The trial consisted of twenty mouth-watering sections which tempted me to over indulge my right hand and go for things I wouldn’t normally attempt, a bit like wedging a jam doughnut in your mouth whole and seeing if you can get a BIG MAC in the space left, and of course trying to resite the national anthem how could I forget that. My bike unaccustomedly ran well at Crowbourgh and inspired me, confidence is a must and with two working brakes “that’s a first” and an engine chirping along it was gonna be a good day. Thought is a strange thing to associate with trials, but the right ethos is transforming me, a rider of bland proportion into a super star!!! "yeah man". I didn’t win the trial today, I new I wouldn’t, even before I turned up the day was doomed to failure and so what if I lost forty odd marks, so bloody what. I had a cracking day, no pressures a clear mind and today I took my time and enjoyed the ride.

Section 1, childs play, not a lot of interest. Section two was kids play and Section three was play with yxxxxxxx. Section four started the trials ball rolling, the first section on the day that had a challenge, nice big fat rocks in a stream to knock yourself out on “can’t wait”. The section had the rocks but they were pushed out of the way by previous trials and only left a short tricky climb, the climb cost me far to many marks and can we have the rocks moved back for the next trial please? Or even better have the inters ride up that super-dooper rock step, nice section. Section 5 nothing memorable. Section 6, yes this was most definitely the meat and two veg in a kebab section, I didn’t even have to look at a section to know this is the one for me. Young Rob was milling around when I arrived at the section, a brief grunt and nod transpired into a conversation with two differing opinions, which meant one thing, young Rob was waiting for a guinea pig rider to go first before he choose his line and like the first one up on the disco dance floor I set off with my theory to see if I was right. The section started with a gentle drop through the start gates running forward some ten feet on the flat and turning right ran along a short flat rock floor gully, turning right again to face a short 6 foot slippery climb and turn left at the top. I was in first gear when I arrived at the top of this climb with no major problems and passing between two gates at the top pushed the route for the next set of gates near parallel just right when dropping down the next short but now steep drop. It was at this point Rob and I differed on opinion, I decided to follow the expert route, which dropped me back down swinging left and then turn sharp right to blast over a fallen raised tree. The alternative two other lines were to go straight at this fallen trees roots running straight at them from the steep drop, or alternatively follow my line but pull the bike even further around to the right at the bottom of the drop leaving a better run off. Well anyway, I three’d the section both times but it was good fun, next time Rob can go first and I’ll see how he fares disco dancing and all. I can’t put numbers to the remaining sections because the brain is fading, but a section maybe 16? Had a cracking climb to it which cost me bucket loads of marks and Mr Purvis fived it in front of me before I could training my camera on him. I’ll get yu next time you wait and see….

A big big-it-up for the land owners and marshals + K & S mcc, see you all next year