In our club events we run Novice and Intermediates in the morning with the Advance and Expert riders observing, then change the positions for the afternoon.

While observing this weekends morning riders the points grabber was a rock against a tree on a tight downhill corner, the amount of riders who lost three dabs at this point was unbelievable, many would loose three without moving.

My point on this is if your going to dab, dab!! keep it down get thi sen set up and set off,look where your going to dab, try to always dab on the inside of the turn, put it down firmly on a rock or solid ground and get the most out of the dab you can.

If you dab on the outside of the turn, nine times out of ten you will have to dab again on the inside to get yourself and the bike in the correct position to continue.

The best one I like to see is the hot water prod, some riders look like the ground is red hot and they keep touching it with just the tip of the boot toe to see if it will scald their foot, IT WON'T!! put the bugger down once and get thi sen sorted.

I have seen riders like Dave Thorp and Mart Lampkin dab half way up a section and not pick the bugger up until they pass the end cards, like all Yorkshiremen they hate to see waste.

Think about it, at the end of the day it's won by the man who put his foot down the least amount of times.

Where does the "Kinill-Paddle" fit in then?

I would define it as more of a steady gallop than a paddle

I had a very experienced observer comment too me recently that I must have trained my daugter quite well in that technique, He said that somehow she finageled her foot around to where it covered about 3' and he never thought she had done anything but pivot it.......

Definetely one of the lessons to get across to the youngsters at an early age.

A couple of weeks ago as Dean was falling into a stack of RR ties, it was almost comical to see him work to keep the foot on the "correct" side of the bike to keep from getting a 5. I think the Observer cut him some slack, but he snuck through with a 3.

I prefer the crafty dab. Behind the back of a tree, rock on the blind side of the observer.

I would define it as more of a steady gallop than a paddle

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Must have been a 1 legged horse on Sunday then, finished 2nd and only dropped 17

Your the man K..........that gave a new meaning to Trotters burn

S'a good point, and one not wasted on me!! I consciously try and 'use the dab' now - I too was (some might say I still am) a Ballet Dancer - light of toe and many of marks!!!

If you double prod and turn a 1 into a 2 or even a 3, over the course of a 40 section trial that soon racks up!!

I'm currently trying the 's%*t or bust' technique - feet up as long as possible until it turns into a spectacular 5!!! (And I've got the bruises to prove it)

Cheers

Chris Mo.

Did you know there used to be a trials rider who only had one leg, he wasn't an old sluger either, he was a centre champion. I love this forum, it's light entertainment before beddybyes. The guy who wanted to fit his throttle on the left side, rattling clutches, siphoning carbs and now yorkshireman who wants the best boots cheap, or is it the cheapest best boots and doesn't want to travel ! Well Sammy Miller won several British Championships wearing industrial rubber boots, about a tenner chuffer and gauranteed to fit, as well as a one legged trials rider, there's an one armed and also a blind trials rider, not forgetting a famous blind sidecar passenger who passengered in national trials. The sliding dab, is my favourite, can really only be used in very muddy conditions, its a cross between a speedway rider and moon dancing, most observers give a dab upto about fifteen feet at which time I give the poor cold bedraggled observer two fingers and shout 'two mate', nine times out of ten I get the thumbs up reply. Finally the coverage of the World rounds with the downloadable movie type coverage, has been truly fantastic and brought another dimension to trials reporting, keep up the good work.

Tight bugger that Ish, just dont want ta waste t' boot leather thats all !

hey ish, i wanna know how you stop putting your feet down! any ideas?

HERE HERE to getting your money's worth on each dab.

My size 13's get me that much closer to the end cards. Large feet also yield superior balance.

And the ladies appreciate the larger size as well.

Methods for avoiding dabs.....

Make sure the bit of string that keeps your boots together isn't too long

or do what i do instead.......take 5s

What do you mead there "was a blind sidecar" rider. I was told He was at the Mel Harrison last week

Back when, before you could Stop with your foot down, the rule of thumb for good riders was 1 dab in time, saves five

Be A good role model, actively recruit riders, & convert a quad rider...