The sun shine, the trails were drying out and the beer was very good.
Firstly, a big ‘thank you’ to all who came and enjoyed the joys of Askham, Howtown, Martindale and the Lowther valley. Thanks to those helping at the start, especially Peter Eagan who manfully issued the maps before riding the event himself and stopped to help fix a fellow riders chain. Thanks are also due to The Punch Bowl Inn for allowing us to stage the finish outside the pub, and the residents of Askham and area.
My sincere apologies to all for not getting to grips with the SI kit, but despite my best intentions (four days in the week before hand set aside for prep) there was some confusion with delivery of SI kit, which was no-one fault and top marks to John Houlihan and Graham Fielding for last minute assistance. Thank you also, to Paul Vousden for the donation of two Mapdecs as prizes - www.mapdec.com but given the circumstances we decided not to award any prizes, especially something so classy.
So, there are no excuses, I will do better next time. This was only my second time planning an MTB O event and the first was a long time ago as an evening Lanequest. Consequently, the scores are ‘unofficial’ and simply a self-submission by all riders. The great thing about this sport is that the vast majority do it for fun, and whilst I can appreciate it is very frustrating busting a gut to get to the finish before the clock ticks over everybody seems to know if they are under or over time. Many people were brutally honest in confessing their sins and Andy Conn crossed the line announcing himself as ‘disqualified’ as he rode a footpath which clearly should be a Bridleway. However, he was not the only one to do so and other misdemeanours were unearthed in the inevitable post ride review and refuelling session, and so his score is included.
It was the week from hell; anything and everything went wrong, with the last straw being the driver’s window fusing on my car just as the rider’s began to finish, with me sat laptop in hand ready to rock. Worst still was the local print shop delivery very poor quality copies that had been ‘helpfully’ distorted to fully fit A3; don’t take you wedding photos there unless you want everyone to look fatter (but thinner if you have a portrait shot!) Hey-ho the beer was good....
Listening to the comments and feedback I’m pleased we provided something for everyone and there was no one obvious route with plenty of choices. Some people reported a few controls as not being there, but all were found when I collected them afterwards. Sadly, some people didn’t get a copy of the additional Control Descriptions, and my controls tend to be discreet but very accurate, and one or two riders were guilty of just assuming they knew where they should be, without reading the description.
There seems to be differing opinion as to how obvious a control should be, but I have found over many years if they are very obvious and very visible then the tend to go walk about, especially if they have to go out a few days before. We also had ‘Control-P-Print’ problems on the morning of the event as well, hence the shortage of additional control sheets.
So what did we learn? Planning is great fun, I’ve really enjoyed it although it takes a very long time to plot, plan, re-fine and create a quality event. Several people seemed keen to get involved and stage more events, and we do need more people helping at events. I’ll be very keen to help anyone else wanting to stage and event, and I hoping to do another event in this area before the end of the year to make amends for the glitches and imperfections.
Everybody had fun, no-one got injured, no serious complaints.
Joe Faulkner
Event Organiser
