This winter just gone, Sophie Harrison and Nick Hann escaped the Queenstown frosts and gloom for warmer climes. They decided to try their hands at a European summer orienteering campaign. And it was a little bit different to the traditional way Kiwis go orienteering in Europe. It developed the title of ‘Off-the-couch, Off-the-bikes Orienteering’ which featured:
• a cycle between each competition, carrying all the gear, hence “off-the-bikes”,
• doing limited training (in-fact, only a single overnight bike trip) before the trip, and they hadn’t actually tested out half the gear before departing. Basically off-the-couch.

They describe the route that took them to 30 orienteering events over about 100 days: We began with the Bulgaria Cup in early June, cycled through the Balkans and the Alps to a cluster of races in Austria and Italy, then headed north through more events in Bavaria, Czech Republic and Sweden and finished with the Norwegian Elite Champs in September. We stayed in a mixture of houses/apartments and camping, with a lot more camping once we got further north into the more expensive countries! Overall we cycled 3,500km and climbed 40,000m. We were lucky to meet up with lots of friends and family while over there, and were hosted by some lovely people in their homes and holiday houses.
Sadly, it turns out that cycling for weeks between competitions is not conducive to good results, but some things you have to learn the hard way!

Orienteering NZ caught up with Sophie and Nick to get a bit of insight into their orienteering performances. What was the best event and why?
Nick: My favourite event was the 4th day of the 5 Days Italy. We caught the gondola up to the arena and the terrain was a mixture of open intricate karst terrain and some scattered forest. With around 2000 people entered, it was chaos with people running in all directions, and quite good orienteering. The beautiful view of the Dolomites made it truly special! Norwegian Champs Long Distance was a close second.
Sophie:  My favourite events were days 3, 4, and 5 of the Bohemia Orienteering Five Days based out of Nový Bor in Czechia. The forest was beautifully clean conifers with areas of blueberries, low vis and amazing sandstone features. Aside from the amazing terrain the event centres were relaxed with lots of yummy lunch options to try after your run. We camped at the event camping with lots of different Czech clubs which was a great atmosphere.

Your best orienteering result and why you think you did well?
Nick: My best result happened to be the first competition we did! Augusta Cup Day 1 was a precursor to the Bulgaria Cup races, and we were straight into it after a rapid crossing of Bulgaria. Somewhat aided by a smaller competition field, I guess the jetlag hadn’t caught up with me by then and the fatigue hadn’t set in either! The terrain wasn’t anything special (scattered forest and overgrown farmland with some rocks) but still a lot of fun! Overhauling about 60 teams in the Norwegian Relay Champs was also good fun.
Sophie: My best result was also Augusta Cup.

Your worst orienteering result?
Nick: Certainly the Norwegian Champs Long Distance, 60th place! I was completely wrecked by this stage, and not conditioned for the wet Norwegian marshes. Being a “guest” at the competition, I was started first, so I enjoyed a 2-hour solitary war in the marshes. Great fun though – it was a proper long distance with long legs and not many paths.
Sophie: My focus for the trip wasn’t to be as competitive as possible. I just wanted to enjoy orienteering in lots of different fun terrain. Placing wise I did quite badly in lots of the events but based on my personal goal I had a successful  European orienteering campaign.

Any unusual or standout things that you haven’t seen before?
Nick: Pretty much everything was new. We hadn’t been to most of the countries we visited, and certainly never by bike! When cycle-touring you get quite a deep appreciation for the environment and landscapes you pass through, and we had some great experiences haggling over strawberries in Bulgarian on the roadside, getting funny looks from locals while cooking up a meal in the town square and just pulling over anywhere to explore something we liked the look of! Also $3 beers in the Balkan countries deserve a mention.
Sophie: I found it hard to get over how many people would finish off a few cigarettes before heading out on their course at the Bulgaria Cup. Also Nick got forced into drinking a beer before his run, which seems to be somewhat common practice. The Bohemia Orienteering events had labyrinth punching races at each arena – good for getting in the fast orienteering mindset! The event organisers also arranged a beer orienteering relay, perhaps this could become the next discipline at NZ Champs (move over night orienteering).

Would you suggest travelling by bike in Europe to orienteering events? What was it like?
Nick: Tough. I think I peaked physically after about 2 months. After that, it was a steady decline as the recovery was not able to keep pace with the effort each day. But it was an amazing experience and going back, I wouldn’t change it. Just maybe don’t have your sights set too strongly on the top of the podium!
Sophie: Yes, I would recommend it. It was a great way to experience lesser known European multi-day events, which were still fantastic. Although as Nick said, if your main priority is doing well, I wouldn’t recommend biking between!

Maps:
1. W21A at Bulgaria Cup Day 3

2. M21E at 5 Days Italy Day 4

3. D21A at Bohemia Orienteering 5 Days.

4. H21 Norwegian Champs Long Distance

Banner photo above left to right: Nick at the 5 Days Italy event, Nick sneaking onto the podium in Bohemia, Sophie in action at the Carinthian Lake Cup (photo credit Carinthian Lake Cup organisers).