gizza5

So we were all there, riding spectating or taking photo's!!! It seems the main problem this year was that every day was too tight on time, I have competed a few years! normally the time is Monday slack, Tuesday tight, Wednesday ok not a lot of time, Thursday very tight, Friday slack again and Saturday(Who cares) normally slack. This enables you to look after your bike and body as you are alternating tight and slack days. What happened this year is that every day was tight, I was scratching with minutes to spare most days, no time to look at sections sometimes, no time to look after the bike at the end of the day, in all fairness I had no problems, but people out there did. So whats the solution: The time control at the end of each day worked in the past, this means that your running time finished there. An example of this would be Thursday 7 Hours 40 Minutes to the bottom of Fersit then an extra 40 Minutes to get back to Fort Bill. There are people out there "Full of Good Ideas" so I am sure "OVER THE HILL" would appretiate them. I have read on other Forums which is the most reliable bike up there!! Well this year there were c70 retirements, maybe because we did not have enough time to work on our bikes. I wonder if we would be talking about this if riders had a little bit more time, this would stop the bikes boiling, siezing etc. etc. and enable us to do a little maintainence. Finally well done to all involved with the SSDT, officials, observers, the Land Owners, the Army etc. and long may it continue. Roll on next May

"Mr Kinell" has gone very quiet, Still Training, Still Prepping Bike or "HIDING IN A CORNER SOMEWHERE" You can stop polishing, the first ride through "Lick me a**e forest on Monday, and you wonder why you did all the polishing!!!!

Just ahead of you Kinell No. 18, I will have the pleasure in meeting you and "TEAM WOFTAM" Only a foolish man would follow an orange flag into a bog !!! When there is a perfectly simple route round. Would it be vindictive of me to say sometimes, only sometimes they put the flags there on purpose !! No they wouldn't do that !!!!!

Kinell, mental preperation will not help you when going across "Clunes" trust me I am only a novice in Scotland, having done it 22 TIMES !!!! Brother is also riding this year, other hobby being scuba diving, as I write this he is going through Glencoe for a weekend somwhere across the Coran Ferry. Anyway P***ing down with rain, waterfalls full, Moors looking ever so slightly on the damp side !!! Ishy how many sets of "GORETEX" can you bring over ?

My name is "Markus Leanachen Laggan Lockus" Commander of the Army of DABBERS General of the PUSHERS Loyal suporter of the true trial "THE SSDT" 11 Days to go!! 11 nights to sleep!! And I will have my vengance on "WITCHES" in this trial or the next !!! Hows everyone's training going................???? Drinking plenty of "RED BULL", but no wings yet to fly up these sections !!!!

Nice weather in Fort William the next 10 days !!! Hope youv'e all got your "GORTEX" it can't be as wet as last year.....................Can It !!!

Gaff I remember it well !! Indeed I can tell you a littlte bit about the bike in the picture posted. John Lamkin did indeed develop them, and I am not really sure but the bike in the picture may have been ridden by a member of the ARMY TEAM in the SSDT the year being 1986. I was a member of that team and dragged one of them round Scotland. These were the first production models produced and the ARMY TEAM had the first four, in all fairness pretty robust bike for the late 80's of course competing against the air cooled TY it probably was a bit heavy. The previuos year we rode the Armstrong 350 Twin Shock, this was the engine out of the SWM Jumbo, bits fell off the bike as the week went on, it was in a sorry state by the end of the week !! we had frame numbers 9, 10, 11 & 12 and again I don't think they made anymore !!! Fair play to Alan Clews trying to make a go at producing/assembling a bike that we would class as British !!! Lastly before I post a funny story about Alan, I was in Germany serving at the time and my Army Team Mate and myself ordered 2 Amsrong twin shocks (the one with the HIRO engine in). We had aranged to go to the factory to pick them up, and Alan was obviously reaaly enthused about this, the fact that 2 GERMANS!! were coming over to pick up some bikes. On walking into the factory, greeted by Alan "DOO YOOOU SPEEEEK ENGERLISH" to which we replied "YES MATE, BUT DO YOU" !!!!! ROLL ON SCOTLAND 22nd Year for me and it gets better and better!!