Trailblazers Trail Quests
Round 2 - Annalong
| Bikedock Belles Trailblazers Trail Quests Round 2 - Annalong | |
| Bikedock Belles: Trailblazers Trail Quests Round 2 Report by Andrea MTBO Trailquest – Coasting Around Annalong The Bikedock Belles were at half strength (well, in numbers terms anyway!) on Sunday in the 2nd of the MTBO Spring League trailquests, which started in Annalong. Sisters Andrea and Cathy turned out to keep the Belles flag flying, lulling the opposition into a false sense of security by using maxi hair clips to customise their own mapboard and by announcing that they were not racing, but using the event to develop (ahem, begin!) Cathy's ability to map read. The aim of the event, on Grand National weekend, was "don't push it", but trust brains rather than! Given these factors, the girls debated entering as the Belle-ends! (see Portaferry report). But they opted to be the Belles, soon questioning their decision though when 300m after the start the mapboard fell apart and the new sparkly clips tumbled down the coastal path for some lucky beachcomber to find! It was absolutely gorgeous weather, with clear blue skies and sunshine – showcasing the Kingdom of Mourne at its stunning best. What a fabulous area and scenery for a fantastic MTBO event. There was a maximum 4 hours allowed to collect as many of the 27 checkpoints as possible. After a quick glance at the map the girls headed off on an anti-clockwise route, to first tackle the foothills of the Mournes in Annalong Wood and the bottom of Wee Binnian. Annalong Wood proved a real test of navigation, but local knowledge gave the girls a great advantage – with only a few bramble and gorse scratches acquired in a hike-a-bike route from a checkpoint at the top end of Annalong Wood to one at the opposite diagonal bottom end. From Annalong Wood it was back onto the road for a foray up a track to the foothills of Wee Binnian. A rocky, ascending path greeted us – but oh how glorious. Well, until the descent! For a second consecutive week Andrea ignored advice from valued CCAR team mates (see Portaferry report), who were heading up the track as the girls were heading down, and told her "watch out riding down the rocky bit. There is a photographer there, so don't fall off". Yes, Andrea promptly fell off – ending up in a bramble bush at the side of the track and looking like a massive pin cushion when she got to her feet. It was a good 5 minutes of picking, and lots of squealing, before it was clear that there was no mission of getting them all out quickly and the girls were wasting valuable pedalling time. So off they went, Cathy enduring persistent yelps as various brambles continued to cause Andrea some discomfort! The CCAR boys came past about 15 minutes later and asked why Andrea appears to do the exact opposite of what they say, and then made some comments about pricks. Rude boys! From Wee Binnian it was decision time, head further west to more hilly terrain or loop south and then east back to Annalong. The decision was to miss out the West, but pedal as fast as we could to collect all of the checkpoints in a circular area from Leitrim Hill back to Annalong. A small mistake cost us about 5 minutes, purely because a local resident gave directions in such a convoluted way that they were as useful as a chocolate teapot. This compounded Cathy's sentiment that "country folk" are odd. Well, we can't all be Hillsborough residents! Anyway, the rest of the course ran smoothly and the Belles got to the closest checkpoint to the start/finish area with 15 minutes to spare. But you don't want to do it like that! You want to have a mad dash finish to make your cut-off, so Andrea made an executive decision to hammer it for a 20-pointer that we had missed out at the start of our loop. Only because the checkpoint was described as being located at the entrance to a Cattery, and it satisfied a supreme love of animals – ahem! – rather than the adrenalin of a race to make an extra 20 points and be back on time! And back in time we were, with 2 minutes to spare. And successfully! The Belles rattled up a total of 400 points and were a well-placed 9th out of 21 teams – much to the annoyance of those who had been lulled into a false sense of security! This was a fantastic course that left us with many reminders of why we do this. Mud (even in tropical temperatures!), scratches (and two days on very sore, infected bramble injuries!) and a true cyclist's tan on the arms and legs (very fetching!). The next round will be on Sunday 18 April 2010 from Ballintoy on the North Coast. For more details click here |  Innovative?! Mapboard customisation with hair clips  Cathy battling the bushes for a shortcut in Annalong Wood  Andrea beats to a clear path with Slieve Donard backdrop  Foothills of Wee Binnian |
| Team |
Club | Score |
Penalties |
Total |
| Star Fangled Nuts | Dromara CC | 480 | 0 | 480 |
| Gerry Needs Pacemakers | 480 | -4 | 476 | |
| Paul McArthur | LVO | 450 | 0 | 450 |
| Helter Skelter | NWOC | 450 | -3 | 447 |
| Last Minute | XMTB McConveys | 440 | -4 | 436 |
| CCAR | CCAR | 430 | 0 | 430 |
| Misadventures | Unattached | 430 | -2 | 428 |
| Maryland 2 minus 1 | Maryland Wheelers | 450 | -25 | 425 |
| BikeDock Belles | Dromara CC | 400 | 0 | 400 |
| Lone Zeppelin | Dromara CC | 370 | 0 | 370 |
| Lost & Bewildered | Lantern Rouge CC | 360 | 0 | 360 |
| Zombie Easter Bunnies | Unattached | 380 | -25 | 355 |
| Lost in Space | LVO | 350 | 0 | 350 |
| Ride It Like You Stole | Unattached | 350 | 0 | 350 |
| Isotope | Unattached | 350 | 0 | 350 |
| Simply Simon | Fermo | 400 | -90 | 310 |
| Siouxee vs the Banshee | LVO | 300 | -5 | 295 |
| Tube and Spoon | LVO | 290 | 0 | 290 |
| Soup & Muffin | Ballymoney CC | 260 | 0 | 260 |
| Adrian & David | Dromara CC | 260 | -7 | 253 |
| Bratz | LVO | 360 | -160 | 200 |
| Team |
Club | Score |
Penalties |
Total |
| Phil Stuart | LVO | 260 | -4 | 256 |
| Alan Cars Chatty Boys | LVO | 170 | -3 | 167 |