wizardofos

Afro Celt Sound System - nice

But where did it start and finish from all the other years, days 2 to 5?

Strongly disagree. I think that the decision makers in Fort William feel some kind of duty to maintain the long tradition of the Scottish Six Days Trial at the moment, even though revenues generated for the town are obviously lower than in the past. In my view, a move out of town is, potentially, the first step out of the back door for the event. No longer in the forefront of the town's thoughts, how long would it be before the Police became less tolerant of the road traffic issues, how long before the trial had to route around the town and not through it, how long before Town Hall Brae is lost? Before anyone scoffs about Town Hall Brae, take note of the trouble that the Isle of Man Government has taken to maintain the Governers Bridge section of the TT course, even though it is not part of the public roads any more. Throw some traditions out of the window at your peril - but you may be throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

Not all changes are for the better though. Perhaps the one you mention was?

Top diplomacy HL, I almost feel guilty now! I just can't bear the thought of the drive into Fort Wiliam on the Saturday afternoon without the sight of the flags, bikes and paraphernalia that is the Park Ferme. You know that you have arrived at the SSDT and the hairs stand up on the back of you neck. I'm getting emotional thinking about it! MM

ps: How on earth can the SSDT benefit immeasurably from the promotion of the World round in Fort William?

Glad you are listening Mairi and that the move is not a done deal. It's easy to discredit my comments by suggesting they are cynical when, perhaps, they are just a little too near to the mark? Someone somewhere said that they had not heard from a competitor yet. I have ridden the trial 13 times - does that count? I have also observed the same number of times and if Colin chooses to allocate our team to Garage Duty I would far rather be looking across the splendour of Loch Linnhe than spending the day in a shed (even if I was going to get wet occasionally). I stand by my comments re: the World Round. I have no axe to grind at all and wish good luck to the organisers, PROVIDING the event has no negative impact on the next 100 SSDT's.

Sadly, the tone of the message at the top of this thread suggests to me that the decision is already made. This "consulutation" is just an unsubtle PR excersise. I hope that I am wrong. There is a link between this initiative and the arrival of the World Trials Championships in 2010. May I expand on this- I feel that the SSDT in 2009 was a wonderful success and the organisers have been rightly praised for their handling of some unbelievable meteorological conditions. They do, however, need to consider the wisdom of their decision to allow the 2010 World Round organisers to hijack the opening parade. Spectators at the SSDT are thin on the ground these days. What a bad idea idea it was, therefore, to allow an event to promote itself in front of the very people who may choose to attend that event next year instead of the SSDT. The SSDT relies on an enormous amount of goodwill from the local residents, authorities and Police who tolerate motorcycle, which are barely road legal, to travel backwards and forwards virtually unchallenged for a week in order to access the wonderful terrain which all competitors enjoy. That goodwill is based on one benefit to the town which is, quite simply, an influx of people spending money. Moving the heart of the trial out of town can only diminish it's links with the community, and ultimately the goodwill which leads to the above-mentioned tolerance. It may also, unwittingly, lead to the event becoming off-road only (and, god forbid, on pre- something or other bikes). Promoting the World Round was an error. World Rounds are just indoor trials held outdoors, which have no relevance whatsoever (in riding terms) to 99% of trials riders. They merely have some shallow entertainment value which, in all probability, we would get bored of watching very quickly. TThe SSDT is one of the last real motorcycle trials. It is held outdoors - and that includes mending the bikes. It is, in principal, not broken. So don't mend it.

Return the trophy, apologise, and observe next year. All will then be forgiven?

The bike in question was making a "pop pop pop" noise early in the week, then a "pam pam pam" noise midweek, before "pop pop popping" again.

Are competitors in the SSDT allowed to use more than one bike now?