Welcome to the SLOW MBO 2025 season. Navigate your way around some fantastic terrain in the South East of England on a mountain bike. Scroll to the bottom of the page to view the banner photo on an OS map.

Event Schedule

Date	Venue	Planners
9th February	Elstead, Surrey Hills	Rachel Clay
23rd March	Mickleham, Surrey Hills	Jane Robinson
27th April	Liphook / Haslemere	Ian Norfield
Jun/Jul/Aug	Berkshire / Oxfordshire
5th October	South Downs	Adam Eyre-Walker
16th November	Surrey Hills. 2026 season #1.	Julian Hemsted

RESULTS 2024 / 2025	General info: SLOW MBO	Event updates: Newsletter
BMBO Calendar	SLOW MBO Facebook Group	SLOW MBO Strava Club

Other clubs: MBO Score format Black Mountains / Bristol & Midlands. MTBO Line format Wimborne Orienteers.

Events will be run using the phone based app MapRun. Please refer to these Instructions for setting up MapRun and using it at an event. There are also several Virtual Courses including previous events that use MapRun which you can ride at any time.

Online Entry

Online entry is available via SiEntries.co.uk. Please visit bmbo.org.uk to sign up or renew your membership. Full Member costs £8 (Jan – Dec) and will give a discount for all BMBO events. Day Rider and Under 21 memberships are free. All results for Full Members and Day Riders will be included in the BMBO National League.

Please ensure that First Name and Last Name/Surname match exactly in SiEntries and the MapRun app so that your results can be found.

Your age class for all 2025 events is your age on 31st Dec 2025.

If you would like to contact any of the organisers, email the series coordinator Dave Uglow at:

Event Details

Events are public – all are welcome. Waterproof 1:25,000 Ordnance Survey format maps will be provided.

The majority of riders use mountain bikes but many of the events are suitable for gravel bikes. You may gain on the smoother sections but have to go more slowly on rougher tracks. If you’re not familiar with the terrain at an event location please contact the organisers.

All riders must wear a helmet and carry a whistle, mobile phone and first aid kit (a minimum of plasters & dressings). The following equipment is also recommended:

• Waterproof top
• Compass and map board or cardboard to support the map on your handlebars.

British Mountain Bike Orienteering (BMBO) rules will be used which competitors are advised to read in advance.

Entry Classes

• Solos
  E-Bike
  M20/W20 = Youth 15 to 20
  M21/W21 = 21 to 39
  M40/W40 = 40 to 49
  M50/W50 = 50 to 59
  M60/W60 = 60 to 69
  M70/W70 = 70+
• Pairs, Mixed Pairs
  E-Bike
  M20/W20, MIX20 = Youth 15 to 20, combined age 30 to 40
  M21/W21, MIX21 = combined age 36 to 79
  M40/W40, MIX40 = combined age 80 to 99
  M50/W50, MIX50 = combined age 100 to 119
  M60/W60, MIX60 = combined age 120+
• Teams of 2-4
  GEN = Generation (Junior/Youth 12-17 accompanied at all times by Adult 18+)

Penalties

The BMBO graduated penalty scheme is used for SLOW events.

1 to 5 minutes late – lose 1 point per minute
6 to 10 minutes late – lose 2 points per minute
11 to 15 minutes late – lose 5 points per minute
16 to 30 minutes late – lose 10 points per minute
Over 30 minutes late – lose all points

Series Prizes

Series prizes will be presented to the first and second places in the following categories:

Male Veteran (50+), Male Senior (21-49), Female Veteran (50+), Female Senior (21-49), Pairs (21+), Youth/Junior/GEN (12-20).

Series rankings are based on your top 3 scores from this years events. To qualify for prizes or rankings, participants must have attended at least 2 events.

A new series Pairs class is being added for 2025. The rules may evolve as the season progresses. The key points are:

• You can mix and match who you ride with so that any events where you ride as a pair will count.
• Your pairs rides will be shown twice on the league, once in the main league and once in the pairs class. Prizes will only be awarded to a rider in one or the other. This is intended to create some competition outside the main age classes.
• Mixing and matching solo and pairs rides will continue as before.
• For the BMBO National League your pairings need to remain the same throughout the season if you want all rides to be aggregated. All results for Day Members and Full Members are included in the BMBO league.

Routes

Listed below are the most common route options. See Map Symbols for a more detailed list of valid routes on an OS 1:25,000 scale map.

Contours

Ashford Hangers in the South Downs National Park was part of the Petersfield course in April 2024. With a steep 80m drop, riding down this slope and re-ascending elsewhere was a good tactic. Generally riding up tarmac and descending off-road is more efficient but where are the check points likely to be placed?