Welcome to British Mountain Bike Orienteering.

Mountain Bike Orienteering is a fast, exciting sport for people who want to ride in new places, learn some new skills, improve their fitness and ride in a sociable environment. Events cater for all abilities, all ages and often allow pairs of mixed or same sex to ride alongside solo riders. You can ride any type of bicycle you wish suitable your chosen event (Mountain Bike, Cross Bike, Tandem, Hybrid, E Bike and even a Road Bike for road only events).

You can enjoy the events in your own way or try to pitch yourself against top International riders. Either way competitors are all riding around the event area at the same time at their own speed, on their own chosen routes. The whole event atmosphere is always friendly and helpful to all.

Our website has lots of information for riders and organisers so feel free to explore and learn more. A more detailed event overview can also be found below.

If you have questions or ideas then please do not hesitate to contact us.

We hope you enjoy your riding,

BMBO Comittee      chairman@bmbo.org.uk

Mountain Bike Orienteering - An Overview;

There are two types of Mountain Bike Orienteering events, known as MBO Score & MTBO.

Mountain Bike Orienteering Score (MBO Score) is where an Ordnance Survey Map, usually 1:50,000 but sometimes larger scale, is used. The Map is marked with a number of controls (often 30) with differing point’s values. These controls are distributed across the map area & competitors aim to visit as many as possible within a pre-determined time limit. At the Start area the rider is given the map with any final instructions and the clock is started for their ride time. The rider is then free to decide which route to take and which controls to try to reach in the time allowed. There is no set order in which the controls are visited & riders decide on the most efficient way in which to use their time and energy..

The ride culminates in a total Score for each rider. Riders can return to the Finish area any time within their allowed time limit. There are no penalties or bonuses for returning early. If the rider is late returning to the Finish area points are deducted on a rising scale from their total score. The rider with the highest points total after deductions is the winner. If there is a tie on final scores, the rider with the lower riding time is awarded the higher finish placing.

MBO Score is enjoyed by riders of different ages, different riding fitness levels and technical riding abilities. Basic map reading skills are required and this improves as riders take part in more events. Decision making “on the fly” gives riders much enjoyment and the ability to change the planned route as the event progresses to match time and energy remaining is also a great feature of the events. Riding in pairs can also help those not so confident with the map. Clearly, a combination of fitness, riding technique, good map reading skills and wise route choice tend to be characteristics of the top riders.
 
MBO Score events lend themselves well to both solo riders and pairs. There is also a Generation category in which the younger members of the family (12+) can be introduced to the sport where they can ride with an adult rider and learn about map reading whilst improving their fitness. With riders being able to plan their routes and decide upon riding time within the allowed time limit MBO Score events are fantastic social events providing an opportunity to improve fitness whilst having a great deal of fun.

 MTBO  (Multi-Terrain Bike Orienteering) events use orienteering maps that have been specially modified to show rideability, and are usually held within areas containing a good network of tracks and paths, providing a variety of route choices. Again these events start with a map with marked controls being given at the Start area. Riders then aim to ride from control to control in the numbered sequence. The rider with the shortest ride time from start to finish is the winner.

The skill set is similar to that required for MBO score events. The top riders tend to have extremely fast map reading and map memory abilities to enable them to ride and plan ahead quickly. Navigating between control points means matching map to ground features at high speed and correctly interpreting the maze of paths and tracks. The MTBO events tend to be much shorter in duration compared to MBO Score events.

The sport is enjoyed by enthusiasts from both an orienteering and cycling background