For event 6 in the SouthWest MBO 2016 League we decided to take you to a new area of Exmoor. Instead of one large area, this course was made up of 5 smaller areas, each with their own characteristics; the gentle ride along the River Exe Valley to the North, The exposed moorland of Winsford Hill in the centre, the River Barle Valley running down to Tarr Steps, and the Moorland of Withypool Hill to the West, with the steep, wooded Danes Brook Valley to the South.
A recent landslide in the Barle Valley meant to closure of the best section of bridleway through this area which was a shame, but hopefully this will have been repaired by the time of our next visit.

We had been umming and arr-ing about whether or not to include the Danes Brook Valley to the very South, and looking at the results, with the winner only scoring 408 from a possible 600, and with most of the high scorers opting to do a loop around the outer edges of the map (utilising the road network and missing all the interesting terrain in the centre) it might have been better ( and less effort for me!!) to leave this section out!!

The area was hit with some very rain a few days before the event, and this was still evident as we set the course out on the Friday. By the time the last Check Point was out, I resembled the Creature From the Black Lagoon and my rear mech was on strike!!
For this event we let Faye help put a few CP's out for the first time, and unfortunately she had problems with the GPS resulting in CP 8 being hung on an unmarked gatepost some 50m East of its marked location. This was fine for those who attacked it by the windy track up the side of the valley, but those who took the direct indistinct route would have struggled. For this I can only apologise,and hope it did not detract too much from the enjoyment of your ride. You can rest assured Faye has been suitably punished!!

With race day upon us, it was an early start with the windy hour drive up the Exe valley to the event centre. With the valley shroud in mist we wondered what it was going to be like out on the course, but as time went by the sun broke through and soon burnt off the mist to leave a lovely sunny day.

With the event centre at one of the lowest parts on the map, the riders had no choice but to climb from the start. My quiet suggestions that the Exe Valley to the North offers a gentle climb to the top generally fell on deaf ears with a majority of the riders seeing big points and heading off to the south.

With all the riders out on the course, it just left enough time for Faye and myself to set up the tables and refreshments before the first of the riders returned. As more riders returned, it became apparent that most of the surface water that had been around the previous day had drained away, and most riders were reasonably clean!!! It was looking to be very tight at the top of the results. With Ifor struggling on his old bike after his race bike was stolen at the National Champs early, it was left to Sion James and Mark Morgan to battle it out for the top spot. A late start for Ian Cartwright was to be the only challenger for the win, but a bad run meant he finished some way off the pace and Mark Morgan was crowned event winner a mere 8 points ahead of Sion. Other awards went to Ifor Powell in 3rd overall, 23 points off the lead, with Class Wins for National Ladies Champion, Izzy Boyd in the Womens class, Ian Cartwright, M50, Nigel Worsey, M60, John Parfitt, M70, and Stuart Ball & Tim Redman taking the Pairs cat.

The event seemed to have run smoothly, with the exception of CP17 failing, CP8 in the wrong place, and late on we had CP21 stolen. The only casualty of the day was Anthony Finnis who face-planted, losing his dibber up around CP20. Luckly he wasn't too scaved and managed to venture out afterwards, find his dibber, and collect in a few few CPs!!! We hope you've made a full recovery Anthony.

Thanks again for all of you that made the event, September is always a low turnout event with many riders off taking late summer holidays after the schools have gone back. Special thanks to James Jackson and Anthony Finnis for helping collect in Cps, and for Faye for once again making some lovely cakes.

We look forward to seeing you all again for the last in this seasons league, in the Teign Valley, Dartmoor East, 16th Oct, for what promises to be a fast final event on hardpacked trails!!!

Will & Faye.