1990s Polaris Events

Just out of curiosity, I’ve been trying to recall the 1990s Polaris venues and have only come up with Keilder in Autumn 92, Yorkshire Dales in Spring 93, Lakes in Spring 1994…then I’m stuck for the actual years and whether Spring or Autumn for the likes of Radnor, Derbyshire, Dumfries and Galloway etc Anyone fill in any gaps ?

Can’t help you there, but if you’re hankering for more of the same, we’ve got some competitions starting up soon! https://www.bmbo.org.uk/calendar/

Is @midlandtrailquestgraham still on here? Dont think I’ve seen a post from him for ages but he would probably know

As that appears not have worked the answer may be no

Cheers Benji, used to do many of those when they were called Trailquests…work/kids got in the way eventually

Got lost on a Keilder one. In the snow, think it was later than ‘92. And was definitely winter.
Saw Chipps on one – weird memory that he’d been walking in overshoes, so the toes were all turned up like Alladin shoes 😂

did the Yorkshire Dales one in 93 . Had the poles for a Vango Force Ten taped to my top tube whilst my mate carried the canvas!

Did a couple of the Wight Diamond weekends on the IoW in the early 00’s. They were great fun.

I did a load of them from 94 through to early 2000s. Won category a few times so should have the details. But I’m getting old so it all merges into one.

I remember the summer Kielder one during the foot and mouth outbreak – OMFG the midges! 😱😱😱

I did loads on White Peak ones and loads around the Midlands.

Did one in the Peak District, my camel back froze whilst inside the tent, most miserable cold night ever..

Did some of the NYM ones, they were fantastic!

Weirdly i came across a bunch of the results sheets and marked up maps from various events, and now I’ve promptly mislaid them. Just found two that i’d not initially found, the second Kielder event was spring 1996 and an entry form for the summer North Yorks moors June 15h-16th 1996. If i re-locate the other stuff I’ll post up.

Is @midlandtrailquestgraham still on here?

Another long lost forum member 🙁

I remember the doing the winter Keilder one with Mrs Bpd, got a lift up there in the back of the Middleburn van, 4 people in the back with no windows, 6 bikes, pack of cards and all of our kit for 8 hours. Event was real cold, snowy overnight camp in a frozen bog then waking up having melted the frozen layer to have sunk overnight. Was enough for me as an experience of Polaris events, have friends who did loads of them and still hear the stories now about flooded campsites and arguments between teammates.

Seemed to do a string of Keilder events back in the day with a few Moore Large Kielder Classics too, trials first, enduro (long ride with trials sections, timed sections, trail tests) and then an xc race. Anyone else remember these?

Snowdonia (Llanwryst Rugby Club,’97?), Isle of Man, NYMoors, Knighton, Exmoor.

Got lost on a Keilder one. In the snow, think it was later than ‘92.

I got lost on that one too… Following posts sticking out of the snow thinking these must be the path only to later realise it was the border….

We did the Snowdonia one on a tandem. May well have been 1997, I had it in my head that it was based at a secondary school? May be wrong.

Can’t recall the dates but do remember doing quite a few, among others there were….Dales, Kielder, Exmoor, Peak District, Elan Valley ( mid wales ?), I think this is one where a burger van appeared at the overnight and wasn’t best pleased when folks were warned off as it could be classed as not being self sufficient ( or in the spirit of the event ), I also seem to recall another welsh one somewhere near Betsy Coed ?
It’s not that long ago I finally disposed of a load of marked up event maps due to moving otherwise I’d be able to help more.

I loved those events, even though I never scored that many points

Just put about 7 or 8 marked up maps into storage. Did Howgills, Snowdonia, Braithwaite, Salisbury, Alston, North York Moors and a couple of others that I can’t remember.
We even got kit checked a couple of times as we got our pack down.

Grasmere, next weekend – OMM Light

Spring 1997 Exmoor (Wheddon Cross)
Summer 1997 North York Moors (Dalby)
Autumn 1997 Snowdon National Park

That’s my recollection from the ones I did that year.

Also, a bit later than you are asking, I also did Northern Lake District in Autumn 2002.

Still got a nearly new T-Shirt from Exmoor.

me and a pal did loads, the ones i remember are,

Exmoor. over night camp at a big lake on smooth grass. withypool ?
Llanwryst. started at the rugby club.
Yorkshire dales. started at dalesbridge place on the A65.
keilder. started at clennel hall.
northern dales. started at crosby garret. managed to get the high cup nick checkpoint.
NYM. start at inglby barrick at the bottom of the incline.
a one day special one. 100 miles on a pre set route. think that was NYM too.
galloway forest. cant remember the start.
craik forrest, pissed it down all weekend.
Keilder 2. started at keider castle. midgefst. spent the weekend in a bug net.

How many muddy fields did you all get towed out of? I can remember one before they had the quad bike stolen where I’d forgotten to take the handbrake off 🤭

This old rag of a tee shirt suggests Radnor was 1994.

So Galloway was probably 1993. Start was at the now disused Talnotry(?) campsite – you ride past it on Kirroughtree black just before Heartbreak Hill.

Bailed the Elan one with a dislocated shoulder – stuck for miles on singletrack behind other people but it suddenly got a bit steep and fast when we could finally get a gap to overtake….

Mrs and her mate won ladies at the summer Kielder midgefest.
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Thanks folks, that’s filled some gaps. I do recall the burger van being turned back…and then shortly afterwards the organisers flogging tins of beer at a quid a time…’self sufficient’
OMM Bike in Grasmere is cancelled for next weekend

This thread has brought back memories of the Sunday morning Port a Loo hell 🤮🤮🤮
If anything made me think of packing em in it was those 🤮🤮🤮

No need for loos at Galloway – everyone was peeing on frozen freehubs. -7C and £30 sleeping bags – the good ideas of youth 🙂

i remember taking bubble wrap to sleep on and chinese take away cartons to cook in. so that we could throw em away sunday morning to save weight for day 2.

@ton – wasn’t that one day special 100k, not miles? It was pairs. We came 8th 0r 9th.

failedengineer
Full Member

@ton – wasn’t that one day special 100k, not miles? It was pairs. We came 8th 0r 9th.

no mate, deffo 100 miles and singles.

steve and andy heading came 1st and 2nd.

it took me 16 hours to complete. we were set off at 6 am before the main event.

What the heck are these events, no idea but they sound unpleasant.

What the heck are these events, no idea but they sound unpleasant.

They were 2 day, bike navigation/orienteering competitions where you had to carry all your kit and food etc for a night in a pre-determined camp spot.

Probably be a whole lot easier with the kit available today for bikepacking.

I have lost my ability to make “quote” work it seems!

Summer ones were mildly less unpleasant as you returned to the same camp Saturday night so didn’t have to carry the kit. And they had Wilf’s cafe for food!

The only summer curveball was replacing cold / wet with clouds of midges….

@ton – There was definitely a 100k, it was called the Centurion. Must have been a different event. I think the event was based near Carlton Bank. It ran at the same time as the normal Summer Polaris, on the Sunday, I think.