mattr

I heard that it was between Guatamala and Antartica... and Guatamala won. Looks like Antartica will be the following year. Hopefully, they will return to the USA someday. I really enjoyed the Duluth and TTC world rounds the last couple years.

The blue and green routes at TTC are exactly what our Experts and Pros need to compete on at every National event. If you want easier sections, then don't compete at this level. If you don't raise the bar on section difficulty, there is no motivation to improve as a rider. We are not talking about Intermediate or Sport riders here... these are Experts and Pros. They are supposed to be our best. If they can't handle the World Junior and Youth sections, then they don't deserve recognition as "Expert" or "Pro".

I think our National guys train and compete on sections not up to "world" standards. It looked like the Experts and Pros were riding this type of terrain for the first time in many cases. Why not make our upper class sections more difficult (more world-type sections)? Sure, the points will be higher for all competitors but that is part of learning. Increase the overall challenge and our top guys will improve over time. If our top guys are scoring low points in our normal Nationals, then the sections are not challenging enough. Not to point fingers here, but Geoff Aaron is a great rider but looked like an amateur against the World Juniors.

This year the Nationals are being held in conjunction with the WTC. So... Geoff Aaron should be riding at TTC this year, but for National points most likely.

This was my dilema. I bought a trials bike and rode for a few years. However, there were no good practise locations nearby and the only chance I got to ride was in competitions. I had to drive several hours one-way to the event, ride all day, and get back late at night. With a family, it was just to hard to get away for trials in my area. I ended up selling my bike and now only ride my enduro bike. I love the sport of trials, but not the way we do it in America.

You indicate this is at full closed throttle right? My bike will chug along in 1st gear with closed throttle (idle only) and feel choppy like you indicated. If I did this in a higher gear like 2nd or 3rd, the motor would probably stall. When riding at closed throttle in a section, I am always lightly slipping the clutch to smooth the power transfer and/or cracking the throttle open slightly. Note: if I tried this on my enduro bike, the engine would easily stall in any gear. I think the only reason you get away with it on a trials bike is the heavier flywheel.

It would be nice if the TTC (or somewhere else) was selected. Duluth was a great location, but after 3 times in a row and new location is needed.

Bruce did a nice job spotting the gap between the rock and marker. You could even hear a guy in the background asking if the marker was still there. A pro should always look for these advantages. If the event organizers wanted to prevent this, all they had to do was attach the marker to the rock. No way around it but up the rock face.

Alfie did good for his first trial. Seeing how the obstacle was less than shoulder width, he got through with a three. Dougie did a good job as minder. I wonder if he argued with the observer for a clean. All humor aside... congrats to the entire family!

Just thought I would pass this along... I was watching Two Wheel Tuesday on Speed TV and noticed that Greg White (the host) had a clip board with a ERE sticker on the back. I thought it was cool to see a bit of trials advertising.

Sting32, I've been to both 2002 and 2004. I hope to make is again this year. The weekend pass is cheap like $30. I chose to fly into Duluth and rent a car. I didn't feel like driving 10 hours which is similar to your distance. The cost of the trip can be a cheap as you wanted depending upon hotel vs. camp, fly vs. drive, etc. For me, I treat it like a vacation, enjoy the trip, and cost is last on my list. I would highly recommend going to see the World Round. Those guys are simply incredible to see in person. Videos don't give you the full perspective. You can find out more details at www.worldroundusa.com Hope you make the trip! Matt

GasGas USA site should have been listed too. They have regular updates and provide a great technical section by Jon Stoodley and Jim Snell. The Sherco site is also very good with the technical/service information provided. My vote goes to GasGas USA (www.gasgas.com)

Andrew, If I understood correctly, the low gear is up and the high gear is down. Kind of backwards from a normal bike. Anyways, it is a great tip and when my little ones get old enough the Kawa-zuki will definitely be considered. Do you know if the Yamaha PW50 has multiple gears? Also, how did you find out about this modification? Matt

Johnny, Johnny, Johnny... how could you let my deep hidden secrets out? Speaking of dressing up... we all know that you like running around in your hula skirt shaking that fat a*** of yours. So where are the photos that Copemech asked for... we would like to see you in your prom dress.

Now, if only Ringo's bed-buddy ChrisUK were on this site... it would be like the good old days. Wait... maybe Ringo is ChrisUK??? I always thought Ringo liked to play with himself.