The Wind prospect Fens Challenge is this coming Sunday based in the South Lincolnshire Fens. Fulll details at www.midlandtrailquests.co.uk

It's the first round of the Midlands Autumn Trailquest Series, with prizes for this event sponsored by Wind Prospect. All profits to our Village Hall Charity.

As easy or hard as you want to make it, very hard if you want to win - just ask previous competitors, or better still come and have a go. 

Thanks for this, have just registered and entered.

My first trailquest.

Look forward to seeing you. Always good to see new faces, and there should be someone on hand to give advice. Also take a look at the midland trailquest forum as there was a recent thread on advice for new trailquester's.

I'm kind of in the same boat to be honest, would sooner a course mapped out that I can just hammer at.

Guess it's got to be worth a go eh.

How hard the Navigation is does vary from event to event. Lots of woods generally means harder Navigation. Here in the Fens the Navigation tends to be fairly straight forward, the harder bits being the route planning - as you choose which checkpoints to visit to get the most points - and then the riding. Flat means it is pretty relentless, as one of our previous competitors put it - like 4 hours on turbo trainer ! 

As an example of a check point from our event, the location may say "Bridleway Track Junction" and the checkpoint location "Footpath Sign", so you just follow the map and then finding the checkpoint is straight forward. Best way to find out is to try it. It's a friendly crowd, and good fun - even if you get totally lost !  

Lol, well, 54 miles at a good pace, very enjoyable, better than riding the same ole trails week in week out.

It's fair to say that I was disappointed with my 340 being reduced to 210. but at least now I fully understand how the penalty system works.

 Looking forward to the next event.

Thanks to all involved, and hats off to Nick? was it who rode 70% singlespeed after lunching his mech at point 11.

Yes Dave, it was Nick Calkin - he rode 99.6 km for his 361 points to win overall

Glad you enjoyed it, and that was a good ride - a bit better on the route planning and you'd have been up there.

Hopefully see you at Naseby in a couple of weeks.

Well, we all know what an ordnance survey landranger map looks like, much  of the same really. Except all the locations are ( very well ) marked for you, plus where you can and cannot ride. Good format.

It's just planning how to get your route right while getting the maximum points, and still getting back on time..

I took a chance on two extra waypoints and took a detour on my way back, but unfortunately they were on the muddiest wettest and slowest part of the course and it put me over but quite a lot.

It is a great day though. Takes the thinking out of riding in a new area.