I’ve done 3 dead easy trials and 8 'C' route trials, and many hours of practice

My problem is I’m still finishing last or last but one, is this normal or am I just crap at trials?  

I’m now losing confidence!

Edited October 10, 20169 yr by ralph1

Confidence is a big thing to overcome

 

I have suffered a knock this summer and I'm finding it hard to ride bigger stuff, at present

 

 

Nothing wrong with being 'crap at trials' as you say, as long as you enjoy it.

 Trials is not as easy as it seems. If you are just one year in, you are still a baby at this sport. Confidence can be tough at times. Or it could be everyone else has ridden forever. Take a look at your training. It helps if you ride with someone else that tends to push you along in the right direction. Biggest thing is to have fun, placement should not matter.

If you can narrow down any particular areas in your riding where you don't feel confident, that's a good start.

Then you can begin to work on that & build up your confidence from there.

Just do it for fun and learn while you are having fun.

Different clubs have vastly different ideas about how difficult a "Novice"  section should be. This is probably because the sections are often set out by Experts, rather than Novice riders.

Another issue can be that former Expert or Clubman competitors will ride the Novice route as they get older (or lazier).  They will then get a low/clean score and also feed back to the organisers that the Novice sections were too easy.  The result is that they are set harder next time and hence too difficult for the true novice rider.

Probably the best way forward is to ask other Novice riders which clubs TEND to have realistic Novice sections and which clubs to avoid.  For instance, in my area, Somerton, Blackmore Vale and Zona 1 can be guaranteed to set realistic Novice sections, while other clubs (who shall remain nameless, but happy to PM you) might be best avoided until you have a lot more experience and skill

Don't be put off, just try a different club meet next time.   

Where are you based?  If we knew then someone here will be able to advise you.

 

Took me a few years to get the hang of it all having ridden road bikes for 30 years before....and I'm still not that great !  I got into as I got fed up with chasing around after my son...and it's one of the best things I have done. My problem was, and still is, approaching things too fast....my throttle only seemed to go one way !  As others have advised, don't worry about being 'last' or your score but set yourself some realistic targets. I remember the first time I scored less than 100 !!    I still have some really bad days and laps....but they are now fewer than the good ones !

 

I do it for fun...so if I'm still smiling at the end then I'm a winner ! 

 

Some times its easy to "train" on thing you like doing rather than what you need to be practising. Also without somebody watching and advising you may be practicing bad habits which only makes them worse.

Try and identify what you are struggling with at each trial and then pick areas to work on or get advice. Go back to a section after the trial if ok with the organiser and see what you are doing wrong. Ask one of the better riders if they will come with you etc. Talk to the observer and see if they can help you out. They may not be riders but after spending a day observing a section they will know what works and what doesn't.

Trials is a friendly bunch and every body wants each other to get the maximum enjoyment so don't be afraid to say "help I struggling on this". 

best of luck

Took me a few years to get the hang of it all having ridden road bikes for 30 years before....and I'm still not that great !  I got into as I got fed up with chasing around after my son...and it's one of the best things I have done. My problem was, and still is, approaching things too fast....my throttle only seemed to go one way !  As others have advised, don't worry about being 'last' or your score but set yourself some realistic targets. I remember the first time I scored less than 100 !!    I still have some really bad days and laps....but they are now fewer than the good ones !

 

I do it for fun...so if I'm still smiling at the end then I'm a winner ! 

Less than a hundred? I need your autograph.....

I know exactly how you feel.  I used to feel like that a lot, but one thing I've learned in the forty years I've been doing this, is that Trials is unlike almost any other sport.  Yes there are other competitors in the class, but the only one you are really competing against is yourself.  Case in point.  Rode the middle class, Intermediate in a meet last Saturday.  I came in 7th out of 8 with a 39.  Winner had a 7. Point is, the first loop I had two 5's and lots of points.  But by the third loop I was cleaning many of those sections that had kicked my butt the first loop.  Yeah, I came in second to last.  But I had a great day and improved every loop.  At 62, it just doesn't get much better. There's always going to be a Tony Bou in every class.  Compete against yourself.  You'll have a lot more fun when you stop worrying about what anyone else does or doesn't do.

Could be that you have reached a plateau, where you are not improving and in effect practicing or repeating the same errors. At this stage it's effective to learn from watching the better riders on the sections you are riding. Take note of what they are doing with the throttle, clutch or brakes at critical points of the section. Are they weighting forward/back or on the left or right side where you are having difficulty? Where do they ride with bent knees, where with straight legs? Where do they speed up to attack an obstacle within the section and where do they almost stop to get into exactly the right position? Pick up on two or three elements of a successful attempt and fix your mind on copying that. Then keep practicing. Bear in mind that the best riders can make a difficult section look easy. It isn't, but they're just putting good technique into practice. Another few weeks/months of following this approach and your riding should be in a better place.

It took me two years of practice and competition to even have a prayer of placing well. You also need to practice with people better than yourself, and practice up a level from where you compete.

During your many hours of practice do you put down section markers or just run as wide as necessary to get round? You need the discipline of going where you have to go, not where you find it easiest.

I've got a bag of marking pegs that I use when practicing, I mark out a couple of sections and keep practicing  

 

I seem to do everything wrong when I’m in a trial, I make the simplest mistakes!

 

My biggest problem is I keep going the wrong way though sections, even though I walk it and watch other riders!

I seem to do everything wrong when I’m in a trial, I make the simplest mistakes!

 

My biggest problem is I keep going the wrong way though sections, even though I walk it and watch other riders!

 

We all do this, make simple mistakes and take the wrong route. Quite often instead of riding the easy route which I should be doing, I'll find myself riding the expert route, usually ending up in a tree, hedge or on my ass.

 

My remedy for this age related misdirection is simple - laughter

 

I'm there to enjoy the day and if I'm laughing I'm happy

 

The only moment of happiness a points chaser gets at a trial is when the results are out and they are at the top

 

Next time you're at a trial, take a moment to look around at some of the serious miserable faces - they're the points chasers who have just took a dab. Then look at the smiling faces - they're the ones who are there to enjoy the day, they'll either be the ones pulling themselves out of a hedge or his mates taking the mick (after the obligatory of asking if he's alright that is)

 

My advice is keep practising, keep going to trials, keep making those simple mistakes but above all keep laughing and as time goes by you'll slowly make your way up the score board because they'll be other newbies coming along behind you worrying about making the same mistakes as you are now.

Edited October 10, 20169 yr by ourian