Thanks to Tim Evans for an excellent course and better weather than this weekend last year which meant that we had 55 riders. No snow and it didn’t start raining constantly until we had all finished. Thanks to the Wellington Inn for an excellent event centre and Jens Strain for another clear and accurate map. It’s a great area for riding at this time of year with such an intricate network of quiet country lanes linked by short bridleways – although I did push my bike up the worst one through Heck Gill Farm. Congratulations to the category winners especially Ed Oliver Evans with a brilliant score of 430. He used his local knowledge and cyclo-cross bike to good effect possibly helped by good map-reading skills and a reasonable level of fitness.

Darley Result
We will be back at the other side of the valley for our final event of the season in October. Before then, we have another winter event from the Blackamoor at Bridge Hewick near Ripon Racecourse next month with the league starting at Sutton Bank on March 15th.
There have been a few changes to the fixtures so please make sure that you download the up to date poster from the NYMBO web page and take copies to your local bike shops, biking groups and friends.

We have had 45 pre-entries for this event so Jens has printed 50 maps and descriptions – and here is the blank map.

Sorry it wasn’t posted on Tuesday but Dave Robertson is away skiing.

PS The Washburn event has been put back a week until June 28th so here is an updated poster

2014 NYMBO League Poster 22nd January

PPS The Spring OMM Bike event has been brought forward a week to April 26/27th due to a major car rally on the May Bank Holiday weekend

Thanks to the Dales Bike Centre for providing an excellent event centre and congratulations to the category leaders but I think we were all winners to ride for 3 hours in Swaledale on such a perfect day. I planned this permanent MBO course for the centre in March but very few riders have taken up the challenge. Hopefully, you have set the benchmark and more riders will try to match your scores or you may even decide to return and try again at the 5 hour event.

2013 Fixed course map (pdf version)

The next 2 NYMBO events will be ‘treasure hunt’ style events base on pubs in Nidderdale and Lower Wensleydale. The fliers are on the fixtures pages.
I have already posted the draft fixture list for 2014 (ProvisionalFixtures2014 (3rd Dec)) – and have now got planners for all of them except Dalby in September. Please get in touch if you want to have a go! Many of the dates, venues and time limits are only suggestions and I have not approached any landowners yet so please get back to me if you want to suggest any alternatives. Our average numbers were down to 87 this year and I don’t know why but I would like to see this return to 100 riders per event in 2014.
I am also planning both of the OMM Bike & Lite events next year. The Spring event will be in North East England on May 3rd/4th and the Autumn event will be in Northern England on September 6th/7th.
There will also be at least 2 MTBO events, the Moors Marathon as well as Le Tour so plenty of opportunities to ride in North Yorkshire again next year. Hope to see you there.
Steve

What a fantastic day. North Yorkshire at it’s best.Results below and full report later
Swaledale Winter Results

ProvisionalFixtures2014 – Google Drive
Here is an amended provisional list of fixtures for next year with suggested dates, venues and planners. Thanks to everyone who has offered to plan an event. They’re all filled now! This is only a draft list so please get back to me if you would like to see any changes.

Swaledale Blank Map
Here is the map of Saturday’s area. There are 40 controls on the permanent course so plenty of route choice and don’t forget your pen to write down the letter at each control as we are not using SI for this event.
We have got 30 pre-entries so please enter online by Thursday evening then we can print enough copies for everyone. We will be able to print extra maps on the day if necessary but we have only got an A4 printer and it’s an A3 map!
Please try to get an early start if you are intending to go to the BMBO AGM afterwards and leave enough time for an excellent lunch at the Dsles Bike Centre cafe. Hope to see you there.
Let’s hope the fine weather continues as the tracks have dried out nicely this week

Next year, I am thinking of awarding handicap prizes at each event. This would be free entry to the following event in 5 categories – Senior Men (inc Generation) , Veteran Men (Over 50), Women, Mixed, Newcomers. I worked out your average scores before Masham and used them to create your handicap. I have attached the theoretical results for Masham so please have a look and see what you think. Your handicap would move up or down after each event by 1% for every 10 points you were better or worse than the best (net) score on the day. (The main prizes at the end of the year would still be for the best riders in each age group).
Masham Handicap results

Having the start at the edge of the map usually means that riders have 2 choices, clockwise or anti-clockwise. The leading 3 M40’s all chose the
former route but Andy Conn’s more efficient options just edged it with 452 points over Al Powell 425 & Conrad Ellison 420. In second place overall was
M50 Graham Fielding 435 who decided to go anti-clockwise as did the Vesty generation team 425 & M50 Tim Evans 413. Of the ladies only Andrea Foster, assisted by husband Steve topped 300, in fact the leading 4 ladies were all W50. The quartet of controls around Ellington Firth Wood gave many route choices between them and riders tried
all permutations but it’s not clear what is the optimum.
I should have located control 58 on Witton Fell further south as most riders
went in/out from the north & then used the A6108 to reach the next controls to the east. I had not anticipated this & expected riders to use the
permissive track running east/west on Witton Moor which was quite fast to reach Ellingstring village. Only Steve Willis seems to have tried the
Slipstone Crags bridleway with the deep rocky gullies warned about in the pre-race information. Control 60 may have caused some difficulties but there was only 1 small oak tree on the grass verge at the west end of the wood to the south of the lane (motto: use all the information on the map!)
Many thanks to my control collectors Paul & Sam Leight, Simon Coiley & Andrew Salter, Graham Townsend and Jenny (with her crutch)
Regards, David Day

Thanks to David Day for another excellent course in Wensleydale (and he has already offered his services for next year). It wasn’t as cold as the last time we started at Masham but it was definitely a lot wetter and muddier. Thanks as ever to Jens for an excellent map and the helpers who made everything run smoothly as well as Masham Methodist Church for an excellent event centre and very welcoming refreshments. Congratulations to the category winners especially Andy Conn (M40) who won overall with 452 points, Graham Fielding (M50) 435, Martin & Max Vesty (G) 425 and 3rd overall, Rik Thompson (M21) 378, Geoff Moorhouse (M60) 372, Andrea & Steve Foster (X50) 310, Karen Clark (W50) 295. You can follow their splits and check out the map on the NYMBO web site.
I thoroughly enjoyed my ride again despite the mud. Colsterdale is a hidden gem of a valley and the track past Slipstones Crags really is badly eroded but it made for a pleasant walk. The byway past #55 was hard work but, thanks to the early riders who picked up most of the thorns from the cut hedges, I was lucky to get through without a puncture.
It was great to see so many riders staying for the Prizegiving and congratulations to the NYMBO and BMBO champions. Both updated league tables will soon be posted on both websites so I will write a separate article then. Thanks to Richardson Cycles for the bike parts and Yorkshire dales Brewery for the alcohol. Thanks also to Tony Harker of Muddybums for getting the tee shirts at a very reasonable price and Chris Lightfoot of Keith James Jewellers in Richmond for cost price engraving.

The next NYMBO event is a 3 hour MBO Score event in Swaledale on Saturday 30th November. We will be using the Permanent course so don’t forget your pen and Parking/Start/Finish is at the Dales Biking Centre. This will be followed by the BMBO AGM at Grinton Youth Hostel at 2pm. Hope to see you there.
There will be 2 more winter events in January near Harrogate and February near York. Further details later.
There will be 11 events in the 2014 NYMBO league and I have had offers to plan 5 of them already. Please let me know if you want to volunteer or if you have any opinions on areas, dates, lengths. There won’t be a NEMBOS league next year which is why there are 2 extra events. However, I am planning the Spring Polaris (OMM Bike) next year in the Northeast (and the Autumn event in the North)!
Thanks for supporting our events this year and hope to see you again in 2014.
Steve
2013 Masham 50000 Working Drawing with Controls 12th October