norrimac

My and my kid are driving up to Fort W from Mallorca for the SSDT. His first visit at all, my first visit in 30 years...(Where did THEY go?) We're vanning the bikes up there so we don't have to stop ANYWHERE in France. (Maybe that's just me.) Question: what's the situation re: B&Bs etc? Will we have trouble getting someplace to stay in the vicinity? Any advice would be very welcome. Thanks all in advance. Norman

John...? Moffat? Of Arnott?

Guilty as charged! Well bugger me! Aye, Dan Reid's right enough!!! Okay, I give up - which Big John would this be????

Aye, Bathgate to be exact. I escaped in 1988. Used to be the manager of the Bathgate Palais, if that rings a bell. Best mate was a guy called Greg Boni, of Boni's Ice Cream Shop fame. We both had Suzuki SP370s and rode a lot in the Highlands when it was (more or less!) okay to do so. We hung about in Jim Allen's Bike shop (Vic Allan's brother.) Weekends were in the Bathgate hills on a vast piece of land that the local farmer allowed us to use. Great fun. The laws in Spain are totally different as the hills, although mostly in private ownership, are pretty much open to all. The Guardia Civil have KTMs and little BMWs and they used to carry a rifle in a holster running down the front forks. Wish they still had - maybe they could pick off those b******* quads at 1000 paces! What's really good here is that because the land is pretty accessible but CAN be closed, the bikers are very careful not to upset landowners and work with them to an extent to protect the land. We fit eco-friendly tyres in order not to rip up the goat tracks that we follow. Plus ALL Spanish kids grow up on bikes as they can get a moped/50cc scooter at age 14. You can't sit a car test here till 18, so Spanish drivers have virtually all rode bikes, although not all have ridden big bikes. Trials scene in Spain is big - about the same as the UK, but the Enduro scene is much bigger, due to access to land. Plus there are a lot of tracks that are actually unmetalled public roads, so high speed practice is easy. Sports biking is huge here too, with local lad Jorge Lorenzo breathing hard up Rossi's tailpipe. Anyway Big John, thanks for the help. Based on what you and the guys have said, we're having a rethink on which bikes to bring. (We're vanning up the road.) We might bring the BMW 1100S and a Triumph Scrambler 900 so we can get a wee bit of touring in too. Adios the noo! Norman.

That's great, thanks very much. Based on that, looks like we definitely won't need to waste a new set of knobblies. Besides, we all know that badgers, squirrels and bunny rabbits provide more traction... Andat - stay in touch - there are loads of places on Mallorca you can ride here without getting into bother. The local offroad trials/enduro clubs collaborate with the fuzz when these w******s on quads go where they shouldn't. A bunch of these idiots recently ruined most of a field of crops and it was one of our lads who got a reg. no and got them lifted. Brill. Our local club has 1 Superintendent and one Chief Super as active riding members. Which helps. See some of you guys in Fort W. Look out for a loud KTM with a reg. plate that starts with 'IB'. (Islas Balears = Balearic Islands.) Great forum. Glad I found it! Norman

Great stuff guys! Many thanks! No way would I go off-road and jeopardize the SSDT. Further, my son would lose his international competition licence. It's over 30 years since I attended my last SSDT so I wanted to be sure. Even back then, the only 'offroad' was along farm tracks and not in the hills or near the sections. We're driving up for the event and for the creik, not to offroad. If it had been possible, that would've been a bonus, but it's the the reason for coming. I want my son to experience the atmosphere. (And the rain.) Question: is General Wade's road still open to vehicles? We did that on bikes and Land-Rovers too. Thanks again all, that helps the planning. (And will save 2 sets of knobblies!) Norman. (Originally West Lothian.)

Hi guys (& gals?) I'm new here and Jeez, I'm getting old... I did a lot of club trials and we used to go to the SSDT regularly in the mid 70's as a spectator. (Bultaco Frontera 370 Enduro.) Continued biking ever since and I'm about to start Classic trialing again. (57!) I live in Mallorca so it's gonna be a Montesa or a Bulto or an Ossa. Trials is big here if on the dry side! No streams & no rivers except when it rains. Then we get torrents that would wash away Ewan McGregor complete with GS. But there's loads of enduro & off-roading except in July/August and then the cops chase the young 'uns coz they'll start forest fires. (The cops have KTMs.) I'm going to the SSDT this year with my lad who's an enduro rider with a Spanish International licence. He's been brought up in Spain and I want to take him up the Glens before I get too decrepit and have to buy a 50cc Mobylette with a supermarket basket tied to the back mudguard with hairy string. (All the rage for old guys in Spain.) Back in the 70s, we used to follow the trial (to some extent) off-road, although even at that time it wasn't quite legal to do so. Hence I class myself as an off-road hooligan. But the local Polis didn't really bother. I gather this kind of outlandish behaviour is totally banned these days - understandably, and I'm not bitching about it. (Bitch, bitch and bitch again...) But we're certainly not going to consider going off-road as them's the rules. I need to do a bit more walking to get rid of the flab anyway. I have a question for the forum as loads of you will have rode or attended the SSDT: Are there any off-road routes around Fort Willie where we can ride legally? We're on road legal XT600 Yam and a KTM 625. I'd love for my lad to be able to experience REAL Scottish off-roading with REAL rain, rocks & streams. That'll larn'im! Thanks in advance - Norman. PS If anybody's considering biking on Mallorca, or know anybody who's doing so, contact me at norrimac@gmail.com and I'll be glad to help with routes etc.