Can’t thank Rob Pike enough for the loan of his Gas Gas for the Turkey trial, held by the club just a few miles from my house, up at Shipham.
The club had a bad turn out last year, owing possibly to the change of day from the traditional Saturday to the Sunday. This year it was back to normal, Saturday brought a healthy entry … and the vast percentage rode in fancy dress as well. I didn’t ! Party pooper ! 🙂 I had spent all of Friday being a woodburner flu fitters mate, on my birthday as well i hasten to add just in case there is any sympathy votes out there. Not totally sure that all would be finished enough for me to attend the trial I didn’t get into the fancy dress spirit, although i did dress up as a trials rider to try and fool some people.
12 sections were presented, with two of those something unusual. One was a wheelie section along the track with markers placed at intervals to determine your score from where you drop your front wheel, and there was also a balance section. You had 3 or 4 metres in ride into and then stop and balance for the count of 5,4,3,2,1 go … you scored whatever the observer had counted down too before you fell of, put a foot down or moved forward or back.. a great fun idea and i would suggest suitable for deciding tie-breaks at normal club trials perhaps?
All went well for me in the sections, it took just a few sections to get used to the bike ( I find the Gas Gas’s so easy to ride along with the Jotagas’) and i carried on cleaning sections all lap … until the wheelie section. I had already decided, knowing that i am not that great at wheelies, haven’t ridden much at all and most of all.. i didn’t want to break Rob’s back mudguard on the gasser, that i would take it very steady on this part. I think i got within a metre or two of a clean each lap but never did the whole thing clean 🙂
This was the pattern for the 4 laps … cleaned all the sections but whimped out on the wheelie. Until the last but one section, i paused a little at the top of the slippery root covered climb about to say thanks for observing to the man with the clipboard and promptly put a foot down !! Worst of all … it was being observed by Rob, the owner of the bike … a deserved piss taking was given!! 🙂
Turns out i was in the second placed team at the end of the day, we won an oven ready chicken each. And i won a bottle of wine in the raffle .. all in all a great day out, a nice drink and sausage and chips in the pub afterwards. Thanks to Rob, the Mendip Vale club and also all the observers who stood in the chilly breeze for 3 hours. .. and also Linda Ashford for catching me in a few images, i even look like i was doing the wheelie properly in some!!
