Turf insider Juli 2021

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Round winners[redigera]

Congratulations to the winners of round 132: Welshman from Lounais-Suomi biked home his fourth Gold, Aicar from Åland secured his first Silver, féarglas from Scotland added a bronze to her collection. Well done mates!

Bonanza 2021[redigera]

Bonanza 2021 - arranged by The association Örebro Turfers Turf Crew wants to make it clear that it is not Föreningen Turf Örebro that is the organizer of Bonanza 2021. It is the newly formed association Örebro Turfers who are responsible for the event. The e-mail adress for Örebro Turfers is orebroturfers@gmail.com

On Saturday the 4th of September two open events will takes place in Örebro. Every turfer who participates will be awarded the Bonanza medal. First a Foot event, 10 am to noon, followed by the Bike Event, 1.30 pm to 3.30 pm. In the evening a Banquet will take place, starting at 6 pm. If the Covid-restrictions for 4 people/table is still in effect come September, only about 100 people can attend.

Read more about the event, how to register and all things Bonanza HERE (Swedish) and HERE FOR ENGLISH.

And register for this fun World Cup event HERE.

Canoe Turf 2021[redigera]

Kalmar Turf Association invites everyone to a Canoe Turf Event on the 14th of August. Invitation HERE (only in Swedish).

Last time Kalmar held a Canoe Event, it was highly appreciated. So if you have a few days to spare and an interest in a slightly different Turf Event, head towards Kalmar, a very flat and friendly Turf city in Sweden :)

And here I surrender the 'pen' to my summer guest writers, I hope you enjoy "The Chronicles of Turf – Scotland Edition".

TURF INSIDER JULY – guest edited by Turf Team Scotland[redigera]

Hi Turfers, it’s a longer issue of Insider than usual because our guest editors and contributors this month are the enthusiastic bunch in Scotland. Hopefully their stories and experiences will spur everyone on to engage with turfing over the summer months.

A Drive for Uniques, and only Uniques: FeTaTo interviewed by féarglas[redigera]

Uniques Only?! Where did it all begin? What gave you the idea?
It started in April when I challenged myself to visit all 381 zones within Stirling Council area. The potential sticking point was Ben Lui (a Munro) - would the path be clear of snow? The warm weather made it so, and I completed my challenge before the end of the round. With travel restrictions lifted, I decided to go for the 1000 Unique medal. A visit to Livingston yielded over 100 unique zones – and the medal.

In May, having previously achieved 800 round uniques during the challenge in March, I set out with two goals - the Diversiest medal, and to only visit unique zones. A trip to Aberdeen, where I found myself close to the Greed-350 medal, and a ‘Cambla’ effect of trying to take zones faster than Cambla was taking them from me, meant that I well overshot my target, gaining both Diversiest and Greed-350 medals. Unable to visit my new grandchild in USA in June, I decided to keep going with a focus on uniques. Having been saturated with Dunblane/Stirling zones during the March challenge, and as someone who normally travels, I enjoyed the thought of exploring again even if it was Scotland and not the World. The new target was 50% of Scottish Uniques (4,621 zones), but maybe 5000 Unique would be possible as well? I travelled North, South, East and West, and so it was on 2021-07-01 at 14.39, I achieved the 5000 Unique medal, the first and currently the only person to hold it in the UK.

Did you ever break the ‘unique only’ rule?
Initially, I broke it only for three reasons. The first was for Greed-350, where time was of the essence with Cambla turfing in the same area. The second was for the Eager Ferret medal, for which I returned to Loanhead. I wasn’t expecting to get it on my first attempt, and especially not when I found myself cycling through a flood up to 20 cm deep under the Loanhead bridge. The third was if I was near Edinburgh Park, where I liked to clear zones for artful. I became less strict in June, but wouldn’t go out of my way for a non-unique.

What were the challenges of a ‘uniques only’ goal?
Uniques place offer different challenges, especially for someone who usually sets off with only a vague plan for the day’s activity. I started using more tools such as a topographical map, Naviki, and Maps.Me These helped me plan a little more and I used them for navigation on the day. I also noticed that around the 5-hour mark, my ability to navigate and my sense of direction decreased significantly and I would have to backtrack more often.

What did you learn about Turf and Scotland?
Sometimes you have to ‘dive in’ and wander to find a zone. Using my eyes instead of a map can often yield better results. The paths in the wood south of Forres made for interesting navigation as the mountain bike paths are not generally mapped. In Livingston, I gave up on map reading and just set off in roughly the correct direction and found paths. I have gotten to know better where the zone maker might have put zones. I have developed a much greater feel for town planning, how much this differs between areas and how it affects the access round the zones. And there is a lot of construction work going on!

What did you enjoy the most?
I loved not knowing what the day and the area would throw at me. Each day was its own experience.

Any unusual zones or surprise zones?
I never knew there was a Lourdes at Carfin. The Carfin Lourdes Grotto opened in 1922 and welcomes over 70,000 pilgrims each year from across the globe. There was a service in the zone at the time of my visit, and I had to persevere outside the wall until gps wobble gave it to me.

What’s next?
The UK Explorer medal. While only one zone is necessary, I am planning on taking at least 100 zones (where possible!) in each of the 12 regions in the UK. Of course, Scotland has already been achieved!

Thank you FeTaTo - and good luck with the UK Explorer ?

A Game for All Ages[redigera]

One of the great things about Turf is that we all tackle it differently depending on our age, ability and preferred mode of transport. There are several generations of the same family playing and there are outstanding feats from some younger players. We have two reports about the activities of younger people this month – Cialar’s Staminatrix Medal in Stockholm and The Pentland Scouts Turf Event:

Staminatrix Medal for 12 year old Turfer in Stockholm
1) How long have you been turfing and how did you start?
I started Turf in February 2019. I started Turf because I was skiing with my family in Dalarna together with my grandparents who turf. My grandfather wanted me to take all the top zones for him. I did that once and then I started my own account and took the zones from him.

2) I hear it was your birthday and you changed your turf nick. How old were you and was their birthday cake?!
I changed my turf nick to Birthdaygirl! I turned 12 that day, April 17th. I did not get a real birthday cake but I got cupcakes when I took a break before the last 50 zones.

3) What was the plan to complete the 400 zones?
My plan was to take at least 150 zones the day before the event and then the rest during it. I did not think that I would be able to take them all at the same time. I only slept 5 hours that night. I started at 16.00 on Friday and took the last zone 15.51 the next day. But I made it!

4) Did you enjoy doing the Staminatrix?
I liked doing it but the last lap was very hard. I fell off my bike and hurt my knee and a rib.

5) Was it harder than you expected? Or easier? Or just as you expected?
It was as I expected but it took longer than I first thought.

6) Was it tiring doing all that cycling?
Yes, I was very tired from cycling and also tired of cycling so much. It was a week before I got up on my bike again.

7) Is it one of your proudest medals you have got? (And if not, which one is)
I am very proud of this medal but I am almost more proud of my El Staminatore because I took it by myself. Staminatrix was an event with a lot of people so this made it easier.

8) What was your favourite moment? And the funniest moment?
My favourite moment was when the medal turned up on my phone. I took about 100 screenshots. The funniest that day was probably when we tried to take a zone but there was a wedding ceremony in the zone. We were a bit angry that they did not turf.

Scotland’s Biggest Scout Turf Event[redigera]

The largest Scout event (so far) took place with Pentland Scouts near Edinburgh. On Sunday 20th June, 80 scouts and 25 adults took part in this closed event. The scouts participated in 25 small patrols/teams. They enjoyed two hours of challenging turfing. A corona safe event – well distanced and outdoors! The competition included not only turf, but also a selfie competition.

Pictures on Facebook HERE and HERE. (all pictures with the permission of the individuals and guardians)
Learn more about the competition at the link brassmonkeyevent

Step by step, interest in Turf is expanding and becoming a part of the scout programme in Scotland. Groups can join in and create their own event for local scouts. Send an email to scoutevent@turfgame.com and ask for more details.
A special thanks to Chris Welch and his team for making this event possible.

Turfing Together, Scotland’s first adult turf event: Contributed by VikingB and others.[redigera]

With Turf gaining such momentum in Scotland, it felt like the next step was to hold an event, and on 7th June we held our first open Turf Event in Edinburgh. To try the format, and with the easing of COVID restrictions providing a chance to meet fellow turfers, three of us volunteered and set out to organise. I covered the zone set-up, Hodge on communications, drumming up participation and Kenny as our organiser in chief – or fall guy, should anything go wrong.

After receiving a log in for the event platform, I was ready and excited to start. It is a simple tool to use, even if the date field was a bit wonky, who starts with the year? Our first big snag hit us when we were told about an event embargo in certain parts of the city due to Sprint Championships in 2024. We had to plan zones outside of these areas, and the best bits had already been reserved. We decided on a strip of northeast Edinburgh, from Broughton through to Craigentinny – an area I knew well. I tried to put zones in interesting spots, so people could discover something new, like Bellfield Brewery or the old mill wheel from Bonnington Mill. Where that wasn’t possible, zones were in small lanes, cul-de-sacs and other dead ends. This prevented turfers having to stop in the middle of traffic to get a zone.

Kingslayer kindly looked over the event and gave some great advice about making some of the zones bigger to compensate for any poor GPS signals due to local buildings. We also received advice from others on what could go wrong, and we tried to be ready. Our biggest concern was the timing of the event. Why is it as adults we still get confused with time zones? Would it start on time, when we expected it, especially as we had twenty participants spread across the area? As we counted down to start time, Hodge, Kenny and I stood by checking and ready to do something if it didn’t work, but success and they were off!

Not all the participants were locals. Here is AroonTheToon’s story: “DangerTurfing! I'd like to draw attention to some hazards for any unwary turfers who happen to venture into the Edinburgh area. During an unplanned stop in the capital, I found myself accidentally acquiring a hire bike, enjoying leafy urban cycleways and waterways, and even claiming a zone on a tidal island. I felt compelled to extend my stay and, worst of all, was tracked and traced by the queen of turfers herself (féarglas), and invited to a fun Turf Event that culminated in an entertaining swarm of turfers capturing a Crowdy-21 medal. Thank you to Turfmakers and Edinburgh Turfers for embodying the spirit of fraternity and exploration that Turf brings.

N.B. The event was so successful that artful has organised another one on 22nd July in Livingston.

Surf and Turf – Enjoying the Summer Holidays: Contributed by TheLovely and others[redigera]

Earlier this year Cruachan and I set off for a week’s holiday in the Inner Hebrides on the islands of Coll and Tiree. It was sunny, relaxing and a break away from work but with no zones in either place, it was at times a little pointless! Holiday makers later in the season were more fortunate with Tiree now boasting 8 new zones. More recently I travelled 400 miles to Chester for a few days break. Taking the opportunity to turf in a new area I was astonished to be taking zones from RossEwan, who lives less than 10 miles from me in Scotland. It seems that many of us have been enjoying a break away from home turf…

Many turfers have been exploring areas of Scotland. Tandem should have been collecting some uniques in Copenhagen, but restrictions on international travel meant she ended up in the Scottish Highlands where she combined Munro bagging (a list of Scottish hills over 3,000 feet high) with collecting some very hard earned mountain zones. She says: “Ben Macdui and Cairngorm took all day but the fabulous views were a reward for the effort, and if I’m lucky I might keep them for the whole round.”

Also exploring the highlands and islands were Wintergreen and CSL visiting zones on MonadhCaoin (Mount Keen), BenLomond and BeinnHòb (Ben Hope), which are respectively the easternmost, southernmost and northernmost Munros. That just leaves the most westerly, LadharBheinn, which is quite remote. CSL and Wintergreen also travelled to Islay, the Hebridean island famed for its whiskies. Wintergreen says: “It was pleasantly breezy and midge-free. We took as many turf zones as we could, including a couple by distilleries. However, zones are few and far between, and we found that signal was often a problem, so had to leave some untaken. Islay is a beautiful island, and we enjoyed exploring. We're looking forward to more exploration as we increase our tally of unique zones in the weeks to come.”

SazlDazl comes from a non-touristy town that is lucky enough to 65 zones, so it never occurred to him that a busy place like Keswick would only have three! Especially when he needed points to avoid league relegation at the end of the month. He says: “Luckily I noticed the username of the only other Keswick turfer, ESOCWalter, also on holiday from Scotland. I contacted him to clear the zones to help, and he was ready and willing to assist. My plan was to nip up Cat Bells while the sun shone, then retake, but unfortunately I was distracted by an ice-cream van and missed the 11am zone restart cut-off. Oops!”

In June Jarv’s husband finally achieved his goal of visiting the Knepp rewilding project in West Sussex. For five days a treehouse was their home and whilst her husband was happily ensconced with a pair of binoculars, Jarv was able to get a little turfing in. She told us about her trip: “My first cycling excursion allowed me to take a few isolated countryside zones near Horsham (which I retained for the whole month). I then headed south to explore the bohemian Brighton and Hove and the less bohemian Worthing. Over two days I was able to take nearly all the zones available; lots of seaside and park zones enabled an excellent discovery tour of the area. Alas, the two zones on Brighton Pier were set to elude me as the bodyguard refused my bicycle. However, socks and shoes removed I waded through the waves to take one zone from below. A complete bonus was to find that I was wearing a golden crown! Excitement was short-lived as the resident king or queen soon regained their kingdom. However, it was nice holiday trophy to go with the tan.”

British Mountain Bike Orienteering Championships and Turfing: Contributed by Finreir[redigera]

On the last weekend in June a band of Scottish turfers travelled North to the Moray for the four race British Mountain Bike Orienteering Championships, and of course to take some unique zones on route. MTBO takes place on special large-scale maps showing the rideability of all the paths and tracks with a point-to-point format, visiting the control points in a set numerical order, with no avatar or GPS to aid the navigation.

The weekend highlight was on Friday evening with the British middle distance champs in the glorious terrain of Anagach on the outskirts of Granton-on-Spey. There were opportunities to take a few Turfs in the town and forest too, and the odd crowdy achieved as a bonus! The highly detailed path network in Anagach and the complex moraine and marsh system made for some highly challenging route choice and navigation challenges from the off. Foot orienteers may underestimate the skill required to ride technical singletrack and navigate fluently at the same time, whilst maintaining a flow through speedy SI Air controls by planning ahead. All this at up to three times the speed of foot orienteering. Map Memory and quick assimilation of relevant map detail is key, as is simplification. The rooty, narrow singletrack through the bilberries and ridges put careful navigation and bike handling at a premium. A map flip half way around made the best of the complex terrain areas. Everyone wore wide smiles at the finish as they knew they had taken part in a very special race on a great map.

MTBO is well worth a try to add to the biking and navigation skills needed in Turf. There are Facebook groups for local organisations in Scotland Scottish Mountain Bike Orienteering | Facebook and Sweden MTBO Sverige.

Turf Nicks[redigera]

We’d like to remind all turfers to be mindful and careful when choosing their turn nick. Names that seem amusing in the moment, might on reflection be distasteful, offensive, or unsuitable especially for younger members. If you think a Turf nick is unsuitable, you can e-mail abuse@turfgame.com and you might soon see it changed to something a lot more amusing, the last few changes have been flower-inspired ;)

And a final note from AroonTheToon in Scotland, with a warning about turfing:
“On a recent short break in the Stirling area with my non-turfing girlfriend, I thought I had cracked the art of 'blind/secret turfing' by having the app active whilst we toured various sights and cycle routes (hoping to pick up any zones that we 'happened' to pass through). However, it led to strange looks every time I paused due to a strange woman's voice coming from my pocket. :-O”

Turfa lugnt!/Safe turfing!

//féarglas//TheLovely//Munin (editor)

...if you want to contribute to future Turf insiders, send your story to insider@turfgame.com :)