cleanorbust

In order of owning: 1973 Dalesman 125 trials - wonder if it would be rideable in any of today's sections 1969 Bultaco sherpa 250 - sound bike with chrome Miller frame. Made everything easier to ride over than the Dalesman 1970 Bultaco Sherpa 250 - good bike, but felt long and heavy 1973 Montesa Cota 250 - never ran right, glad to get rid 1974 Ossa MAR 250 - inspiring bike 1977 Suzuki RL250 - smooth, electric-like motor, cycle parts a bit dodgy 1977 Yamaha TY175 - perhaps my favourite, had my best results on it, good for developing "attacking" skills 1978 Montesa Cota 348 - classic case of being overbiked I'm afraid 1979 Montesa Cota 250 - easy to ride, plenty of grip 1981 Fantic 200 - nice "tight" bike with good controllability 1982 Fantic 240 - good bike but could never make it grip as I should have 1987 Yamaha TY250 mono - very nice 1988 Yamaha TY250R mono - one of my very few brand new bikes, felt much more "taught" than the original, felt like a works rider for a while! Had a break from trials from 1992 to 2005 Currently ride a Sherco 200, haven't tried any other modern stuff

The point of view that trials offers a spectacle which would amaze many people is understandable, but the other side of the coin is that there is something to be said for keeping it low-key. This reduces risk of land abuse by unauthorised enthusiasts riding where they like because they've got switched on to the idea of riding their bike off-road. Besides, queues at sections are already long enough in my part of the world!

I've tried woolly gloves with rubber dimples on the palm and fingers with good results:

In terms of a percentage of the average national wage, I think the

I've recently returned to trials after several years away and onething I have been aware of is how lenient observers are these days. Several times I've "fived" a section three or four times over during one attempt but when I get the results I see I've been given a three because I've kept heaving and pushing until the bike was through the ends cards. The fairness of this could be debated ad infinitum - yes it may be encouraging to new riders and gives people "the benefit of the doubt" (even when there's no doubt it's a stop) but those who do keep forward momentum don't score any advantage over those who don't.

I was also riding at Scarborough and noticed Duncan MacDonald had won the Clubman B class on his Cub. If I'm not mistaken, I remember him from the mid-1970s era, I think, when he regularly rode an Ossa-powered bike in the Scottish with his own monocoque frame and other mods. Personally, I think it's great that someone from that era can still put it across the youngsters and can show that a bike as outwardly unsuitable as a Cub can compete with and beat the latest in European technology. Just goes to show that a good rider a) never really loses it and can be good on anything. Who really needs to upgrade from an 04 bike to an 05?

Just a general tip on improving drum brakes - make sure the leading edge of each lining is chamfered with a file. This helps to get the lining contacting the drum over maximum surface area.

Supporting his own club's centre trial (Scarborough)

Could be that trials on the telly, albeit indoor, is also having an effect in recruiting new riders to the sport.

Re: Riding in Mud Some tips for riding in mud. Most if this just an extension of good technique for any conditions: - if you want to turn right, or climb a slope with a camber which is high on the right, put your weight on the left footrest, and vice versa. - treat the throttle as if you're tightening a clamp on your vital parts, i.e. be extremely gentle with movements of the twistgrip. If you think you're being careful with the throttle now you probably need to apply twice as much finesse to get it right. - practice riding a gear higher than you might think is right. This can help with grip but you need to get used to handling the high gear in the "nadgery" bits of the section. Textbooks will tell you to run tyres with 6psi front and 4psi rear at the most. In practice you can mostly get away with less than this in the rear, which will improve grip further. It's amazing how many riders run too-hard tyres (look at the lack of bulge in the sidewalls when they're on the bike). The same people tend to slew sideways on greasy cambers.

As a 200 Sherco rider I have to agree it is the bike which most reduces my score. As I drop most of my marks in the "precision" situations of edging round tight corners the 200 is a distinct advantage over bigger bikes. If I five a four foot step on the 200 I'd be doing the same thing on a 250/270, i.e. it's the rider not the bike that can't do it.

It already is in T&M News - trial is at Ouseburn.