overthehill

I'll take one

jarvis will be the man to beat however the big unknown is the bike - 4st Shercos do not have a good track record in Scotland. Dibs has the bike and some hard earned experience - can he hold it together? either way there looks like a real chance of a 4stroke win. lots of other contenders though - in Scotland anything can happen.

to my knowledge in 1965 there was no www and the only computers were owned by NASA. - this could answer the question. I managed to sneak a (digital) camera into the pre'65 office (its ok they didnt know what it was) and took a photo of the programmes being printed. - (light wasnt very good due to the gas lamps)

if only this was the case - a risk assessment assesses the risk - the important thing to do then is to control that risk. - this is where most fall down. it is the implementation and monitoring of these control measures that matters. In my 'other' job - the one i get paid for (not very well i may add) i regulate and enforce on legislation - Above anything else the thing that matters is having competent people managing the risks. More and more i see shelves full of risk assessments in neat binders but none of them converted into on-the-ground action. sitting in a classroom and finding paragraphs in an ACU handbook bears no relation to how competent an individual is in laying out a trial. when i got my CofC certificate - my Mother-in-law sat the same course and test that i did - and passed, but she would be first to admit that she couldnot act as CofC for a major trial. dont get me wrong - i believe in good meaningful training but it has to be part of the picture not the only answer. What we do have are many many experienced officials out there with a wealth of knowledge - ther danger is that they get disilusioned by being told "your no longer competent" as you dont have the right bit of paper - lets use these individuals to mentor and pass on their knowledge to new blood; quite how its done i dont know, but if we are serious about protecting ourselves in a court of law then we should think about it. Right - i'm off to finish writing my risk assessments for next week !

There are usually a few press bikes around, as john said these are signed-on and covered by our insurance. they will all have an official "SSDT 2007 PRESS" plate on their bikes but they should NOT be riding against the trial . There will also be some traveling officials around this year to ensure that everything runs smoothly. but again they will have official plates. To anyone reading this thread 'cold' please dont get the wrong idea - we welcome spectators and only ask that you act responsibly and consider the long term future of the event - please do your bit to show that trials riders are considerate and a credit to biking, and we can all enjoy many more SSDTs. Above all have a great time and enjoy yourself. see you next week

There is of course a way that you can legally ride your bike out to the remotest of sections and enjoy the day watching all of the riders competing, then ride your bike all the way back again and be thanked by the organisers. Observe !!!

superb yamfan; i think the acu should adopt your matrix. seriously; is this another paper chasing exercise that will prove that a clerk of the course is literate but will have no bearing on whether he/she is truly competent? common sense must prevail or we are going to scare the true enthusiasts away from this sport.

4ourtea if you sign on as an official we will give you a yellow bib and you can try it for yourself ! -

you forgot c) Outside assistance applies not only to fixing your bike 10.2 Exclusion is the penalty for breach of the following supplementary regulations ... d) for recieving outside assistance and by the end of the week your body will be shot, your bike wrecked but your mental arithmetic will be improved

Look after your bike - especially in the sections where you could break levers/bars mastercylinders etc - if you dont break it you wont have to fix it. - also on the road - if this is your first scottish you will never have ridden your bike for so long on the road - back it off, its got to last all week remember. next the routecard - it has a load of information on it including a rough map - note the section group letters as you go through them and the mileages between them - if you miss out a group your out of the awards. some of the most experienced riders carry little more than a spare tube, some dogsh** and a little pencil. - the pencil is to tick off the groups they do and work out their times. - get your time wrong and you could regret it - ask Dabs!! finally - enjoy it - as Gizza says, you will at times wonder why you are subjecting yourself to this and vow never to come back again, but your first scottish it is an experience you will never forget, take a few moments to look around you as you ride through some of the most remote and wonderful parts of Scotland, we are priveliged to be allowed to ride our bikes over these mountains - appreciate and enjoy them. and lastly - watch out for the green bits (photo E Kitchen)

this is the only map i use - (do you want to borrow it Kinell?)

heard nothing yet - wish they'd get their finger out and post them though - i'm sure the've nothing better to do. ps Sundays route is not going to be quite that simple Gizza - i hear it will involve some compulsory formation riding.

may is the only time i'd stay in a tent in fort william - from June on its not the cold or the wet its the MIDGES that get you in the end.

Gizza - you know by now that monday is always slack on time. believe me you'll need it though when you see Lagnaha ha ha. (glad im not riding)

If your lucky enough to have an entry this year - you'll be riding down devils staircase in May We did think of ways of reversing the days route but i think that going backwards up Doire Dhamh might prove difficult ! - although i often used to end up coming down the hill backwards

This is either a huge and complicated subject and one which would make anyone with any sense avoid having anything to do with organising events. or its a simple matter of common sense. when Atomant states this would only apply if the event was organised by paid employees of the club -the fact that the majority of clubs are not 'employers' saves them from the might of a whole raft of safety legislation - the bottom line is that we do have to exercise a common law duty of care. The inherant risks associated with motor sport are accepted by competitors although i accept that this is constantly being challenged by the claim culture. The bigger risks are probably with the issue of spectators at trials. Other motorsport has controlled entry where spectators are advised of the risks associated with the sport but trials takes place over open country with free access. I prefer not to go down that line- otherwise we would all be sitting at home every weekend. Apply common sense, have competent people organising your events and lets just get out there and enjoy our sport. back to the original question, the reason for a club to become Ltd is financial - a club that has a turnover of tens of thousands of pounds needs the comfort of being a limited company.

What you need is a 1970 D14 engine, with a 1990s yam or fantic alloy barrel (chrome bore) machined to look like a bantam one, and matching one-ring piston. Decent mikuni carb (1990s) suitably hidden, 2001 Honda forks suitably modded to look

gutted at missing it John never say never

the trials lads did us proud and great to see the schoolboys putting on a show as well.

Just to confirm the date for the National Plaza trial at Lauder it is on the 25th March - not the 11th as printed in fridays (23rd Feb) TMX News 'regs available' Hopefully it will be corrected for next friday. see TC calendar for details and entry form

not my photo unfortunatley - i just found it somewhere (probably google ) and thought it summed up rannoch moor

should also be back here this year its bad enough riding these sections without several hundred spectators watching your every '5' sorry guys - dont know how to resize photos from bucket?? Eric Kitchen shot by-the-way (as if i needed to tell you)

the views inland are ok as well

I just want to say a big thank you to Highland Lassie for this weekends work - You guys say riding the Scottish is "a bit like work" well what HL does IS REAL WORK. And to manage to get all of the payments and numbers and reserve lists sorted out in her spare time over the weekend was over and above the call of duty. Thanks HL - we all owe you a wee voddy.