Delaware Valley Orienteering Association

Topic created by sfmones on Mon Mar 16, 2026 at 10:11 am

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White Clay Creek Bike-O

 

This past weekend, DVOA hosted four events in three states.  Our first Mountain Bike Orienteering event was at White Clay Creek State Park in Delaware.

Course setter and experienced mountain biker Glen Lewis designed three courses with lengths of about 5 km,  18 km, and 30 km.  We had a large group from the “Delaware Dirt Destroyers” as well as participants from DVOA and QOC, and even some newbies.  There were universally positive reactions to all three courses.  Comments ranged from “that was fun” to “when is the next one?”

Yours truly is not a mountain biker, but I gained considerable knowledge about both the equipment and the nature of trail riding.  My old road bike seems like a Model-T compared to these new-fangled mountain bikes with all kinds of complicated gadgets.  I gained a new respect for mountain biking including the appreciation that they are not really trying to run me over as I walk on foot-o trails.

Glen put considerable work and sweat into the courses, and the response from the participants made it worthwhile.  Park personnel stopped by, and they also noted that they look forward to another bike-o event.  White Clay Creek appears ideal for bike-o due to the extensive and well-mapped trail network, and the sheer size of the park that encompasses a number of areas well outside the regular foot-orienteering area.  Not every venue can support a 30 km course.

My sincere thanks to Bob Agosta who volunteered to handle the computer for the event.  He set up the computer beforehand, handled multiple issues on the fly including walk-ons, and was there from start to finish.  The event simply could not have gone forward without him.

Thanks also to Mary Frank who arranged the event, contributed in a myriad of ways, and also kept me grounded throughout the run-up to the event when I kept saying that I know nothing about mountain biking.  And, while she was doing that for White Clay Creek, she was running a separate beginner’s event at King’s Gap!

                                                                                                                         Steve Mones