Event Details
Club: | Dark & White |
Event Name: | Taster 2 Hour Evening Bike O Night Event - Peak District |
Date: | 07/10/11 |
Format: | MBO Score |
Mapping: | Ordnance Survey |
Time Limit: | 2 hours |
National League: | - |
League: | - |
Electronic Punch: | SportIdent |
Event Report
There was a very good turn out for the inaugural Dark & White night event. It was designated as a "taster" event being a new format for Dark & White and as such was a bit of a stab in the dark, if you will pardon the pun.
It was mostly a clear and dry evening but it could have been so different, the weather the previous day was awful, but luckily it was a beautiful evening on Friday with moonlit skies. The only fly in the ointment was a strong westerly wind but that just served to keep people cool when they got out on the tracks.
The car park at Monsal Head filled quickly as dusk fell and competitors were queuing eagerly to start just after 7pm. It was amazing to see the huge array of incredibly bright lights on bikes and people with several riders having purchased lights especially for the event.
A total of 69 riders set off into the darkness of the Central Peak District with the last starters departing at approx 8.30pm. The competition area was centred around the bridleways of Longstone Edge with 16 controls (320 points maximum) on offer as far out as Eyam, Calver and Stoney Middleton.
Out on the hills you could see the twinkle of lights as competitors navigated to the various checkpoints. It wasn't long before the two hour time limit was up and the first finishers were back, had they enjoyed themselves, you bet they had! There was an incredible buzz with every finisher gabbling excitedly about how much fun they had. Some had found navigating in the dark quite tough getting lost on more than one occasion, while others liked the night riding as they "could not see the hills", all in all it was a very well received event.
There were some excellent performances with two competitors Alan Billington and Andrew Douglas both just clearing the course, Alan just ahead of Andrew by less than 2 minutes and 2 points, very close. Top lady was Lisa Bloor with 217 points. To see a full run down of all the results go to the results page.
There are a few photographs here if you want to see just how dark it was!
Judging by the feedback and general enthusiasm there will be more night events in the calendar soon, keep an eye on our website for details.
Don't forget it's the start of the MTBO Winter League this coming Sunday 16th October from Edale Village Hall full details here:
http://www.bmbo.org.uk/calendar/?start=All&league_id=37&format_id=
Hope to see you there.
Dark & White Events Team