Checkpoint map from a recent trail nav competition. Courtesy trailbreak.co.uk.

We wrote about mountain bike orienteering a couple years ago and noted that it was a mostly UK phenomenon involving navigating a course using just a map and compass. Trail Break, a UK-based mountain bike event promotion company, has updated the concept with a new GPS-friendly race format called “Navigator Dual.”

Here’s how it works: riders download a GPX file with numbered checkpoints onto their GPS device. In Stage 1 of the race, riders have to visit each of 8 numbered checkpoints in order, #1-8. After checkpoint 8, riders try to hit as many of the remaining 20 checkpoints in any order they wish - just as long as they get to the finish before time is up. It’s not clear how long the overall race is but riders must hit the first 8 within 3.5 hours. Most checkpoints / shortest time wins.

This definitely sounds like an interesting idea and one we may see here in the US as more and more mountain bikers begin using GPS on the trail. Forget MTB Geocaching - Navigator Dual is the next big thing in MTB GPS!

Mountain bike paramedic in London. Photo via Firegeezer.

By now you’ve probably seen police officers on mountain bikes but here’s something I hadn’t heard of: mountain bike paramedics. Apparently this has been going on in the UK for quite some time (since 2000 in parts of London) and it sounds like it’s pretty effective.

Mountain bikes are being used for medical response in densely populated urban areas and allow first responders to get to patients quickly. In fact, one article I read said “often the bike-riding paramedic will get to the patient while the (911) caller is still on the phone.”

Bikes are equipped with standard first aid equipment and some not-so-standard items like mini defibrillators and high power drugs. Unlike ambulance-based crews, mountain bike paramedics can take their “vehicle” and equipment right up to the patient - often riding through shops and elevators. Of course all that equipment does “alter the dynamics of the bike” according to an official with the program so they’re always looking for paramedics with at least some cycling experience.

IMBA’s National Mountain Bike Patrol (NMBP) performs a similar first-responder role, though solely on trails and not in urban areas. Unfortunately NMBP members don’t receive nearly the same level of training and typically don’t carry well stocked emergency kits but it’s certainly better than nothing when you’re hurt on the trail.

Besides being fun as hell to ride, mountain bikes can perform useful functions in a wide variety of settings. Who knows where we’ll see them popping up next…

photo courtesy cyclewise.co.uk.

So this is a cool concept: a mountain bike trail built explicitly for mountain bike coaching. The Cyclewise Coaching Trail provides a place for mountain bike coaches to work with students without having to worry about other trail users bombing down and interrupting lessons. The grand opening is set for October 17.

Judging by the (overly stylized) photo above you might think this is just a wide, soft mulch-strewn trail for teaching newbs to ride off road but apparently there’s more to it than that. Cyclewise says this trail includes “3 berms, 3 table tops, a rythmn section, drop offs and step ups as well as a technical climb and descent” which should be challenging for even advanced riders. Seems like a good alternative to teaching yourself to land 10 foot drops by trial and error

Here in the US it’s not unusual for new trails to include skills areas that offer progressively larger and more difficult technical trail features but most are open to the general public. I imagine this idea might be tough to implement here due to liability concerns plus there isn’t really a culture of mountain bike coaching in the US (yet). As more and more high school mountain bike leagues start up this might change though…

via SingletrackWorld.

Daniel Hume, RIP. Photo from telegraph.co.uk.

Some sad news to report this week:

Daniel Hume, former pro mountain biker from the UK, was killed while on foot patrol in Afghanistan last week. Hume was ranked the #3 downhill rider in the United Kingdom at the age of 15 and in 2007 he joined the Royale Marines. It’s reassuring to know we have tough-as-nails mountain bikers like Hume protecting us overseas - he will truly be missed!

Rittner “Ritt” Lewis of Everson, WA died after crashing his mountain bike on a popular Telluride Ski Area MTB trail. Ritt died of head trauma even though he was weaing a helmet at the time. Just one more reminder that even with all the right protective gear mountain biking can still be dangerous. Hopefully his family can take some comfort in the fact that Ritt died doing something he loved.

Rest in peace.

No, unfortunately this isn’t a joke. The first ever World Indoor MTB Championships were actually held over the weekend in the UK and featured top riders including Gee Atherton and Greg Minnaar, the eventual winner. If your head is filled with visions of guys screaming around an indoor course like the one found at Ray’s Indoor MTB Park, think again. While racers pedaled real bikes, the course was completely “virtual” in the sense that it was computer simulated and the bikes were stationary. And what the heck are these guys doing riding inside - it’s June for crap’s sake!

I suppose the Brits have a different idea of an exciting sporting event because the Indoor MTB Championship will be televised on Sky Sports next month. Right… I’m sure millions will tune in to see a race that happened a month ago where the athletes ride in place. I already get that show for free at the gym.

The only cool thing I can say about this idea is that it makes it possible to bring mountain bike competitions pretty much anywhere in a spectator friendly format (that is, if the spectators aren’t bored after just a few minutes). Then again I think I’d still rather drive to the mountains for a few seconds of watching riders blast past me.