OntTrials

Great to see that the Windsor club is still up and putting on events. Brings back memories of hanging out in Bill Scott's shop/garage in '77, pulling our new Sherpas out of the crates and putting them together. Back in the day of Bobbie Hopkins, Terry Cheney and upwards of 250 others at an MOTA event ready to go! We set up a lot sections at that old Windsor site , there on the 6th Concession , in and around that creek. Fun times. Tom.

Absolutely. If you guys do get another round Martin, round up Crofty, Mike and Dr Tom and I'll make the trip south. Laughs all around. "Doctor ...... This is normal, yes ?".

Cheat notes for those outside Canada and this little tiff... The riders: Basically two pockets of a handful of riders 5,000kms apart. Mostly old poops who have been riding for 30 years. A sprinkling of young blood every once in awhile (when an old poop's kid gets old enough to ride) The sanctioning bodies: WEC (World Enduro Canada) .. surfaced a couple of years ago. Made up of 2 or 3 guys running with the idea of promoting a 'true National Championship' (ie: get Ontario riders to drive 5 days West to BC and attend a couple of events... and then BC to drive to Ontario). CMA (Canadian Motorcycle Assoc).. been around forever, sanctioning body recognized by FIM , run by someone many apparently feel is not interested in promoting trials. p****d off lots of the old poops over the years. The conflict: "How do we unite 100 riders, and build trials across the vast expanse of this fine land" ( I've been hearing that since the first CMA trial I rode in 1974) The battle ground: www.trialscanada.com ...now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Another vote here for the Tobotronc ! We (Team Canada) stuck around Andorra for another few days after the TdN last year and the Tobotronc was one of our diversions. Our experiments lead us to conclude that the most fun was achieved by ..... - occupy a single cart with two persons of 190- 200lbs each. - brake handles slow the cart by pulling UP on them... so place your feet on them like footpegs and hold then DOWN all the way - lean into the turns. - loose your breath from laughing so hard all the way down - exit the cart quickly at the bottom and walk away before the operator notices the wisps of rubber smoke curling up from the trolley wheels - get in line and do it again.

I'd add to that point about the first year being one that a rider does for the pure experience of being in the Scottish. After that, you can go for places. I was lucky enough to fund a one-time effort years ago, and every day found myself dumb-struck by the conditions (6 days of downpours) and energy needed to keep slugging along. On more than a few occasions, I'd ride a section while some VERY well known riders (the WTC lads still rode it back then) were still walking it. I'd then slog across the moors and trails as fast as I could go, following those pitiful little orange flags on the cane sticks. Upon arriving at the next group of sections, I'd see the same rider (or riders) in clean gear, having a cup of soup and talking to the press. Funny that, since they didn't pass me on the loop. Hmmm. Didn't really matter anyway as it was a life dream and I can say I finished. I tell every North American trials rider who is interested in it that they HAVE to get there somewhow and ride. Cheers .. Tom

I drew the following comparison on another trials site to try and look at things from a different angle. In the grand scheme of offroad competition, I've always found trials and speedway to be kissing cousins, so..... How many in the US flocked to buy alcohol-burning Jawa's and take up speedway when Bruce Penhall won the world title back in his day? In case you didn't get in line and snag a bike due to the rush for them, there was another chance when Billy Hamill won in the 90's. I seem to recall the coverage in the US press was about the same for each. Shouldn't that have caused great hordes to park their MX bikes and learn to turn left at full lock? I've ridden speedway bikes. They're an absolute hoot, and cheap to boot if you aren't looking for the latest lay-down Weslake. So why don't I have one? Same reason people watch trials (or try it) and never compete. It's a cool experience, fun to goof around with. But enough to commit to a series and all the gear?... Nah. Anyone know who the current title holder is? Yet in Europe, the speedway GP's pull in tens of thousands of screaming spectators per round. North American (read...US) flocks to events that exhibit in-your-face, one-on-one battles with a personality you either love or hate.... MX, Supermoto, NASCAR, WWE wrestling. Trials requires too much thought, work and patience. It's easier to buy a CRF450 with oodles of trick parts, put on all the armour and sit on the pickup tailgate feeling like a superhero ... before you even start the bike. Who cares what your lap times are, inside that helmet, you're a star.

About 4 yrs ago (?) at the Toronto motorcycle show, we had our club booth set up with a bike of each brand and trials videos playing. Nicky and Tommy Hayden were at the show signing autographs for Joe Rocket on a stage across from the booth. When they were done, they (and Kevin Schwantz) made a bee-line for the latest Montesa. Nicky said that Honda had recently given him one to cross train on. He was still in the US riding AMA Superbike at the time. It was very interesting to see a swarm of people behind those three all wanting to talk to them, yet they were 100% focused on the trials bikes. Asking questions about technique, maintenance, trick parts, etc. Nicky, Tommy and Kevin then stood and watched the WTC vidoes for awhile..... completely blown away by Dougie and the lads. They asked where they could get copies of the vid, thanked us and headed off. The best part was that when they first stepped up and were inspecting the bike closely, one of our members walked up to Nicky and asked the standard 'show' question...."So, do you ride a motorcycle now?" He just smiled and answered .."Yes, for awhile now"

*lol* .... wasn't patting myself on the back. A fictitious/sarcastic anecdote offered up as an analogy to why riders out there were taking exception to the loophole that can be used to gain National points due to lack of riders.

Wow... this parallels some that happened to me so closely it's scary. About 30 yrs ago I used to do stunts. And I mean really whicked stuff. None of the other teenagers on the neighbouring farms would (or could) jump off rooftops or climb trees like I could. I kicked serious butt. A couple of years ago I decided that my desk job just wasn't filling me with the sense of accomlpishment that I used to feel when I was giong 'gags', so I devised a plan. I went to 5 or 6 movies shoots in and around Toronto and watched the second units set up and perform stunts very closely. This would give me the information I needed to break the industry wide open the following year when I sprung my plan into action. From the sidewalk, I could learn everything I needed to know. I even talked to others who were standing there, and discovered that I was the only one who had a burning desire to show the movie industry how it should really be done. Based on that, and the fact that I only counted 3 actual stunt performers on the sets, I realized that I was the one of the top 5 stunt performers in Canada !! I was thrilled! So you can imagine my heartbreak when I applied for my SAG and ACTRA cards with credentials like those and they turned me down !! And on top of that, I was told in no uncertain terms that I would not be receiving an award for my work that year. How dare they !!. Needless to say, I informed those associations taht I wanted nothin more to do with them, and stomped off. I hope that they are crying in thier milk now that they realize what a loss the industry is facing. I hereby apologize to movie fans everywhere who will be subjected to watch inferior gags in action movies in the coming years since I won't be there. Enjoy your Bollywood love stories , since that's all you'll be seeing from now on. (fade to credits)