endo250

I rode in the same events in So Cal as Lane during the 70's. He was an Expert and I was an Amateur which was a class lower. In 1979 Lane was right up there with Bernie (the year he was World Champ) fighting for 1st place at our local events. So Lane was a world class rider during the 70's. I stopped riding in 1980 and started again in 1990. The sport had completely changed because of the bikes and the new techniques enabled by the new light bikes. I went back to the riding areas where we had events in the 70's and rode sections that 12 years earlier only Bernie would try. Many popular riding areas in the 70's would be unacceptable for trials today because of the lack of terrain. In the early 70's we didn't even wear helmets. If you took a Support rider on a 2004 Beta back to the 1970's he would be World Champ. The reason Americans can't compete on a world level now is because the learning curve has steepened so much that they are afraid to attempt the world lines because they are dangerous. During the 70's I was able to ride some of the Expert lines with some success after an event. This is when we had several So Cal Experts go to Europe and do very well, so our local events were a good training ground for World competition. Now I think Support riders are afraid to try Pro lines the same way our Pros are afraid to try World lines.

I was a few feet away from her when a bad call was made by the observer. She went up the rock easily but her back tire knocked off the red arrow sign but the blue one stayed put. She and her minder justifiably threw a fit. The timekeeper also saw what happened but they have no say which seems wrong since it was so obvious to anyone who saw it.