Round 1 - Claudy
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Trailblazers Trail Quest 2009 Round 1 - Claudy |
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| Sunday 22 March 2009 Ervey Wood, Claudy The first round of the Trailblazers MTBO 2009 Trailquest series took place today from the event headquarters in Ervey Wood just off the Glenshane Road near Claudy. On offer were two event formats, a two hour or four hour event. Ivan and Des from Trailblazers had laid out 24 control points across a vast expanse of land east and north of Ervey Wood, right over to Loughermore Forest East. This event made use of the Sport Ident Timing system where a rider from each team was given a 'dipper' (strapped to the wrist) to electronically record the time that the team found a control. At the end, the dippers were downloaded and a print out was given instantly showing a list of the controls found, time logged and split times as well as the overall score including any time penalties. The time penalties were initally set to 10 points per minute over the due time of return but the organisers did amend this after the event to a sliding scale, (1-5 mins late = 2 points per min, 6 - 10 mins late = 5 points per min, 11 mins or more late = 10 points per min, 30 mins or more late = sorry no points). As with other Trail Quest events, teams were given a map of the area with circles indicating the location of the controls. When a team was ready to head off the dipper was inserted into the 'start' control timer. A similar control site indicated the 'finish' time. Trailblazers have been sponsored by Buff and Compass Point and drinks were also provided by Red Bull.
Eighteen teams showed up, split eveningly between the 2 and 4 hour events. The lower than expected turn out in part due to the fact that it was mother's day. The weather was good with no rain, outbreaks of sunshine but windy especially on the return leg. Alan and Martin from the club teamed up to form Team Dromara for this event. Starting just before 11am they headed off on the two hour option along the southern most roads picking up points until they entered the woods on Ballyholly Hill where they proceeded to get held up with heavy moss and fallen trees. It took them more than 30 minutes to locate the 40 point control in the wood which even involved some commando style crawling under the fallen trees! Team Dromara then misjudged the distance back to the event headquarters and arrived late incurring a 65 point penalty. Many thanks to Ivan and Des for all their hard work in setting this up (and also for the goody bags of refreshments!). The next Trail Quest adventure will take place on 19 April 2009 at Saul, Downpatrick, hosted by Dromara Cycling Club (see website for more details). 2 hour course
4 hour course
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 Registration  Alan and Martin at the finish line  Organisers Ivan (left) and Des (right) |
