we need rally racing in mountain biking

[tom]

just to parallel the enduro idea of adding a new twist to mountain biking, after watching the dakar rally a few years, i had an idea to compose a mtb rally. the concept was to use an area that had lots of single track crossed with two tracks and to use both parts of the two tracks with the single track. throw in a couple control points/ check points and send people out in intervals and that would be your race. i had about a 5 mile course for hanson but as soon as i had it completed, they re routed a few trails and screwed up my road book. here's a primer on rally road book for moto's but could be transposed for mtbs pretty easy,
http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0061/7 ... ion.pdf?16
the tough part would be setting the course and finding a cheap road book reader for a mtb.

[Roy]

Island lake and Kensington could link up a great set of road, 2 tacks, paved bike trails, and single track.
Kensington = 8 + miles of road or paved path (3 tough hills)
Island Lake = 7 miles of 1 way road, 13 + miles of 2 track, 6 miles of paved path
Start and finish the race at the top of the Garbage Hill Park. (some safety issues with road crossings)
Getting 3 different park authorities to agree would be tough.

If it was "billed" as a ride, rather then a race, it might be easier to sell the authorities. (honor system timing)
A minimum of 3 check points would be needed: one check point at the RR tracks at the West end of Island Lake and one at the North bridge in Kensington, and one under the X-Way connector. You could even throw in Proud Lake, Wixom, New Hudson!

You could stage rally teams at check points on the course. That way a team could have a fast road rider ride the road and fast trail rider ride the dirt.

Island lake is a long way from Hanson, but has a lot more local riders.

Roy

[tom]

my other theory would be a "command-o", where you just post up a road book online and people could just run the course on their own schedule, you could post your time if you want (though the first liar doesn't stand a chance) or you could just do it for your own navigation training or amusement (like geocaching). the good thing about hanson is that it is also intergrated with a military land nav course and had good accessibility to use the markers as many of them are near two track and single track. for places without nav markings, you could probably set up painted milk jugs off the trail that you take down after a length of time. while the navigation primer does look intimidating with all the equipment, my road book just used kilometer markings, the tulip drawing and the new direction of travel. i had a few people run the course before it was changed and they just used a clipboard on their handlebars, a bike computer set for kilo's and $9 wrist watch compass on their bars. if participation in this kind of "bandito" style riding picked up, then maybe actual races of this kind could be set up.

[Askel]

Events in the Almanzo Gravel Road Series have been using tulip style instructions for years.

There's also quite a few rally people who organize and race in those events....

[ArcticRobot]

Island Lake and Kensington are the lamest terrain in SE Michigan. I don't know why would anybody want to ride/race this, other than roadies.

[HiptonRadcliffIII]

Island Lake and Kensington are the lamest terrain in SE Michigan. I don't know why would anybody want to ride/race this, other than roadies.

here here.

[tom]

the idea behind rally is your ability to read instructions and navigate, if someone weaves a good course through island lake or kensington using both single track and two track, you won't even mind the terrain. it's kind of like the difference between the muddy/dash foot races popular now and adventure racing. the mud runs work for people who can't/won't navigate, where as the adventure races are for the ones that can.
askel, does that group conduct bicycle races? in the up? i've also noticed you presence on the upoverland and advrider pages as i lurk there for ideas for adventure. thanks for the input.

[Critter7r]

island lake has its place in the scheme of things, it is a great place to take kids and spouses that haven't had any off-road experience so they can get some experience riding in dirt. Blue Loop only has a couple of hills that need gearing down, and it's lacking in technical features. otherwise, it's pretty much rolling hills and nothing too crazy. And the Yellow Loop is actually pretty challenging for someone that hasn't had a lot of experience, or doesn't ride a lot. Challenging enough that I wouldn't recommend taking a first-timer out there on the Yellow.

[c0nsumer]

island lake has its place in the scheme of things, it is a great place to take kids and spouses that haven't had any off-road experience so they can get some experience riding in dirt. Blue Loop only has a couple of hills that need gearing down, and it's lacking in technical features. otherwise, it's pretty much rolling hills and nothing too crazy. And the Yellow Loop is actually pretty challenging for someone that hasn't had a lot of experience, or doesn't ride a lot. Challenging enough that I wouldn't recommend taking a first-timer out there on the Yellow.

I personally think it's also fun at times to ride fast around that sort of flowing trail. Each trail has its time and place, and ILRA is no exception.

[kyleRIG29er]

I would think Bloomer would be a decent candidate for this.

[utabintarbo]

I would think Bloomer would be a decent candidate for this.

Agreed. If navigation skills are a requirement, Bloomer is a good test.

[kyleRIG29er]

Plus it has some short technical stuff that can be hard to ride fast. (Could be stages) then you have double track to run to the next stage. Climbing stages, fast downhill stages, etc.

[ArcticRobot]

Navigation, I see. Do we get a co-pilot?