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It was another scorcher in the Valley on Monday and it would appear that this will continue for at least the next few days. - Hot is Hot and hard to bear especially when you are old.

We did manage to get some stuff done today  - but started early.

My daughter took this pic from her balcony last night - A deer looking for water.

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Looking ahead to the August long weekend - we might get a bit of a reprieve from the extreme temperatures - then the following weekend, we head for Rocky Mountain House for the ATRA Trial - where it’s always a bit cooler - in fact as I recall last year, I had to dig out my old Parka to sit around the campfire. - but the daytime weather was excellent, and everything about this event at Bernie’s Farm is great.  - Please contact me if you want more info. ( With the Fire Ban in BC - it’s a great chance to ride)

This is a pic from two years ago at the Rocky Trial.

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The   Rocky Mountain Club are hosting “The Dirty Moose” Cross Country race that same day at Fallen Timber. -  and they have  Chris Burch attending - the New Zealand Super Star will I think, be putting on a School but not sure of the details.

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Interesting that I saw a post on the Red Bull Xtreme event held last weekend, showed a wasted looking Graeme Jarvis, and said that maybe the organizers had ” gone over the top”  this year with the degree of difficulty and danger. -

Back in the 1970’s - the best Cross Country races were all held in Alberta, they were tough with only a handful of the 170 + riders ever finishing the famous Moose Mountain event.  - However, the difference was it was always about rider ability and technique - that’s why  Trials riders did well then and that is why they do well now.  ( They changed this event to be more like a Hare Scramble in later years)
I had a guy phone from Calgary today, asking about Trials bikes - he said he was an older racer, who thought Trials might be something that he would like. - He had talked to a few Motorcycle shops, but they didn’t seem to know anything about the sport !! ( Sounds familiar right) - Anyway, I told him about the Rocky Trial and maybe he will show up - ( I will have a Beta plus TRS bikes to both test and look at)

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This is the TRS XTrack - which will be in production this Fall - should be just the ticket for a lot of riders.

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A few riders from Calgary were at a Trial in Helena USA last weekend - Here are a few of the pics - Looks like they came home with a haul of Trophies, and said it was a great event.

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It was another “Cooker” of a day in the OK Valley, so we just played couch potato - Started with watching the Formula One from Hungary - then the Indy Car race which was pretty exciting - then we ended up seeing the final play at the Canadian Golf Open from Ontario.

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We have heard from our Family from the UK, who have had to change their plan of traveling via Amtrack  from Seattle to Santa Barbara, because they cancelled the train due to the Wild Fires burning near Redding. - Luckily they managed to grab a flight to complete their journey.

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Looking out the window this morning, we have cloudy skies at the moment - not sure if a lot of that is smoke.!!  We need rain in the worst way, but without any lightning storms.
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Here is some good news for riders in Ontario >>

We have had Babsy’s family visiting from the UK this past week, so it has been quite busy, -  Saturday was their last  day, before they head down to California to stay with their son, who lives in Santa Barbara. - This pic was taken up at the Sparkling Hills Resort in Vernon,where we enjoyed a relaxing afternoon.

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Watched a bit of the F1 today - after a a very wet day yesterday, the weather in Hungary was sunny and hot - Lewis Hamilton took the win for Mercedes, ahead of Vettel, and Raikkonen in the Ferrari cars,.

Later, I will take in the last day of the Canadian Open Golf  from Ontario, as it’s too hot to go for a ride.

Forest Fires still an issue, with lots of smoke in the Valley, but nothing close to us. ( As far as I know)
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Albert Cabestany (Beta) has won the Urban Trial of France  - Adam Raga (TRS) finished 2nd and Jaime Busto (GG) 3rd.

More News as it happens >>>

As they head into the final day of the Red Bull Romaniacs - it would appear that South African Sherco rider, Wade Young is set to become the youngest rider to win this grueling hard Enduro.

And he did - 2nd was Lettenbichler, 3rd Jonny Walker, 4th Billy Bolt, 5th Alfredo Gomez.

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This week has been mostly about visiting with family over from the UK - Babsy’s brother and his family - on route to California to visit with one of their sons.  - Today is their last day, before they fly out of Kelowna.,- early Sunday morning. . - It’s been a very enjoyable week.

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In between times, we have been shipping out parts, and it appears some people are getting out riding, as Beta rear fenders have been in demand. !!

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Here is a “Blast from the Past”  Yrjo Vesterinen (Bultaco) on what looks like an old section in Scotland. ( Maybe Edramucky?)

It would appear that events for the old bikes are getting more popular in the UK - here is a group from the one last week near Matlock, where Mick Andrews lives ( although he spends a lot of time in Spain) Sorry pic transfer was a bit distorted.

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Check out this video clip - no it’s not Sammy. >>>>  # monsterflip

So here we are, heading into another weekend, and another scorcher, but at least we haven’t heard of anymore wild Fires in our area, (touch wood) - However, I just saw on the news that there is a new one burning in the Richmond district near Vancouver.

We are getting quite a lot of smoke drifting up from the South, where the big fire near Peachland continues to burn - We have to feel for the firefighters working in the extreme heat and long hours.

Of course, it isn’t just our Province where the extremely hot weather is causing problems, over in the UK, they have posted record temperatures, and a noticed another event was cancelled because of grass fires in the area. - In California a huge fire near Redding has caused evacuations.
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Looking ahead to the month of August - We don’t have any events planned in Central BC, because of the fire hazard, , but we will be attending the ATRA Trial at Rocky Mountain House on August 12th  ( scroll down for poster & directions) and I see the New Trials club in Ontario has a big event also planned for the end of next month.

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This is Mike King from Tatla Lake in Northern BC - Mike owns White Saddle Air, using a couple of helicopters for Fire fighting duties, plus he has a nice collection of old British bikes - he just picked up this beauty, a 1955 Triumph 500.

Back in the mid 1990’s - Barry and myself went up to his place to put on a Trials school, as he had some local interest - a long drive -  5 hours straight West of Williams Lake.

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Graham Jarvis has retired from the Red Bull Romaniacs on Day #3 - feeling ill - Taddy is also out.

Check  out this video clip of Billy Bolt at the Red Bull Romaniacs  - incredible . He is another very good Trials rider who has switched to the more lucrative Enduro scene. .>>>>>> video

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Another hot day in the Valley - we have family visiting from the UK this week, so it’s been a bit hectic but very enjoyable.

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Neat pic of Kenny Roberts taking a snooze, while Kel Carruthers changes a tire. - They were a great Team, just like Bob Work and Steve Baker in Canada.
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Wonderful pic sent in by Max who is having so much fun riding the Mountains in the Invermere region  of BC - on his Outlaw/TRS

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Had to share this great photo of the big hill at Hawkstone in the UK - just 30 miles from my hometown back then, and the first “Scramble” that I ever went to watch.

This “Blast from the Past” photo ( likely taken by Harlow Rankin) shows Darryl Copithorne riding in an Alberta Trial, back in the 70’s  - He now lives in Australia. and has a Beta Evo 200, plus other big bore bikes. - Along with Bruce Mitchel, Darryl put on a lot of events. including the 2nd Canadian World Round.in Alberta.  ( Check out the rubber boots - I still have mine)

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The Red Bull Romaniacs goes this week - and the field is packed with super stars - Graeme Jarvis is of course the man to beat as he excels at this event, but fellow Team Husky rider Billy Bolt appears to be on a charge these days, plus Cody Webb will there to wave the  flag for the USA.

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Check this out - it shows the lead weights that had to be added to Jack Sheppard’ s Jotagas in 2015, to make it the same as the Factory Honda bikes. - The FIM appear to be controlled by the  Japanese Manufacturer. - what they say is how things are, and this still holds true today. - Although the 4T Factory Honda bikes are built using Titanium and Carbon Fiber. they still can’t make them as light as the European 2T bikes, so that is why they dictate the rules.

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In weather news - we had a bit of a storm across the Valley last night, but we haven’t heard of any new fires. - temperatures are still very hot.

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The World FIM Trial #6 is now in the History books and although the result in the top class is the same as usual - this time Toni Bou (Honda) was pushed  by Adam Raga. (TRS) - and once again - some riders had big crashes - Fujigas and Dabill plus quite a few others.

I wonder if any of the top riders have started wearing back protection? (as will be mandatory in 2019 ) - With some of the sections requiring Circus like ability, it makes me wonder where this is all going. -
A few questions have been raised about the checking at this Trial - and if you watch the videos, it’s obvious that many riders, including Bou, should have been docked “5″s in a few sections, as the current FIM Rules are “NO STOP” - ( Which makes no sense to me)
At our local Canadian level - The riders all have to sign waivers, and the Organizers/Land owners,  are covered by the WEC Insurance Policy - but  I think  all of our WTC events are planned with safety in mind.  -Encouraging new riders to the sport I think requires more that showing extreme sections. - This is why we have always tried to take new riders out on various loops to “Show” them the sections and explain what is required to make it through on the different lines. - For newbies, just understanding how everything is planned out in a section is a mystery.

Because of this. we try to keep things simple, by completely taping the boundaries with blue on the left and pink on the right. - Each class follows different colored arrows, which dictate the route through to the “End” cards.

All of the events we hold in Central BC and in conjunction with the ATRA in Alberta, are held either on Private Land or on Crown Land - the main focus, being to bring out the family for a camp out weekend. - ( During the 1970’s this was hugely successful in Alberta with the Calgary Motorcycle Club) - This is where the kids learn and may or may not pick up on the sport.
I think it’s fair to say, that when you are young, taking risks , is all part of the excitement,  - ( Yes I also did this)  but the modern day trend of putting in huge walls and jumps  for the Experts, needs to be toned down a bit, - in my opinion. -

Adam did well and maybe should have won this one -

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Check this out - Jeff Smith the last time he raced a BSA

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We sometimes get asked how many Trials bikes are sold in Canada, which is something we can only guess at. However, this chart was just posted of models from the years 2016-2017 in France. - Very interesting.

It was a rather strange day weather-wise in the Valley on Saturday, in fact you could say that it was a bit on the cool side ! - Naturally this felt good as we watched for news from the South and the raging wild fires..

As I mentioned - for me it was a morning watching the golf from the British Open in Scotland, where the greens looked to be very dry, after unusual very hot weather. ( nice to see Tiger back up there)

Late in the day, we had Gord Rinke stop by on his way back to Alberta, after a couple of weeks of vacation in the Penticton area - as if the Wild Fires were not enough - he got held up by a bizarre Police take-down on route back up the Valley -  However, the family said they had a great time in the Okanagan and will be back. (They plan to retire here )
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Although the new World Trials Format is very different this year, with the speed qualifying - I think anything that adds to to the spectator appeal at these events, where the factories are spending a ton of money, can only be looked at as a positive ( until somebody gets hurt)

This is young Brit Toby Martyn - who was the fast guy in Trial GP 2  - the smiles say it all .

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Jordan Szoke continues to set records for Road Racing in Canada, with another win this last weekend - He is also an Expert Trials rider, having competed in both the Scottish Six Days and the Trial des Nations.

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Lots of video popping up on FB from the World Trial in Belgium - most is done by Jitsie, who have a young lady doing interviews and commentary on the sections. Not sure who this is, but she seems to know  a lot about the sport..

The sections look to be set on some very steep hillsides with tight turns and the usual big rocks - will update as we learn more. >