Mountain Bike Orienteering
Introduction
Mountain bike orienteering (MTBO) is an endurance sport attracting both orienteering and mountain bike enthusiasts.
The most important orienteering skills needed are route choice and map memory, and these need to be combined with good bike handling skills and the ability to cope with steep slopes, both up and down.
Mountain bike orienteering can be practised in many different types of terrain. The essential requirement is a large number of paths, tracks and roads offering challenging navigational choices.
Navigating between control points means matching map to ground at high speed, correctly interpreting the maze of paths and tracks.
Competitors may not leave the tracks (so that the environment is protected
Equipment:
MAP: The map provided by the organiser can be a special mountain bike map or an amended foot orienteering map.
COMPASS: The compass is attached to the competitor's arm or to the map holder.
MAP HOLDER: A map holder (map case) attached to the bike or to the competitor's chest makes it possible to view the map at high speed without stopping. These can be hired at events.
HELMET: A hard helmet is compulsory.
BIKE: Competitors use robust mountain bikes. For safety reasons, the condition of the bike (e.g. brakes) is checked by the organiser before the start.
TOOLS: Competitors may carry tools and replace spare parts but may not seek or obtain help to carry out repairs.
National MTBO
Details of MTBO - national and inter-state are available here . The Nationals were in WA in 2006: see previous events at one of the venues - 2005 with map, 2004 with map or go to the carnival page.
Events
* Gunjin event analyis "A tale of two cyclists" with graph
* 2006 WA State Championships - see the leaders battle for the State Title: split graph, times, course
MTBO events are included in the main OAWA events calendar or see below.