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Do You Compete Or Ride For Fun?


scorpa3
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The Midland Centre Trial planned for today was cancelled due to lack of entries, so we decided to droop in on a local practice venue for a few hours.

When we turned up, it looked more like a club trial with vans and trailers everywhere. I exagerate slightly, but by lunch time there were fifteen trials bikes riding around this little quarry and it made me wonder just how many people ride for fun and never (or rarely compete) in events?

If 'us' fifteen riders had all entered the Centre Trial, then the chances are that there would have been enough riders to have made it viable for the organisers.

What do you prefer?

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The Midland Centre Trial planned for today was cancelled due to lack of entries, so we decided to droop in on a local practice venue for a few hours.

When we turned up, it looked more like a club trial with vans and trailers everywhere. I exagerate slightly, but by lunch time there were fifteen trials bikes riding around this little quarry and it made me wonder just how many people ride for fun and never (or rarely compete) in events?

If 'us' fifteen riders had all entered the Centre Trial, then the chances are that there would have been enough riders to have made it viable for the organisers.

What do you prefer?

Competition everytime for me. Wanted to ride the Midland Centre trial but it clashed with the Dave Rowland. Did that effect entries? Spoilt for choice!!

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I ride because i enjoy it but competition is important, i want to perform to the level i know i can ride at if that makes sense.

Riding in practice is always good fun but i do enjoy the excitement of competition too.

I think here in the eastern centre we are split between riders who are either in it for fun and those who are there to win, can cause problems sometimes unfortunately.

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Bit of both for me Pete, I love doing a good trial especially a road one, or somewhere with good ground. We are abit spoilt around here as we have a few good practice sites locally and dont mind driving 150 miles to go and ride in Wales or Hawks Nest for practice. Dad is now so old he only rides at the dishes and has no interest in events anymore but you cant find anyone who loves riding his bike more than him, plus he doesnt think he can hold a s**t in for more than two hours so it gets abit awkward for him doing events.

Practice days with a few mates is always a great laugh and usually gives a much longer day on the bike without any pressure of comps, I think the current fuel prices and uncertain climate work wise is putting people off events, I think the Dave Roland entry list was lower than most years today.

Also when you go to the dishes you always get fresh free range eggs from Farmer Giles, one of Dads BBQ's , sometimes a good old scrap and we were spoilt today with a display of extreme tree climbing

Edited by The Addict
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Some people like to ride for fun, some like to compete. I do both (when I can).

If there's a club trial on when I'm at home from offshore, I'll be there. If there's nothing on then I'll be blatting around for fun. It is difficult for me to understand the scenario that scorpa3 mentioned though, it's definitely more fun entering a trial than just blatting around?

The main question is, what can we do to encourage more people to join in? Does the conjestion and feeling that everyone is watching you on the first section of the day put people off? Does the entry fee, licence fee, day licence price, club membership make them think twice? Do they just prefer the company of their own mates? So many questions.........

I suppose people just do what they want to do for their own reasons, who knows?

I'm rambling.

Sorry.

GJ :wall:

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i think that unless your riding in a championship, you select trials or practice on the venue or the type of event. This can be seen in results, some weeks one club will have over 100 entrys at a trial , the next week the same club will have 50 entrys or so, different venue, different sections. thats how our small group choose.

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I like to ride comps as well as practise. To ride comps i'm beginning to pick the better ones, which i know from the previous years gone by. I do remember the not so good events and am beginning to stay away from them. The CofC needs to be a vastly knowledgable individual. This knowledge will lend itself to knowing the land, riders and changes in weather conditions. I think a CofC should be of middle class standards so they can judge slightly harder and slightly easier sections. The CofC needs to learn from scores at the end of the trial, if the worst rider in each class lost around say no more than 65-marks you'd be close to making a perfect trial because the winner in each class may finish on 2-marks. fuel cost are a consideration but if the trial has a good reputation with a variety of well thought out sections then people will travel to the trial. Lastly, people go practise riding for fun, a trial should be fun not some kind of mission for each section to stop riders from clean it. The majority of trials riders are in the 30's+ and therefore with families etc....make you trials easy they've got to go to work on Monday.

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It's comp for me, in fact I don't practice much, only if I have something to dial in or something to practice. I've rode for 20years and I don't get better I just get worse or smarter. I kids call it fear we old men call it wisdom.lol

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Why did'nt you stop them and ask why they was'nt competing in a trial.

The answer might of been interesting.

Personally, I looked at the location of the event that was cancelled and decided not to enter as the day would have cost me over

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I see this is a UK topic,but we have the same thing over here in the USA.It is hard to figure out our number of riders is down this year also.Part being the fuel costs and most of our club is getting older.But as you say there are at least 20 riders from the area that just play ride.Seems they have no interest in competing.One of the problems we have is that it is sometimes tough to set a easy route for the beginners and still have it hard enough for everyone else.I like to compete to see if I am improving at all.Plus there is something about a marked section compared to just messing around.Later JR

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I compete for fun. Practising is ok but in a competition you HAVE to try it . 3 times ina 3 lap event. I only get better with nerves in a competition. I only get better on technical stuff when really trainingm, ie not playing

Lee

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One rider I asked commented that he wasn't good enough to ride the easy route at Group Trials yet.

Another one looked at me as if I was talking a strange language and said "I can't be a**** to muck about with all those licences and stuff just to ride my bike"

And the best one was "I can't ride in trials 'cus I ain't got a helmet" :wall:

That's 3 very poor excuse's.

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