The second DuO Adventure Race in the 2011/2012 series was held at Western Sydney Regional Park on Saturday 11 February. With numbers almost double that of the first race in the series held at Killingworth last December it turned out to be an epic adventure.
With weeks of heavy rain and significant regrowth in the area, the impact on the expected finishing times was a major concern to the organisers. Humid conditions, hills, lantana, challenging navigation, and fences to climb resulted in the leg times blowing out significantly, with average finish times of over two hours for the short course and two and a half hours for the long. The water drop at the transition area was extremely welcome though at this point, halfway through the event and with 2 out of 4 legs complete, some competitors decided that the conditions were too much and headed back to the finish. Despite this, participants seemed to enjoy the challenges, gritting their teeth and hauling bikes up slippery slopes and wading through hip high grasses. Marina Ishakova (Bennelong) won the short course quite comfortably ahead of Rob Prentice (SHOO); Glen Horrocks (Garingal) topped the long course, a minute ahead of David Simpfendorfer (Red Roos) in second, and Greg Barbour (Big Foot) a close ten seconds behind him in third place.
This second event was very different in terrain from the event at Killingworth last December. The third and final event of the series is on 22nd April at Belanglo Forest. With drier conditions and more traditional mountain bike terrain this third event will pose a whole new set of challenges for our DuO Adventurers!
Thanks to Greg Bacon for his help with this report
Anyone wanting another MTBO outing, or who missed the DuO should consider the Newcastle Bike Orienteering Summer Series event this weekend. Held on Sunday 19th February at Blue Gum Hills Regional Park Minmi this event is suitable for all levels of mountain bike rider including children. More details here
