Cone-trol Mayhem Melts Minds in Thornlie! 
On Sunday, April 6, Thornlie and its unsuspecting neighbouring ‘hoods—Canning River, Huntingdale, Gosnells and Langford—were swarmed by saddle-strapped navigators for the Thornlie MTBO (Mountain Bike Orienteering, or - as some now call it - Maprun, Trails, Bikes & Oops).
With a double-sided A3 beast of a map boasting 100 controls (yes, one hundred), competitors had to think fast, pedal faster, and cone-sult their inner compass. From e-bikers to mountain grinders, from commuter cruisers to two-footed thrill-seekers, over 40 adventurers set off—once a tech-nado at the start was calmed.
Despite some early tech hic-MapRuns, a massive thank you goes to Jack Dowling, who spent his morning furiously wrangling wires, calming chaos, and getting us all rolling—under enormous pressure and with even more grace. Jack, you're the real MVP (Most Valuable Programmer)!
Course-setters Liisa Hirvonen and Tash Thackray dished up a control buffet fit for every level—from map-happy newbies to elite snack-hunters aiming to scoop 'em all. And just to sweeten the trail, Tash made a bold Facebook-flavoured promise: anyone who snagged all 100 controls within 2 hours would get a free ice cream. The stakes? Chill-icious.
Enter Ricky Thackray. He solved 99 problems... but one control was definitely one. Just one control (No-27) shy of the dairy-based glory, Ricky returned heartbroken, ice cream-less, and in desperate need of a choco-late to lie down.
See you next time, you cone-trol-freaks, map magicians, and two-wheeled treasure hunters! Stay "punny" and pedal on.
Thanks also go to Tash and Liisa for setting an interesting and varied course for us all to enjoy.
The first 3 placegetters were: 1st Ricky Thackray, 2nd Hadrien Devillepoix, 3rd Nigel Wade. Special mention also to some bikeless competitors who tackled the courses on foot and still amassed impressive scores!
Full results are available on Eventor.
Photos: (top) Route planning, by Tach Thackray; (bottom) Setting up maprun, by Rob West.
Ngalak kaaditj nidja Noongar Boodjar. Koora-Yeyi-Kalyakool.