South Midlands Center

[lennie]

The reason that some people moan (at least the people I have spoken with) about Nene Valley events is because they are probably one of the only local clubs with the balls to set out challenging sections aimed at riders who are looking to be challenged, drop some marks and hopefully improve their riding in the process.

Many South Midland clubs are so concerned with upsetting/scaring off new riders etc etc that they lay out really easy sections in cr@ppy venues and in the process p*ss off the better riders. As a result most South Midlands trials will now only get between 0-5 expert riders attending.

If you want to ride around all and only drop 6 marks all day then N.V may not be your first choice. But if you want mainly good bits of land and tougher sections then N.V are hard to beat - for my money anyway.

As for club politics, dont know if there are issues or not as I try to avoid all that......

Nick

100% agreed, the trials in this centre should be a lot harder!!! The middle route in most other centres is harder than our expert route.

Dont listen to "Nigel Dabster"

[subira]

Do they still hold events at Stokenchurch woods? I also seem to remember the Haslams had some reasonable areas on their land. I used to ride with Farnham Royal club longer ago than I care to remember! As I recall quite a few of the OTC events used to involve quite a bit of road work, do these still happen? Must be 25 years since I rode a trial in the UK

Wycombe still run up at Stokenchurch, and their Centre Expert round is the only road trial left in the centre (even then a good few allegedly use vans to get between the groups). Bit of a chicken and egg situation, no road trials so no registered bikes, no registered bikes so no road trials.

Much of the problem is the land, and the complete lack of it. HUX used to run the trial that included the Haslams' Wood. Start at Dews, out on the road to Pig and Whistle, (on A40 otherside of Gerrards Cross), up to Chalfont for Haslams and then hammer back in the dark, finish just in time for the pub to open. WMA, K&K, Barnet, Leavesden, Farnham Royal, Wycombe, NV, Stortford, the Cambridges, etc all ran good road events, in fact it was very rare to ride 4 laps of a tip.

I think the problem now will be that the Police will be so unfarmilar with the legality of a modern trials machine that you probably just about get out of the car park without being booked. Those areas who have kept the trials on the road have clearly educated their local force.

If a few of the Bucks / Herts clubs got together to run a 'South Midlands Expert' Trial after the Expert champs finished, maybe a road trial could be viable. I can think of 4 currently used groups that are within 10 miles of each other, that have scope to be a real toughie for the experts and scope to be eased to get a few clubmen out on the road.

But as I said it's chicken and egg, who would ride it with perhaps only a dozen registered bikes appearing regularly at events, and who would run it with the clubs being so precious about dates.

[nigel dabster]

100% agreed, the trials in this centre should be a lot harder!!! The middle route in most other centres is harder than our expert route.

Dont listen to "Nigel Dabster"

So tell me lennie when was the last time you rode north of the watford gap?

[garyc_2008]

I think there have been a lot of interesting points raised in this discussion. I have to agree that on the whole south midland center trials are too easy, even a lot of the expert championship rounds. The lack of land is something that is out of the organisers hands, but what annoys me is when I'm sat in a queue about to ride a dull section and I look around and think "why didn't they send us up there??"

In a rather flat center, organisers really need to get as much as they can out of the land. A good example though is the brian stonebridge, the severity of the land is not particularly good, but cambridge matchless turn it into a really good trial that takes marks. All Experts like the biggest meanist looking stuff thrown right at them, if in doubt stick it in you'll be amazed what is doable, just look at the bayford wood round last year, thanks to Chris Koch for setting it out hard, that was one of the best trials I've ever ridden in the south midlands. If anyone disagrees then there's always an easier option! In fact instead of moaning about trials being too hard, moaners should either see it as a challenege, something to aspire too, or drop down a route.

With regards to the whole road trial issue, although I ride the Novogar rounds and therefore have my bike taxed etc anyway. I think it is completely unecessary at stokenchurch. The steep banks make for far more interesting and difficult sections than the mud (which is actually quite a distance away) and by including the road part, you effectively force everyone riding the championship to register, tax and insure their bike for the entire year for a one off few sections in a dull bit of bog. If they ran he whole trial on the steep banks it would be awsome and arguably one of the best rounds in the year, provided Mr. Rees doesn't practice all the sections beforehand again. Really steve it's not very sporting.

Regards,

Gary Chandler

[steve]

I wish the Stokenchurch trial was only on the steep banks last time I rode it. I took a wrong turn on the way out the woods and got lost! By the time I found the last group everyone else was nearly finished. In rushing round trying to catch up I had a big crash and injured my back forcing retirement.

It wasn't until later I found out I was leading the Trial by quite a few marks when I retired, gutted!!

I had no idea how well I was doing as I was riding round at the back with Rob Warner - trying to outdo each other trick riding I suppose!!

I really did enjoy the big climbs, not often you get the chance to line it up in 3rd or even fourth and let it have it full noise.

Cambridge Matchless had a disused railway cutting which was quite similar. I think it was just of the M11.

Nene Valley have a Trial later this month on a bit of land called Duck End which hasn't been used used for years. It's a cracking bit of land and sections will be all new as it must be some 20 years since it was last used. I hope the organisers make the best of it.

If anyone has any views on Nene valley that they don't want to post on here, send me a PM and I will pass the info on and keep it annoymous. As mentioned earlier the club has the best land in the centre so why the small entries?

[nigel dabster]

Small entries may be down to a few things. Riding the same sections at two venues I know offer lots of scope puts some off. The cost of entering on the day? What is that now????

8 sections instead of ten and club officiakls strolling round, that annoys me most of all. Whilst some of the lads here like hard sections (Gary lives outside our centre I think?) I'm not sure it suits enough people.

I do remember them changing a section halfway through a trial a few years back as well, can't remember why now.

[garyc_2008]

No no, I live in Cambridge and so am most definitely inside the South Midland Center boundaries. I travel a lot though in search of harder stuff to ride on, like to the south eastern center and nationals.

Perhaps the reason there aren't many who can cope with it being hard is becuase to actually get to a decent level in the south midland center you have to venture outside and only a handful of riders are prepared to do that.

I guess what you are saying is "why mark out a route for only 10 riders? (perhaps less sometimes)" but which riders is it that actually create the most interest for spectators, obeservers, clerks of the course and other riders (especially the kids)? If you look at the trials that pull the biggest entries they pretty much all tend to be rated highly by the top guys and once an event gets it right the reputation builds and you'll get enough experts to really make marking out a proper expert route worthwhile and then the huge entries follow. Everyone likes riding a "good" trial right? regardless of ability. I think that as a general rule, unless someone like Sam Conner turns up, organisers should aim to take 20-30 genuine marks (as opposed to slack dabs, missed markers etc.) from the top expert, which generally means marking it out as hard as possible on the land available. When my dad ran events back in the nineties in the southern center, this is roughly what he did and we had really good trials and good entries.

I guess one thing that does cause issues marking it out hard for the experts is the intermeddiates not being able to cope. I find it strange though that we have three classes novice, intermediate and expert and usually three routes, but I guess the novices split and pick one of the easier two and the intermediates and experts ride the hard route! Why can't it be simple? Novice on the easy route, intermediate on the middle route and expert on the hard route? You get better, get promoted and move up the the next class and difficulty level at the same time!

and I agree I hate 8 sections in a lap, it just somehow feels a bit mickey mouse, but then 8 good sections is better than 10 poor ones so it's not always so bad.

[nigel dabster]

You may be living in our centre now but havn't for long unless I'm mistaken?

If you had then you would know the history of the "intermediate" riders but thats another not interesting story.

What you have done though is identify a change that seems both logical and sensible. We have tried to suggest the same a number of times (among other things) but the pwers that be keep their heads in the sand and sadly what good land we had (have?) will soon be lost for ever.

The centre needs a good shake up but it just won't happen.

No no, I live in Cambridge and so am most definitely inside the South Midland Center boundaries. I travel a lot though in search of harder stuff to ride on, like to the south eastern center and nationals.

Perhaps the reason there aren't many who can cope with it being hard is becuase to actually get to a decent level in the south midland center you have to venture outside and only a handful of riders are prepared to do that.

I guess what you are saying is "why mark out a route for only 10 riders? (perhaps less sometimes)" but which riders is it that actually create the most interest for spectators, obeservers, clerks of the course and other riders (especially the kids)? If you look at the trials that pull the biggest entries they pretty much all tend to be rated highly by the top guys and once an event gets it right the reputation builds and you'll get enough experts to really make marking out a proper expert route worthwhile and then the huge entries follow. Everyone likes riding a "good" trial right? regardless of ability. I think that as a general rule, unless someone like Sam Conner turns up, organisers should aim to take 20-30 genuine marks (as opposed to slack dabs, missed markers etc.) from the top expert, which generally means marking it out as hard as possible on the land available. When my dad ran events back in the nineties in the southern center, this is roughly what he did and we had really good trials and good entries.

I guess one thing that does cause issues marking it out hard for the experts is the intermeddiates not being able to cope. I find it strange though that we have three classes novice, intermediate and expert and usually three routes, but I guess the novices split and pick one of the easier two and the intermediates and experts ride the hard route! Why can't it be simple? Novice on the easy route, intermediate on the middle route and expert on the hard route? You get better, get promoted and move up the the next class and difficulty level at the same time!

and I agree I hate 8 sections in a lap, it just somehow feels a bit mickey mouse, but then 8 good sections is better than 10 poor ones so it's not always so bad.

[lennie]

organisers should aim to take 20-30 genuine marks (as opposed to slack dabs, missed markers etc.) from the top expert, which generally means marking it out as hard as possible on the land available.

Agreed, make the trials a lot harder. Around 10 points a lap would be fine.

[nigel dabster]

Agreed, make the trials a lot harder. Around 10 points a lap would be fine.

if thats what you think why don't you ride out of centre at harder trials?

[lennie]

if thats what you think why don't you ride out of centre at harder trials?

I do just not in the same area as you.

[nigel dabster]

Where and when?

Ps.I don't ride hard trials.

[lennie]

Where and when?

Ps.I don't ride hard trials.

Kent has plenty of hard trials and its well worth the short journey to do them, from where i live it takes less time to get there than some of the trials in the "north" of our centre.

Anything else you would like to know?

Edited September 11, 2008 by Lennie

[jordi]

Kent has plenty of hard trials and its well worth the short journey to do them, from where i live it takes less time to get there than some of the trials in the "north" of our centre.

Anything else you would like to know?

Methinks your travelling in the wrong direcion! Go north young man..

[nigel dabster]

Methinks your travelling in the wrong direcion! Go north young man..

Welwyn Garden city to kent, my guess for the time that takes you could be in Derbyshire.

You really do need to get out more.

In the right direction.