Entries now open.
Enter online. The ’08’ Ground Effect Cyclicsaga promises two days of sweat, blood, laughter, tears, fence hopping, bush bashing, tale swapping, rivalry, brain fade, honest grunt and bloody good fun in an, until now, zealously guarded labyrinth of trails / tracks / dead ends and back country roads.
This unique event combines the physical challenge of mountain bike racing with the cunning of orienteering. You get to explore places which are definitely not normally accessible to mtn bikers, ever! – charting a route from the start point to the overnight campsite that will inevitably involve grinding up several steep hills, flying down others, and generally having an outrageous time in some out-of-the-way places.
It works like this… Hook up with a riding buddy, or buddies, to form a two, three or four person team.
At the start of the Saga you receive a map of the area with controls marked on it. The controls are worth different points depending on how difficult they are to reach. The aim is to score the maximum points in the allowed time. You only get the information just prior to the start, so it’s up to you to think of the best strategy to get around the course giving you the most points for the least amount of expended energy! Remember, there is a second day.
We’ll lug your overnight equipment and food to the campsite for you, but you need to be self sufficient during the day.
The Cyclic Saga involves two long-ish days so you’ll want to be reasonably fit, and have some basic map reading skills. But it need only be as hard as you make it – you are able to choose a route and pace that suits your skills and fitness.Controls are set out to be achievable for beginners and the elite. The ’08’ course will have a seemingly mind boggling amount of route choice.
Remember that the fittest will not always be the winner on terrain like this. It will help, but a combination of brains and brawn will help more.
Registration Happens at the start point on the night of Friday 14 March 2008, from 6pm to 10pm. Each team must have their gear checked at registration to ensure minimum safety requirements are met. You may nominate a team member to register and do the gear check if your whole team can’t make it on the Friday night. Most teams choose to find accommodation or camp nearby that night &ndash the location and a list of accommodation options will be included in the Event Guide ‘e-mailed’ in early February, and also posted on www.cyclicsaga.co.nz
Two Huge Days Saturday Event briefing is at 8:30 am with an 9.00am start. You’re allowed 7 1/2 hours to get to the overnight campsite. ( Where you can cook your own food or purchase on site. Refreshments tent, BBQ, coffee cart will be available)
Sunday Event briefing is at 8:30 am with an 9.00am start.You are allowed 6 hours to finish at 3.00pm – in time for a late lunch and the prize giving. There are penalty points for going over the time limit on either day.ie 10 points per minute deducted.
Entry Numbers are limited to the first 350 people. The entry fee is NZ $145 per person. This includes land access, the overnight camp, ( hopefully hot showers ), Food cart, Coffee cart Magnums for the winners, spot prizes, and a catered lunch at the finish, map and mapping for each competitor. ( As usual $15 from each individual entry goes to a local charity, did you know that )
You can have 2, 3 or 4 people in your team.
There are 5 categories: Men, Women, Mixed, Veterans ( all team members must be 40 or over on 14/3/2008 ) and, Corporate ( must all work for same company.) The minimum age is 16 years old.
Prizes Winning teams in each category will be presented with a tasty magnum of the good stuff. As well as all participants being eligible for some great spot prizes from our sponsors – including a set of super-lightweight wheels worth $1100 and a swag of Ground Effect clothing valued at $2000, Smiths glasses to the value of $1000, Map boards, Coffee essentials and the list goes on. 2008 will, again, have a cash prize for the mixed team winners. $500 smackaroo’s. It’s not a deposit on a house but….
So, sort it out, there’s plenty of time and not many excuses that cut it.