Race 35: MTBO Sprint, Driffield Airfield, 25/09/2011

A dreadful race, I am really bad at orienteering! It was an MTBO sprint at Driffield airfield. I was looking forward to it because it was a sprint with lots of complicated tracks. But in the end I just got confused and felt like I'd just come out of the washing machine, I had no idea what was what anymore! It's the first event I have ever done where not all the controls are on paths. that made it interesting too.

It started well, I got the first 5 without too much bother. I went through some very deep puddles though, ones where I had to get off and pull the bike out. It was all white mud stuff that completely covered me by the end of the race. It started to go wrong on the way to number 6. 5 was off piste around the back of a bunker. I was feeling pleased with myself that I found it and was going along a grassy track when my front wheel went down a massive crater hidden in the grass and I went straight over the bars. I got back on and a couple of metres later it happened again! Straight over the bars, two times within 2 mins. I wasn't happy so I ran the rest of the track and there were the holes everywhere! I lost quite a but of time on that crazy track, with the crashing and everything.

I did a few more OK and then got completely disoriented on the way to number 11. It was a disaster, I was seeing tracks and they weren't right. So I found the road, found the corner of the wood and went back in, looping right until I got to a tarmac area. All good, but it wasn't there! I couldn't understand it. I wandered around for a bit & finally went back to the road for another go. I spotted a small tree off piste which I recognised. I checked the number of the control and found I was in completely the wrong area! I have no idea how it happened. On analysis of the map when I got back, there were two woods of similar size, both next to the road, both with tracks that beared right and came to a tarmac area. What are the chances of that?!

I did the last few controls pretty quickly and finally finished. It had taken me 17 mins to find number 11 on a 2 min leg. How bad is that?!

Afterwards Alan helped me out, we went into the complicated part and he told me how he would get to the next control. His way is totally different to my way, much better, probably the proper way. We did 3 controls and I felt like I saw the light. But the controls were collected in and it had started to rain. Next time....

Unbelievable! Where on earth was I going?! All the wandering around is from 10 to 11 via 6, 4 and 9 then around the road....