Answer to the Thursday quiz – John Draper BSA factory rider and brilliant “all rounder” Scrambles, Trials, ISDT etc. Also brother in law to MX World Champ and also a brilliant “All rounder” Jeff Smith.
Peter Legrove from OZ sent in the only correct answer
We had a few nice comments about the Thursday blog re Sammy etc. – a bit of a History lesson for some.
Quiz today. – Not Trials, but a very good MX and Cross Country rider.
Below is pic from a couple of years ago, up on Vernon Mountain with Skaha Lake in the center, and Okanagan Lake just visible on the right top. Lovely green lush terrain that day. -The Okanagan Valley reminds me of our old Country of Wales.
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Yesterday I watched a video of The Red Rose Vintage Trial on You Tube, and it reminded me of why English Trials were/are popular, and why we always ran our events in this fashion.
A trials competition, should task the rider in his/her ability to get through a variety of sections, including, mud, steep climbs, rocky gullies, rock steps – water/creeks – or tree roots/logs etc.
Now obviously if you have a Trial set up in a parking lot type of venue, there simply is not enough to challenge all of these aspects.
(Usually the rider who only practices hopping and bopping wins)
Another reason for not running parking lot events, is that if the club get a large entry ( popular in my day) of over 100 riders, then there are bottlenecks at sections, lots of waiting – all very boring. – Far better to have riders spread out over a long loop.
Now when and if you watch any of these “Club” Trials on the box, please remember that although you see a lot of easy type sections – in a long loop, a good organizer will have a mixture of difficulty – much better to have riders finish with smiles and some cleans on their card, rather than be totally fed up and have their bike for sale next week. Check it out, these riders are all having a really good time.
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