Mountain Bike Rogaine Rules & Info
MTBO (Mountain Bike Orienteering) is similar to park/sprint orienteering in that the navigation is not so difficult, but is made more difficult by the speed you are trying to read the map at. It is equivalent to reading a street map in town while driving, so it is very easy to overshoot an intersection. If you are new to it, you may need lots of stops to check your whereabouts.
All controls(checkpoints) are on tracks, so the bike can be ridden to them. There are no control descriptions needed, and all controls are suitable for everyone, including beginners.
The time limit for this series was 90 minutes, accept for the first weekend in Riverhead which was 3 hours per day. Please see the Foot Rogaine Info page for more on what a Rogaine is and the rules that applied to this series.
MTBO is ideal practice for ADVENTURE RACING, where often more time is lost on the navigation than the difference in physical ability.
For this series we encouraged individual or pair entries, but we also accepted teams of 3 or 4. Contact Rob Garden if you have any questions.
Points
There are 30 controls numbered 30 to 59 with the points value being 30 for the 30 series 40 for the 40 series etc, to make a total of 1200 points available. 20 points are deducted for each minute or part minute you are late so remember to have a watch. The 30 series are the easiest to find, 40's more difficult and the 50 series are the most difficult controls and advised for experienced orienteers only. If you have trouble with a control move onto another.
If anyone gets all the points in less than the alloted time, 5 bonus points will be awarded for each minute they are early back.
ENTRY INFO
These events were pre-entry, and you needed to enter by the Wednesday evening before each weekend event. You were able to enter on the day, but there was a late fee for this.
Equipment:
You must wear a helmet - tools, spare tubes, cell phone, mapboard etc. are also advisable.
The most important piece of equipment is a mapboard. These can be home made, but need to rotate (and stay on the handle bars) so the map can be orientated to the direction you are travelling. A compass is useful, and does not need to be an expensive fast settling type. A clip-on compass that clips on to the mapboard is popular, and is a lot better than having one in a pocket, which usually comes out as a last resort.
See www.mapsport.co.nz for mapboards, compasses etc. Here is also a good link about mapboards, including how to design one yourself.
Thank you to our sponsors:
main Series sponsor was
Bivouac Outdoors
Key Sponsor for MTB Rogaines was also R&R Sport
Other sponsors included:
- Vitasport
ORGANISERS:
North West Orienteering Club
There were great prizes!
- heaps of Spot Prizes
- Category Winners
- Series Winners
- $100 for top male & female
(both schools & open - foot series winners only)
Very Affordable Entry Fees!
(listed Senior / Junior & Unwaged)
Single Event: $20 / $10
All 4 Foot Events: $65 / $35
All 4 MTB Events: $65 / $35
All 8 Events (incl. MTB): $120 / $60
Late Entries / Enter on the Day: $30 / $15