Thornton officiating a MTB Spunch with 40x20point controls scattered across an area as far as the northern edge of Lyme park, Bowstones, the Middlewood way, Bolly, & Kerridge. The White Rabbit Ear trophy once again up for grabs!
Teams
Top Marks – Mardell & McDermott Scratch
Tythy Twosome – Dunc & Stunt Scratch
Presidential Pair- El Pres & Troll +10%
Over 60’s -Pete & Eric +20%
E C u next Tue -Butty -20%
Lone Ranger – TJ +20%
Pub: 3 Sheds, Big Nic, PTD, Ruth
Contitions: Light rain on and off, mild, slight breeze.
Pete’s birthday wish was for a Eriquest revival using Spunch technology, and Mr T happily obliged!
Map boards were dug out of garage nooks and tie wrapped to handlebars, lights charged, and excitement built!
With allocated teams and andycapping published we could arrive at Gleave Av for a glass of fizz, a warm sausage roll (or two), admire the trophy, faff over the app and settings (bizarrely many older iphones test spunch sound check were quite faint).
A rambling staggered start with Mr T checking our tech was working, and briefing us on the finish point on the poachers snicket – with dire warnings not to take this route until the end!
Then it was issue of paper maps – decide route options and GO GO GO for two hours of spunchy fun!
Fast forward to the poachers – a table complete with 60th Birthday balloon (taking the nancies normal table no less!) and a download of results, mental maths on handicaps, and checking for staying within the rules.
One of the top scratch pairings the Two Marks – had gone big – through Lyme park and up to Bowstones..but struck by puncture disaster taking a full 20mins to sort, and hence falling short of expectations.
A big talking point was whether the E bike handicap was severe enough…Butty covered the most distance, got the most controls, but with 20% off took a net score of 432 into the pub as virtual leader.
The Tythy twosome had taken a two part approach – with a early little loop to the south to pick up easy controls, before heading across to Pott Shrigley up to Dale top from the layby, avoiding Lyme park, and then a big sweep back down through Stypersons, the middlewood way/canal, and back up through Bolly for a big finish. 500 points delivered.
None of the other teams could get beyond the low 400’s with net scores, the Presidential pairing claiming bronze (after some investigation into anomolous divergent traces..dodgy old phone blamed).
TJ dispelled some myths by making it back unassisted!
All agreed it was an excellent course, and great fun. The trophy returns to Tythy for safe keeping until the next event – with Eric suggesting big birthdays a natural trigger for TNR spunching.
As we worked our way through pale ales, normal bitter, and the chewy breakfast stout (with Vietnamese coffee no less) an eclectic topic mix included unusual gargoyles and carvings, the use of GPS devices that show you where you are – yes or no, in orienteering style events, and of course the great reveal of the Big Birthday present!
Bird nesting box with camera and wifi – much admired, and plenty of tit jokes!
Butty had also brought the folding cups to distribute to those who had ordered, plenty of alternative uses for those too! 😉
A fine evening topped off with the obligatory whisky, and no doubt the tales of derring do with have grown longer by the time they are retold on Saturday night.
Happy Birthday Pete!