northernnorm

Hey Mark good try at reducing my level of stokedness but to the best of my weak recollection this 09 season is the first time I have EVER ridden over 50% of the events so it was my official 1 st attempt at a title FYI Also awesome to be a little alike the Youngs in that way and a big congrats to Brad Villand for a 2nd consecutive ES class title , count em its 3 Wisconsin class winners after a long dry spell dating back to the Dandy Don Wilcox days""""""""''''''''''''''''''''''""""" !!!!!!!!!!!

Hey Team Storz , best of luck at the WTC 125 class shoot for top 5 be pleased with top 10 , J. Richardson seems to be the kid this year so check him out in practice. A reminder that any time you are dealing with a line of any kind you need to let Neil be in charge as he isnt shy and may be able to rival the euros in pushy , they seem to make it a sport to weasle past anyone who will allow it. Not a big deal when signing in but it will cost you big in time penalties or a DNF at the events. All of US are eager to see how things go. Say high to Cabestanys and Louis Gallach for me could you. Bye , Noel Smage

Pat is in training to see how he can fare in the tough class of Juniors and is looking good on a bike with a motor for a change.

Ringo,as cocaptain of Team Smage, I feel compelled to add to Craigs concession speech. I have to agree you were the clear winner in the baddle you fellas had,I was most impressed with yor patience off the gate to let all other riders get well clear before you performed your flaWLESS WHEELIE THE entire 25 YARDS TO THE FIRST HAIRPIN (mADe cool mostly because of the pretty shirt. I was scared when the medics rushed for Craig with the stretcher /backboard but was releived to find he was just suffering stomach cramps or whatever. To his credit he did go home with one of the sweet acrylic ligntning bolt EX awards for being the spirit of EX . I apologize to the riders who worked to qualify in the morning that would have made a better show at night but through the way the system works I got a pre-qualified spot from Ohio . My intent was to actually ride agressively in the main and I did have a jump off the gate on the 2 bikes to my sides but K. Wineland lost his front wheel grip in the 1st turn and I declined running him over so was behind all riders except him right off. Next I had my bars roll way forward over one of the first big log drops so I kind of decided to not push it much. I did end up in the spot where I figure would be logical for me to be with most of the riders being teens or 20 s I couldnt expect much. Glad to be home now and just wishing there were winter EX events being planned in our region. Maybe some year soon there will be other promoters that decide to try it .

Thanks Cope well put, you said what I should have. It is easy to look at his season and conjure up strange ideas of why he rode where but His missing WTC events were not easy decisions but they were proper, people may never understand and can think he wimped out but that isn,t the case, anyway we are trying to move forward and could use some better luck. BTW at the EX in Ohio He got drilled pretty hard in the back by an out of control double jumper and also bruise a thigh and knee ,so that sport isnt as safe as it may appear .

So does Craigs post mean Phils budget van actually made the whole trip or aaaaaaaaaaaare you somewhere in Ohio????

I enrolled first for the 1st 1/2 the season and then recently added the rest because with the AMA insisting on $215 $USD$ rep event it was a bit easier on the credit card statement and requirement to pay. Its very hard to know how the season may progress as all the appointments kill time and none of the PT has started so no knowing if it might be effective and how quickly.

Pat has been riding with considerable low back pain since late March ,Last 2 weeks we have spent getting 1st an X-ray then an MRI and finally a CT scan . Since riding and long spells of sitting are what bothers most we have had to cancel France. Good news is the last specialist doesnt claim the best plan of care should be a 6 week to 6 month rest like I had gathered from some web med pages;but 10 to 20 trips to a sports Physical Therapist to manage the pain. When he feels he can be effective and ride close to his ability we may resume the WTC series .

Holy rotten sushi============only Bou,Raga and Gubian finished the da y with less than 100 points .Is that getting your $$s worth or what.>?Lets hope Sunday isnt the same course and conditions.

Scores are getting high must be lots of fives from the slickness , any forecast s for Sundays Weather yet? Sure looks like a battle no one is able to get a jump ahead ,odd to see the 4 stroke hanging in top 5 hasnt happened before . keep rockin

thanks for the updates circe...now get out there and film! Get some after event, before event lifestyle shots too...ive got a grand idea in years to come....good luck patches-o-hoolihan.

Does anyone know if MAV TV is possibly financially able to donate? Last year at Donner the organisers there raised some funds mostly from the importers though so not something likely to happen this year. I wonder also if the NATC assumed a reduction in sign up numbers on total because of travel costs so over estimated what they needed as far as a rate hike ,maybe since there are 90 days before the next round some of these items can be adressed .I thought maybe some of the ceo s might read this board ,but maybe some more direct method is needed.

Hi , Al I did read almost everything on the NATC site and havent found a balance sheet which is what many wonder why the need for such income ,also it reads that they try to follow the FIM protocol which would change the way minders are charged and treated as far as section entry. I am not really out to put down the organisation, just want the product value to increase with the cost . We all have been experiencing enough corporate greed with the huge cost of food and fuel rising so thats a factor also.

Yes good to hear the plane made it so many miles small miracles soak it all in and ride the stadium stuff with agression ,keep us posted we are cheering /

So the checker s basically changed how they decided to score the section after several riders went ,that would seem to be reason enough to delete the section from the event results. Something to that affect happened on section 1 as well ,1st lap Pat didnt ride the 89 degree off camber wall instead tried to get on the log where the Experts were setting up but the front wheel slid off to the right and he pulled it back up ,then on the next lap he was alerted that since there was a non visible from above plate for the Expert line stapled near that area it would be a 5 this lap if the same thing happened. One more reason to really love the Sooner Cup where there was not a split card to be found in any PRO section .The best news for us as far as section 12 goes is that the black water didn cause a DNF as that would pretty much ruin the season.

What is the NATC?? If it is run like a big version of a statewide ,local club then it is probably setup as a non profit orginization to avoid some liability and tax issues. When I was Pres. of WOTA I recall almost all of the expenses were directly related to having an event - the cost of sanctioning, materials ,awards,mailings and possibly land use didnt occur if there was not an event, so it would reason that LESS NATC events by 25 % could mean a drop in entries by as much.The effective cost for a PRO to ride is $150 as it would be crazy to ride without a minder (and perhaps having one should be mandatory) I feel strongly either the minder fee be waived effective now or some sort of Payback be implemented escpecially if the class name is to remain "PRO" or both . One other change that I would like to see if there is any support for would be a pre event course inspection or at least a first lap allowance into the section where the minders are able to get a riders eye view of the section to make better decisions on where to spot from,making things safer,as it is quite hard to do that from the perimeters as we must now. The rule to exclude minders until the last second before your rider enters exists so minders dont do too much grooming but there was always a 5 point penalty at hand for observers to check that behavior. If the Natc has so much overhead built in with the annual meeting that they cant function without $10 to 15 thousand per day ,maybe some restructuring is in order. I think there are plenty of us who wonder where the money goes so a quick breakdown would be much appreciated. Again I love the sport and am glad to be able to take part but just thinking if we can all get more involved and maybe add some value to the experience. Cheers

What added to the insult is that while the Shercos bowels were getting flushed I walked to the section to see what others would do there. Florin crossed the log seemingly maybe 1 tire was on the Pro plate counted as a 3 until he failed the last uphill, then Cody rode and got up the final rock but was clearly past the stake and floated the front back over and rode out for a 3 ,I have a hunch that he would have crossed the Expert Gate line of sight but cant remember exactly where the lower expert gate was stapled. We did spend 20 to 30 minutes there and Kip was poking a stiock in wherever he could access ,from on the log and around edges but no one wanted to spend the rest of the day with boots that spoiled I guess if some STAource wasnt repeating "Oh its about a foot deep" every few minutes I would have taken the walk.Oh except that for $50 a day we arent actually allowed to Walk the section with our riders.

In many ways Trials could be considered a marketable product,that could be why the NATC does an annual rider poll/survey,possibly to improve the brand and gain marketshare.The trouble is they only compare themselves to themselves,which is an admittance to being the only game in town for anyone interested in an AMA series championship placing. Also having the survey after the season is over means any possible improvement is a long wait off. I propose a poll to compare the Natc product to what else is available. So far this season I have been at 3 different major events in the USA. 1st was the Sooner Cup in OK. next the WTC at TTC and then the first 3 rounds of Natc at CO. I will do a comparison using a consumer mindset that would look at Price,Quality and Suitability. For Suitability I will look at the paddock and the actual terrain TTC 8 for pits 9 for terrain Tishomingo 8 and 7 ( great rocks just lacks overall size and variety) CO, 2 for pits(could jump to 5 if water truck was employed) and 9 for terrain(would be 10 if less cactus) For Quality its pretty much a given anything done at the TTC is top notch , The boys in OK did a huge job of making you welcome and being glad to have you,also added some extras like a free BBQ and 2 nights of live country rock.The Natc in CO, very standard just what weve all gotten used to for a US National. well laid out with everything on schedule Now for Price - the WTC riders have no entry fee (although insurance through the AMA at $215 per day rider and minder each pay is required) ,minders pay $40 for the weekend ,in Usa we had to pay $150 to camp whereas overseas that is normally not the case and in fact 4 nights of lodging is now covered for rider and minder. TTC also had the free live music but if there was a BBQ I didnt hear about it. Natc/CO Rider pays $100 per day ( a 67% increase over 2007) and the minder pays $50 per day (again a rise of 67%) also an extra $25 per person to get in the gate and I think $25 a to camp . The Sooner cup had No gate fee No minder fee and a per day rider fee of around $50 maybe less ,and free camping many with electricity. Now add in possible reward which reflects value and we find WTC has no $ payback unless done by the factory team, In OK the organisers got sponsorship and returned over $2500 in Pro payout. Natc/CO if on Podium your reward was a very nice walnut plaque ,exactly like those given the last 2 times an Natc round was held in CO in 2004 and 2007. OK now flame me and call me Lane but maybe some thoughts come up that will benefit all involved.

Just wondering if someone who was at section 12 might have snapped a shot of the $7000 Sherco sucking septage into its entirety.As the section I would vote as the worst one ever laid out at a real trials I would like access to a pic for humors sake. I am puzzled why in a ranch with over 1000 acres of incredible rocks the organizers decide to use a natural cesspool of black slime to send everyones high $ rides through. It turns out the only way the Pro line could be ridden forced the bikes down a log end to end and over parts of th Expert and Pro split cards ,:very mickey mouse. Coming in a close second for poor section layout was the opener for the final day that took 41 failures and 7 3's from the Expert class and 50 % of the Pro rides were 5,s with the other 1/2 3 's . Again involving an elevated log that needed to be gotten on and off with plenty of leg breaker holes to fall into ; turns out the observers decided to throw away the rules that state going backwards or having axle pass in front of both feet were not failures. Aside from those 2 rude traps the rest of the sections were really quite good ,for the Pros several each day were far from boring,set to give the several dozen spectators a real show.

Very good question . I have heard the club only keeps 40% of the entry fees but that still leaves quite a large amount for their treasury ,so unless the club is saving up to purchase land it seems like there should easily be 5 to 10 thousand available for PRO class purse $$$$$ since those guys are risking a lot for so little. It does seem pretty hard to understand why the $100 fee per day plus possible minders fees isnt enougfh to spend in total. Let the exagerrated entry fee cover the gate /land use heck it should supply a health ins. rider.

Having lived 50 years in the land of excess and open spaces I have grown spoiled like much of our population I suppose. In general we are spending close to 1/2 the money for equal or better quality food and services . It is a huge reality check to see how frugal the rest of the world lives; it would be wise for many of US pop. to experience . With our recent skyrocketing energy costs it is leaving most Americans with a fraction of the amount of $ to save or spend for non essentials,so it feels like it won't be long and most of US will need to behave like most of you. (cramming 4 people in basically a street bike with 4 doors) One other observation I made was that just surviving travel on Europes twisty, narrow ,no shoulder ,crazy driver filled roads will in itself make you a better trials rider in that you will die if you are not highly focused and quick with the reflexes. I happen to be running some of the hills above Dickreich with the 6 speed Audi and some bloke was easily a full meter on my side of a blind curve and I was amazed how well his or her tires squeeled even on wet blacktop. I know our currency has been much stronger but escpecially around the London airport it just hurts to spend = to $20m USD for a very average burger and fries ,Ill spare the rest of the list as it would of course be whining. Cheers

Hi all ,I just thought I would add a few thoughts before thread gets too old. First off I must say Cope has spelled out the reality quite well although for me as the navigator ,I didnt spend hours and hours lost on crazy roads and unmarked detours and I weas also more prepared to pay way too much for way too little as far as meals and travel and lodging I wasnt as uncomfortable as in 07 . Yes it sure would have been a much nicer trip if perhaps we were in Spain or anywhere that was closer to 60 degrees F (we are used to lousy weather up here near Canada but would have loved a break ) And probably the only other big disappointment was the reality that no matter how much time and $ you invest into this sport your best efforts can be ruined by a section official that is inconsistent with the rules and wants to be generous with giving maximum points for what was 1 very long determined push dab. Coming up at TTC it looks like USA has at least 2 more 125 riders and 2 Junior riders so lets get behind the group and have some great finishes. Noel

Hey if any American trials fans are out there on board this week please send Pat a quick message to kick off the WTC 125 season . After the weekend in Tishomingo it appears he is riding extremely well (check <texhomatrialsclub.com> for the amazing details ) and ready for the more serious events to begin. Also if unaware there is a Blog he replies on<trialsworldfund.com> Take a minute and give a big thumbs up if you will, Norm

posting a reply so that big 0 goes away seems odd no one has anything to add. I was afraid the old 320 Jumbo was making a come back when I saw SWM

Wow if the results for that event fortell this years battle in the 125 youth class; where 6 riders who appear on the 08 roster all scored within 10 ponts of each other you can bet the 08 championship will be far from boring ,will any of those kids be able to break away and dominate like Gomez did last year??