Trailquesting is well worth a try if you like getting out on your Mountain Bike, doing a bit of map reading and seeing lots of other cyclists. There really is nothing to be afraid of. The TCA website has a big web page full of TQ tips that is a veritable bible of useful help & information.
 
Event Flyer / Entry Form
This will be a rich source of useful information about the specific trailquest event and should be read thoroughly. To make life easier for the organiser, entries should be sent in early with a properly completed form. Make sure you have read the entry fee costs and added them up correctly as this can be confusing with the new TCA membership system.

TCA Membership / Insurance
The TCA associate membership scheme changed in 2004 and now for insurance purposes you must be either a full or associate member to compete. CTC and BOF affiliations no longer apply. Full membership costs £15 for the year and all you pay per event is the entry fee, plus you get regular newsletters through the year along with a host of other benefits. Associate membership costs £1 per annum and then you pay an insurance fee per event, which is currently £2 for a TQ over 2 hours in duration. You can become an associate member at most events and further details on becoming a full member can be found here.

Equipment
There is a list of essentials that you must carry during a trailquest to comply with TCA rules such as a 1st aid kit and money for emergency phone etc. A helmet must be worn at all times and you will certainly need some water / drink and food sustenance, even more so on a 5hr event.

Bike
You need a good reliable bike that works well when caked in mud. It doesn’t have to be a featherweight model to take part, just mechanically sound. Remember if you break down, it isn’t the organisers job to come out and pick you up. They will be busy with plenty of other jobs. The large amount of road used in TQ’s is unavoidable so consider some light tyres that roll fast on the black stuff.

Master Maps
The master maps on display before the start of a trailquest are another rich source of key information. Take special note of any Out Of Bounds areas (OOB) and look out for an escape route that will get you back to the finish as quick as possible when time starts running out. Note any isolated sections - where there may be no bridges across a river for instance, you don’t want to find yourself here when in a rush to get back to the finish.

SportIdent
If you do not own a SI dibber, you may have to hire one if they are used during the event. Look after it as they cost money. They are widely used in Foot-O and if you choose to buy your own from www.sportident.co.uk it will come with an elastic finger strap that is much easier to use than the wrist bands that hired ones come with. You must clear the dibbers memory before the start, then 'dib' at the Start, all the controls you visit, and the Finish. Finally all the stored data will be downloaded and you will be given a printout of your results showing your route taken and split times.

Upon Receiving the Map
When you get your map at the start, take time to study it. Better to be accurate and careful at first, map reading speed will come later. Look where the high scoring controls are, form a basic loop in your mind that can be altered as you ride. One of the biggest mistakes that new starters make is spending too much time getting low scoring controls. You must be organised with your paperwork, keep control descriptions handy, dry, clean and readable. If you loose them and they aren’t on the map, it could turn into a game of hide’n’seek. 

Maps and Map Boards
Clearly it helps if you know your way around a map and are familiar with various symbols and different rights of way. Footpaths are always out of bounds to cyclists as are many white private roads. A map board will be very useful, it is a trailquester's no. 1 'must have'. You will save yourself a lot of origami if you can turn the map around in your head. Mount it on the map board and work with it as it is. You can get map boards that swivel, but don’t loose track of the strategy, where you have come from and where you are going next.
 
Timing
When out on the course, don’t bite off more than you can chew, being late back and losing the majority of points you have earned will be very disappointing. With experience, you will be able to judge better when to start heading back to the finish. Once you get more accurate, you will even find that going into lateness can be worthwhile if you have spent the time getting a high scoring control. 
 
Progress
With experience, you will get a feel for what distance you can cover in time. As a rough guide, bargain on taking 3 mins per km on the average road, 5-10 mins per km off-road depending how rough / wet it is. These vary with uphill / downhill but once mastered allow you to calculate whether you have time to get that one extra control. Roads are quicker than tracks, sometimes by as much as 3 times. So if there is a longer loop between controls that uses a road, it may be a more viable option than paddling through a sodden cow trodden field in a direct route.
 
After the Finish
The local events rarely have facilities afterwards, so you will need to be able to disrobe your dirty clobber and slip into something dry and comfy for the drive home. Take a lunch box of fruit to feast on and re-fill your carb quota.  Your bike will be filthy and likely no-where to wash it so consider this if you intend putting it inside your car. This is where exterior bike racks come into their own.

Once the Cycling is Over
There is always plenty of ‘post event’ discussion and banter: tales of punctures and bike problems; people getting lost; not finding controls; taking the wrong turn at junctions; the list goes on. A lot of people say “If only I had done this” or “If only I had done that”, well basically, that’s trailquesting in a nutshell. There is every chance that the winner has his / her own “If only” story to tell so all other thoughts are relative. We all dream of the perfect run, where everything just falls into place and it does occasionally happen. But there is usually something that we could have done differently.

Results
If it is a card and punch scoring event, a results string will show the winners and losers. With the SportIdent kit, a list is printed out periodically showing a up to date summary of information. There may be a prize giving, but not always. Once back home, results from events are usually on the TCA website events page within a week, laptop hiccups aside. The detailed results from the SportIdent software will show you the route the winner took, a wealth of information is to be had here.

Championship / Leagues
The scoring system used is a percentage of the top score of the event. This is a very sensible method and makes it all relative to the ground conditions on the day. The person with the highest score will be awarded 100%, someone with half the points score of the winner will get a result of 50%.

So that’s it, get some gear together and come along and have a go. There is also another page of Trailquest Tips on this website.