Spring series, Round 1 Portaferry.

Portaferry - from the ferry

Final details are now available for the first round of the trailblazers spring trailquest series.

The series kicks off on Easter Monday and is centred around Portaferry on the Ards peninsular. The weather forcasters are offering a mixed bag but it could be a balmy 12C on Monday!
Organisers and planners Alan and Paul have put together a very exciting event in a new area with a bit of a twist thrown in for the more adventurous!

This is just in from the organisers:

Final Details – Portaferry Event 1

Everything is ready and it is looking like an excellent area to test your trailquesting skills. There will be 24 controls plus 4 bonus controls (total of 600pts), so you will need to bring a couple of pens to write down and mark grid references (there is nothing too hard). For people doing  the 4 hour course they will be an option to visit a few controls over in Strangford – yes, that means you can take the ferry (no swimming please!). The ferry runs every 15 minutes and you will need to bring an extra £2. (HINT: it shouldn’t take you any longer than an hour to collect the 3 controls on the Strangford side). We will refund £1 to each rider who makes the crossing over.

Also, we haven’t forgoten about the 2 hour competitors and there should be plenty of controls and route options to keep you busy for the full 2 hours.

The start/register is located at the Portaferry Sailing Club. This is situated right on the shore front in Portaferry [GR 595505]. There is parking along the road side as well as a couple of local car parks close by. There will be tea/coffee/soup served at the end. The sailing club should be open from 9:30am.

See you there!

Don’t forget – Registration from 10:30am, first starts at 11:00am. Cost is £5 for juniors (under 16) and £10 for seniors. Bring a Helmet!

Remember to join the BMBO for you insurance.

Also, For those travelling from the Strangford side to Portaferry – it may be cheaper to park in Strangford and take the ferry as a foot passenger – with your bike obviously!

You can get more information about the event format HERE:

Spring series round 1 – Furthur details

Heres some more info from round 1 planners/organisers Alan and Paul:

The first Trailblazer MTBO event for 2010 will take place on Easter Monday (5th April). The area covered will be the southern end of the Ards Peninsular. Alan McMullan and Paul McArthur have been scouting the area over the last few weeks and have discovered quite a few hidden gems. The area is littered with old ruined windmill stumps, Standing Stones, Raths, ruined churches and the odd
castle and fort. Once you step off the main A2 and A20 roads the area just seems to throw you back into the local history.

Most of the terrain will be on minor roads …with about 20% being off-road. We have been careful to cater for the 2 hour event as well as the main 4 hour event and hopefully we will have the balance right. We have also included a few surprises, which we will inform you of closer to the event date, but I can tell you now that the start/finish will be at the Portaferry Sailing Club, located right on the sea front within Portaferry Town.
 

Just a reminder also for all those intending to take part in the trailquests to please join the BMBO (British Mountainbike Orienteers) as associate members for a year (Its free) and covers riders insurance amongst other things.

It is very simple to join and saves alot of hassle on the day!

Spring series sponsors

We are pleased to announce the support of local cycling specialists Bikedock who are kindly providing vouchers for winners at the upcoming spring trailquest series.

The series flier is now available for you to print off and plaster all over the place!!

The first round event on Easter Monday is shaping up well. Rumour has it the event centre is located in Portaferry, Co Down. Final event details will be published within the next few days.

UU Glenshane Duathlon

You are all welcome to enjoy the St Patricks day craic at the Glenshane Duathlon!

Organiser Mark says:

Final checks have been made and its all systems go for tomorrow for the UU Glenshane Duathlon. Registration will be open from 11:15hrs and after the race there will be some hot cross buns kindly donated by a local Magherafelt bakery, tea/coffee will be available in the Ponderosa Pub or you may want to drown the shamrock in a pint of Guinness!!! Finally there will be spot prizes on offer tomorrow from the UU Sports centre and also Bike Dock Belfast who have kindly donated some vouchers of various monetary valve .

Just a reminder that the course is 2 mile run / 10 mile bike ( 3 Laps) / and 2 mile run

See you at the Ponderosa!

Event updates….

Here are some updates on the upcoming MTBO events being staged around the province in the next few weeks.

St Patricks Day Duathlon Challenge

Organiser Mark says:
Checked out the route for the St Patricks Day Duathlon Challenge and we still have small pockets of snow on both the run and bike course in the shaded areas of the forest . Not enough snow to cancel the race – but racers may encounter some snow on the day of the event. I dont think we are going to have a major thaw before the 17 Mar and all competitors will be updated on the course conditions on the day of the event before they register.

Don’t forget:
Kick off will be at 12.00 noon – Wed 17 Mar 10.

Registration opens at 11am at Ponderosa Pub
It will be a 2 mile run /10 mile bike /and two mile run.
Entry fee is £5.00 – all money raised going to local charity
Cycling helmets are compulsory
Teams of 1 runner and 1 cyclist are welcome

Trailblazers MTBO spring series round 1

Alan and Paul are still in the planning stages for the first round event which has been moved from Sunday 4th April to Easter Monday the 5th April – more details to follow.

Trailblazers MTBO spring series round 2

Planner/organisers Martin and Ivan are looking at an event centre in Annalong County Down, and are having great fun scouting the lanes and back roads of the Mourne coastal plain in preperation for their event on Sunday 11th of April.

Trailblazers MTBO spring series round 3

Round 3 of the spring series is turning into being part of a great weekends Mountainbike orienteering.
On the Saturday there is an MTBO event being planned at the University of Ulster campus in Coleraine. The next day (Sunday the 18th April) its Jon, Julie and Ivans turn to put on the trailquest event rumoured to be in the Cargan area of the beautiful Glens of Antrim….I will keep you posted!

Spring series event 3 taking shape.

 

I have recieved a progress report from spring series round 3 planner Jon.

Here it is to whet your Trailquest appetite:

From the planner: Having had to move location due to the exorbitant prices required by the forest service for an activity permit, we (Jon Kay, Ivan Park & Julie Murphy) have found a great area in which we hope to stretch your legs,

exercise your brain and make you wish you had started training earlier in the year!  There will be two other events

Clue number 1

 

to get you in the swing but keep Sunday 18^th April clear for a great day of blazing!  More photos and clues to come over the weeks ahead.

St Patricks day Mountain bike duathlon

What better way to celebrate St Patricks day than taking part in the  UUC Mountain Bike Duathlon.

The concept is a 2mile run/10 mile MTB/2mile run over a breathtaking course on the Glenshane pass!

Kick off will be at 12.00 noon – Wed 17 Mar 10.

•  Registration opens at 11am at Ponderosa Pub
• It will be a 2 mile run /10 mile bike /and two mile run.
• Entry fee is £5.00 – all money raised going to local charity
• Cycling helmets are compulsory
• Teams of 1 runner and 1 cyclist are welcome

It would be great to see a large turnout at this race for a worthy cause, It should be good fun and good training for the upcoming spring trailquest series!

For more info abot the event please contact Mark at: bluelimavady@aol.co.uk