Event Details
Club: | SWEMBO |
Event Name: | Somerset Sleepover Day 1 - NE Exmoor |
Date: | 16/08/14 |
Format: | MBO Score |
Mapping: | Ordnance Survey |
Time Limit: | 5 hours |
National League: | - |
League: | Southwest MBO Score League 2014 (Round 4 of 6) |
Electronic Punch: | SportIdent |
Event Report
Organising a two day MBO Score is always going to be a challenge. Organising a two day MBO Score using only one SI kit is always going to be gruelling. Organising a two day MBO Score using only one SI kit on the ridiculously steep areas of both Porlock and Croydon Hill is just madness!!!
Our initial plan was to utilise the full 37 SI units in the kit by putting out the 27 for saturday's 5 hour event, and 10 of Sunday's event on the Friday, leaving us 16 units to transfer after day 1's event for day 2. It all started to plan, but as the hours ticked by the hills started to take their toll on my little legs and when a rock burst my tire and I realised my pump was still in the car I decided it was time to call it a day, and pushed my bike the 3km downhill back to the car (a lovely downhill that would have taken me a matter of minutes to cycle, took me almost 45mins to walk !!!)
So Event day 1 dawned, the sun was shining, the hall was ready for us, and the SI set up without any hitches, what bliss!!! By 0930 the hall was a buzz with riders looking from the competition area map to the three peaks and back to the map, many shaking their heads as the anormity of the task at hand began to sink in. As the clock past 1030, and the last of the riders had set off, it was time for me to get back out and finish placing the remainder of the Day2 CP's I hadn't placed the day before. By the time I had returned, the first of the riders were finishing with great tales of lung busting climbs and exhilarating descents. Cakes and coffee were consumed outside beside the cricket pitch on this glorious sunny Saturday afternoon while riders compared routes and talked of adventures had.
With all the riders back, it became apparent that there was to be a great battle on Day 2 for the podium places. Nick Dallimore just pipping Ifor Powell by 10 points to the overnight leaders position with a score of 510 points from a possible 600, both covering around 60km with 2000m ascent!!!. And with only 38 points between 3rd and 6th place, there would be a fight for the 3rd place spot!!!
Now came the mammoth task of relocating 17 CP's from Day 1 to Day 2. The task was made considerably easier by the fantastic John Butler, who not having enough of it in his 5 hour race, offered to go out for another 2 hours collecting in 8 of the CP's. Alas not even this was to save us, as dusk turned to dark we still had 3 CP's to place, and had no choice but to surrender and retreat to home, setting our alarms for 45 minutes earlier. With the clock approaching midnight, we finally got to bed knowing that the alarm would be going off in less that 6 hours, and we would then have to do it all over again!!!!!
To be continued.......