billycraig

Fantastic, thank you

I've checked the ACU site and I've probably missed it completely but does anyone know how to report an injury during a trial? Do I just inform the club that its actually worse than it appeared at the trial or contact the ACU direct? Cheers

Ta, see you there hopefully

Beat me to it

So its not cheating yet then is what your saying? What makes me a hottie? I ride plenty of no stop trials and fully enjoy them when the trial allows it. As for balancing being cheating that's the most ridiculous thing I've heard. My dad and many others I'm sure taught me to balance in the garage before I even did a trial. In fact its often suggested on here in order to help new riders progress. I think you'll find most 'hotties' have learned to ride no stop and are pretty proficient. They've mearly made a choice to progress themselves further. Just because you can't or won't try and learn anything new doesn't make it cheating.

Great post, how can it be cheating if the rules currently allow it? Is it cheating because you can't be bothered to learn it?

If its the front of the boot can you fit some of those metal toe caps on to hold it all together? I remember my dad putting them on all my boots when I was a kid. I've been wearing Gaerne all year and their pretty ditched now, I've rode on average twice a week. In comparison my alpinestars last year were ready for the bin in May after the SSDT. I pulled the front sole of one of mine and we managed to glue it and screw it from the bottom. I broke my toe in the impact that did that so I wouldn't say the boots were at fault in my case and I'll defiantly be having another pair or two.

The section wasn't dangerous it was a straight line run over rocks at a step most riders made it up at some point and it even took a few fives of the top guys. However anything can happen in a section and when your wheel kick out and puts you off line its a split second decision to decide what you do next. If it had been full no stop then its right the section would of been up a far bigger rock, but I still think if a moments hesitation had been allowed he would of realized he had no chance or maybe composed himself for a one. Just been to a stop for a 1 trial this afternoon and most the observers (me included) ended up being very lenient with what a stop was as the sections were pretty tight. The better riders defiantly have the ability to momentarily stop leaving the observer with a brave decision.

I rode a no stop trial recently that had a 2 or 3 ft step at the end of a rocky stream. On one go I didn't get the run up right and got my five as I knew I hadn't got the drive to get up it. I had another look at the line. Unluckily this was the same time as a rider got of line but went for it anyway. The end result was I got hit by a flying bike and ended up getting dragged down the section. The section was ridable no stop as I did it twice myself. For me sat here with a torn clothes, fractured rib, cuts all over me and deep purple bruising I wonder if I'd still have a go anyway knowing I was way of line. The answer is yes I possibly would as I did it a while ago in a big no stop trial. I looped the bike and sent it towards various spectators. Given the option to take the one for a stop I'd of composed myself and made a better judgement (jack it in) or a better attempt. I'm fairly certain that in the same trial under stop = 1 or stop rules the rider that took me out would of stopped and had a more composed go. The skill is in keeping forward motion, but bikes flying all over the shop because we've had a go anyway worries me a little especially down the classes. By the way I know this is a freak one off (hopefully) accident but the worse rider we are, the slower we make decisions. So I can completely understand a beginner being daunted by the need to keep moving at all costs rather than have a momentary pause. Just like last time I'll ride whatever the rules as I love trials but being from a biketrial background I'll always love the agility of that style.

Just read the front page stating that Novagars are going no stop for next year. Not sure if I'm happy or unhappy about that as I guess it depends on if they remember its no stop when marking out. It says riders were consulted. However I've ridden every round for the last 2 years and haven't received anything asking my opinion, did I miss something? Have other people received anything? I can remember (maybe the last round) some guy asking what I preferred and about 10 of us all said 'stop' but I'm hoping that wasn't the the actual consultation as i assumed it was a guy just wondering. This isn't a moan by the way am just wondering I missed my chance to vote.

Thanks to YG and everyone involved for organizing a great trial, as always very professional and slick. I had a great day out and certainly know I've rode. I watched last year in awe of the talent in every class and decided I fancied ago while I'm still strong enough to take a little punishment. I knew I would struggle a lot but its been on my list of things to do. I think it maybe turned out a little harder than expected and their were a few retirements/non starters in my class but I never felt in danger at any point (am sure a few spectators did ) The atmosphere was amazing and considering the weather we've had I was impressed by the crowd. One thing is for sure is that theirs a great deal of uk talent nowadays which maybe having the 125 rule or maybe sections that match the severity of WTC. Whatever it is its good to see them riding at such a high level with a real chance of another UK world champion.

Brilliant photos, you even got one of me with my feet up which must of been hard

Doug broke his hand (i think) in practice

Todo have a picture of 2010 sherco online. Says a tubular frame Todo trial

Ryan Hughs was the first off road rider I became aware of paying real attention to his diet, lifestyle and training as he started taking the same certifications as me. He now uses it in training other elite motocross riders most notably Robbie Maddison who dropped from 175 pounds to 159 since the 2008 X Games following a gluten free and completely organic diet. I guess with the sort of stuff he's doing he doesn't want anything leaving to chance, and needs the best chance of holding together should things go wrong.

Forgot about this bit, bench presses aren't really very functional for trials unless for instance you need to lay on your back and lift the bike of you very often. A standing cable push maybe more use to you as you'll integrate various muscles and systems rather than just isolating the chest. 6-8 reps is optimal for fatiguing the muscle for strength and endurance i.e its the point where you can gain on both fronts. If you work on tempo its possible to manipulate the variables to gain strength and endurance. For example you do a bent over row with a weight that you can JUST lift 6 times without losing form. You do 6 reps at a tempo of 5-0-5 (5 seconds up - zero hold - 5 seconds down) giving you a 60 second. Then you can manipulate the rest period, leave it up to 3 minutes if its performance your after as you'll give the energy system adequate time to recover. If its weight loss go for 30 seconds as it won't have time to recover and your more likely to force the body into burning some fat. My jobs sounding more complicated the more I type

By energy system I mean how your body sources the energy, its a bit technical but I'll try and explain it as simply as possible. The aerobic energy system typically kicks in first when expenditure of energy increases, as the body demands more oxygen etc to supply the muscles. Increased demand for oxygen is matched by an increase in the rate and depth of breathing and an increase in blood supply due to increased heart rate. When the oxygen required by the body cannot be met, the body will switch to a different energy system (the anaerobic energy system), which produces energy without the use of oxygen. This is why its hard to know how YOUR working. When I train for the Scott for instance I focus highly on anaerobic training, but I focus less on this for the rest of the year. Fatigue happens after you

Most of the diets I've looked through have been pretty poor (but they're far better riders than I'll ever be ), supercross riders in the states that I've seen tend to eat pretty good but for every rider that fuels themselves properly theirs lots that chuck anything and everything in. I'd suggest everyone could do better 'fueled' correctly but others would debate it. One thing thats noticeable though is recovery times both from training/riding and injury. A few premiership footballers I've worked with haven't suffered any broken bones or knee problems since they changed the quality of their diet. Your cells are constantly regenerating so if your drinking fluorescent sports drinks thats what your body is building itself out of so its no wonder sports people degenerate rapidly. In my opinion most sports people are fed far to much carbohydrate (particularly footballers) hence being injury prone as sugar causes the body to scavenge calcium from elsewhere (usually the skeleton as its not as important as other stores). They don't suffer with excess weight because of the intense (burntout) training, once they retire a lot pile in the pounds as their often hooked on carb binges. Diet is as individual as your fingerprint to be honest so what works for one may cause poor results in another. Unprocessed foods are the best way forward but in terms of protein/fat and carb ratios I'd suggest starting with 50% carbs and 50% protein in each meal/snack. Keep a diary of your reaction to the meal size and remember its fuel so it should power you. If you eat excess carbs your likely to have a massive surge of energy before your blood sugar crashes, too much protein and you'll be lethargic (like most people after xmas dinner). Get the right balance and you'll get a good steady supply of energy for a few hours. Think of it like an engine, you give it the right fuel so it works right. Another handy tip I use with people is to buy a cheap blood sugar monitor and test after meals. I like people to stay around 5 but have often seen people shoot up to 12 from a slice of bread alone. The same person ate the same bread with cheese (fat/protein) the next day and maintained a rather more respectable 6. Rather complicated I'm afraid like training, give me a shout if your unsure though and I'll try and clarify anything for you.

Low reps gives you the best neural adaption 100% 1RM, Higher reps gives the greatest cellular adaption (60% 1RM) Research suggests, optimal fatigue between the two occurs in the 6-8 rep range. The most important things to consider are The energy system you want to train, when I train riders I work them anaerobicly but it depends on how/where you ride and your level. Time under tension, always time your reps and sets otherwise you'll never target the right energy system Tempo, as above Pretty complicated really which I guess is why people struggle to see much improvement in their training

Probably rode together then as I'm in that area. Sutton Falcons, Mansfield Maun, Pathfinders, YMSA. We practice at Hawks Nest, Hermitage Farm and Bracken Rocks when Mansfield Maun open it up. Off for a few days practice this week if you get your bike.

I'd say go for it, I dropped down from a 300 Raga as I felt I was just to over biked in harder trials. Was fine in local club trials but theirs lots of time to sort everything out. Dropped to a 280 but still felt when it got tough I spent all my time controlling the bike. Contemplated a 250 but had my eye on a 125 as all these kids are getting mega talented since they got forced to stay on them. When I was 12 I went straight on a 250 Yamaha so I figured I'd go back and learn to ride better. I'm not doing amazing but I've defiantly improved a lot since i got it, the SSDT seemed easier (until I had problems on the last day) as I rode the sections with more control, the moors seemed easier as well which I wasn't expecting. Its done every novagar this year and its made it up everything, needs riding rather than just relying on the throttle to get you out of trouble but its amazing fun. Big test is the MacKenzie on sunday and then the Scott in October, sure the bikes up to it.....just me that needs improvement

Suppose I am an adult nowadays at 33

Amazing, glad they've made it different to the RAGA this year.