TrecPeter
Well-Known Member
(I've posted this on the New Lounge too, but maybe it's more suitable here...?)
As I promsied for you Trecists, here are some scans of a few of the POR circuits I've done in this region of France (01AIN, Rhone-Alps) for you to compare with the UK ones. I would also be eager to see what you get up to over your side of the channel, so get your scanners warmed up
These departmental circuits are about the equivalent of the BHS/UK level 2 I think, approx 18km in length and should be completed in about 3 hours.
As they're scans of an A4 sheet, the jpegs are about 650kB in size, so be patient when downloading the links.
You might spot my pencil km marks on the traced circuits in red ink.
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1. La Balme 2003 (? I think)
Seems quite a long course, but the pace was fairly fast and included a 11km/hr section. This one was fairly straightforward and was set on a plateau in the Jura pre-alps, near the A40 autoroute to Geneva.
http://www.alwena.com/Trec/PORs/LaBalme04.jpg
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2. Malafetaz April 2006
The starting point is in the top left hand corner, and some compass pratice was required! Note the blanked out white square were you have to precisely follow azimuth (compass bearing) instructions to find the correct "exit" route. I remember there were quite a few riders going in all directions at this point
http://www.alwena.com/Trec/PORs/Malafret06.jpg
here's the Azimuth sheet we had to follow, and also some "off-piste" points that had to be located and found (no extra time allowed for those).
http://www.alwena.com/Trec/PORs/Malafret06_azimuts.jpg
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3. Arbignieu May 2006
This event was on my home territory, so myself & James shot around the circuit, and were the first one's back to the last control check. Danger of knowing the land so well is that you get careless and I galloped right past a "correct path" control. -30 points for me
Very nice scenery around here.
http://www.alwena.com/Trec/PORs/Arbignieu06.jpg
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4. Nantua Ain Departmental Final June 2006
Up on the Jura mountains again at about 800mtrs altitude.
Lots of paths in the pine and deciduous forest which are NOT marked on the map, so plenty of scope to get lost. Many riders took full advantage of the multitude of routes and got themselves completely lost and hours late
You must keep your eye glued to the compass and carefully note the distance covered every few minutes in these conditions not to take an unplanned excursion.
I took a wrong path (almost identical bearing at a fork) before the first control point, but managed to backtrack and pick up the correct one to arrive correctly at the 1st control point. It cost me nearly 40mins time penalty though. Ouch! The rest of the circuit was completed more carefully and we didn't repeat that mistake!
http://www.alwena.com/Trec/PORs/Nantua06.jpg
I'm collecting some PTV pictures too to give an idea of the sortment of obstacles you might encounter as some riders have asked me for hints on what to expect etc. One problem there is I don't know the technical names in Equestrian English for some of them - bit daft considering I am a Brit, but all my riding experience has been over here !!
Good luck all you TRECISTS !!
As I promsied for you Trecists, here are some scans of a few of the POR circuits I've done in this region of France (01AIN, Rhone-Alps) for you to compare with the UK ones. I would also be eager to see what you get up to over your side of the channel, so get your scanners warmed up
These departmental circuits are about the equivalent of the BHS/UK level 2 I think, approx 18km in length and should be completed in about 3 hours.
As they're scans of an A4 sheet, the jpegs are about 650kB in size, so be patient when downloading the links.
You might spot my pencil km marks on the traced circuits in red ink.
___________________________________________________
1. La Balme 2003 (? I think)
Seems quite a long course, but the pace was fairly fast and included a 11km/hr section. This one was fairly straightforward and was set on a plateau in the Jura pre-alps, near the A40 autoroute to Geneva.
http://www.alwena.com/Trec/PORs/LaBalme04.jpg
___________________________________________________
2. Malafetaz April 2006
The starting point is in the top left hand corner, and some compass pratice was required! Note the blanked out white square were you have to precisely follow azimuth (compass bearing) instructions to find the correct "exit" route. I remember there were quite a few riders going in all directions at this point
http://www.alwena.com/Trec/PORs/Malafret06.jpg
here's the Azimuth sheet we had to follow, and also some "off-piste" points that had to be located and found (no extra time allowed for those).
http://www.alwena.com/Trec/PORs/Malafret06_azimuts.jpg
___________________________________________________
3. Arbignieu May 2006
This event was on my home territory, so myself & James shot around the circuit, and were the first one's back to the last control check. Danger of knowing the land so well is that you get careless and I galloped right past a "correct path" control. -30 points for me
Very nice scenery around here.
http://www.alwena.com/Trec/PORs/Arbignieu06.jpg
___________________________________________________
4. Nantua Ain Departmental Final June 2006
Up on the Jura mountains again at about 800mtrs altitude.
Lots of paths in the pine and deciduous forest which are NOT marked on the map, so plenty of scope to get lost. Many riders took full advantage of the multitude of routes and got themselves completely lost and hours late
You must keep your eye glued to the compass and carefully note the distance covered every few minutes in these conditions not to take an unplanned excursion.
I took a wrong path (almost identical bearing at a fork) before the first control point, but managed to backtrack and pick up the correct one to arrive correctly at the 1st control point. It cost me nearly 40mins time penalty though. Ouch! The rest of the circuit was completed more carefully and we didn't repeat that mistake!
http://www.alwena.com/Trec/PORs/Nantua06.jpg
I'm collecting some PTV pictures too to give an idea of the sortment of obstacles you might encounter as some riders have asked me for hints on what to expect etc. One problem there is I don't know the technical names in Equestrian English for some of them - bit daft considering I am a Brit, but all my riding experience has been over here !!
Good luck all you TRECISTS !!
