Mountain Bike Biathlon
by Eric Hamilton
September 2000
Was it Pat Clancy who dreamed up the idea of a combination of mountain biking
and biathlon? Well Saratoga Biathlon turned a brilliant idea into a great
success! We had 18 competitors of all age levels and both sexes take up the
challenge of what proved to be a very fun event.
Personally I find summer biathlon to be a challenging event. They attract a
collection of interesting, very personable individuals half of whom are in
training for the real thing and half are runners that also are good marksman.
Mountain bike biathlon puts a new twist on the off season sport, but better than
that, in a lot of ways, it more closely matches the demands of the Nordic sport.
Like winter biathlon, I realized early on that I had to worry about a second
piece of equipment... is the tire pressure right; do the brakes work; did I
remember the helmet? It's just like worrying about did I get the right wax; did
I bring the poles with the right grip; and did I remember my ski boots?
Once on the trail I found that I moved over the terrain in a similar manner
to skiing on fast snow conditions. I found the down hill turns have the same
trees that seem to move close into the inside of the turn. [At least there
aren't the little daemons reminding you that if you catch a tip and go down your
going to get whacked in the back with a nine pound weight.] Also, my weight on a
bike has a certain momentum that will carry you part way up the hill. It also
reminds you at the top of the hill to keep the momentum going. This, along with
keeping the bike in a gear for the terrain just ahead of you, adds a technical
aspect similar to the way technical aspects of skiing enter into a good finish
time.
We saw some new faces and hopefully some new members to the club. The
fantastic crew that the Schreiners get out to host their races did a splendid
job. The hospitality cannot be beat! It was a great time and I hope that this
type of event catches on!
| 
Saratoga
Biathlon Club
