British MTBO Champs - Middle and Sprint

[stodge]

Apologies final details will be coming out over the bank holiday weekend.

Permissions have been a nightmare and only being able to publicly advertise very late is hurting the entry + the days swapped only two weeks ago. More details and online entry available here....

Sat 7th May - Middle Race - http://www.bmbo.org.uk/calendar/details.php?event_id=170
Sun 8th May - Sprint Race -http://www.bmbo.org.uk/calendar/details.php?event_id=169

The sprint particularly will be awesome on Swynnerton Camp with a prologue and final...
If you can ride a bike and enjoy urban or sprint foot O, you will like this - promise.

[frog]

Your map link doesn't work and the other details don't give much of a clue as to where in the UK it is, although I presume Staffordshire as it's a Staffordhire club.
That's too far for me, although I'm tempted by the Glentress score event on Sunday.
Would I be better using my heavy but full sus mountain bike or my touring bike with knobbly tyres, which is better for cyclocross type events as lighter but not so good in deep mud?

[frog]

What are RUPPs and BOATs? The info says I can use them, but I can't find an abbreviations glossary and google isn't much help. Is it obvious which tracks you can use on an MTB map? I've only ever done MTBO at Blairadam and that used a normal foot o map, with no RUPPs and BOATs. The event area for Glentress and the other hills is huge.

[Scott]

No entirely helpful for your MTBO question, but in English rights-of-way speak RUPPs and BOATs are respectively Roads Used as Public Paths and Byways Open to All Traffic. RUPP has actually been an obsolete term for several years, since the remaining RUPPs were reclassified as restricted byways (no motor vehicles) under CRoW.

[stodge]

Proper MTBOs ie in this case the British Champs use bespoke MTBO maps based on Foot O maps with ridability shown. You can ride any track that is not marked Out of Bounds.


Not sure where you are getting the Boats and Burps info from....
Boats Burps and other ROI issues are not releveant to these events, only for events that were called trailquests, ie 3 hour score events on OS maps.....
Any decent organiser should however red cross out any tracks which are no go and highlight any non obvious routes that are fair game.

Yes both events are within 5 miles of Stone in Staffordshire. I will add some location maps this morning, more details will appear over the weekend

[frog]

I found the abbreviations on the BMBO site under "MTBO score" "rules".
Thanks to both of you for explaining stuff.
Think I'll probably go to Glentress. I'm even worse at cycling up hills than I am at running up them but I enjoyed the last MTBO event I did and now know that carrying your bike through the forest in what looks like a short cut doesn't work.
The online entry doesn't have a closure date so I presume it'll be open until Saturday, or is there an unwritten rule on when they close?

[Adventure Racer]

I found the abbreviations on the BMBO site under "MTBO score" "rules"

I have to wonder whether renaming events formally known as "trailquests" is just confusing things. "MTBO scores" are totally different beasts to proper MTBO, and really deserving of a more distinct name, given their relationship to MTBO is nowhere near as close as the relationship between score foot-o and conventional foot-o.

The point being that rules for "MTBO score" are largely irrelevant (and sometimes even contradictory) to conventional MTBO rules.

[frog]

Looking at the map it seems like a Long O score event in that it uses conventional OS map, symbols and scale (1: 40,000) rather than orienteering map stuff. Maybe more in common with the mountain marathon score evnts. Still looks fun.

[Adventure Racer]

Looking at the map it seems like a Long O score event in that it uses conventional OS map, symbols and scale (1: 40,000) rather than orienteering map stuff. Maybe more in common with the mountain marathon score evnts. Still looks fun.

That's pretty standard for "MTBO score" (the events formerly known as trailquests). Proper MTBO use modified orienteering maps - where the track symbols indicate rideability.

Definitely go along to the Glentress event - I've done loads of events like that, and they are still fun - if not quite as much fun as proper MTBO. To answer your initial question, the MTB should be a better choice given the likelihood of technical stuff given the venue. Not that you're likely to come across much mud at the moment - what you need are some nice fast tyres for your MTB rather than mud ones (I reckon my MTB is actually just as fast as my cross bike given suitable tyres, and the cross bike better in deep mud!)

[stodge]

Final details now published
http://www.walton-chasers.co.uk/?p=461

[stodge]

Well done to Emily Benham and Bryan Singleton, British Middle Distance Champions

results available here http://www.walton-chasers.co.uk/?p=461

[buzz]

Fantastic event Stodge - well done to you and your team! The sprint final was real orienteering on a bike rather than MTB with a map - great fun!

[rocky]

5.5km in 25minutes? I'd fancy my chances if I left my bike on the start line...

Did I just lay down the gauntlet for a man v bike challenge???