This weekend sees the first event in Trail Break’s 2002/2003 Fat Tyre Challenge Sunday series. And what, we hear you cry, is the Fat Tyre Challenge Sunday series? Well, it’s probably the biggest mountain bike orienteering (or ‘Navigator race’ as Trail Break call them) series in the UK.

The format is pretty straightforward. Trail Break provide a punch card and a map, there’s a 2 or 3.5 hour time limit and you have to visit as many control stations as possible. Harder, more distant controls are worth more points, and arriving back late means that you lose points.

There’s a Sunday event every month from now until May, with the first taking place this weekend (20 October) at Kingsclere. Trail Break also run mid-week evening series (yes, you need lights…) with shorter time limits and more accessible locations. Both series are very popular, and deservedly so.

You can get more information, including all the series dates and tips for navigator success, from the Trailbreak web site at www.trailbreak.co.uk. The site also has information about all the other events and rides that they run. There’s a lot of them…

And if you’ve never done one of these events before but are planning to, drop us a line – we want to know how you get on…