Splits are now available for both Malham and Ampleforth here. For the Malham results there isn’t a summary age at the moment so you’ll need to select the class you were in. It’ll be fixed as quickly as we can.   Malham results now have an index page (thanks Geoff)

Event comments to follow shortly….

I forgot to post the competition map last week so here it is

2013 Swaledale South 40000 Working Drawing with Controls 24th July

Everyone seemed to enjoy the event and I’m so glad the event was on Saturday not Sunday when our golf course was closed due to flooding!

Hope to see you at Hamsterley on Sunday 11th August and don’t forget to enter online by Thursday if you want to guarantee a pre-marked map

Congratulations to Kevin Smith for clearing all bar one of the controls. Thanks to the 63 riders for appreciating the course and superb riding, thanks to Jens for another excelent map and to Stuart & Brenda Price and their staff at  the Dales Biking Centre for making us welcome. Pity there weren’t more riders but perhaps this event shouldn’t have been scheduled for the summer school holidays.

The Dales have never been so dry and the singletracks so easy to ride. I even managed to ride up from Castle Bolton to #47 when I was collecting controls without having to push or carry my bike. Thanks to all of the helpers but especially John Rawden, Andy Parsons, Sam & Paul Leight, Graham Townsend and Tony Gray who helped to collect the controls in despite being already rather weary after 5 hours in the saddle.
I enjoyed planning the course and checking the control sites as well as a few bridleways I hadn’t ridden for a while. I didn’t go for a ride while you were riding but enjoyed putting out 9 controls on Friday with help from John Dixon, Dave Robertson and Graham Townsend – and collecting 7 on Saturday evening. Thanks also to Bolton Estate for letting us use their private track past Greenhaw Hut which many riders seem to have used.

There doesn’t seem to have been an optimum route with many riders taking very different routes – and having to go in and out to some controls – particularly #53 which was on a lovely track. I was surprised to see so many rider choose to push their bikes south up to #52 and also north up to #59. Very difficult optons which could have been avoided with a different route choice. I feel sorry for those riders who had difficulty finding the track up to #52. I wondered about taping it but it appeared to have improved when I checked it but I did ride it from south to north which is definitely easier – although some riders got lost in that direction as well by following the footpath along the landrover track westwards instead of the quad track going north. No apologies this time as the control was on the ‘footpath’ fingerpost which should have been a good clue!!
Congratulations to the category winners and John Dixon will update the league so comments about that when they are posted. Commiserations to Graham Fielding who was on for a great score until his tyre split which cost him 2 hours – but he still managed 295 points.
You may have noticed that there were permanent markers at a lot of the controls. These are part of the Dales Bike Centre permanent MBO course which is going to be opened at a special event on Sunday 13th October – the weekend between the Pocklington and Masham events. Look out for details on the web sites soon.

Next NYMBO events at Malham on August 24th and Ampleforth on August 26th.

Next NEMBOS event at Hamsterley on August 11th.

League results after 4 events now available

Hope to see you at least at one of these.
Steve

PS Our apartment in Samoens is still available for late bookings this summer and early skiing bookings!

Results for Swaledale can be found here (or through the results menu above)

Full report tomorrow but congratulations to Kevin Smith for clearing all bar one of the controls. 63 riders for appreciating the course and superb riding. The Dales have never been so dry and the singletracks so easy to ride. Thanks to all of the helpers but especially John Rawden, Andy Parsons, Sam & Paul Leight, Graham Townsend and Tony Grey who helped to collect the controls in despite being already rather weary after 5 hours in the saddle.

Next NYMBO events at Malham on August 24th and Ampleforth on August 26th. Next NEMBOS event at Hamsterley on August 11th.

NYMBO League after 3 events
Here is the updated league table so please let me know if there are any errors.

Tim Evans is planning this event on July 14th so it might warm you up for Swaledale a fortnight later

Penistone flyer

Here is the competition map
2013 Boltby and Thirlby map

Hambleton Hills Organiser’s Comments
Thanks to Andy Parsons for planning an excellent course, Jens for another excellent map and the helpers as ever for making the event run smoothly – especially the control collectors – Andy & Corinne Parsons, Sam & Paul Leight and Graham Townsend.
It was great to use a different event centre and Andy had included a couple of new bridleways which we have never used before!! Congratulations to the category winners – Andy Conn 434 (M40) just 13 points ahead of Andrew Windrum, John Rawden 363 (M50), Adrian & Nathan Parker (Gen) 355 and 5th overall, Rik Thompson 346 (M21), David Williamson 305 (M60), Andrea & Steve Foster (X50) 301, Charlotte Somers-Cocks 300 (W50)
I enjoyed my ride and decided to climb onto the Hambleton Hills through Boltby Forest with the wind at my back before riding the bridleway down into Arden Hall for the first time ever. The view down into Thorodale as I fell over my bike was spectacular. It was then back up the byway and into the wind across Dale Town Common before dropping down to the woods to follow the new bridleway below the Cleveland Way and the interesting descent down to Southwoods Lodge. I was able to stay out longer that usual because Ralph Defty made such a good job of updating the entries onto the computer and John Dixon ran the download so efficiently. Afternoon tea in the marquee at Thirlby finished off the afternoon perfectly.
I was disappointed that there were only 80 riders (after 120 at Cropton) so if you were one of the 40 who didn’t make it please let me know why? Was it too long since the last event, did 5 hours at Ingleton put you off, do you prefer all forest events?
There were a few incidents which I would like to pass on.
Unfortunately, a few riders fell crossing a cattle grid near #51. Mike McGeogh was the worst injured so thanks to Nicola Kipling for helping him. We can’t mark every hazard and wet cattle grids, railway and tram lines all need crossing at right-angles.
A few riders went off the map and used the road to get to #50. This is not allowed but, although it may not have been quicker, we should perhaps have marked the road as out of bounds.
The bridleway junction on the way to #56 was indistinct but exactly opposite a very distinct wall junction and public footpath, Not all junctions have fingerposts and it was only 500m north of the crossroads. Some riders then missed the gate as the grassy track went to the south of it. It was marked on the map and easily visible with a blue arrow so please go back in future rather than climbing the wall/fence when you realise you have made a mistake.
When I arrive at #47 I wasn’t sure where the control was until I read the description which explained the position of the control very clearly – 25m S. Tree W side
Full results have already been posted on the web pages along with the competition map if you couldn’t make it to the event and want to follow anyone’s route.
The next NYMBO is at Swaledale South on Saturday 27th July. Parking is in the field at Grinton and you are welcome to stay overnight free of charge on Friday and/or Saturday. Registration is at the Dales Biking Centre with café, shop and bike wash. Please let me know if you would like to give me a hand putting out the controls on Friday afternoon.
There isn’t a NEMBOS event in July (although NATO are organising a 2 hour event from Capheaton on Sunday 14th July) so hope to see as many again at Hamsterley on Sunday 11th August where parking is at the Grove – 2 miles west of the visitor centre.
Hope to see you at one of these events or at the social ride at the Smiths Arms, Beckwithshaw on Thursday 27th June. Please let me know if you want to book a map
Steve
PS Tim Evans is planning the Sprint event at Penistone Moor on July 17th. The flier is on the NYMBO page and you can enter online on the BMBO pages.
PPS Don’t forget that ABBA Gold will be performing at Thirlby Sports Field on August 31st. A good excuse to go back to a very friendly village.

Planner’s Comments
I enjoyed getting out on my bike to check the tracks. I needed an incentive to get out when our spring weather was so poor. Although there was some rain and even hail during the event, the warm weather was a real contrast to my first planning trip in April when there was snow on the ground and the mud started freezing to my bike. Despite the drifts against some the walls along the tops I enjoyed my ride around some of the bridleways on the north east of the map that I had not visited on previous events, including down Thorodale to Arden Hall, and the two west to east routes to the south down Sunny Bank and Gowerdale Bank. I thought the route along Gowerdale Bank and down Noddle End was the best of the three and so placed controls, 36, 55 & 38 to make a nice through route (if going down) – sorry to those of you that chose to tackle 55 in the uphill direction!
When we were hanging controls on the Friday evening there were a lot of cows and young calves around the stream at control 46 and they got quite excited when we went through. Cows can get quite aggressive when they get separated from new calves and as the steep bridleway to the south was very muddy and not rideable in either direction we decided to move 46 at the last minute for both rider safety and enjoyment.
At the finish lots of riders told me how they had enjoyed their rides, which makes the effort involved in planning and hanging the controls worthwhile.
Many thanks to Claude and the baking ladies of Thirlby for the excellent refreshments in the marquee at the finish.
Andy Parsons