Trailquest?

Noizetek

Hey folks, any of you heard of/have experience in/ever tried any Trailquest events?? Signed myself up to Round One of the Dark and White winter league in the Peak District, never done it before and no experience, so was looking for some tips from people that have! Also is anyone doing the same event?

jackson101

I've taken part in a few of these and they are always good fun. The best place to look for tips is the TCA web site http://www.trailquest.co.uk/news.php or the Midlands Trailquest site http://www.midlandtrailquests.co.uk/index.php.

On the TCA site look for the TQ tips, under main menu in the left hand navigation pane, these will give you loads to think about!

dickydulux

Hi; I've done quite a few Midlands Trailquests. I agree with jackson 101 checkout the web sites. My tips would be:
Fasten an A4 size board to handlebars so you can check map as your riding. Use elastic bands or similar to hold map.
Maps are in kilometers so set your tripmeter to kilometers not miles.
If the map is 1:50000 I use a piece of plastic with 2 points, 2 cm apart, this equates to 1 kilometer so you can estimate how far to the control point.
You need a compass and know how to use it.
Check you know what the different symbols mean on a map, for example the difference between a bridleway and a footpath.
A watch to see how much time is left.
On your first rides out, keep within a set distance of the HQ, go for controls not points.
Good Luck

Noizetek

Yeah the compass and how to use it part is the one bit I'm not comfortable with...as in, I have never used one!

dickydulux

You should get instructions with your compass. You're not going to do bearings etc. It's normally a matter of lining up your compass with the map.