Backcountry Navigation Trials - the motosport you "age into"...
Mid November and event arrangements are moving along - following the now established format.
Roadbooks.
Five roadbooks are written. Two using Woss as a jumping off point and three jumping off into the backcountry from Sayward Junction.
But why five for a four day event?
Year One, the GoldRiver200 had a day's route wrecked by biblical winter weather.
Year Two, the GoldRiver300 had a day's route interrupted by a forest fire.
Next year there will be a spare route should there be some reason we can't go a particular direction.
Campsite.
The Municipal Campground group site is booked again, and next year the sports field shower block will be open each day so that event participants will have the opportunity to wash themselves of the day's grime - without having to brave the river cold...
Event Sponsor.
We will have a headline event sponsor for the GR4. No announcements can be made just yet but conversations have been had and artwork is being prepared.
The Ridge Roadhouse pub.
The pub is under new ownership with a new chef and new menu. Brian is the man of the moment and he is very pleased to have each day's ride finish at his front door - as pleased as each of you will be to finish at his place of rest, relaxation and refreshment.
Entry Classes.
As in previous years, the GR4 is an event for registered, licenced and insured riders on road legal dual sport and adventure bikes. Some off-road riding competence is required. Don't run away with the idea that the event is a re-run of the Baja 1000 or the Dakar, it is not! But some of the sections in each day's routes will be exposed/steep/loose/overgrown and will require some skills. Nothing harder than I can cope with (a sixtysomething amateur rider on a DR650), and the tricky bits will have workarounds posted in the route instructions.
I am aware that there are some DS and Adv riders who haven't ventured too far away from civilisation, not because of their lack of riding ability, but because of their uncertainties about backcountry navigation.
Therefore, there will be an "Introduction to Backcountry Navigation" classification.
This will be a small group of riders who are looking to get out and about with others at a similar stage in their backcountry experience in the company of one or two event staff who can show how Gaia navigation works.
This group will probably be no larger than six or eight riders and will ride independently of the other event classes. Possibly not even on the same routes. Probably avoiding the "tricky bits".
As in previous years there will be a Gaia +/- Roadbook untimed classification for riders wishing to develop their understanding of roadbook navigation without the time pressure of the competition class. These riders will also ride separately to the competition riders as solos or pairs.
There will also be the "competition" classification of Roadbook plus Richta gps timing. This is the Backcountry Navigation Trials competition classification. A fusion of time/speed/distance regularity rally, rallyraid and orienteering. A non-race, non-speed format where the challenge is to successfully navigate by roadbook while riding long distances through challenging terrain and keeping to set average speeds. This is the closest we can get to RallyRaid in Canada without breaking the law and going to jail!
The full-price entry fee for the six day event (four riding days) is $400.
The entry fee is discounted to $300 until the 26 December when the entry will be $350 until Easter when the full entry price will apply.
So if you want to give someone an idea for a Christmas present.... https://www.gr200.com/product-page/goldriver400-les-chemins-sauvage
More next time.
Jdb 19/11/23
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