you want to be I guess.

stewart

Parbs said:

Here http://www.wildhorizons.com.au/gear/mapboard.html

A bit expensive until you get hooked. You can fashion something up using

zip-ties elastic bands and a real-estate "For Sale" sign.

Another mapboard option that is abit cheaper than the Miry is this (and it's
Australian-made):
http://www.windchill.com.au/Mapholder.htm

MTBO is a great sport, with less focus on pure speed and fitness (although
it sure damn helps) and more need for careful map reading, careful route
choice and a pinch of rat cunning. There are a whole range of grades with
different distance courses, to suit age groups, and for those starting out
you can take one ofthe easier courses. It's generally a very safe type of
sport too - my recent fall and associated breakages was the first time Vic
MTBO has needed to call an ambulance in its 7 year history.

Cheers
Peter
-who found out yesterday why the strained shoulder was so damn painful -
it's a broken collarbone!

On Mon, 28 Feb 2005 at 01:03 GMT, Peter Signorini (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:

Quoted message said:

-who found out yesterday why the strained shoulder was so damn painful -
it's a broken collarbone!

Damn! How many weeks has it been?

--
TimC -- http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/staff/tconnors/
Chairman: We continue with an afternoon of numerical stimulations.
-- An astronomy talk

TimC said:

On Mon, 28 Feb 2005 at 01:03 GMT, Peter Signorini (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:

Quoted message said:

-who found out yesterday why the strained shoulder was so damn painful -
it's a broken collarbone!

Damn! How many weeks has it been?

Three. I guess the prioirty for the doctors at Ballarat was the leg. They
took two X-rays of the shoulder and on one the break doesn't show. But on
the other it's there.

Not a maajor problem, as the only treatment for a collarbone would be
slightly stronger painkillers. Bring on that Panadeine Forte.

Cheers
Peter

ahh yes the memories, I feel for you, took me 2 months to fully recover from a fractured shoulder and yep like you said, all you can do is take the panadeine forte, I was cycling on a stationary bike after a month without any pain, but could not run or swim for a further month after that..... 🙁

I was quite happy though, when they said fractured shoulder I had images of the shoulder needing to be put back in place or something... I almost fainted, but the he said nothing we can do it will heal itself eventually....

quote='Peter Signorini''TimC said:

On Mon, 28 Feb 2005 at 01:03 GMT, Peter Signorini (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:

Quoted message said:

-who found out yesterday why the strained shoulder was so damn painful -
it's a broken collarbone!

Damn! How many weeks has it been?

Three. I guess the prioirty for the doctors at Ballarat was the leg. They
took two X-rays of the shoulder and on one the break doesn't show. But on
the other it's there.

Not a maajor problem, as the only treatment for a collarbone would be
slightly stronger painkillers. Bring on that Panadeine Forte.

Cheers
Peter[/QUOTE]

osc <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

MikeyOz said:

was in a LBS the other day and picked up a brochure on MTB Orienteering
and have decided im going to give one a go, just for something
different, hopefully a bit of fun, was wondering if anybody else had
done one of these ??? tips ?

-my goals are;-

-. Not to get TOO lost-
-. try and manage to find every marker-
-and-
-. too not double the distance of the course (see first point)-

finally, anybody know where can I get one of those map boards for
your bike from ?

Hi,

Did my first one of these a couple of weeks ago and had a ball! It was
only short but hilly and hot (Qld).

Main lesson learned was read the instructions carefully. This one was
supposed to be on tacks only, although some aren't of course. We took a
couple of short cuts across country and were disqualified, after coming
in second. The tracks made it much longer of course.

We didn't have map boards, but I think if you check to the MTB forums
you'll find instructions on how to make your own. They are a bit
expensive, but some of the LBS' will stock them. I wouldn't worry about
it too much depending on the event. If it is track only and you can ride
one handed and read you'll be fine. Otherwise it will depend on how
competitive you want to be I guess.

stewart

If it's your first go you'll probably be able to borrow (or at worst
hire) a map board to get you started.

The rule about keeping to tracks holds everywhere - it's usually a
condition of us getting access to areas. In comparison to 'foot'
orienteering, there is relatively more emphasis on route choice
between the controls, and less on fine navigation, although it's still
not altogether easy to read some of the track junctions, particularly
at speed. A lot of the route choice problems are quite challenging
because, in addition to distance, you need to factor in hills (much
more of a factor on a bike than they are on foot) and track
conditions. (The maps show the tracks in three grades - fast, medium
and slow).

(I'm mostly a foot orienteer myself, but go out on the bike a couple
of times a year - entered last year's Victorian Championships and
quickly discovered that commuting down Heidelberg Road doesn't really
give you the technical skills for single-track in the bush :-)

The central Australian website for MTB orienteering is
http://www.ozmtbo.com - this has links to programs in the various
states. In Victoria (which is where I'm writing from) there's an event
at Korweinguboora (near Daylesford) this Sunday.

By the way, Australia has a current world champion in this sport,
Adrian Jackson, who won the short-distance event when we hosted the
World Championships last year.

Blair

In message <[email hidden]>, MikeyOz
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

was in a LBS the other day and picked up a brochure on MTB Orienteering
and have decided im going to give one a go, just for something
different, hopefully a bit of fun, was wondering if anybody else had
done one of these ??? tips ?

my goals are;

Not to get TOO lost
try and manage to find every marker
and
too not double the distance of the course (see first point)

finally, anybody know where can I get one of those map boards for your
bike from ?

For more information try
1) http://www.trailquest.co.uk/
2) http://www.comtecil.demon.co.uk/index/trailque/tqtips02.htm

These are more for Trailquest which is MTBO as a 'Score' event rather
that a 'Time Trial' although the former does include MTBO.

However the techniques and riding comments contained in the above sites
apply very much to both variations.

The sport has been very active in UK for approx. 12 years.

Map boards can be easily be knocked up from a piece of plywood or
perspex using plastic pipe clips and zip ties to attach it to the bars.
DON'T use a map pocket roped round your neck as the backpackers use!
They are lethal on a bike.

Regards - John
--
John B Wilkinson

MikeyOz said:

was in a LBS the other day and picked up a brochure on MTB
Orienteering and have decided im going to give one a go, just for
something different, hopefully a bit of fun, was wondering if anybody
else had done one of these ??? tips ?

I tried it with a mate as a team. Good fun. We came in 18th on course 2 at Lysterfield:
http://www.ozmtbo.com/results.html?page=vic02052004.html

We missed our start time. We folded the map and carried it in a back pocket, and the ink wore off on a fold line that was unluckily along a fence - had a 'that's not supposed to be here' moment, and quickly planned a new route. We stopped to get out of the warm clothes we started in. We stopped to eat. We stopped to watch a giant roo watch us with a mouthful of grass (the roo, not us). As you can see, we still weren't last.

Quoted message said:

my goals are;

Not to get TOO lost
try and manage to find every marker
and
too not double the distance of the course (see first point)

We mostly rode the most direct route, disregerding contours and terrain types. Made for a really fun ride with plenty of good climbs. The riders doing the whole series are a bit more competetive and choose the fastest routes. On our course that meant going round a hill to use a fast flat section of road. I'm glad we did it our way.

Quoted message said:

finally, anybody know where can I get one of those map boards for your
bike from ?

I think they had a few to borrow. The whole event was very laid back and enjoyable - they'd forgotten the maps (!) the day we tried it, someone had to go back home to collect them.