Event Details
Club: | SMBO |
Event Name: | Stirling Sting |
Date: | 16/11/14 |
Format: | MBO Score |
Mapping: | Ordnance Survey |
Time Limit: | 3:00 |
National League: | - |
League: | SMBO 2014 League (Round 4 of 4) |
Electronic Punch: | SportIdent |
Event Report
It feels like an age since I was sat on the edges of Stirling awaiting riders to decend upon us for the final event of the SMBO series.//
//Now the controls are in, the dust has settled, and hopefully bikes are cleaned, it's time for a race report.//
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//If anybody was to look at an OS map of the area proposed, they may be left wondering what the attraction of the area was, with few tracks marked and those that were marked, people would soon find rarely exist. However, those who went exploring would soon find the area was a gold mine with a network of excellent trails for all abilities.//
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//As the first person to complain about poor mapping my aim was to make as legible and accurate map of the area as I could, to allow me to plan a good course and for people to enjoy the trails fully.//
//This jounrey started in the early part of 2014. Having never altered a map before and being barely above computer illiterate, it was going to be my biggest challenge!! With the help of many people and hours of trail and error, I eventually reachd the final race map.//
//From early on I knew that Gillies Hill would be impossible to map fully and still keep the map A4. Consideration was given to incorporating an inset or seperate map of thie area at a larger scale, but time and skills were against me on this occasion. It felt a shame to miss out the area althogether and so I mapped the more distinct trails and tried to place controls in significant spots on these trails, in the hope they would be easily found and also offer assurance(or relocation) as to the riders position.//
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//The new area was keeping itself under wraps to the bitter end as the early morning mist hung around, creating a magical atmosphere, but at least it was dry.//
//On line entries had been very good and still there was a healthy interest in entry on the day, so preparations were made for up to 65 riders. As time went on and my pile of maps at the start started to run thin, it became apparent even this was not enough and with over 70 riders turning up more maps needed to be printed on the day. Annoying, but I felt pleased with myself that I could cope with this situation as I'd brought along a printer and spare ink cartridge. (A bonus of sticking to A4 maps!!)//
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//With all the riders finally out, my team turned to preparing the selection of soups and cakes to refuel the hungry returners. However, as riders started to come back my worst nightmare of issues appeared and the computer system didn't seem to recognise any of the riders and their dibbers. Many thanks to Marc and Andy for stepping in to help sort this problem. In the end, each person had to be entered individually upon their return, just so that at least people could get their personal scores, and results could be gained. With such a large turn out, this was no mean feat!! Technology!!//
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//The mud and grins of the returning riders said alot. Routes seemed to vary, which was good. A number had missed the fact that 2 controls seemingly close together were in fact on 2 different trails seperated by a rather large cliff, and as expected there were many comments and tales about the maze of Gillies Hill.//
//Whilst I had made comment of the possible difficulties in this area in the pre-event info, in hindsight it seems I should have noted how a simple compass would greatly assist those who braved the area.//
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//I had fun finding all the trails of the area, and I am coming to realised how difficult it is to create a REALLY good map. Many thanks to all those who supported the event. Hopefully you enjoyed yourselves and the area, and that one day SMBO will return, and I will have a chance to iron out some of the mapping niggles and learn more about SI systems!!//
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//P.S//
//If anyone had been left wondering, the prizes of helmeted rubber ducks were picked in reference to the likelihood of you returning in need of a bath and also of our extremely close proximity to the Site of the Battle of Bannockburn, although you may not have noticed as they didn't really take to the idea of riders visiting their statue.!!!!!
Event Results
Results: | Unavailable |
Club Website: | View |