We really enjoyed visiting Dalby to check the control sites and then riding the trails again to hang controls Friday evening and Saturday morning. Dalby provides great route choice and excellent tracks for all abilities and it was great to hear people telling me how much they had enjoyed their rides on the finish line, even some who had struggled to find one or two controls.

As we have to do the planning several months in advance of the event in order to get the permissions and maps prepared conditions can change on the tracks. It was March when we went out to the forest to check out potential control sites and my photos of most of the sites looked totally different to what we found on Friday evening. I did try to pick locations where we could get the controls close to the path hoping they would not be too overgrown this clearly didn’t always work out. There were several sites where we had to beat the bracken down on Friday evening to get the sites we had  planned and there were a couple of sites, e.g. 57 where we moved the control across or along the path slightly to avoid the vegetation. Sites 51 and 45 confused a few people, so sorry if you wasted some time or could not find them. If in doubt make sure you read the description for control placements – these two were a little way from the map feature – I thought I had marked them clearly with red and white tape, but maybe it had gone missing.

The last event I planned in Dalby was September 2010. We had about 100 riders at that event and Andy Conn was the only person to get all of the controls, but 4 minutes late back. This time I laid the controls out to make the total distance a bit less for 2015 and so thought possible someone might clear the course. I also put several high scoring controls near the start to give the fitter riders more of a challenge and a more satisfying ride with some high scoring controls for the majority. I hope people liked this. It was a shame we did not have so many riders this year with the clash with the start of the school holidays, but we had some pretty high scores with Graham Tibbot and Tim Evans getting most controls.

Andy & Corinne

Dalby Forest Organiser’s Comments

Thanks to Andy & Corinne Parsons for an excellent course in a great forest. Thanks as ever to Jens for another excellent map, Michael Brough, Karen Blackburn and John Dixon for helping on the day and Ray, Dave, John, Steve and Graham who helped Andy & Corinne collect the controls in after they had finished.

Congratulations to Graham Tibbot winning M21 (and overall) with an impressive ride visiting almost all of the controls for 480 points; Tim Evans M50-455; Phill Collings M40-421; Sheila Pearce W40-409; Steve Wood M60-385; Steve & Andrea Foster X50-360; Karen Blackburn W60-320. You can follow their routes using the splits file and course map below.

It was great to be back in a forest after 2 Dales events and I thoroughly enjoyed my ride on dry tracks and with stunning views between 40, 41 and 46.

It was disappointing that there were only 55 riders. I was trying to fit it in with our holidays but I assume many of our regulars were just starting theirs so I’ll not be using this weekend next year.

A few riders had difficulty finding #45 so I have given them the benefit of the doubt and, more importantly, the 15 points. There are 2 mistakes in the published results. Pete & Brittany Scowcroft are in X21 and Simon McPherson wasn’t there. Please let me know if there are any other mistakes so that John can update the league positions accurately.

We have got 2 events next month on the bank holiday weekend as usual

4 hours from Malham on Saturday 29^th then 3 hours in Cropton Forest on Monday 31^st. There is also a Roof of England Sportive in Weardale on Sunday 30^th if you want a full weekend on your bike. Full details about the 90, 50 or 30 mile courses are on www.roofofengland.co.uk

Hope to see you there or at another NYMBO event soon.

Steve

PS Someone left a waterbottle at the finish so please let me know if it’s yours.

PPS We have just had the hottest 3 weeks for years at Samoens. The lifts are open in the summer and our apartment isn’t fully booked in August so let me know if you fancy some brilliant mountain biking and walking!! The Cascades route involves 3 lifts then a 14k descent from 2500m to 700m. There are 2 other routes with over 1500m of descent as well as 7 brand new downhill singletrack routes from Green to Black standard.

2015 Dalby 25000 Working Drawing with Controls 5th June

Organiser’s Comments

Thanks to Ben Martin for an excellent course in a cracking area. Thanks as ever to Jens for another excellent map, Frank Appleton, Karen Blackburn, John Dixon and Dave Lloyd for helping on the day and Ray, Mick, David, Mark, Maggie, Carl and Alex who collected the controls in after they had finished. At least they got the best of the weather and it was a glorious drive back home through the Dales.

Congratulations to Alex Pilkington winning M40 (and overall) again with an impressive ride visiting almost all of the controls for 505 points; Graham Tibbot M21-460; Graham Fielding M50-426: Mark & Maggie McPhillips X40-420; Helen Jackson W21-408; Ray Morriss M60-385; Sue Booth W40-340; JuliePhelan W50-340; Carolyn & Phil Sykes X50-315; Ben & Stephen Collins Gen-300; Karen Blackburn W60-260. You can follow their routes using the splits file in the results page and course map here. 2015 Ingleton 50000 Working Drawing with Controls 2nd June

It was great to see 8 juniors riding although the course was designed for 5 hours with few options for a shorter route so I hope they enjoyed themselves.

I enjoyed putting out 7 controls around Ribblehead on Friday afternoon when the 3 Peaks were still visible.

I also enjoyed my ride on Saturday despite the dull weather and limited views!! I rode the Pennine Bridleway a few years ago with one of my daughters so it brought back great memories as I rode above Dentdale. I was very weary when I got to 41 so decided to miss 31 and 46. I also couldn’t raise any enthusiasm to push my bike up the fell to 56 so rode up the road to the bridleway junction at 48. Having heard the comments about the state of that track it was a good decision. It will be marked as soft next year and I doubt any planner will be using it again unless it’s upgraded.

We are back in the forest for our next event at Dalby on Saturday 25^th July. We are parking at High Rigg so don’t forget to print off the flier so that you get a reduced fee of £4 on the forest toll (and please share cars if possible).

Hope to see you there or at another NYMBO event soon.

Steve

PS The Midlands MBO group are organising the National Championships at Shugborough Park in Cannock Chase next weekend with a 5 hour event on Saturday 27^th and a 3 hour event on Sunday 28^th. Full details on www.bmbo.org.uk

Planner’s Comments

When I was planning the course I was looking to appeal to all abilities and particularly with a 5 hour time limit I was able to include something for everyone, although I’m not entirely sure the bridleway between Kingsdale and Barbondale was for anyone, apologies that it wasn’t marked as difficult. It’s a shame the weather wasn’t as good as last year, but that’s the British summer for you. Hopefully those who had any incidents slipping on the wet limestone will recover quickly and we’ll see you back on the bike soon. Despite the weather, I hope folk enjoyed the event and enjoyed the challenge of this area of the Yorkshire Dales.

Here is the full programme for the OvergroundUnderground Weekend

2021_OGUG_Program_2015.pdf RHP

Plenty to do if you have enough energy after 5 hours in the saddle

Gargrave Organiser’s Comments

Thanks to Graham Fielding for an excellent course in a mainly new area. It was great to be riding lots of new dry tracks in typical, cracking Yorkshire Dales scenery despite the brisk cold wind. Unfortunately, Graham couldn’t be there at the weekend so thanks to Ray, Mick, Ben and David who helped us put out the controls on Friday and then collected most of them in on Saturday afternoon after they had ridden.

Thanks also to Jens for another excellent map, Frank & Sandra Appleton, Karen Blackburn & Adrian Baskerville for helping on the day as well as David Lloyd and the Coiley family who also collected controls so that I was back in Richmond by 8.00.

Final thanks to Gargrave for an excellent event centre with very welcome refreshments.

Congratulations to Alex Pilkington winning M40 and overall with 445 points; Ben Martin M21-400; Ray Morriss M60-395; Michael (Simon) Trickett M50-383; James Martin Y18-355; Sheila Pearce W40-340; Andrea & Steve Foster X50-310; Ben & Stephen Collins Gen-235. You can follow their routes using the splits file and course map on the NYMBO site.

2015 Gargrave 40000 Working Drawing with Controls 8th May

I enjoyed putting out the southern 4 controls on Friday but decided to head north on Saturday to ride bridleways that I hadn’t ridden before – without visiting Malham Cove, Gordale scar or Mastiles Lane – and succeeded. It was great to see all of the work that the national park have been doing to make many of these bridleways more rideable. I had never ridden over Flasby Fell before so I had kept that treat for the end. I was definitely very weary as it got softer on the way up from 46 and very disappointed at how tough it was on the way down – but glad I’ve done it now.

Our next event is another 5 hour event at Ingleton on Saturday 20^th June. Don’t forget that you can enter the Non-Comp class for only £6 if you want a shorter ride. This event is part of the OvergroundUnderground weekend so plenty of other activities if you fancy spending longer in another beautiful part of the Yorkshire Dale. You can subscribe free of charge at http://www.ogug.co.uk/ and download the full programme of activities.

Hope to see you there or at another NYMBO event soon.

Steve

PS Sorry that these comments have been written a bit later than usual but we have been visiting our family since the event.

Thanks to Peter Swanborough for planning an excellent course and all of the helpers who made it possible especially Matthew Streets. Congratulations to Andrew Windrum and Sheila Pearce for their winning scores

Here is the map so you can follow the routes from the split times in the results

2015 Nidderdale 40000 Working Drawing with Controls 22nd March 2015

Nidderdale Organiser’s Comments

Thanks to Peter Swanborough for a brilliant event at his first attempt. It was the perfect length with Andrew Windrum nearly clearing up (but not quite), plenty of route choice for everyone, superb views on excellent but tough bridleways and all in a Yorkshire heatwave! He had also been very successful in negotiating the use of the private Yorkshire Water tracks and very thorough in visiting many of the farmers and landowners on route as well as preparing and placing various signs to avoid any problems.

Thanks also to Matthew Streets who helped Peter before during and after the event, Jens for another excellent map, Frank & Sandra Appleton, Karen Blackburn & Adrian Baskerville for helping on the day and Graham Townsend, Mike Connor, Ray Morriss, Andrew Windrum & James Turner who collected controls so that I was back in Richmond by 7.00.

Congratulations to Andrew Windrum winning M40 and overall with 498 points; Mark Rowley M50-440; Ben Martin M21-418; Andrea & Steve Foster X50-382; Sheila Pearce W40-380; Ray Morriss M60-380; James Martin Y18-330; Dave & Gabe Collins Gen-312

I enjoyed my ride until my bottom bracket jammed at #35. I was looking forward to more brilliant views on Fountains Earth Moor before descending into the valley to ride around Gowthwaite Reservoir. However, at least I didn’t need to pedal to get back to the finish.

Our next event is at Gargrave on Saturday 16^th May. Don’t forget that you can enter the Non-Comp class for only £6 if you want a shorter ride. There is also a Sprint MTBO event at Fewston Reservoir at 9am the same day if you need a warm-up before a 5 hour event!!

I have planned the OMM Bike & Lite events at Bamford in the Peak District next weekend (25^th/26^th April) and Jens has drawn the map. It’s a 2 day event with 7,5&3 hour options on Saturday and 5,4&3 hour courses on Sunday. There are still a few spare maps and you can ride only one day if you prefer. Entries have closed but you can reserve a map by emailing me and full details are available at www.theomm.com

Hope to see you at Bamford or Gargrave.

Steve

Photo gallery from the event:

The route is from Ravensglass to Ravenscar, which is rated as one of the toughest C2C routes out there, it was devised by the guys at Pedal North (http://www.pedalnorth.com/content/mtb-c2c):

• Over 250 miles (about 90% fully off-road)
• Over 32,000 feet of climbing
• Going through / over the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales and the North Yorkshire Moors
• Plus, we will be completing the red trails at Grizedale and Dalby Forest on the way through

We would like to request your support and encouragement in the form of sponsorship. There are a couple of ways that you can donate; firstly the JustGiving Coast to Coast 2015 web link – http://www.justgiving.com/c2c2015, secondly you can  donate via text message using the Vodafone details below.

Thank you for your support

Sheila & Dennis

Lofthouse is located in the heart of an AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) and is a new venue for our MTB score events with a guaranteed downhill finish ! The event area to the North covers the stunning Upper Nidderdale reservoirs and surrounding moors on a superb range of bridleways and permissive tracks. The picturesque steep sided valley follows the course of the river Nidd with road and bridleways heading South to Ramsgill, past Gouthwaite Reservoir, and onto Pateley Bridge. More excellent bridleways await, passing through the disused mines beyond Ashfold Side, and onto Greenhow and Bewerley. The event has been planned to provide a great days riding for all abilities with some interesting route options, however the best of the views may involve some hard work ! If you have not visited this special part of Yorkshire before……. treat yourself ! See you at the start.

Pete Swanborough (Event Planner)

Yorkshire Wolds MBO Score – 28^th March 2015

Planner’s Comments

When we offered to plan this event we decided early on to make use of the Northern Wolds. The major challenge was in securing both an event centre and parking. Ideally it would have been preferable to find somewhere central but this was not to be. Weaverthorpe Village Hall whilst providing the necessary facilities clearly could not provide the sufficient parking. We were delighted by the response from Sleightholmes of Helperthorpe who could not have been more accommodating and provided the off road parking on hard standing, which we felt essential for the time of year.

We pride ourselves that we always spend time riding everything we expect the competitors to ride before finalising the courses. Although we had ridden our road bikes in this area we were surprised by some stunning rural views both on the bridleways and at some of the control sites. Our aim as always is to provide sufficient navigational challenge for everyone and we hope we succeeded.

The Wolds are very deceptive as the perception of rolling countryside disguises some serious climbs! Unfortunately we could do nothing about the challenging weather you encountered on the day which turned many of the rideable bridleways into a mudbath. The difference in conditions between Friday, when we put out 20 controls, and Saturday when they were collected in, was only too evident. The number of punctures was also high and frustrating for all concerned. Only people using tubeless tyres seemed to come through unscathed!

A big thank you to the small team who make the event happen – Steve W, Karen B, Adrian and Frank, along with those who helped collect the controls – Dave L, Dave E and Garry.

Karen Clark and Steve Roberts

All of the riders seemed to enjoy the event but It was disappointing there were only 16 starters. These events cannot continue with such low numbers so I would be grateful for any suggestions

Thanks to Andrew Windrum for putting out all of the controls and manning the start/finish. Congratulations to all of the category winners – half of the starters.

Here is the XL Results file as Gill Crane & Mary Carrick finished after my computer died so didn’t make it onto the Autodownload file

Allerthorpe Results

Hope to see more riders at Fewston on May 16th warming up before the Gargrave Score event