A hardy 29 riders made the journey south to the Forest of Bowland AONB and visited our hosts at Bowland Wild Boar Park, competitors asking if the hill back up from the cafe was a taste of things to come. Tinder dry, (although there was 1 perma puddle on the Le Col du Merde de Vache ) the trails and tracks were riding well.
Yes, was the answer, the unique topography of the Forest of Bowland and Ribble Valley, meant that a lot of undulating terrain will sap the strength with steep climbs and rocky descents. Congratulations to Tom Gibbs with 400 points as the overall winner.
We had a good showing from some local riders, willing to brave the heat and give MBO Score a try and hopefully they'll be coming back for some more!
We got folk away as early as possible to avoid the afternoon temperatures as it picked up to near 30C so hopefully this was appreciated.
A couple of apologies on the mapping front. Fixing point for the checkpoint next to the ford (tree stump) was a little further than expected. The tape that I'd fixed on Longridge Fell had been removed, so unfortunately folks had a bit of a hike a bike trying to get back to the bridleway. It was also described as a 4-hour map in 3 hours, so in hindsight the road in the Northwest of the map could have been left out.
I hope everyone enjoyed the event and I also hope you'll be back to the area as we've got lots of lovely little villages to explore with some cracking cafes and village halls that put-on refreshments.
Many thanks to my family, Gemma and Eleanor, for putting up with me dashing out with controls and having an office full of kit to fall over, Tony and Angela Brand Barker, for their invaluable support and knowledge, Red Rose Olympic Cycling Club for loan of the shelter (it was definitely needed!) and all the competitors for making the event and coming back in one piece!