highland lassie

Excellent stuff!!

If you're looking for an SSDT theme, what about some section names? Pipers Burn? Rhuba Ruadh, if there's any red in there? Pap of Glencoe...or is that too close to Pup? There's a whole catalogue there to choose from...!

Fortunately we got a sneak preview this week. So to speak.

Can't wait, already!!

Lazy **** - you should have been up to collect it yourself. Over 50 or not.

No - Miquel entered on a Xispa, but as in previous years, didn't actually start on one! It was changed to a Gasser before the start of the trial! There's a final rider list, including bikes, on the SSDT Website if you want to see the up-to-date listings.

If it's easier, you can view and/or download the PDF through the Downloads tab (2010 Documents).

Oh, you are so right....

Good pics Slapshot....Rockett looks far too relaxed though!! For those of you interested in seeing where the trial is, we've got GPS units on our frontrunners and backmarkers again this year - if you go to the SSDT site and put your cursor over the Results option, you'll see two alternative options. Spot Track 1 follows the front runners and Spot Track 2 follows the backmarkers, with each unit reporting in every ten minutes - it's all satellite based this year, so we're not expecting any blank spots like we had last year!

That's because they're limited edition...only available in Fort William! If there are any left at the end of the week, they'll go onto the online store, don't you worry...then you can paypal to your heart's content!

A few sets of roadworks, but the only long wait was at Callendar. My guess is that they'll be off tomorrow anyway - bank holiday weekend and all that!

Day one results now available on the SSDT website!

Only jackets and fleeces ever required...we didn't think of a t-shirt! Actually, this year we're issuing our own t-shirts. The competitor ones are unique, but there is version available to buy....get yours at the SSDT Unit in Cameron Square!

Much coolness!! Cheers Andy!

Check out the route maps on the SSDT website - they give you advice and directions for the best spectator sections each day. SSDT Routes

Woo hoo!! Thank you! Should I unpack the fans for the office then?

Yup, it does!

Gary!! You should know that by now... Monday starts with 1 Tuesday starts with 47 Wednesday starts with 93 Thursday starts with 139 Friday starts with 185 Saturday starts with 231 Hope you're all set for the week - see you up there!

The letter he's got and the website details are correct I'm afraid - the only licences valid for the SSDT are an ACU Registration Card (England/Wales/IOM), SACU Licence (Scotland), MCUI Licence (Northern Ireland) and full international FIM licence (anywhere else). The ACU and SACU won't licence you if they think you're joining to get a cheap route to the SSDT rather than for genuine reasons, so really the only option available is to pay for the full international FIM licence. They're cutting it fine now though, with less that two weeks to go - tell your pal to get a move on because he can't start without it! Any questions, tell him to give me a shout at the SSDT Office.

SSDT week books up pretty much by the start of the year, but try www.laterooms.com - looks like the Croit Anna may have space at a reasonable price. It's not posh, but it's just a mile along the road from the Parc Ferme on the shore of the loch. Worth checking out anyway!

Get yourself up to the Fort in May - no politics, no grief, just a load of like-minded people loving the trial, the beer, and of course, the weather.

Hiya DBF - I can't speak for anything other than the SSDT, but in our situation I can assure you that authorities aren't trying to break our backs - quite the opposite, everybody goes out of their way to help us. 90% of the SSDT is run across private ground, owned by some 100-ish different landowners, companies and authorities like the Forestry Commission. Some of these landowners give us use of the odd few acres here and there, others give us a large percentage of the ground we use. We don't just have to apply for access to the ground that we use for sections, we have to get access for every single bit of land that we cross. It takes around nine months of work each year to secure approval for us to use all the ground we need - we have to provide landowners with assurances about the bikes that will be run, the insurance we have in place (for riders and for public liability) and in most circumstances we have instructions that we have to adhere to closely if we're to be allowed back the following year. If we cause problems on a piece of land, maybe on a random section in what appears to be the middle of nowhere, we could end up losing that ground for the future. It's easy to say 'so what'? One section, or one group, is easily replacable elsewhere - just route the trial a little differently. That in itself comes with its own problems, but what if the landowner that we've upset just happens to be one of the larger ones, and they also own the ground we need to access ten other groups of sections? That's the SSDT gone. Our concern isn't just about losing sections, it's about losing access to whole chunks of Lochaber - that's why illegal riding could put an end to a trial that's run for 100 years. If it helps to have an example, look at the Leanachan article John's referring to. At the moment the focus is on two specific Forestry Commission routes that we use during the week where there's a large public presence unrelated to the SSDT (cyclists, ramblers, dog walkers, etc). If we have problems with speeding riders this year, we could lose the support of the Forestry Commission altogether, and that would be an absolute disaster - ask any rider whose ridden the trial, we rely on a huge number of forestry routes throughout the week, and without them we're stuffed. You're right - losing the trial would be a huge own goal for the area, but it's not the area that own the ground. It's a series of individuals, and whilst we're very fortunate that they appreciate the benefits of the trial to their economy, we have to remember that they are doing us a favour by letting 300 motorcycles run amok on their property - they don't get anything out of it. They're under no obligation to let us back, and if we cause problems for them then we won't get back - the local economy won't be top of their list of priorities if we damage the ground they use for fishing, shooting, etc. The bottom line is that the SSDT exists solely because of the goodwill of these landowners. They give us their ground for nothing - all we have to do is make sure we're fully insured and that we work within the limits they've given us. I don't think that's a lot to ask of anybody, and it's only fair that everybody respects those limits. I'm sure to anybody unfamiliar with the trial it sounds like we're over-exaggerating issues, or making a fuss where none is required, but believe me, that's not the case. These are real issues that could affect the entire future of the SSDT - that's why we're shouting about them. Hope that makes more sense now...or have you fallen asleep?

Leanachan has always been well-known amongst trials riders, and in recent years the fame of the area has spread with the introduction of a variety of world-class downhill and cross-country cycling routes, not to mention the impending arrival of the world trials scene in June 2010. All of this means that there is a lot more traffic on the Forestry Commission tracks around Leanachan these days, which will be particularly noticeable during SSDT week when the first day of the trial falls on the May Day bank holiday Monday. Those of you who rode in last year