00:00Hiding in the bush, in a maze of mountain bike trails, lies an array of orienteering
00:08controls waiting to be discovered.
00:10It's a treasure hunt, you have to find as much treasure as possible, and that's how
00:14you win, right?
00:16The Australian Mountain Bike Orienteering Championships were held in Canberra this year,
00:21and it's a growing sport, with entrants competing at the event from around the world.
00:24Jo Sheriff came from New Zealand's South Island, along with more than 40 countrymen
00:29and women to take on Canberra's trails.
00:32You have this map with a number of control points drawn on it.
00:36You don't see the map before you start, and you pick up the map, you've got the position
00:41of the start on it, and you race around between a number of control points as quickly as you
00:46can.
00:47And it's not necessarily the fittest rider that will be first past the post.
00:52Mountain bike orienteering is so cool and exciting because it's not clear who wins.
00:57You can easily beat someone who may beat you in a normal run or normal ride, but you
01:01can beat them with your wits.
01:03So it's planning the best course, you know, using the contours and being smart about it.
01:09With differing categories and age ranges, the relatively new sport provides an opportunity
01:13for newcomers and veterans alike to test their map reading skills on familiar or unfamiliar
01:20trails.
01:21Part of the mountain bike orienteering thrill is that you can be lost.
01:26If you're not lost, you feel like a champion, you feel like a hero.
01:30So it's much better to know where you are and ride slowly in the right direction than
01:35ride hell for leather in the wrong direction.
01:37Taking multitasking to the next level.
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