effsweet

What an interesting thread. It's over 40 years since I last rode [not very] competitively, & 20 years since I first went to watch the Scottish. I knew the answer to the question without thinking. You are NOT allowed to carry spare fuel in a backpack, the penalty is exclusion. How do I know? I've read the Supplementary Regs! As has been outlined the Organisers tread a tightrope & the most important thing is to preserve the future of the Event at all costs, while there are Organisers out there willing to put on the event for YOU! Yesterday we had a phone call "Where's my Club Mmembership card?" When did you send it off? "Not sure" What's your name? "Chris X' We processed a batch yesterday but I don't remember that name. I'll check the Membership Forms. No we havent had one from you. Who did you send it to? "The Club Secretary" Ah I'm the Membership Secretary - thats who you send Membership Applications to. "Oh" [it's says that on the website!] Right, do you want an [ACU] Licence Application or Trials Registration stamped & signed. "No, I've got this old Suzuki off road .... & I just want to ride it" Well our Club will run 2 Centre Trials & 3 Hare & Hound events this year. It sounds as if our H&H's are what you want. I'll check with the Club Secretary if she's got your application & let you know. 10 minutes later Chris X calls again. Oh I see you organise events I just want to get out & ride. Can you send my cheque back when you get it? Do you know where I can just go & ride? Now we are in difficulty, Chris X obviously doesn't read the Club website where he read about how to join the Club. He just wants to 'ride'. A a responsible Club we don't want him to just 'ride' & help add to the bad image of motor cycling in general. If we said RUPP would he know what we meant? Will he be road legal when he just 'rides' We are already losing llocal Trials venues with decades of continuous use because of illegal riding. So we chose not to give any pointers to our friend Chris X. Most riders who ride competitively want to practice, in the main they seek permission. The future of off road sport & the big events like the SSDT & Scott Trial IS imperilled by thoughtless riders who 'just want to ride' Organised Events have enough enemies as it is without the bad publicity that some 'riders' bring us. Were we right to choose not to give him any pointers? On balance we believe we were - what do you think? So spare a thought for the Organisers who have this balancing act to perform, not appearing to be too officious [No you can't take fuel in a backpack on penalty of exclusion] to riders while retaining the trust & confidence of our Landowners. The warnings in both SSDT & Scott to Spectators also need to be understood & acted upon by us all as well. Keep your feet up: effsweet

Hi again guys, thanks for the suggestions so far, please keep on making them. Punchcards/Punches - We've found Punches go missing - you buy say 15 &at the end of the year you haven't got 15 still! There is a potential problem, if the rider has the punchcard, that say you punch a 5 it is possible to punch out 3 1 [result = O] as Punches are not unique & are easy to get. As I said originally there a manpower problem as well - IMHO Weatherwriter system - Not cost effective at

Hi all, I need advice after last Sundays diabolical rain. We use Staceys Observer cards & you probably know how useless they are to write on in biro [or pencil] when they are damp & they are worse when wet. The Results team then has to interpret the card when it's dried out - next day Does anyone have a cost effective foolproof system that you can give to your Observers & know: 1 They can record the Lap, Rider Number & Marks lost easily from start to finish, when they are out for 4 hours in clouds & pouring rain. 2 It must cater for Multilap Trials - 3 or 4 laps of 20 or 15 Sections at most, & more likely 2 or 3 laps of 20 or 15 Sections 2 The Results Team can record the information without 'creative accounting' 3 Ideally it would be a hard backing with a rewriteable waterproof facing already preprinted with a Staceys style headed grid. Pencil is probably the best writing implement for erasing so the 'boards' can be used again & again 4 Punch cards & Punches have been considered & discarded as - it's foolproof but you need twice as many Observers - One Observing, & one punching at the end of the Section. It also slows things down when Riders argue the Observers decision Any ideas greatfully considered - What do the SSDT Organisers do for instance? Keep your feet up & remember to thank those hardy souls who Observe for you they are doing their best! Effsweet