Andy Posted February 8, 2009 Report Share Posted February 8, 2009 Writing about my ice racing experience last week seems to have proved prophetic, for no sooner had I put fingers to keyboard and typed last week Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
honda pants Posted February 9, 2009 Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 Exellent article and 100% right! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cota kid Posted February 9, 2009 Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 (edited) Phew!! I Edited February 9, 2009 by Cota Kid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b40rt Posted February 9, 2009 Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 Phew!! I Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ishy Posted February 9, 2009 Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 (edited) I think it's easy to say stricter rule enforcement, but a whole different story trying to apply it with a shortage of man power. I don't know how many do give of their time to help the event run smoothly, but when you think of 30 sections / day, many needing more than one observer, time checks, lunch checks, parc ferme, back markers and all other areas that need a live body for the week, some will take advantage of this. Riding as a clubman and there for the enjoyment the whole week brings, I think the organizers doing the best they can is all we can ask. Twice Phill got me out of a pickle in the middle of the moor, once I ran out of fuel and once my chain was so wedged up in the cases it took three of us to get it free, I had no chance of doing it myself, and was glad for the outside assistance, I think he is taking all the stick for what many have done before, great lad, dumb move, tired of hearing about it, If the SSDT official catches you dodging your out!! can't we except that and move on. Edited February 9, 2009 by ishy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hillary Posted February 9, 2009 Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 You want me to add my own personal views on the subject, no problem with that. I like Phil Alderson, he is a great guy and so is the rest of his family. The problem as I see it is that as a supported rider at last year's Scottish, I can guess that he was put under enormous pressure to finish the trial and assist the team of which he was a part. Whether he was a willing participant in the actions or whether they were forced upon him, we don't know. Like many riders, I suggest that Philip gets his supported rides for being a nice guy and following the requests of his sponsor. It's very easy to be naive when taking part without sitting back and taking a long hard look at your actions. Hindsight is wonderful, but at the time, I suggest Phil did as he was bade and possibly thought no more about it. Only when it all blew up in his face some weeks later will he have come to realise that perhaps the decision (and I say THE decision, not HIS decision) was not the one he would have allowed to be taken if he could have forseen the remarks being made six weeks after the trial had finished. As far as I can tell, Philip is keeping his head down and waiting for it to all blow over. That seems unlikely as it stands. And if you are asking me, I think many of us, nay, most of us, would have done the same thing given the chance AT THE TIME, so I don't blame Philip, and I don't blame Philip for accepting the award as he had then got himself into the position where he had to maintain the fiction all the way along the line. Was it wrong, yes of course it was, but find me a person who has not made a mistake in his life and I'll find you a person who has not made anything! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slapshot 3 Posted February 9, 2009 Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 (edited) and I say THE decision, not HIS decision Mike I can't agree with you. If a professional cyclist decides to fill his bloodstream full of all sorts of drugs to improve his performance at the behest of his team ultimately it's still his decision to inject himself, if he has the integrity to say no well he loses his contract. Whatever the team says, does or enforces it's still the rider who gets caught, banned and loses his career. Phil Alderson chose to swap bikes, whether MRS put pressure on him or not, in the end only he could ride that bike. If, as you say, Phil really is a great guy with a lot of personal integrity, he would either a) not have done it in the first place or b ) accepted that he'd done wrong, got caught and admitted it. He didn't! Edited February 9, 2009 by Slapshot 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groucho Posted February 9, 2009 Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 Com'on this is getting tiresome - this subject has been done to death and now we are opening up another thread of the same. So Phil got caught - big deal - lets move on. Mikes comments about the officials checking the parc ferme is valid - i remember when i rode the ssdt it was not the done thing to get any assistance when working on your bike even if there was an official there or not - your wheels were marked, the head and barrel drilled and sealed and frame & engine marked - and you only got 15 mins in the morning to change a tyre or whatever. - it was all part of the challenge - looking back at the times given for daily runs they were considerably tighter than they are now resulting in very little time at the end of the day. Perhaps it is time to toughen things up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slapshot 3 Posted February 9, 2009 Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 (edited) Com'on this is getting tiresome - this subject has been done to death and now we are opening up another thread of the same.So Phil got caught - big deal - lets move on. Mikes comments about the officials checking the parc ferme is valid - i remember when i rode the ssdt it was not the done thing to get any assistance when working on your bike even if there was an official there or not - your wheels were marked, the head and barrel drilled and sealed and frame & engine marked - and you only got 15 mins in the morning to change a tyre or whatever. - it was all part of the challenge - looking back at the times given for daily runs they were considerably tighter than they are now resulting in very little time at the end of the day. Perhaps it is time to toughen things up Lets move on - then you have a paragraph on tightening things up. Okay make your mind up. Do you want to tighten things up and prevent "cheating" or move on, take your pick. People keep harping on about this because every rider who finished the week behind him was cheated out of an award, out of a higher placing in the trial, justify that to the first guy who got a first class award just missing a Special and the first guy who got a Second Class when he should have had a first. It's left a real bitter taste in the mouth of the people who rode the trial, organisers and the spectator who go to see a fair trial. Is Phil Alderson reticent about what happened or is he quite cock-a-hoop that he's "got away with it". Simple fact is that a Sherco factory rider was excluded a few years back for somewhat similar shenanigans so maybe they learned a few tricks but Alderson should NOT get away with it and no entry this year is a good starting point. This subject will continue to raise it's head until he admits what happened and returns his awards, people may then start caleming down about it. Edited February 9, 2009 by Slapshot 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baldilocks Posted February 9, 2009 Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 OK this subject seems set to rumble on There are a few observations I would like to point out and I have no intention of offending anyone. Number 1 Phillips actions embaressed the club, lots of people put lots of effort into what I consider to be the best Trial in the world. IF you have given up your free time to contribute to the SSDT the last thing you need is somebody taking the p*ss. But many of the people who have posted comments probably contribute nothing to the event. Number 2 Nobody wants to admit this but lots of people over the years have cheated, I think its wrong and I never have changed a bike but I have never had to make that decision. Whatever I have rode it has lasted the week. The point here is that Phillip got caught and should have accepted the fact. Number 3 Phil Alderson is not some evil person, if you look at his career he actually gained very little from this sorry episode. In 1985 I think he was destined for a top 5 finish definatley top 10. He got injured on Ben Nevis, the last group on the last day, I recall that he retired. He could of quite easily got somebody to ride his bike up the last couple of sections to get a top 10 result. He didnt and at the time he was a privateer. Can some of you take this into account ? Number 4 This situation has done nobody any good, riders should be more aware of their actions and the Club should not need to police riders all of the time. Me ? I have an entry this year and since the result of the ballot I have thought of very little else its the best trial in the world...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atomant Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 Mike I can't agree with you. If a professional cyclist decides to fill his bloodstream full of all sorts of drugs to improve his performance at the behest of his team ultimately it's still his decision to inject himself, if he has the integrity to say no well he loses his contract. Whatever the team says, does or enforces it's still the rider who gets caught, banned and loses his career. Phil Alderson chose to swap bikes, whether MRS put pressure on him or not, in the end only he could ride that bike. If, as you say, Phil really is a great guy with a lot of personal integrity, he would either a) not have done it in the first place or b ) accepted that he'd done wrong, got caught and admitted it. He didn't! although the MRS link would have to be independently verified as I hadn't heard that before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Posted February 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 I have it on VERY good authority that Malcom and Rhoda had NOTHING to do with Phil's decision to carry on so it is unfair to suggest MRS had anything to do with this debacle. As owner of this here little website, I wouldn't say anything on this matter unless I believed it to be absolutely true and, having heard the evidence, firmly believe MRS are being falsely implicated in something they had nothing whatsoever to do with. Rathmells don't post here so aren't in a position to defend themselves. Yes, Phil had his cohorts who supplied him with a replacement bike, but it didn't come from MRS and there was no "team pressure" as has been suggested. Phil cheated and he got caught. The amazing thing is that he thought the Trials community was dumb enough to let him get away with it. After 13 years behind the scenes on the SSDT I moved out to take photos and cover the event. I've seen friends absolutely struggle round and limp in on the Saturday, but they made it. I've also seen friends forced to retire through bike problems and seen how totally gutted they are, but they would never dream of cheating. They'd only be cheating themselves and everyone else who did finish if they did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikespace Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 Well everybody else has had their say - I may as well chip in Yes, he was pretty feckin stupid to use the second bike, (especially as it was a totally different bike). He's not a bad lad - how many of the top boys do you reckon could say they've never broken a single rule in the SSDT. I wouldn't have thought too many. The fact that nobody blew the whistle suggests to me that most of them have a bit of a conscience (some of them would have a bloody cheek to protest after what they've done themselves). This one's been blown out in the open, and people seem to be jumping on the band wagon. It's unfortunate if it was so feckin obvious that it wasn't picked up during the week. People keep saying he got caught, but I'm sorry - looks like to me he didn't get caught - the rumours spread afterwards, and everyone jumped on the band wagon. Very silly thing to do, but it's getting a bit out of hand. If you're so feckin upset, then offer your services as a machine examiner next year. Within the club itself I can understand a bit of upset, as it brings things in to disrepute. If it's been proven, then someone should have a word and get the award stripped, if it's within the rules to do so. If not, it's a bit feckin late to keep whinging about it now I think. Let's see some whistle blowers this year then, everybody's got a camera phone. If we want the cheating cut out, you have to do it across the board - gets tricky to judge 'levels' of cheating. Otherwise, you're either caught and penalised, or you're not caught. I don't agree with cheating, but I don't agree with unofficial witch hunts either. Anybody care to bring up any rule deviations in the last few years at the Scott???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bilc0 Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 looks like to me he didn't get caught - your exactly right here Bikespace,it's no good people shouting cheat after the event,too late. Thats life folks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slapshot 3 Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 (edited) I have it on VERY good authority that Malcom and Rhoda had NOTHING to do with Phil's decision to carry on so it is unfair to suggest MRS had anything to do with this debacle. As owner of this here little website, I wouldn't say anything on this matter unless I believed it to be absolutely true and, having heard the evidence, firmly believe MRS are being falsely implicated in something they had nothing whatsoever to do with. Rathmells don't post here so aren't in a position to defend themselves. Good, that's the reason I said "whether MRS put pressure on him or not", you just don't know. I've also seen friends forced to retire through bike problems and seen how totally gutted they are, but they would never dream of cheating. They'd only be cheating themselves and everyone else who did finish if they did. Anyone whose been around the SSDT in whatever capacity (I've helped in the past and hope to do so again) will have seen friends in this position, a mate many years ago had to bug out on the Saturday morning when he lost all the oil out his gearbox, gutted, you'd have thought the world had ended but he was back the next year and finished. As Baldilocks says..It's the best trial in the world and anything that causes it embarassment is bound to upset folk. Edited February 10, 2009 by Slapshot 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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