dbrown

oops, I see that I appeared to be Al Bechard in that last message. I let him use my computer and it logged me in as him, but that was really me, dbrown

Hey more great coverage on 2 wheel Tuesday tonight of the El Trial from several weeks ago. Great to see these guys on Speed channel giving us some air time almost every week! I know they have several more trials stories "in the can" for future shows including Laia Sanz at Duluth (and some discussion with other women trials riders) and also some footage of Kevin Schwantz and his roadrace buddies. If you enjoyed it you should tell them! Speedtv.com dan www.trialstrainingcenter.com

For the summer camp, we will have lots of champs instructing, including: Ray Peters Brent LeRiche Bruce LeRiche Chris Florin David Chavez Ryan Young will make an appearance on Tues or Wed., and Tommi Ahvala should be there on Tuesday. Charlie & I and a few other volunteers will be helping teach the younger riders, but we will have the pros circulate among small groups of riders so that everyone gets individual attention from a variety of instructors. And we're allowing time for swimming at the waterfall and in the river, hayrides, watermelon eating, etc. Should be fun! I never had a summer camp like this when I was a kid! dan www.trialstrainingcenter.com p.s.,Here's another perspective on summer camps. Yesterday Ray & I went up to camp Rainbow to join the Bechards to do a riding demo for the kids there. This is a summer camp for seriously ill children, funded and staffed mostly by the "Bikers who care" organization. Lots of the kids were in wheelchairs. One little guy was doing wheelies in his chair until the nurses made him stop! They seemed to enjoy the riding and were very appreciative, and we had fun. A trip like that certainly helps put things in perspective. One little autistic girl came up and gave me a big hug and she absolutely made my day. Big thanks to Al Bechard for organizing the demo!

Hey all, wonderful time at the world round in Duluth. If you missed it, too bad on you, but there will be opportunities to see highlights. I spent the weekend with the Speed crew helping them get good footage for the 2-wheel Tuesday show on Speed Channel. It will air on Tuesday, June 15 (week from today), 8PM EDT and reair at midnight and again the following morning. They got a lot of great footage and interviews, and I think we'll get extensive coverage of trials on that show. But also note there will be trials coverage on TONIGHT (June 8), not from Duluth but from a demo we (TTC) did for a bunch of kids at an elementary school. It was lots of fun, so check it out. A crew from Top Dead Center on SpikeTV (formerly TNN) also filmed, and they had a helmet camera on one of the minders with the Montesa crew. Their show is more feature story - oriented rather than up-to-date news, so expect a little bit different twist maybe from them. They told me it will air in August, I think either Aug. 7 or Aug. 14. Top Dead Center airs on Saturday mornings. TrialsTV and Technovideo were both present in force, so expect some good and extensive coverage via DVD's. Happy Viewing! Dan Brown www.trialstrainingcenter.com

p.s., that's Kevin Schwantz descending a rock with instruction by Ray Peters and producer Ed Coglin in the background. It was interesting to see all the roadrace guys pause and be a little intimidated by dropping off this rock. These guys drift a 200 HP road race bike through turns at 160mph and are intimidated by a little rock? Nah, actually they would pretty much try anything. by the way, Kevin is a long time trials rider from his days as a kid, although he hasn't ridden much in years.

Hi all, here's the latest items to watch for on TV, specifically 2-wheel Tuesday on Speed Channel. Hope you get it. Last Wednesday, May 19, Speed filmed a neat segment on trials riding by a group of roadracers including 1993 world motogp champ Kevin Schwantz and Formula USA and WERA champs Trey Batey and Michael Martin. After 2 days of instruction in roadracing at the Barber racetrack, the roadrace instructors came to the Trials Training Center to become students of trials riding. Those guys are good! Speed channel will have a really nice segment on an upcoming episode, probably on Tuesday, May 25. That segment will be a nice lead-in to their coverage of the World round from Duluth. Ed Coglin & crew will be there to do a good coverage of this event to air on 2-wheel Tuesday. Also, we had the Trials Training Center crew at the East Lake School on Friday, May 21 to do a demo on trials riding for all the kids, and this was covered by Speed for a future episode on 2-wheel Tuesday. Ray Peters, Bruce & Brent LeRiche, and youngster Alex Bedley all put on a great show and had several hundred elementary kids screaming their heads off for the TV cameras. Everybody who watches this will see how cool is trials riding! As we were taking stuff down & leaving, kids came up to me and said "you guys rock!" Anyways, we are keeping the pot on boil for TV coverage of trials, so set your VCR's! 2-wheel Tuesday airs each week (Tuesday, obviously) at 8PM EST and re-airs at midnight and again the next morning early. regards, Dan Brown www.trialstrainingcenter.com

Hi all, watch out for the highlites from the Tennessee nationals next Tuesday night (April 13) at 8PM EDT on Speed Channel. I spent most of last Saturday at the nationals escorting BJ and Morris the camera man around to some good photo spots and they were quite enthusiastic about the stuff they got. I hope we get some good coverage so be on the look out for it. BJ is new at Speed, having done a few features on Motoworld a while back. I remember when Greg White came up in 2000 for the nationals, he was the young guy learning the ropes from Dave Despain. It is good to get the TV guys interested in showing trials stuff. Thanks to all from the STRA and elsewhere (we had several volunteers who stayed over after Training Days and helped observe) who helped make the Tennessee nationals a great success! Look for me at the Trials Training Center section at the World Round in Duluth, we'll have an info table set out so stop by & say hi. regards, Dan Brown www.trialstrainingcenter.com

I'll add my observations as below. - dan Report from Round 1, Sat., April 3 Weather turned out fantastic, after a nice rain on Mon-Wed the weekend was clear and sunny. 140 Riders were pre-entered, I didn't get the final total. The trial included a great variety of streambed boulders, hillside sections, rock steps and slabs. Many sections were quite dry and grippy, unusual for springtime in Tennessee. Section 1 was an easy warmup ride up a rocky stream which was an easy clean for most of the pros. Sections 2 and 3 were big dry grippy rocks, with some spectacular splatters that took only a few points from the pros due to the good traction conditions. Section 5 was the 1st really difficult section. As the support riders negotiated a switchback trail up the mountain, the Pros attacked a pro-only section alongside composed of a long, steep rock strewn straight up hillclimb with a step up onto a rock slab at the top. Lots of 5's and 3's here. Section 6 was a jumble of large angular boulders at awkward angle that also proved to be a pivotol section with many high scores due to the difficulty. Section 11 at "Bilbao Falls" had a double rock step that collected a fair number of 5's from top riders. The green moss-covered rocks were positioned so as to require a splatter up the first step while holding pressure to keep the front end up to attack the 2nd ledge immediately following. Wilson Craig set the pace early with a 10 point 1st lap followed by Geoff Aaron on 12 and Ryon Bell on 14. Remaining scores ranged from 15 to 25. A determined and aggressive Geoff Aaron pulled off two spectacular loops of 2 and 3 points on the subsequent passes to easily smash the competition. Wilson Craig finished 2nd on 35 followed by Ryon Bell 1 point back at 36 and Chris Florin 4th with 38. The LeRiche brothers from South Africa had a good debut performance in the U.S. with 5th and 6th at 39 and 41 for Brent and Bruce, respectively. Ray Peters,(50), David Chaves (51), Cody Webb (64) and Travis Fox (66) rounded out the top 10. Tommi Ahvala rode exhibition and had lap scores of 6 - 0 - 11. Tommi 5'd the double step in number 11 by trying to save a clean instead of dabbing. That's something I haven't seen in a while! This was a nice opening performance by 16 year-old Cody Webb, who was minded by his father Kip. Several other very young riders turned in great performances, including 14 year old Will Ibsen who took 4th place Expert, 13 year old Pat Smage who won the Expert Sportsman class, and 16 year old Louise Forsley who had a fine 2nd place showing behind Christy Williams in the Women's class. Support riders seemed to have a good time, with most winning scores in the teens and not too many over 60. Lots of riders from northern states & Canada were getting early season kinks out. More to come on Sunday's round 2. Dan Brown www.trialstrainingcenter.com

Results from Round 1 at the Trials Training Center in Sequatchie, TN: 1. Geoff Aaron 17 2. Wilson Craig 35 3. Ryon Bell 36 4. Chris Florin 38 5. Brent LeRiche 39 6. Bruce LeRiche 41 7. Ray Peters 50 8. David Chavez 51 9. Cody Webb 64 10. Travis Fox 66 11. Andy Johnson 80 12. Keith Wineland 83 Tommi Ahvala rode exhibition and had 17 points. More news to be posted on the TTC website Dan Brown www.trialstrainingcenter.com

Hey all, don't forget to check out 2-wheel Tuesday tonight 8PM EST, 7PM CST. Tommi Ahvala will be on and will talk about the upcoming season, which starts weekend after next at the Trials Training Center in Tennessee. The big Trials Training Days event is this weekend (March 27/28), we have about 100 riders pre-entered for it plus a bunch of spectators. It will be a fantastic event, lots of riding with the pros, show-off riding, a big BBQ Saturday night, and the following Monday (March 29) will be a Pro-Am team gate trial with all the proceeds from Monday going to the TDN team. Tuesday through Thursday we'll have some organized practice sessions and a Dual Sport ride. For the opening round of the Nationals on April 3/4 we have 140 pre-entered riders. Sections will be a mix of rocky creek sections, hillclimbs, rock steps & ledges, and some may have a bit of all. We really tried to include a wide variety this time. Sawmill Creek is perfect, running water but not too much. Weather has been fantastic lately, highs are in 60's & 70's. Also, we have brought in a road building crew and have constructed a paved road around the entire 650 acre property to all the sections. - ok, maybe that's a little exaggeration. The loop will be around 3-4 miles each day. Saturday loop uses the zig-zag trail with 180 degree switchbacks up the side of the mountain and some really scenic views, it's my absolute favorite trail on the whole place. Sunday loop goes up by Lampkin falls, which is running nicely. I know that Jack Hemingway will love 'em both. Ok, if you read this far down I will share a secret rumor. Tommi Ahvala told me yesterday that there appears to be likely a show cancellation and that he maybe will come & ride the TN nationals. Not absolutely sure, but he's making plans in that direction. Whoo-Hoo! See you there, this is gonna be great! Dan www.trialstrainingcenter.com

Hello everybody, I just confirmed with Tommi Ahvala that he'll be the special guest on the 2-wheel Tuesday show on Speed Channel next Tuesday night, March 23. I think it will air at 8PM Eastern (7 Central). They'll talk about the upcoming season of Trials and trials things in general, Tommi may do some tricks, and I expect they'll show some more footage from Greg's visit up to TTC a while back. So, heads up, & set your VCR for your poor slob buddies who don't get Speed Channel! I think we'll get coverage of the upcoming nationals, starting with the opening rounds at the Trials Training Center in Tennessee on April 3 & 4. -dan brown

Hot off the cell phone, here are the results from day 2 at Florida: 1. David Chavez 13 2. Chris Florin 14 3. Brent LeRiche 15 4. Ray Peters 19 5. Bruce LeRiche 40-something 6. Travis Fox 56 +/- Another close one! Bruce had an off day today and David Chavez was hot! For the 2-days, Chris Florin was tops with two 2nd's. Dan Brown

Here are results from the Champ class from day 1 of the Fun-n-Sun annual trial in Florida, as reported from Charlie Roberts & the gang from the Trials Training Center. Point totals are approximate, from memory. I'm sure Barry Florin will provide a full report when the smoke clears. 1. Bruce LeRiche 9 2. Chris Florin 11 3. Ray Peters 11 4. Brent LeRiche 14 5. David Chavez 17 6. Travis Fox 20-something? The top 4 riders are all sponsored by the Trials Training Center, and all the top 6 have been practicing with us this winter (so 'scuse me for braggin). Looks like the LeRiche boys from South Africa will be very competitive this year! And Charlie said Brent took a header and tweaked his front brake and had several flat tires and a tough day, but he still was a close 4th. I think all these guys have been training and have stepped up their game, so it may be a very competitive pro class this year. Gotta love it! I'm looking forward to the nationals! Dan Brown

Sting, send me an address & I'll make a vhs copy to send you. I have it saved on Tivo. Normally, 2-wheel Tuesday repeats only on Wed. AM after airing on Tuesday night. As it is generally a news show, they don't repeat it weeks or months later like those chopper shows. Dan Brown ttcrides@att.net

I talked with Greg White today and thanked him for the great job he did on the trials segment. He tells me that they will have more stuff on trials in future shows, and I know that they have plenty of footage from TTC that was not used. I pushed him while they were here to get a trials guy "in the garage" on a future show, and he says they are working to do that, maybe with Tommi. I think we'll get some good coverage of the nationals this year. Producer Brad Jones also told me they'll do some more segments on trials and come back to TTC, as they all seemed to enjoy themselves here. It doesn't hurt that we're pretty close by, the producers are in Atlanta and the show films in Charlotte. And Greg did seem sincere about getting a bike. He actually catches on quite fast, I think he could be pretty good if he practiced. dan

They filmed the show today (Sat., Jan. 17) and it went great. Greg White (host of 2-wheel Tuesday on Speed Channel) spent the day learning to ride from all the champs and was quite enthusiastic about what a fun time he had & what a great sport this is. The champs showed off and everybody had a good time joking around and riding, & it will be excellent coverage for trials. I think they will cover our national on April 3/4. Should be on in a few weeks, early Feb. probably. Greg's a good guy and a true motorcycle enthusiast. After the show airs, I hope everybody will send them an email or something and tell the network how much you enjoy the coverage of trials. dan

Hi all, lots going on at TTC these days. Tommi Ahvala is here for about a week between shows, he's been out practicing with Ray Peters & Chris Florin and David Chavez. Quite the show. Today it was sunny and 50-something and all these guys are going at it, just another day in trials heaven (sorry to you guys & gals up north). Also note: 1 GasGas, 1 Beta, 1 Montesa, 1 Sherco. I didn't find out who has to buy ice cream tonight, but it usually isn't Tommi. A couple different trials training sessions going on this weekend, and a crew from 2-wheel-Tuesday on Speed is finally coming up to film a segment. Don't know if Greg White will come, but I hope we'll get some good coverage for trials on TV. I'll let everyone know when its on as soon as I find out. They say they'll be at the national in April to cover that event for sure. Will Ibsen will be here practicing this weekend with the expert group, so maybe we'll have a couple of future national champs in the mix? Chris is not far from the top now (and he's younger than Geoff & Ryon) and Will is riding champ stuff at age 14. We will break ground (finally) on the RV spots in the next couple weeks and should have 10 spaces good to go by mid March. We're planning 6 of them with 50-amp service for the big guys and 4 with 30-amp. All will have water & sewer. I'm excited about it. Visited the banker today, he opened another vein and said everything is ok. Please come & spend money. Looking forward to a big turnout for Training Days on March 27-28. We now have on-line signup working, and you can pay online or else print it out & mail it in. Don't forget the TDN fund raiser pro-am trial on Monday, March 29, all the proceeds go to a good cause (Team USA!). Another news item (I'm catching them all up at once, aren't I), we will be welcoming Brent & Bruce LeRiche to join TTC in February. These 2 brothers are the top 2 riders from South Africa, and will stay with us through Sept. to compete in the U.S. Nationals and train at TTC. They seem like really nice guys, and they will be helping us out at TTC with instruction and helping to improve the place. They will be riding Montesa's and competing in the champ class. I think it is way cool that people from other parts of the world think highly enough of our national series to go to the considerable trouble and expense to come & compete here. I think this adds much to our series and am looking forward to their visit. Well, that's all for now, I'll give another report on the TV coverage when I have more details. I look forward to seeing many people from the trials central forum at TTC for the Training Days and/or the Nationals, please introduce yourselves so I have a face to put with the names. If you can't make it then, come some other time, we always have something fun going on. regards, Dan Brown

Gaby, you are the 1st signup. We didn't even announce it until I was sure it worked correctly. Ray was working on it until about 2AM last night. But it seems to work fine. Thanks for being the guinea pig. I'll try to put up some more info on lodging & camping in the next day or so. Also I have some more news, maybe I'll put that in a separate thread. dan

The Ot Pi camp will be July 5-10, followed by an NATS national bike trial on July 11. This is the week after the youth nationals, so they don't actually run simultaneously. We do set a bike trial for fun for the kids during the youth nationals, though. Ot Pi is a real hoot. Last year he jumped off a cabin on his bicycle. After it was all over, I took him on a ride on dual sport bikes. Yes, he can really ride a motorcycle, too. Ot got caught in a tornado and did 360's on a DR350. At least that's the way I remember it. dan

Thanks Tim, if these guys do half as well as Albee & Langston, it will be a pleasure to have them on the TTC team. Although we haven't met, they seem like good folks. Everyone I've ever met from South Africa has been polite and hard working. It isn't official until they get their visa's in order, but I'm hoping that it all works out for them. Martin Belair has offered to help some with bikes. -dan

Who knows, that's why we do the trial! Geoff's the man to beat. But I can tell you that Ray and Chris Florin and David Chavez spent some time practicing at TTC, so they're gonna give him their best shot! It should be a great event, and I expect it to be quite competitive.

It was actually quite entertaining, not as good as Ian's TrialsTV DVD's, but something that the general public might think is exciting. There was only 10 minutes on trials, I thought it should have been at least an hour long and they should've plugged TTC more (we hardly even were mentioned), but they didn't ask me. dan

Just a reminder that the show "Guts & Bolts" will have a trials feature tonight at 8:30PM EST (7:30 CST). This show was filmed around 1st of Sept. at the Trials Training Center in TN, with Ray Peters of TTC teaching trials riding techniques to the show's host. They are also reportedly including some bits about the history of trials riding, at least in the U.S. I will be as interested as anyone to see how it comes out; we just tried to be helpful but they do what they want! Dan Brown www.trialstrainingcenter.com