The first round of the Scottish Mountain Bike Orienteering took place in the Pentland Hills south of Edinburgh.
There had been various negative comments on the singletrackworld forum, and the general consensus was that this event shouldn't be taking place in such a fragile landscape.
Nevertheless, the event went ahead.
This has been my favourite rounds of the SMBO series for the last two years. I had decided to enter the solo category this year as I probably won't be able to compete in every round due to various commitments.
Unfortunately, due to the large amount of out-of-bounds areas on the map, and the fact that most of the points were in the same area, I feel the course was fragmented, and didn't reward those who cycled the furthest or climbed the biggest hills.
Anyway, the sun was shining and it was a great day out in the Pentlands. An ambitious route choice, and a front tyre popping of the rim didn't help my lowly score of 269 points and a 21st place finish.
Route can be found here
Hopefully we didn't damage the landscape too much, and the event can get back to normal for next year.
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