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Birthday Greetings go out to my eldest brother Don, over in England, who turns 90 today. - We rode Trials together in the 1950’s, but Don’s first love was flying - He is seen here a few years ago in a Tiger Moth.

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Remember how we have talked about “Body Lean” or as the Yanks call it “Body English” - here is a good example

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I saw this and thought it quite fitted into what we say about Club style Trials - Great fun for everybody.  We expect the new 2022 TRS models to arrive soon - BUT most are already Pre-sold so if you are thinking about one, better give us a call.

What a great weekend

First ride on the new OHA Motorsport TRS motorcycles UK bike on Saturday and totally loved it

The bike is simply incredible and has put the fun back in riding again, awesome days practice today and can’t wait to get out on it this week

Answer to the Saturday quiz - The bike is an Alfa - made by a small Euro factory and not sure if they ever made very many, although it did show up at a few World rounds. - A few people got this, but perhaps the funniest answer was from one of my contacts in Japan - who had no idea about the Motorcycle, but gave all the details pertaining to the pedal bike!! Thanks Pat

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Andrew Christiansen sent me this - what a fantastic looking bike. - some readers may recall that we built one of these back in the late 70’s which while pretty trick was nowhere near the class of this beauty.

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Another wintery day out the window - some snow - looks like March might be coming in “Like a Lion”

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Not a lot to report today - we have stayed pretty close to home lately and with the events in the Ukraine - we have clicked onto Utube to take in some of the old Trials video tapes - some really good ones.

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We hope to have news on our 2022 TRS bikes this week.

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This  was posted on a new page dedicated to buddy Al - very nice.

This because it’s another pic of one of the new breed of Euro gals taking up Trials.

Who remembers Thierry Girard ? a regular on the World trials scene in the 80’s - but who can name the bike?

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It’s hard to know where to start on a cold Friday such as this - up early  & put the kettle on, then the usual ritual of taking my medications, while clicking on the TV.  - Today is not like any other Friday, because the world is in a crisis and although we are so far away, it brings back the memories of War. - And we feel very sad,

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We are still in the grip of winter, here in the Okanagan - although the sunny skies yesterday helped cheer things up - I had to go into town early to get some blood tests at one of the only two clinics doing this. - As I stood in line, outside in the cold, but bright sunny weather, I listened to the other people chatting - a smattering of conversations - men bitching about Justin T- older women talking about their families and complaining about the long wait. - Nobody mentioned the Ukraine .

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The history books tell the stories, of all the World conflicts - futile waste of human life. - But one thing that I thought of, as I stood in that early morning line-up -  was the similarities between England in 1940 and the Ukraine this week. - In 1940 England stood alone against the might of the Nazi war machine - while the Americans and others watched. - Josef Kennedy Father of John - who was the Ambassador to the UK. told the American President that Britain was finished.

The Ukraine people this week are facing the same uneven battle with good versus evil - another monster seeking  World domination, and make no mistake - that is what Putin wants.  - The Politicians talk about sanctions - while women and children are dying in the streets. - Yes indeed this is a very sad time, and not a day to post motorcycle news.

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This is Drumheller Alberta in 1920 - home of the “Hoodoos”

Riding the ridges on a Trials bike - What could be better?

Could this be a future World Trials Champion?  Young Harry Hemmingway is certainly impressing a lot of people these days.

And just when you think you’ve  seen everything !! Check out this monster.

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Answer to the Wednesday Quiz - Bernie Schreiber - Correct responses from Brett Clark.- Harlow,  and a couple of our Ontario readers.

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Finally the shocking things happening both here and abroad during the past few weeks and especially today  as people wake up to the news from Ukraine - is a concern for everybody. - I remember the words of General Patton when he reached Berlin in 1945 ” Why did they stop us Here?’ - Of course Winston Churchill also knew only too well the dangers of dealing with Russian leaders.

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Quiz - Who is this Yamaha rider ? Answer from Tuesday - Eddie Lejuene - a few people got this -

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Here is an update from Michael Traves >>>

Happy Trials Tuesday

 

More great news on our National Initiative this week, I had a really good Zoom call with the FIM Deputy CEO and Operations Director (Damiano) on Friday. He is a super nice guy and was very supportive of what we are trying to accomplish with our Trials initiative.

 

He stated that the FIMs current position is that they would very much like to see the CMA and MCC working together for the benefit of all Motorcycling in Canada – which is something that this Initiative has been working very hard to help facilitate. Damiano stated that he felt we might be being a little overly “ambitious” with all we are trying to do with  this project but agreed that it is better to challenge ourselves and see how much we can get accomplished than to do nothing.

 

Damiano is happy to get us in touch with the FIM Trials commission and anybody else we feel could be of help when we feel we are ready. His only real concern for the project (and the funds they have provided) is that the FIM gets 15k Euro worth for their money… ie the money is well spent in our efforts to promote Trials in Canada. He also said if we struggle to get things completed in the 1 year timeframe we just need to send an email and they can easily extend the date for us. So overall very supportive and really no road blocks standing in our way.

I have nothing new to report on the TdN Team Canada front this week – but hopefully the CMA official call for riders will be out soon

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As we head into the last week of February - the weather in our Valley continues to be very cold, so we are keeping warm at home. - Not a lot to report today - and I’m certainly not going to be doing any work in the shop - we seem to be in a holding pattern - Waiting for Bikes and other stuff.

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Now here is a happy face we haven’t seen for a while Mark Grey on the left - thanks to Lisa Rae for sending the pics showing 5 TRS out for a fun ride on Family day on the Sunshine Coast. ( Mark is the local dealer)

QUIZ - Who is this leg waving rider from the past?

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The scoring system in Trials is a real puzzle for new people to the sport - here is an explanation .

This pic of one of my old Beta Demo bikes just got posted on FB - it  has now found a home on Vancouver Island. - The new owner says he loves it.

Happy smiles day at Ioco - Billy D and Steve Day.

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It was a cold Family day in the Valley, so I watched some Trials videos on UTube - the first one was of the 2020 ACU British Ladies Round and is really good - great control by these  young gals in the muddy conditions, - Donna Fox won the top class. - Next up was the 1984 SSDT tape posted by somebody in which we saw a brief clip of Stan - unfortunately taking a five - but he finished 13th that week - the best ever performance by a Canadian rider to date. - After this the 1993 Duke video of the Scottish came on - again great to watch - LOTS of Wulf riding gear !!  - So I thought I would post this pic of Big John Moffat in his special jacket made for this years event, as he does all the rider interviews etc. ( Yes we can get all this neat gear - just email us for info or a Catalogue)

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Answer to the Monday quiz !!   Glencoe in Scotland - they have had a big dump of snow in the Highlands - here is another pic  - unusual to see a snowmobile in Scotland!!

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Yesterday, I posted an old Advertisement for the 1974 TY Trials bikes - with a mention of the American aspect projected, in other words - the Trials bikes were promoted more for exploring the mountains, than actual competition.

This is a Honda Advt from the same period, looking to project the same image. ( Just my thoughts)

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Jim Snell just posted these stamps on FB - he bought for his collection - like him, we didn’t know they printed these in the Isle of Man. - ( Kinda neat)

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We have quite a lot of very good lady riders in Canada, with the majority choosing Enduro bikes, but some, like Caroline Stevenson  - have been successful on the big bikes as well - Here is Caroline a few years ago on her BMW - she also bought a new TRS Xtrack from us a couple of years ago, (  She had an Evo 200 prior to that)  and is looking forward to riding that when she moves to Fintry BC next month.

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Another pic of a bedraggled looking Mick Andrews test riding a new Ossa Prototype in 1979, after his Yamaha contract expired.

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We have just received the 2022 VMC Calendar from Peter Grant >>>

March 27th  Les Blow Trial

May 1st      Reg Shanks Trial

June 12th Joe Brown Trial

October 23rd Lohrmann Trial

November 27th Rick Wells Trial

Be sure to check with Dave Fair  for confirmation on these dates.

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Can anybody guess where this pic was taken yesterday?

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Well at least one of our customers managed to get out on his new TRS Xtrack this weekend - A nice shot by Doug Nimmo in the North Okanagan. - where he found a dry hillside   near his Summer property in Fintry, ( Yes he loves the bike)

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Back in 1972 the Pipeline and Hydro plant were still operational at Kinlochleven in Scotland - This was the first year I watched the Six Days while on Vacation in the UK - ( Yes amazingly, I had never been to Scotland before) - I went up with my elder brother, and we stayed at the Grand Hotel in Fort William, ( Mick’s Dad Tom Andrews was also staying there so we had some good chats, plus he gave us some directions to see the best sections - Pipeline was one of these!! - The pic shows the Ossa that Mick used to win his 3rd Scottish in a row ( before Yamaha came calling)

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Check out this report of a Marathon trip that the Ontario boys made to race down South - Jim Kelly excelled at all Motorcycle Sport, plus he was a huge supporter of the ISDT- which later became known s the ISDE.

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This one is of an epic trip taken by 7 club members to a 24 hour Road race in Nelsons Ledges, Ohio, 1971. The bike was an R5 Yamaha, and Jim prepped and rode it to the event in Ohio. It was stripped down to racing trim, and ridden in the 24 hour event, re-built, and Jim rode it back to Hamilton. Not sure who beside Jim took part in the race though.. Participants were Rick Gunby, Andy Bailey, Ted McNaughten, Brian Smith, Ed Prang, Cathy Metcalfe, and Jim Kelly.

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Some of the early Yamaha Trials advertising had a very American slant. ( That all changed after 1974)

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Thanks to Deryk Wylde for this post. - Check out the price to ride the Scottish in 2022 ( and I don’t think that includes everything)

In the 1963 Knut, Roy Peplow with the 500cc unit Triumph that he built for himself when Meriden refused - saying future trials policy was vested in the Cubs - Roy was not an enthusiastic Cub proponent, even though he won the Scottish on the Cub - a feat he had never achieved on the twins!

Riding in the SSDT this year is likely to be an expensive affair, I believe the Entry fees are £750, accommodation likely to be £1200-1500, then there’s the cost of traveling.

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Saturday afternoon I clicked onto the UTube channel and watched some Trials videos - It was interesting  to see the Duke video of the 1995 World round from Hawkstone Park. - We have this VHS tape - plus our own video, which we took as we were at that event. - It is well worth clicking onto if you can - Steve Saunders set up the sections at the well known MX track in Shropshire ( only 30 miles from where I grew up)

Mart Lampkin kindly offered to loan me a bike to get around taking video and pics,  but I felt it would be easier walking as the crowds were huge. -

Dougie didn’t have a great weekend, as something was not quite right with his Beta - think it played games with his head. - However if you watch the video, you will see a ton of Betas -( Although none were on the podium)  - Tommi Ahvala, was on the new Fantic which looked good, they had a few bikes on display, but the Company was on a death spiral and reports said Tommi had not been paid for months .

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I remember I sold Barry one of those 1995 Beta Techno’s, and he did quite well on it. - However, I didn’t start riding the Beta on a regular basis until the 1996 model, which had a much improved Kick-start lever !! - I wonder how many sales were lost due to that? I loved the 86 Techno and kept it for two seasons.

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