Event Details
Club: | West Coast MTB |
Event Name: | Event 1 - Ennerdale - West Cumbria |
Date: | 11/11/18 |
Format: | MBO Score |
Mapping: | Ordnance Survey |
Time Limit: | 3 Hours |
National League: | - |
League: | West Coast MTB Winter League 2018/2019 (Round 1 of 4) |
Electronic Punch: | SportIdent |
Event Report
It was my turn to kick off the West Coast Winter Series again like last November , so I was hoping for similar weather , not a chance , after the first part of the weekend being spoiled by gales and torrential rain the Sunday morning dawned calm , dry and even specks of blue cloud were visible , but by the time competitors started arriving the rain had returned with a vengeance and the Ennerdale valley had its usual wind for them to contend with as well . For some reason unknown none of this deterred these hardy souls and the positive comments I received at the end were amazing , thanks for that !!
As riders arrived at the finish soaked to the skin and covered in mud there wasn’t a sad face among them and they soon warmed to the hot drinks and soups served up by my wife Susan , thanks Sue !
This event was nearly called off the previous weekend because of confusion over access rights and other ownership of land issues , but at the last minute all was resolved and we were allowed to proceed as I had already agreed several months previously – might be some learning here for other organisers in the future .
Ennerdale Scout Centre was our host for the day , this is a fantastic setting even when the weather isn’t too favourable , so thanks to them for having us and providing the facilities we all enjoyed .
The event course was a mix of lakeside and forest tracks , bridleways and minor roads which weren’t particularly flat , giving a choice of committing to the valley and all it had to offer on both sides of the River Liza , or testing your muscles by climbing up to Kirkland or on to the Cold Fell road in the other direction , amazingly some riders did not only both these options but ALL of them !!! In three hours too , it took me and my “ assistant “ what seemed like days to set out the course – awesome !
Our local “lad” Robert Glaister took major honours only dropping three controls and scoring 550 points AND suffering a broken chain , while followed closely by Paul Dobson from Bedale in Yorkshire and Mark Rowley from Stoke , hope yours and others long journeys were worth it .
Apologies here from me for not taping some of the controls in the forest , “tree” isn’t a very good description when there are probably a million of them ----- I forgot to take the tape down the valley and left it in my car – sorry , but all the controls were in the right position and none of them were stolen or damaged either , also anyone who failed to find any of these ones and who made themselves known to me and proved their route were awarded the points anyway. Thanks to Steve Watson for helping me out with all this , cheers Marra , Peter Strong for helping out on the day , running the SI scoring system and for collecting some controls in , Ta Pete . Congratulations to all the category winners and to everyone who turned up – in these conditions you’re all winners ! Please note the next event in our series is at Torver 2nd December , either come yourself or recommend to a friend , that’s a great area too . Results and splits are now available .
John Johnston (Organiser) .
Event Results
Results: | Download |
Club Website: | Unavailable |