Well................I did my first Trial today .................for a long time
Barnsley Motor Club .............supposedly Easy Trial
a lot of the regulars thought it was the hardest of the year
I rode the yellow route and had a good time, in the main
Unexpectedly (for me and them
) saw a couple of other GS riders also doing it, so we had a bit of a laugh
It was 4 laps of 10 sections....................a pretty knackering 3.5 hours of riding, without a break.......... in an old predominantly beech woodland, next to a railway line, with plenty of roots/leaf mould/sharp rocks and banks
How unfit was I


1st lap was a 'sighting lap' and getting used to the bike (last rode in July
) again................I had a very mediocre lap and made some basic mistakes of missing route markers on 2-3 sections, resulting in a max 5 score
2nd and 3rd laps were better, much better...............quite a few cleans (zero marks lost) and a few 1's and 2's dropped and a couple of 3's..............but no 5's
4th lap ok.................but a couple of silly marks dropped through 'tosser style' fatigue (less pies needed
)
Finished ahead of quite a lot of the field, which was a suprise as i'm usually near the back, not being up-to-speed
It's a great low cost sport - you can do very well on a £500 bike and most bikes cost £1500-£3000 and out riding there are youngsters under 10, starting out and quite a few ladies out today too
I did fall off though
3 times
Nearly threw it over a precipice, but laid it down first, picked it up and then rode it down said precipice and nearly thought I was going to die
Smashed both shoulders into trees on numerous occasions (feel like a prop foward
now)
Jabbed the bars into my leg, whilst riding and now got a grapefruit sized bruise and a cut to match................ on my upper thigh
On one of my 3 falls (when I threw the bike through the ends cards to avoid a maximum fail) and slammed my right wrist into a dirt bank at 20 mph..............so now it's fecking agony
Ohh............................and they call this sport
Not taken today.................but a pic of myself a couple of years ago, with the same sort of bike that I've got now - Honda's finest - a 4stroke 250cc HRC Montesa 4RT
If you've no idea about trials and what I'm talking about.................here's a few pics of what it's all about

Barnsley Motor Club .............supposedly Easy Trial
I rode the yellow route and had a good time, in the main
Unexpectedly (for me and them
) saw a couple of other GS riders also doing it, so we had a bit of a laugh
It was 4 laps of 10 sections....................a pretty knackering 3.5 hours of riding, without a break.......... in an old predominantly beech woodland, next to a railway line, with plenty of roots/leaf mould/sharp rocks and banks
How unfit was I


1st lap was a 'sighting lap' and getting used to the bike (last rode in July
2nd and 3rd laps were better, much better...............quite a few cleans (zero marks lost) and a few 1's and 2's dropped and a couple of 3's..............but no 5's
4th lap ok.................but a couple of silly marks dropped through 'tosser style' fatigue (less pies needed
)Finished ahead of quite a lot of the field, which was a suprise as i'm usually near the back, not being up-to-speed
It's a great low cost sport - you can do very well on a £500 bike and most bikes cost £1500-£3000 and out riding there are youngsters under 10, starting out and quite a few ladies out today too
I did fall off though
3 times
Nearly threw it over a precipice, but laid it down first, picked it up and then rode it down said precipice and nearly thought I was going to die
Smashed both shoulders into trees on numerous occasions (feel like a prop foward
Jabbed the bars into my leg, whilst riding and now got a grapefruit sized bruise and a cut to match................ on my upper thigh

On one of my 3 falls (when I threw the bike through the ends cards to avoid a maximum fail) and slammed my right wrist into a dirt bank at 20 mph..............so now it's fecking agony
Ohh............................and they call this sport

Not taken today.................but a pic of myself a couple of years ago, with the same sort of bike that I've got now - Honda's finest - a 4stroke 250cc HRC Montesa 4RT
If you've no idea about trials and what I'm talking about.................here's a few pics of what it's all about


)
.............no need for one anyhow