Discussion: MTB-O vs Foot-O, the "mental process"

Wrote a post on my observations on how my mental process is different between Foot and MTB-O.

http://www.runbosco.com/2012/08/mtb-o-vs-foot-o-pr...

By the end of the weekend, I also hope to have the US MTB-O team blog jammin' too! Stay tuned. We leave for Hungary next week!

Rebecca

cool. many similarities to ski-o. I tend to practice looking at the map very frequently, for very short amounts of time, to sort of keep track of where I am on the map a little better. It's worrisome that your two compasses both point different directions though...

good luck over there!

good luck! great article, too!

biggins, that ski-o memory thing belongs on a smart phone! might even get me to break down and get a post-2000 phone. or just install it on the girl's phone.

alex, do you think there's a CSU/NEOC audience for MTBo? That mini-adventure race I did a month or so back was essentially an MTB-rogaine with 100m foot-o to the flags. and it was awesome. i know this guy who might be interested in setting something up.

While I agree on the points you write in your blog, I think you miss one of the crucial ones. Bike-o is all about route choices. It's a must to know your route 100% before you leave your control. In contrast to foot-o you can not cut through the woods (or if allowed you may slow down a lot) and you might end up in a dead end or do way too much climb. You can easily practice this by looking at old bike-o maps, allowing you only a certain time to make your routecoice decision. The online memory-o works too, but you lack the contours.

Another point is to practice folding your map at the start. Figuring out the correct way to fold the map so that you don't have to refold too many times during the course is not easy and the one minute given at the start passes very quickly.

For keeping track of where you are you might want to use some kangoroos, pieces of tape that you move along from control to control.

Good luck and a lot of fun in hungary!

P.S. The memory-o works on the iphone too!

bgallup - there are plans to hold at least one NEOC MTB-O event in the next year. The Fells would make a bloody brilliant location for a CSU event and are vast enough to have a concurrent foot orienteering event to attract a wider audience. To avoid collisions, MTB-O could be south of sheepfold and foot north, e.g.

my understanding is that there are only really two linear loops that they allow mountain bikes on at the west side of the fells - the bike loop, and the recently opened reservoir loop. if we halve that at sheepfold it'll have even fewer interesting nav options. check out the trail map for wompatuck - that's where the race was. nice squarish network with a bunch of choices. some local mtb regular might have an even better idea

also, i am completely addicted to this ski-o memory thing. and i've occupied my fiancee's iphone. i might even have to try ski-o now

Wompatuck would make a fine orienteering map. Very different from anything else in the area (overall very flat), and versatile.

First, to the thread hijack:

iansmith wrote: "...and are vast enough to have a concurrent foot orienteering event to attract a wider audience." Ding ding ding! Event creep warning! Burnout alert!

Second, to the MTBO issue:

I've never done MTBO or Ski-O, but one thing that strikes me from watching headcam videos is the much more drastic speed change between uphill and downhill. I'm used to running (okay, running *and* walking), but when I watch the downhills on skis or bikes, it is a completely different skill than running downhill. Distance estimation is going to be much harder and it's much more important to have a good sense of your pace.

heh, sorry for the thread hijack, just getting excited about MTBo.
to cedarcreek's got a great point, and i'd be curious to hear if any of the pros have a good answer - how the hell do people estimate distance on a mountain bike? the few times i tried to bike-navigate based on distance - with controls off the trail - i was hopelessly wrong and had to pay obsessive detail to the terrain. so how do you get good? lots of practice and review to develop a sixth sense? baseball card in the spokes and 'pace' count really quickly?

and run_bosco, if you or any of your teammates have access to a 3d printer for whatever strange reason, I made a pretty effective rotatable rigid map holder and could easily get you the model.

Distance estimation is difficult. Basically you have to pay attention to track and terrain information (e.g. the path goes off in the left bend of the trail, at the end of the climb). What makes it easier is, that you are only looking for trails but don't have to go off the trail. But sometimes it's difficult to say if this is alredy the trail you are looking for or just an unmapped logging trail.

Can you not just count the number of wheel revolutions each time the rim rubs off the brakes?

@jospe-- Yes! That's something I noticed-- that I'm glancing at the map, not necessarily to get information but to remember where on the map I am. Good to have that technique validated by someone else. :)

@mikee-- Yes, another important difference! (Route choice is essential). I think that deserves a post of its own. I'll put it on the list!

I was interviewed by my local newspaper (due to publish next week!) and that was one of the differences I emphasized. That decisions in mtb-O can have greater consequences!