This clipping popped up on FB - showing Walt with his Venture Royale -what it doesn’t mention is that Walt ran this bike on Opti 4 for all those miles - including the Australian adventure ( we shipped it to Oz especially for him) - He told me that it was so hot at one spot that locals advised him not to go on - the tarmac on the road was bubbling!! - naturally, Walt carried on - Walt and I were of course very good friends and because of this, I was able to get him to sponsor that first World Trial in 1975, - plus I arranged for Walt to sponsor Stan Bakgaard on the new 1984 TY -Stan went on to record the best finish ever by a Canadian at the Scottish that year, finishing 13th. -

Together, Walt and myself (Through Yamaha Canada) - were able to get many top riders on Yamaha bikes, both Trials and Enduro -  Although I left Yamaha Canada in  January 1984 - Walt and I remained very good friends, and maybe that is why he promoted Opti Oil for me. - But he really believed in the product. ( And the Venture Royale story speaks for itself)
Perhaps our most interesting trip was to the 1992 Scottish Six Days.  - I was in Walt’s shop and he asked me when I was leaving for the UK - I said in three weeks - Walt said “You know David - I think I’ll come with you” - now Walt and myself had been on a lot of Yamaha vacations - Japan, and the  USA - LA- Daytona etc - but  Walt had never been to Europe, so I was quite surprised as he was not getting any younger.

Anyway he turned up at the Calgary Airport with a back-pack and his visa card - and we were off - I will save the rest of this story for another blog.

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Time for a bit of English humor !! ( spelled Humour in English)

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Interesting UK post on tires - As you know Beta swapped to Dunlop on all the Trials models about three years ago and we have had no complaints - The story we heard was that Michelin refused to give them a break on the pricing, and we no longer stock these as we could only sell a rear tire for $220 - which was our cost. ( Note : English spelling Tyres)

While most of Canada is either freezing, or under a blanket of snow - the West Coast guys are able to get out on days like this after a brief melt! - here we see some riders from the Victoria club paying a visit to Ioco Vancouver on a foggy day. Lucky @@@@@.

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Another oldie showing Tino on my Beta Evo 200 at the Calgary Trial where he lost just one point - none of the group could believe that the bike was only a 200, - Yes you will notice that  it has the S3 header pipe on this.

Quiz - Who is this rider?

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A great shot showing Sam Yeomans riding a typical English style section at the Annual Vic Britain  Trial in Shropshire, not far from where I lived.

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THE JOSS MOUNTAIN STORY.

In early 2003 I got a call from Mark Thompson - he asked what I had for Trials bikes and could he stop by? - This was the start of a new adventure for me, as Mark told me he knew of this neat Mountain near Revelstoke, and while he was quite an accomplished enduro rider  - he said they were too big and awkward to traverse the trail up to the top of the Mountain, which had been made using pack horses in 1920. - The reason being to build a fire look-out at the 8,000ft summit.  - Mark figured that a lightweight Trials bike would be ideal for the tight turns and tough terrain.
The next day Mark picked up a Gas Gas 300 from me  - on the condition that I would get to go with him on his next  trek up the mountain.- Mark had told me that we would need to carry extra gas - so I had my Bag lady make up special back packs that would hold extra gas bottles, plus rain gear and lunch.

I would be riding a new Gas Gas 300 Pro  for the trip, not without some concerns, as it had already needed a major engine rebuild as the factory left an extra screw in the air intake which went through the engine !! Yes we heard Don Clark had a few words to say to Andreu Cordina about that!!  - our buddy Luke Towers came along on his Beta and a couple of others riders.

With Mark leading the way - we were soon riding a narrow rooted trail alongside a creek - very Trialsy and no problem as we were fresh !! ( At age 66 I was still riding reasonably well) -

On we went, skirting avalanches and crossing creeks, before we came to the base of the switch backs - that led the way up into the Alpine. - Now we were into tall weeds that hid the trail, some so tall that we needed to put our heads down as we forced our way through. ( I remember I kept running into Luke’s back wheel) - Mark had already been out the week before and cut out some of the dead fall, but it was still tough going. - next we were into a rocky side-hill section, where Mark said one of the guys that was with him on a previous attempt had gone off with the bike  (XR 600) ending up way down in the toolies - took them 6 hours to pull it back up. ( I began to understand why he had wanted a Trials bike.)

Eventually we broke out into the Alpine - Wow what a relief - and a chance to rest & have a snack. - We were now surrounded  by large rocky cliffs and rock slides, as we picked out way onward and upward, to the next plateau which also had ice cold lakes and snow drifts in ravines that we had to cross. - All this left me with some trepidation as you didn’t know just how deep or soft some of these  were.

Later we were up onto what is best described as a “Moonscape”    following stone cairns that had been erected all those years long ago - eventually reaching the last goat trail up to the Fire Look-Out. - This sits on the edge of a cliff, with views all the way around for miles, and you can only wonder how long it took those guys to drag all the stuff needed to build the Shack  with their mules - which as it turned out was never used!

Standing up on that spot for the first time - was an incredible moment and made me realize just what makes mountain climbers   do what they do. - The only sound was the wind. - It was like being on top of the World
In 2007 the Forestry built a new roof on the look-out and replaced the broken windows (  via Helicopter)  and also put a visitors book inside.

Mountain bikers got wind of the trail and it wasn’t long before they were asking the Forestry for permission to make this into a Mountain bike Trail - Yes you’ve guessed it - that was the beginning of the end for Trials bikes on the Mountain.
Altogether, I did the Joss ride 8 times, the last being on my 75th birthday with Stan - yes that was difficult for me  - And as the trail is now closed to Motorized vehicles - I’m likely the oldest guy to have my name in the book.

Below I’ve posted some of the pics we took over the years - we have a ton  of these plus video.

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Another foggy day in Vernon Town !! and supposed to be around zero for the rest of the week - I’m sure everybody is getting restless to get out on the bikes.- Obviously this is a time when enthusiasts are doing service work and we are getting more people calling to arrange to drop off their bikes. - It’s important to plan ahead if you need parts -accessories etc.

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A old pic of  Fajardo, Bou and Raga - as young pretenders to the throne of Dougie Lampkin.!!

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Another old one - Terry Porter on the left and myself  - think this was around 1972. - It was Terry that I got to know back in 1969 at one of  the Calgary Motorcycle Club meetings - and together we hatched the plot to put on English style, long distance Trials events in the Forestry West of Calgary, which eventually led to the first ever Canadian World Round in 1975.  - I bought my first Canadian Trials bike from Terry, his Bultaco Sherpa T - and managed to beat him on it first time out. ( We had a laugh about that)  - The Plaque that I’m holding is a “One of a kind” Engraving of Sammy Miller, which we lost track of and don’t know who has this. - It’s very rare so it would be nice to get it back into circulation.

I notice that I’m wearing a Cycle Canada T shirt and Jacket as I was supplying that new Trials Newspaper with photographs and articles at that time, including the Scottish Six Day Trial in 1972. ( The US Magazine Dirt Bike used my article and you can see the center page spread coverage in the pic below)

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Below is a pic of Pete chatting to Ron Walsh at the Vancouver bike show a few years ago - Pete and myself attended a few of these together - that was the Mountain Motorcycle Booth - the Trials bikes were at the far end where Brett Clark is standing . Unfortunately all these shows have had to be cancelled for the past couple of years because of the Covid Crisis.

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Today we will chat about “The Trial that never was” - It began in the head’s of Andrew Christiansen and Outlaw Dave. - To put on a  Trial at Silver Star Mountain Resort in Vernon BC. -

The idea was to run a WTC National Trial the same weekend as the Hare Scramble that Andrew and his Team had hosted a few times.
Together with the help of the local Ski hill guide -  Mike Hano- we did a a reccy of the Mountain, with me supplying bikes for both Andrew and Mike.
Mike was the guy that new the mountain upside down - and led us  UP on the already existing Down Hill Mountain bike trails  to explore the possibilities. -

As the old guy with all the experience !! -  I naturally did not lead - leaving it to the younger guide who was very familiar with the Mountain. -

I explained that my idea would be to have sections all the way up to the top and a couple at the Summit, where spectators could view after riding up on the Gondola ( Euro style)

I must say  that I was impressed by the riding ability of both my companions - as they were on unfamiliar  machines,  some of the trails we explored were not easy and one stretch had a root section that was really challenging - but all the time I was searching the sides of the trail as we rode ever higher. - always looking for sections. -

Eventually we reached the summit and paused to both take photos and also for me to scout around for possible sections close to where spectators would embark from the gondola.  The view from the top was fantastic and you could see for miles up and down the Valley.
It takes a lot of experience and planning to put on any event and while for a time, this looked like it might happen  and be the beginning for International Trials in Canada. - At the end of the day, I had to pull the plug, as I felt there was just too many other Motorcycle activities - ie Hare Scrambles, and Endurocross - going on that weekend.  Sad really. ( Note since this time - the Dirt bikes have been banned from the Mountain due to local residents complaining.  - I guess it was really too good to be true) -

It is perhaps Ironic that the Trials bikes would have been less troublesome being very quiet and the soft tires leaving very little damage to the terrain.

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