highland lassie

Me first! Me first!

CJB Photographic have just released their 2009 SSDT DVD...if you want to relive that rain (or see it for yourselves if you were lucky enough to avoid the first-hand experience!) you can get your copy at www.cjbphotographic.co.uk.

As many of the SSDT regulars will know, the SSDT supports the local Cystic Fibrosis charity by means of a donation from the takings of the programme sales each year. On Saturday 7th November, Billy McIsaac is setting off on the journey of a lifetime to the Himalayas to need some much needed funds for Cystic Fibrosis. Billy says "I decided that going to Everest would be a great way to celebrate my sixtieth birthday and in turn do something positive for others and myself. My hope is that I can raise

I'm afraid not Rod - most riders don't even tell us nowadays when they're retiring, we find out when they don't turn up on the books the following day. We usually only hear if someone picks up a nasty injury - otherwise it could be injury, exhaustion, bike problems...the list goes on!

Don't worry - Klecka's fine! He picked up an injury in the week before the trial and couldn't make the journey over...but he's been keeping in touch through the week and I'm pretty sure he'll be back next year!

Unless you're on the ball with the nightvision... **** ***.

Praise from Dabster is praise indeed, so I will make sure it's passed on! Mark did a fantastic job in getting routes planned and approved in a matter of hours, and the guys on the hill worked a mammoth day yesterday in absolutely horrific weather conditions - they didn't just have to lay out yesterday's route in front of the trial, they also had to go back out and lay today's route in the afternoon and how they're up cheery and smiling at 7am this morning is just beyond me! Mind you, they did have a bit of bar-time relaxation last night, so that will have helped! There may have been other years where the weather's been crap, but the guys laying out are all saying that in their entire time with the trial (and in some cases that's nigh on forty years!) they've never seen anything like this.

Day One results available on the SSDT website - I normally post to the front page when they're done, but can't access that tonight for some reason. Andy doesn't have web access to sort it for me, so this will have to do for today - I'm off to the bar!

You won't find anything on the SSDT site I'm afraid - we're two entirely different committees, and although I post the results when I get a copy, that's generally when some kind soul drops into the SSDT office on Saturday night / Sunday morning with a copy of the final results. Anne (P65 Secretary) normally pops in to give me an update on the Sunday, so if nothing else I'll post them then. Andy's up there too, so I'm sure he'll post an update as soon as he gets results himself. Sorry we can't help more, but we're trying to get packed up for moving out to the Fort at 8am tomorrow, so it's a bit chaotic here as it is!

Don't you old codgers have mobile phones?

Two rooms were freed up at the Milton last night....they may already be gone though.

From what I've heard you'd be best staying in blissful ignorance!! Chucking rain earlier tonight...looked like it might dry up, but who knows...this is the Fort in SSDT week, so anything can happen!

There's a place up for grabs if you're mad enough!!!

Just a quick reminder that every entrant must have insurance that covers them under the Road Traffic Act in order to start the 2009 SSDT. For those of you who already have this cover included in your own insurance, you must provide the name of your insurer and your policy number on the Signing On Form that you hand into us at registration. For those of you who don't have this cover within your own insurance, you can sign up to our blanket cover for

April's press release from the P65 committee : Pre-65 Scottish Trial Secretary, Anne Gordon, says that the number of reserve riders drafted into the trial after withdrawals has increased to 7 which is lucky for some and with only a week to go hopes may be fading for the other reserve riders. If any rider finds they are unable to compete, please get in touch with the Secretary as soon as possible so that riders on the reserve list can get the opportunity to ride even at this late stage and you are reminded that you cannot organise a substitute rider yourself. The official programme has an increased number of pages this year to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the trial but the price remains at

Press release for March : Pre

Best bassist and drummer in the business - I reckon it would still be worth the money!!

Right, that's the deed done, and those who didn't bother to pay up have been suitably chastised and will hopefully have the manners to tell me in future! Once I'd identified all the payments and contacted all of those who hadn't already been in touch with me, there were 21 places to reallocate. All the reserve riders have been contacted, and the riding numbers have been drawn up on the assumption that they are all taking their place - you can view the entry list on the SSDT website at www.ssdt.org. There is still a chance that further places will come up before the trial, so if you're not already on the reserve list for these places but would still be interested in starting out on the Monday morning, get in touch.

Velocette Owners Club have a regular magazine, and there's more spares in there than you could ever want. Reliable isn't the word - we've got two Venoms in the garage which have been run steadily on the road from 1957 with no bother at all. They've been in retirement for the last five years or so, but the plan is to get them back on the road before long...

At the rate you lot are going, there won't be any.... Entries closed last Friday, and as of today there are still THIRTY FOUR riders who haven't paid for their places. There are nine unidentified payments in our bank account (listed in a separate topic from last week) so that leaves twenty-five people who haven't paid, but haven't got in touch with us either to let us know their situation. I can't allocate riding numbers until we know who is riding and who isn't. Well, I can, but it means that you won't all get to ride with your pals! For everybody's sake, can I ask you to do two things : Check the previous topic and if you have paid over the counter at any of the branches listed, get in touch with me to make sure I've got your payment If you have decided not to enter (or know of anybody who has decided not to enter) it would be good if you could let us know so that we can reallocate your place to someone on the reserve list All help gratefully received - there's 250 people out there who have paid up and are patiently waiting for their riding number, but until the rest of you do your part we're not getting any closer to that stage. Thank you in anticipation....rant over!

We now have eleven payments in our account with no references against them. If the owners of these payments can't be traced by early next week their places will be lost, so if you paid by either cash or cheque over the counter at any of the following branches of the Royal Bank of Scotland and think you may have forgotten to give a clear reference, please email me at the SSDT Office and give me the name of the branch at which you made the payment and the date on which you did so : Livingston Oxford (St Giles) Fort William Truro Chesterfield Ramsbottom Sanquhar Buxton Guildford Bradford Swansea If you've paid directly from your bank account then there's no need to get in touch - your payment will have the full reference on it. It is only those who have paid by cash or cheque over the counter at one of these branches that need to have a quick rethink! Remember, it's your responsibility to make sure we can trace your payment back to your entry - once your place has been passed on to another rider there's no getting it back, so it's worth taking a couple of minutes to make sure all is well! Cheers, Mairi.

Scottish Provincial Press Ltd, the company who produce the official SSDT programme, still have limited advertising space available for the 2009 event. If you think your company could benefit from advertising to the thousands of trials fans that descend on Fort William each year, it might be worth giving them a shout. There are all sorts of advertisements you can have, from a few lines to a double-page spread. To get more information, contact Michelle Martin at Scottish Provincial Press - you can call her on 01463 732 223 (Ext 124) or you can email her by clicking HERE.

Just a quick reminder that Friday is the deadline for SSDT payments to have arrived. Any entries which don't have corresponding payments on Friday 27th February will be reallocated to riders on the reserve listing, so don't take any chances - make sure your payment is in our account on time. If you think it might not reach us by Friday, email me at the SSDT Office and let me know so that you don't lose your place. Remember, it's your responsibility to make sure your payment reaches us on time and with all the necessary information to allow us to link it to your entry. For those of you who have paid over the counter by cash or cheque (ie NOT out of a specific bank account) it's worth getting in touch to make sure we have your payment, as not all banks pass through references with this type of transaction. See the above post for more details. Successful entrants will receive their full entry pack during the first two weeks in March.

This is a press release from the organising committee of the Scottish Pre-65 : Pre