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playwithgravity

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  1. Thats true. 2 Montessas, 1 Gas Gas, and 0 Betas in Pro.
  2. Freixa won it today, with Pat and Andrew in tow.
  3. Shows are sort of a double edged sword. Yes, it gets it in front of people, but they also see the show and think they could never do that sort of thing. If you are doing a show strictly to promote the sport and gain riders, you really need intermediate and novice riders there as well as Pros. There are a few shows I have done that I reached out to the local club and essentially offered them a booth for free that they could have some promo material for anyone interested in seeing more of the actual competitions. Unfortunately, each time I have tried this, no one was able to do it, or even just have promo for me to hand out. And these were pretty large missed opportunities. I will say, I have a few projects in the works that may help the sport immensely. Both of them are a bit of a twist compared to traditional trials, but will also get it in front of massive audiences (Well, massive in comparison anyways.)
  4. I recently received a survey in my email specifically for riders that rode the national series in 2012, but not in 2013. Many of the questions were asking as to why I chose not to ride this season, and, judging by some of the available answers, it appears they had noticed the topic on this forum started by Martin. Now, I can't say for certain as to if this is the first year they have done this type of survey or not, since this is the first year I haven't ridden nationals since I started in '03. I would assume this is a first just judging by the drastic decline this season. I must give them credit though, at least they are addressing it.
  5. It is more complicated than sections being too hard, I agree. I've essentially signed up for the hardest class this nation has to offer. And obviously there will be some really hard trials as compared to others. Last season was an epidemic. Now, I didn't see the scores for AZ and NM, but judging by the eastern rounds, it still is a factor. But, combine that with the hassle we have been consistantly getting about made up rules and it makes for not so much fun. If we were getting a bit of payment out of the deal, we could at least look at it as, maybe it isn't all that fun, but we do get paid a bit, so it's worth it. However, reality says that won't be happening anytime soon. With that being said, it might be tough to address the lack of the other classes out there. Obviously payment isn't an option, so what else can we do to make it more enjoyable? I was thinking a saturday night BBQ for all the riders right after awards. Walmart is good for sponsoring gift cards, so the food cost could be nothing. Also, possibly get, say a $500 sponsorship from somewhere, and buy rear tires with it. Maybe several sets of grips too. As for giving those away, it could be done several way. Draw a random rider's name. Maybe pick a couple random classes to give to the winners, or top three. Or, top 5 in the class with the most riders in it. And DEFINITELY advertise that way ahead of time to attempt to draw some entries. I did actually run into a guy in Sturgis that watched the AZ national. He said he heard about it from a friend of a friend of a friend. He could find no advertising at all and no markings. He said he heard it was in the Haulapai mountains, so he just started driving and was lucky enough to stumble upon it. Marking and advertising has always been terrible, generally speaking, at nationals since I started them in 02. The worst offender was Texas in 2011. I had a girlfriend that was there to spectate. The trial itself was waaaaaay out of the way as it was. The course had a 12 mile loop with roads all over the place, and supposedly signs directing spectators to sections. She drove around for 3 hours, never finding a single section, got p****d and left. On the flip side, Donner was always amazing at getting spectators. They grouped sections and had trolleys running to the groups, making it super easy to watch. Lets face it, the more people we get this in front of, the more chance we have to get some new riders.
  6. "You don't like punching out on most of the sections ? then move down a class. Sorry to be so direct but that's the way I see it." And that logic there is exactly why half the Pros are missing this season. Several rounds last season had the 3rd place rider coming in with close to 100 points. It put a great challenge of for Pat and Cody, and meanwhile ran the rest of us off.Colorado had a section EVERYBODY in the Pro class punched thru. Does that seem acceptable? I understand there will be sections I can't do, and there should be so as to put a challenge on the better riders. I'm ok with that. However, when you have half the class of 10 riders punching thru 4-6 sections, you have to admit that maybe our class placement isn't the problem here. Chuck said it. We do it because it's fun. Those types of trials aren't fun. So, we quit doing it. Simple as that.
  7. That says it right there. There are other factors as well too, like the difficulty of the sections and the section marshalls. Colorado was a great example. Us pros, most of which DO pay for our own travel expenses and bikes and DO NOT make any money from it (despite popular belief ont his particular forum) are being told we must wear a helmet to walk the section, usually after parking the bike at the bottom of the hill and walking to the top. We are also threatened with 5s if our minder enters a section without asking, even if its THEIR rider in the section. One section even had a scorer telling us we couldn't walk a section if there was a rider in it. I don't blame the scorers as they are just doing what they are told. the question is, who told them these were rules? None of them are, I looked them up. Couple that with REALLY difficult sections (Keith had almost 100 points, and that was good enough for third) and I think you can see how much fun riding Pro is. In other words, we pay good amounts of money to essentially punch thru sections, tear good bikes and good bodies up, then get threatened with a 5 anyways if we don't abide by a rule that doesn't exist. Granted, as Chuck pointed out, the meat of the nationals isn't in the upper classes. However, Pro is the premier class, and I think it sends a powerful message when THAT many of us leave, especially when it looks like no one in the next year will be stepping up to fill in. Kind of takes away from the prestige of competing at nationals at any level...
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