scorpa3

Ditto Ditto; plus I really enjoy riding around with a lot of other people who fit into the same heading, all on our on motorbikes. Life is so good!

Talk of receiving money for setting out trials was done tongue in cheek. I never have and certainly have no intention of doing so at this time..... however- what happens in tyhe future when the 'old guard' have gone? Our club has no youngsters. We run a round of the Youth Championship and have youth classes at all our trials, yet still no youths. I can see the point in the future where we have to make it worth while for people to help organise. Either that or stop putting on trials. What would you prefer?

Nice one! That sums up our local trials scene very nicely. Here's some more- For most trials you have to have an ACU affiliation card which you have to apply for, carry around and looks like a licence... but isn't. Some events have numbers on the front, some have numbers on the back as well and some use bibs. Some sections you observe yourself, some you observe each othe and some have an official called an observer. and Observers are the most important person at a trial. Some know the rules book inside out, some have never done it before and are doing the best they can but have never seen the rule book.

Ohh I wish I could do woodwork like that. No I'm pleased to say that wa the work of a real craftsman!

Very nice gate at the bottom of that section. Best piece of fence on the whole farm!

Stating which rules the club are going to use doesn't really help the problem. There are two sets (plus BTC/FIM) of rules and strong opinions why each set is the best. You will never convince the hard core of riders to give up their preffered option volunterily. I personally think we should all go full non stop. But there are also good reasons for doing/not doing this, here are my thoughts. The 'a stop is a one' rule which the majority of clubs use, is almost never observed correctly as many observers do not know the complete set of rules. Since this system was introduced, (as Bilco noticed above) I personally have rarely seen a mark given for stopping and not once seen a five given for a stationary bounce, despite seeing stationary bounces over and over again. I often have to explain the rules to a new observer five minutes after the trial should have started. It's hard enough to grasp the 0,1,2,3 with a five for, crashing, stalling or going the wrong way. Never mind the other stuff about stopping with their feet down or bouncing. We've got into a pickle and what makes it even worse is that having adopted the FIM version of the rules a few years back, the FIM then changed again... hence the BTC fiasco of a third set of rules. There's no one to blame for this mess but none the less we are in it. Sorry, this has all been covered on numerous occasions in the past. I'll stop now.

John Cowley let me have a go on his Rev4 after last weeks trial and I was able to ride it in the sections that we'd just done. The Rev4 feels as if it would be perfect for a novice or clubman rider. I was impressed how soft and forgiving it was, which sounds the opposite from the new Sherco from what you say Ian. I haven't been on one of them yet Pete although I watched one close up at the British Champs a few weeks ago and it certainly went ok and it did look pretty smooth. Athough having said that, I have been on a few Beta's in the past and I just don't like the geometry of its set up, plus the rear suspension just doesn't feel right (to me that is). Better put the Beta 4T engine in a GasGas frame and job done ! How about a TXT80 with a Rev4 engine? Sounds about right for you Pete I'd still need a slow action throttle!

John Cowley let me have a go on his Rev4 after last weeks trial and I was able to ride it in the sections that we'd just done. The Rev4 feels as if it would be perfect for a novice or clubman rider. I was impressed how soft and forgiving it was, which sounds the opposite from the new Sherco from what you say Ian. I haven't been on one of them yet Pete although I watched one close up at the British Champs a few weeks ago and it certainly went ok and it did look pretty smooth. Athough having said that, I have been on a few Beta's in the past and I just don't like the geometry of its set up, plus the rear suspension just doesn't feel right (to me that is). Better put the Beta 4T engine in a GasGas frame and job done ! How about a TXT80 with a Rev4 engine?

John Cowley let me have a go on his Rev4 after last weeks trial and I was able to ride it in the sections that we'd just done. The Rev4 feels as if it would be perfect for a novice or clubman rider. I was impressed how soft and forgiving it was, which sounds the opposite from the new Sherco from what you say Ian.

Plus the British Championship rules which are different from TSR22 A&B!

Thanks for all the help, especially Just, Ian, Mike, Ralph, Liam and John. The ground is now perfect to set out the trial in two weeks time. Justin had done the business with the strimmer before I got there at 8.30 this morning! The lads then proceeded to flatten the rest down and then moved onto the steep wooded part of the venue where they found some excellent new lines for me to include in future sections. Cheers lads, that was a good day out. Pete Barnett Stratford-Upon-Avon MC&LCC

The arrows will be out from about 8.30. Anyone is welcome to come along, we will be there until late afternoon today but remember- Top Farm is always open for practice for a small fee if you feel like having a look some other time. Pete

A DC10 with a million gallons of Napalm would be more like it! You won't believe how much the weesa have grown since we had all that rain.

You can't see the s##t for the weeds! Yes, it's still there and no it's not one of Justins gates, but I think he's got some plans to put some new bailer twine on!

I had to vote in every section to get it to work which kind of defeats the object of voting??? Sorry, I hope that I haven't messed it up.

Go through the top gate and into the field, it's the only place left to park now. You'll see what I mean when you get there Be gentle with the gate... the bailer twine hinge is past it's best

Cheers for posting that Andy. Well done to McGuinness, a 130 mph lap is something else.

I will put some orange arrows from Snowshill. When you get into the village, take the road with the church to your left. There will be an arrow about 100yds from the church. This is the best way to get there at the moment. I'll put the arrows out at about 9 ish. See you in the morning. Pete

I agree with what you say other than the last bit. Life is never as simple as it first seems, there are infact three sets of rules currently used in the UK. Firstly the British Championship which uses the FIM version of stopping allowed. Then the most commonly seen version where a stop is a 'one.' Then the traditional 'non stop' where any stop is a failure. I'm not sure how many events use each of the rules, but I'd guess it is 1% FIM, 79% a stop is a one and 20% where a stop is a five. If that's the case, the most popular version of marking is not Non stop. Now before I get into trouble here, remember these figures are only my guess and I'd like to say that I would prefer to have just one set of rules and those would be full non stop. But until the FIM goes non stop then we are stuck with at least two and currently three, sets of rules.

The weather forcast looks bad for Saturday afternoon but ok in the morning.

This is a very emotive subject and has been covered in depth many times before. Get ready to duck

Betarev3 tells me that he will be there from around 8am on Saturday. I'm aiming to turn up about 10ish. Tea and cake at lunch time and all are welcome, just email or pm me to give me an idea if you're coming if you can. Cheers. Pete P.S. Just to repeat- if you can work out the way from Snowshill, it is the best road to take by far.

Thanks for keeping us updated Andy.

Multi map address showing the approach from Snowshill which is the hardest route to follow but the best road as it brings you in at the top where the car park is. Top Farm Map showing the appraoch from Buckland which is the easiest to follow but the bumpiest road. You will have to drive up past the farm to get to the car park which is at the top. I hope that makes sense. I was up there last night until it got dark replacing a fence we broke at the Colmore. In the trials practice area the weeds seem to grow infront of your eyes! There's also a large pile of soil in the field which may/may not be a good section, I'd like some better riders to try riding accross it to see how easy it is??? Everyone is welcome. If you want some hard stuff I can find it in on the bank when I get there with the key!

"ohh sorry, I was watching the rider in the next section!"