Trail Break is hosting the Navigator Dual, a mountain bike orienteerign event, on four dates throughout the winter.

Trail Break says “Mountain bike orienteering events get a bit of a bad rap these days. Once considered the most gripping and exciting contests by the sport’s adventurous early adopters, they have (a little unfairly) been labelled as ‘beard and sandals’ events, as mountain biking has increasingly turned it’s back on the skill of map reading.”

So this winter Trail Break has reinvented the format and crucially made them GPS friendly, which certainly strikes as a smart move given the huge rise in popularity of GPS computers. The result is Navigator Dual, a two stage event format that manages to be both accessible for beginners and more challenging for veterans at the same time.

Each event will feature 28 checkpoints set out over an area roughly 16 x 10km in size, and will be tackled in two stages with a 3.5 hour time limit. First is the Fixed Eight section where you have to get to the first 8 checkpoints in order, followed by the Open Navigation section where you try to mop up as many of the remaining checkpoints as you can. Each checkpoint scores you points and the most points at the end of the day wins the contest.

And to welcome those riders who want to make use of a GPS device, the routes will be available just two days before the event from Trail Break’s website. Armed with these, you can do a little pre planning, or just turn up with the markers loaded in your GPS for a hectic day of point-and-shoot riding.

Dates and venues