Sprint Adventure Race Lessons

The Bike Course

Chapter Five, 22 Nov 2020

Leg Attackpoint Route Choice
1 Path junction You've probably seen the "boulder" as you crossed the bridge:-))
2 Brown path junction Could go in/out the black track, but if you were being timed that would add the U-turn time. Better to flow thru.
3 Path junction (the one joining onto the highway) Down one of the two close black tracks just outside the circle. You don't want to go down earlier as you'll just worry which of the zillion fences its on.
4 Path across the N end of the pond. There's a choice as to whether you cut across the grass, which is a little slower than the paths. If you know the speed difference it makes an interesting maths problem.
5 Not that easy on a long straight road. The road split is an early warning. The path on the right is your answer.  
6 Road intersection Another cross-grass-versus-longer-faster-road choice.
7 Lots of big trees so look for something unique. The fence corner is good. If you're confident go straight. But there's something to be said for taking the road and the (paved) river trail and then along the edge of the park. Reliable.
8 Path junction  
9 Open area with two buildings Did you consider back-tracking slightly and using the road? Though 10m longer you get a good view of the building corner from the road.
10 Tricky, you don't want to be looking over your left shoulder all the time! If you spotted that just before the control is a place with a bank on BOTH sides (a sort of pass) then you could relax until you got there.  
11 Big paved area (carpark) Really just designed to get you off your bikes so you would walk across the major road. Did you??
12 First the gap between the houses. Then the big blob of bush (where the circle is broken).  
13 You have to be sure of the right clump of bush. I think you'll get a better perspective if you ride along next to the watercourse for most of the way. If you're too close to the bush clumps they all look the same.
14 The carpark  
15 The end of the houses/start of the forest You had this one on Foot B. Designed to get you crossing the road safely.
16 No good AP here! But there's a catching feature just beyond - the path widens out and there's a connection onto the riverbed.
17 None. Just channelling you onto the bridge footpath.
18 None. Just getting you over the narrow bridge and on your way back downstream. This bridge is new, its predecessor collapsed a couple of years ago.
19 No good ones (the vegetation is too bitsy to read easily. But there's a catching feature just beyond - the open area on the right.
20 Right-angle road bend  
21 Road Y-junction Actually part of the next leg, but did you try the little short-cut to get back onto the river trail?
22 You dont see the stream until you're right there, but the stream is in a valley and the valley is visible from way before.  
23 The narrowing of the grassed area. Did you take the black track short-cut? Will depend on your riding skill, the long way round is more reliable. The pass between the cliffs is the highest point on the course, at 102m. The start/finish is at 65.
24 The road-path junction. And there was a helpful sign there:-))  
25 The blob of bush near the stopbank. You need to be sure where to leave the nice path, use the view while you are up high.
26 Path exit onto the park Choice between path-road-path, and path-park. The latter is simpler, with perhaps more grass riding vs pavement.
27 Bush blobs, easily sorted out from the path on the stopbank. The straight line (a) is softer grass and (b) hides the bush blobs form view. Either way round (right or left) would be on pavement and approach the AP with a good view.
28 These little tracks on the riverside are very hard to see. Hug the edge and note the protruding bit.  
29 The bottom of the nearby track Designed to tempt you to ride the riverbed, though its hard to assess just how fast it would be. Distances 120m vs 180.
30 No good AP, the vegetation edge is very broken up. And being a longer leg this was a bit mean:-) You could look to your right, pass up all tracks until you are nearly opposite the big building.  
F Carpark corner In plain view.
This page was written by and updated on 1 Dec 20.