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Earlier Ssdt.


laird387
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Hi,

Back to 1962 when Mick Ransom took his Francis-Barnett works bike to third place in the Scottish. This excellent image from the medium format camera of Gordon Francis.

Mick dropped 29 marks, behind Gordon Jackson on 18 and Sammy Miller on 8 lost.

Enjoy.

post-19290-0-73561200-1391438657_thumb.jpg

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Hi,

1962 was not one of Mick Andrews better years in Scotland, with his works AJS in 347cc format he only managed a moderate placing well down the Special Fist Class awards list, dropping 66 marks.

Nice picture of the bike, though.

Enjoy.

post-19290-0-38796700-1391439282_thumb.jpg

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Hi,

Couldn't resist showing you this image!

A lovely Ken Jones image from the 1959 Scottish Six Days trial that shows one of the characters of our sport, Jack Oliver.

Jack badly wanted to ride in the Scottish and there were various rumours suggesting that the sidecar class in the event was unlikely to survive. Rumours that proved to be entirely accurate, as it happens.

Sadly none of Jack's regular passengers could get enough time off to do the six days so Jack persuaded his seventy-years-old Mum that she needed a holiday in the Highlands!

The old lady did him proud, sitting stoically in the chair throughout the week, no matter where they went. What is more, they finished and not in last place in class and reports at the time said that Mum appeared to be thoroughly enjoying herself!

Jack had won the class in 1958 with Derek Allen in the chair. They are seen in the second picture repairing a puncture before

attempting Town Hall Brae on the Thursday in 1958.

Enjoy.

post-19290-0-75217000-1391682968_thumb.jpg

post-19290-0-12188800-1394206181_thumb.jpg

Edited by laird387
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Hi,

Couldn't resist showing you this image!

A lovely Ken Jones image from the 1959 Scottish Six Days trial that shows one of the characters of our sport, Jack Oliver.

Jack badly wanted to ride in the Scottish and there were various rumours suggesting that the sidecar class in the event was unlikely to survive. Rumours that proved to be entirely accurate, as it happens.

Sadly none of Jack's regular passengers could get enough time off to do the six days so Jack persuaded his seventy-years-old Mum that she needed a holiday in the Highlands!

The old lady did him proud, sitting stoically in the chair throughout the week, no matter where they went. What is more, they finished and not in last place in class and reports at the time said that Mum appeared to be thoroughly enjoying herself!

Now that's a story !!!
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Brilliant story.

I think in these days the trial was about 1000mls long?

Can't imagine how heavy that unit was and to bring mum along seems insane.

Today we've got bikes you could tuck under your arm.

Totally spoiled now.

Edited by breagh
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Hi, breagh,

I will put together some very early images of the Scottish, it really was a total endurance event - not only the distances, but all of them on very rough tracks, and rarely any suspension worth mentioning.

As you so rightly say - a bit molly-coddled today!

Enjoy.

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Hi,

Another image from a long past era.

On the Friday of the 1958 Scottish Six Days Trial Brian Stonebridge climbs Loch Eild Path, with Kinlochleven in the background, on his way to the best 250cc award, with 39 marks lost during the week.

In 1958 Loch Eild Path consisted of fifteen sub-sections where Gordon Jackson dropped just a single mark to take his total to 6 for the week and arch rival Sammy Miller slumped to lose thirteen in total.

Enjoy.

post-19290-0-50097300-1391878562_thumb.jpg

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Hi breagh, et al.,

I promised some much earlier SSDT images, well here is one from the 1932 event, showing the Ariel works team of. L to R, J. White, J. E. Edwards and Len Heath.

The total mileage during the week, which by 1932 had been reduced, was still over 500 and was quite a grand tour of the highlands, with night stops in places like Perth, Oban and Dingwall. On the Dingwall (on the eastern side of Scotland, above Inverness) day they crossed to the west coast, climbing over the highest mountain pass in Great Britain, Bealach-na-baa between Tornapress and Applecross, had a refreshment break at the Temperance Hotel, now the Applecross Inn (which Arthur Lampkin will vouch for - it is no longer a refuge for the temperance movement), then back over the Pass of Cattle to Dingwall.

Note that the bikes do not have any suspension at the rear and girder forks damped only by friction pads on the front. None of the roads were paved - all were just rough tracks, and there was no wet weather gear that worked.

Other than that it was a ride in the park.........

Enjoy.

post-19290-0-22380800-1391886855_thumb.jpg

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Hi,

Another image, this time from the 1925 event.

If you have climbed the 'Pass of Cattle' to Applecross, you will surely recognise this view, virtually unchanged in the last 90 years.

In those days each of the designated 'observed hills' had an official 'Observer', whose job was to watch the way that the rider performed in the section and then mark, and sign, his 'observations' in a booklet that each rider carried. The annotations that were entered in the booklet were in abbreviated form, one of which was 'NNS' which was the shortened version of 'Not Normally Seated', (the equivalent of a single 'dab' today.)

Enjoy.

post-19290-0-86067000-1391937234_thumb.jpg

Edited by laird387
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