Our club tends to run two routes, easy(ish) and hard(ish). However, they also run Club Championship trials and Novice & Beginner trials. The easy route on the N&B is designed for allcomers. The 'hard' course on the N&B is just a bit harder than the 'Easy' route on the Club trials. And the hard route on the club trials is for the decent boys (e.g. we get the likes of James Dabill and Dane Sherwin turning out from time to time).

I ride the 'easy' route in the club champs, but the hard route in the N&B. I personally prefer to ride sections that are a little above my level. That way, if I manage a clean or two, I'm over the moon. If I ride the easy route and have more than a handful of dabs I'm frustrated and annoyed with myself.

I set my sights higher - and it helps me get better. You get to watch better riders, the lines they take and how they handle the bike. And I think I've improved as a result.

Some of the TC Trial sections were very difficult for me, but I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge.

But as someone said, its got to be fun. Otherwise its pointless.

There are classes that are there which have fixed entry requirements (over-40, over-50, twin-shock, pre-65). You either belong in it or you don't (maybe a little more grey area in the pre-65, but you get the gist)

Then there are the classes that are based on ability, beginner, novice, inter, expert etc. These are the classes that need policing. If you've won your fair share of trials, you either move up to the next, or if you don't fancy the next harder route, then stay on the same route and ride out of class.

I had 17 years off and rode the novice class for the first few, but made sure I was marked out of class.

It seems simple to me, if you just want to ride for fun without risking injury (if that's the problem) then ride out of class.

By the way, this is not aimed at anyone in this forum, as I know the twinshock boys ride where the challenge is and I believe they have the spirit of the event spot on, this is just a general view I'm putting over.

One of the best formats I've rode recently was the ACU classic round's....Simple, everyone rode the same route!...twinshocks~aircooled monos~pre 65...the lot (and even modern stuff).

No confusion with different colour markers, just one good old fashioned trials route set out just right.

It was nice to see the Likes of Nigel Birkett riding his Suzuki T/Shock and some of the other guys out there riding older bikes and doing well beating some of the guys on the modern tack.

The way the engine is sounding in my 12 year old TY250, It's getting quite a challenge in itself to finish a trial, let alone ride the hard route