March 17, 200917 yr Well, After beating my gums about it for several years, we were able to start a twinshock/vintage series here in Oklahoma and our first meet was last Sunday. Tommy Moore (Shan's Dad) and I set up the sections which turned out to be just right. We had a big BBQ after, prepared by Gary Simmons of JVR vintage restorations (the meet was held on Gary's property) and everybody had a great time. I've been wanting all those neat old bikes dragged out of the garages and put to work doing what they do best. The Tulsa TV station covered it and had a great segment on it that night. One of the nice things about being a Trials rider here is that there's a Trial just about every weekend somewhere close, that takes no more than a couple of hours to drive to. Jon
March 18, 200917 yr Author Great pics, could be Scotland. We had a great time. Good venue and easy to build challenging sections that were safe. I took over 150 photos and downloaded all of them to CDs so every rider got a copy. Some Grandads, Sons and Grandkids rode together so lots of happy memories for them. It was good to see how well the old bikes performed in the hands of the Experts. Hmmmmm, I wonder if I can talk my buddy into selling me that nice Sherpa-T he has in the back of his garage........ Jon
March 18, 200917 yr Nice to see another TS series start up. There are lots of affordable bikes out there waiting to be ridden. How many event in your series? Did Shan ride?
March 18, 200917 yr Author Nice to see another TS series start up. There are lots of affordable bikes out there waiting to be ridden. How many event in your series? Did Shan ride? Poor Shan, he doesn't get much time to play on the bikes as he's running all over the country doing those great articles for Cycle News and Trials Competition Newspaper. I sent him a CD of all the photos (as I usually do) as he's trying to get something together for a Cycle News twinshock article. We have the vintage/TS event every 3rd Sunday so the series will be part of the ongoing calendar and we haven't set the exact number of events yet (this was our first event). NEOTT also has their event on the 3rd Sunday (except for the 4th this month) so it will probably change to the Sunday before. The nice thing here in NorthEastern Oklahoma is that Texas, Arkansas and Kansas events are an easy drive so there's an event of some sort every weekend to ride. The TS/vintage event is open to any rider and the modern/new bikes are usually restricted to using the #1 "Expert" line, which would be like a moderate Novice section in our club event. A top level rider on a 70's 250 Montesa Cota TS took 17 points to win the "Expert" class (#1 line) so I figured the difficulty of the sections was just about right. The #3 line (easiest) was generally single digit final scores and the trial was a test of basic skills rather than trick techniques. Club Trials are generally a low-key, fun activity and a TS/Vintage event seems to be even more of that with a higher level of fun. Jon ps. I still got my eye on that Bul in my buddies garage as my TY350 is not eligible for the TS class without modifications..........
March 19, 200917 yr Great fun! We did have some vintage action going on around here at one time, and I really enjoyed just going out to ride(on the Mod bike) noncomp just to have a ride and relax a bit with buddies! Invite them all, as it is great practice for the kids and novice riders and much less pressure on the casual riders! Like YOU!
March 19, 200917 yr Author Great fun! We did have some vintage action going on around here at one time, and I really enjoyed just going out to ride(on the Mod bike) noncomp just to have a ride and relax a bit with buddies!Invite them all, as it is great practice for the kids and novice riders and much less pressure on the casual riders! Like YOU! It's true, Mark, my riding has always been "casual", no matter how hard I try to formalize it.... Actually, I like to sign up Novice-Non Comp and take a group of new riders (and anybody else who wants to go with us) out and help them learn the ropes. We cover everything, from how to sign up, to bike set-up, to rules, to reading sections, to riding techniques and everything in between. Besides, my riding looks fantastic to the new guys who don't know any better............ Jon
March 24, 200917 yr Looks like a really great turn out there Jon. Love them old bikes, I think I saw a TL 250 in the mix.
March 24, 200917 yr Author Looks like a really great turn out there Jon.Love them old bikes, I think I saw a TL 250 in the mix. Yes, it was a great turnout for the first one. The TL250 guy is going to sell the TL and drag out his old Bultaco from the garage. The interest has brought out a lot of old bikes that were languishing in the dark corners (which was my intent in the first place as I hate to see the old iron rusting away- I've got this "thing" about machinery and don't like to see it go to waste). It's amazing how many riders had one or two old bikes hidden away. I'm really looking forward to the next meet! Jon
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