Polaris Heads for ‘7 Stanes Country’
Rob Howard / 16.02.2007
The first Polaris Challenge of the year, to be held on March 24/25th, will be in Scotland, based at Innerleithen, near Peebles in the Tweed Valley Forest Park. Its an area widely regarded as one of the best mountain biking havens in the country, not least because it contains both the Glentress and Innerleithen trails and downhill courses. Although the course will range out across big open hills, the planners are promising a chance to experience some of the extraordinary riding on these man-made trails which are part of the 7 Stanes project.Given that the event is taking place in Scotland in March the weather could be challenging and the overnight camp will be remote with riders carrying all the gear they need. The same A3 1:50 000 map will be used for both days and around 40 controls are planned so plenty of choice is guaranteed. There will even be specially brewed ‘Challenger Ale’ at the venue, prepared by a local brewery.
Looking further ahead to the autumn there are some exciting new changes to the traditional format planned and the event line up will now be 6 - 2 - 4. The new planetFear Challenge will comprise of 6 hrs riding on Saturday, a few hours rest, then a further 2 hours riding in the dark, then sleep, then 4 more hours on Sunday.
So, its time to break out the bike lights and carrots as night navigation becomes the new dimension to the Polaris Challenge. And to add a tactical twist, the points values will be balanced across the 3 stages, making the night stage essential (but not mandatory) fare for all.
The riding will still total 12 hours, but to make life a little easier the autumn event (like the summer one) will have be a basecamp event. So, there will be need to carry big rucksacks and the chance of a social get together either side of the challenging night stage. (The entry fees for the autumn event are unchanged.)
This new format also allows Saturday to become a special 1 Day Polaris Challenge, which might suit those that are new to the event or worried about going the full distance over the weekend.
The changes appear designed to bring some variety to a long established format and attract more riders, but won’t be popular with some ‘die hard’ Polaris regulars who see the remote overnight camp as an essential part of the challenge.
For more information and online entry see www.polarischallenge.com. [The online entry system can’t accommodate the 1 day entries for the autumn event yet, but this should be in place by March.]
