You are invited to 2 mountain bike races on Mutla Ridge!

• Where: We'll start from here (coordinates in decimal degrees: 29.417348 lat, 47.688069 long) 
• When: 8am (arrive 730am), this Saturday 14th December (race 1) or Saturday 4th January 2014 (race 2)
• Distance: about 20km
• Time: about 2 hours
• Difficulty: easy except for tough, short 600m initial tarmac road climb (race 1) or equally tough sand climb to get to the top of the ridge (race 2)
• Route map (race 1 goes in a clockwise direction, race 2 goes in an anticlockwise direction)
• Facebook group for Mutla Ridge Racers 
• Facebook event for Mutla Ridge Race 1
• Facebook event for Mutla Ridge Race 2
  

More details
 
You're invited to 2 casual mountain bike races on Mutla Ridge this Saturday morning (race 1) and on Saturday 4th January 2014 (race 2). We'll be starting 8am, please arrive 730am for preparation. This invite is going out to everyone in Kuwait not just the Desert Biking Club of Kuwait or members of BIKEq8. Please pass it on to those interested. I offer the races as an accompaniment to your other activities with whatever club you are a part of. 
 
It is not sponsored. There is no entry fee. There is no prize money. It is the first racing I have ever organised. I mean it when I say 'casual'. One might more accurately think of it as a casual ride where people ride as fast as they can and don't slow down if people drop off the peleton. No one will be timing you. See below for how the winner will be determined.
 
It is exactly the same ride as I led Friday 6th December 2013, so I repeat the instructions to get there: For both races we'll start from here (coordinates in decimal degrees: 29.417348 lat, 47.688069 long)  across the road from the concrete watch tower on the small winding tarmac road which goes north up the ridge from the Subiya Highway. 
 
To get there from Salmiya
 
Go west on the 5th ring road. Take a right onto the Doha Spur. Then take a left on to the 80. Then turn right onto the Subiya Highway, as shown here. Just a moment as I tell the others how to get there from Fahaheel...
 
To get there from Fahaheel
 
You'll just have to take the 30 north until you get to the 6th ring road. Then take the Doha Spur to the right and then the 80 to the left. Now you're both on the same road, follow these instructions: 
 
The turn off for the little road up the ridge is 4.4km or about 3 minutes' drive after taking a right off the 80 onto the Subiya Motorway. Just take the first exit off the Subiya Motorway, you'll see it as a big elevated exit which will go up and over the highway. Take this exit, turn left over the motoway and you'll be on the road which heads up Mutla Ridge. Keep going till you see a watch tower on the left, it will be at the first (left) bend in the road after 1.3km or so. Just have a pan around in Google Maps using the links provided and you should be fine to get there. This first link will also work in Google Maps on your smartphone and should be good for giving you turn by turn directions from wherever you are. 
 
Route
 
The route is fairly simple and is the same for both races. The first simply goes clockwise whilst the second goes anticlockwise. See this map. 

•  Race 1: 14th December 2013

The basic idea for race 1 is to head along the top of the ridge to the Return Waypoint (29.446523° lat, 47.732402° long) and then return to the start point along the bottom of the ridge. Note there is a tough climb at the start but it is short. You may have to get off and walk portions if you are unfit. This is the 20km track I recorded on the DBCK ride I lead. We will not follow this route exactly, we will skip the wiggly bits along the ridge edge, as shown in the first map.
 
In more detail, we start across the road from the concrete watch tower and head up the hill on the tarmac road. Once at the top of the ridge we will head rightwards, to this Return Waypoint: 29.446523° lat, 47.732402° long. There are two small hills at this location. The Return Waypoint is on top of the left one. You must go to the top. See photo in this blogpost. This is approximately 10km from the start, less distance if you ride in a straight line to the waypoint. Then we head to the foot of the ridge at the earliest track down. This will require backtracking for a brief distance, it is up to you to spot the location for the descent but it is fairly obvious. We'll then ride along tracks at the foot of the ridge southwest back to the tarmac road and our starting point. It is a requirement that half the distance is covered at the top of the ridge, the other half at the bottom, just like shown in the route at the map provided.

 Obviously if you're serious about winning you'll take the straightest path possible to the Return Waypont once you get up to the top of the ridge on the tarmac road. That's what I'll be doing. There will be a marker at the waypoint we're aiming for so you'll know when to turn around if you don't have a GPS with you. Might be an idea before the start to identify those with a GPS and keep them in your sights during the race, but really the route is very simple and you'll always have the east/west orientation of the ridge for wayfinding. Keep the ridge edge on your right on the way out and on your right on the way back. 

•  Race 2: 4th January 2014

Race 2 will have the same route as race 1 but we will just go in the opposite direction. This means we first go along the bottom of the ridge, then climb up to the top from: 29.442373 lat, 47.727854 long. Note that this is a tough climb and it is sand, so you will probably have to get off and walk your bike up most of it. THIS IS CALLED MOUNTAIN BIKE RACING! Also, the race will end whilst still on top of the ridge, BEFORE the 630 tarmac road: 29.42521,47.685961 long. I do not want an accident with a car or something due to a sprint finish on the road. AFTER THE END OF THE RACE, participants will then take their time gently riding back down the road to the concrete watch tower at the bottom.
  
How the winner will be determined

•  Race 1

The winner will simply be the first person back into the car park directly across the road from the concrete watch tower. DUE TO DANGER FROM CARS, DO NOT RIDE ACROSS THE ROAD AT THE END OF THE RACE. I am not organising a person to watch this line or wield a timer. I am trusting participants to acknowledge the winner amongst themselves if it really comes down to the line. If it is too close to call, it is too close to call :-) I will draw a finish line in the sand in the gap between the berms just before the parking area. You will be shown it before we start the race. 

• Race 2
  

Same deal, except the finish line will be marked at the top at 29.42521,47.685961 long. THERE WILL BE NO ACTUAL RACING ON THE ROAD IN RACE 2. Safety first, this is mountain biking after all ;-)
 
Can cheerleaders attend? Yes! Especially on the hill climbs of both races, we'll really need encouragement! Can people volunteer to be marshals? By all means! Call me on 9722 5615 if you have any questions. If you have talents for organising people let me know and you can take over :-) I'm just doing this because I want to race in Kuwait. 
 
Looking forward to it!
 
Wil