Haha, I think your right! I got turned onto trials by a fellow inmate here. His famous quote is "The first hit is for free." I have been trying to recruit some others here lately as well.
Played on my first ledge today, laid out a figure 8 with a step in the middle. It looked a LOT bigger when I was doing it! [/IMG]
Great idea of a figure 8 with a ledge in the middle. Things always look less intimidating on internet... I made the mistake of posting a video of me crossing an intimidating (to me in person at least) obstacle on FB... Yeah, I won't be doing that again soon.
I bought a super clean 2003 GasGas, 280 Pro. The first thing I did was learn to start it. Thanks to the University of YouTube. Next I left a lot of tire marks in the drive way and a few on the steps leading to the front door. Feeling confident I went to the back yard. I worked on the figure 8's tried to stop and stand still. Hey this is way tougher than those guys, an gals, make it look. Oh look a weed, in a sandy patch of earth, well I'll roost it! Uncontrolled wheelie left hand landing on my side in the rocks? I have to rethink this thing and go a bit slower. That was a few weeks back my minuscule trials skills are slowly improving. I can almost stop in place. Riding street and dirt since the 1970's hardly prepared me for this. Yea it is fun and challenging. If I only had a sense of balance!
I am riding in my first competition this weekend and my nerves are getting the best of me. I have no idea what to expect so I am dwelling on it and have a bazillion questions. One question that's repeatedly on my mind is how the event is scored. For example, the Newark, OH event I am riding in this weekend is being held on 2 days. Do I need to ride in both days or just one? When I do the loop and all its sections (I am guessing 3-5 times in the loop) do they take the best score of all my attempts? Probably some really stupid questions. I am thinking about having a shirt made that says "TRIALS NOOB, PLEAS ADVISE" just to wear to the event.
Not my event - but will tell you the norm. Normally - a two day event is two separate days of competition. They may give an overall trophy for some events as well. On your loop scores - they all add together to get the total event score. If you dont complete all the loops required for your class - you DNF. You hand in your loop card after each loop. Dont lose the card. Get there early - get to signup and let them know its your 1st event. The great thing about trials is that your competitors become some of your best friends. Trials folks are very friendly and very helpful. Wear a camelbak or a hydration system of some sort. Try not to worry too much as the reality of the situation is that your about to have a blast.
Choicecut I rode my first ever event back in June and had a lot of the same concerns. I had never been to a trials event before either. First off introduce yourself as a total beginner and I am sure the people there will give you all the help and assistance you need. When I showed up and stated I wanted to ride novice as I had never been to a trial before, the expert in the club told me "nah, you want to ride the intermediate line as the novice line was just entering and exiting the sections and will be boring". I had spent most of my youth on motocross bikes, and had been farting around in the yard a bit for the last year as I worked on getting the controls of the bike to work well, mostly the clutch. But had not tried anything as sizeable as you have in your latest video. The intermediate line was more than I was quite ready for considering the muddiness factor, it had rained like hell the day before, but I was glad I tried it. I did decline to try some things as I did not want crunch myself (big tractor tires and barrels) but the guys who were riding around the loop with me seemed to understand, I wanted to have fun, and breaking the bike or a collar bone is not fun. The scoring aspect worried me as in the club I rode with there were no scorers, but you had another riders card and he had yours, so when he went you scored and vice versa. If there was any question I confirmed with the group what the correct score would be for the guy I was scoring as I did not want to do him wrong with a incorrect score. You can get the following scores in a section, 0 (clean, no touching your feet down and going through each set of markers without going out of bounds or backwards) 1,2,3 (same as clean except touching a foot down, 1,2,or 3 + times) , and my favorite , a 5, which means you went out of bounds, fell or stepped off, went backwards, or missed a marker gate. Out of 32 sections I rode that day I 5ed 20 of them, and got 3s on the other twelve, and to be honest some of those 3s were generous Don't worry about the score, or put any pressure on yourself, just have fun. Chances are there will be some others there who will be glad to show you the ropes and try to help you have some success or at least make sure you don't injure yourself. The first loop around will be way more effort than you planned on serving up, but it seems to get quicker and easier each succesive loop, at least it did for me. I look forward to hearing how much fun you had
Thanks for the info! That clears a bit up for me. I am planning to ride both days, but Sunday has some possible plans that may arise. I really hope to gain some connections/friends to ride with from this too. Riding by myself in the back yard is getting boring. I just picked up a klim fuel pak. Good thing too as I think its gonna get pretty hot this weekend. Edit: More great info from wb22rules. That definitely puts me at ease. I don't know if the difficulty of the novice class will be higher in this event since it is ama sanctioned, but I'll ride whatever class they suggest. I already put NOV on my number plate so hopefully that won't be an issue. I was wondering if novice might be too easy as I want to challenge myself but also don't want to get in over my head. Its easy to clear that big truck tire in my latest video after multiple attempts. Would be a different story in a section most likely.
I recommend riding an easy line on Sat. There is alot to take in and given its your 1st event - keep it enjoyable and well within your ability. Ride a harder line on sunday if you want more of a challenge. I guarantee you will learn alot! Have fun
+1. Ride the easiest line they have on Saturday. It will give you a chance to understand the process without worrying about scaring yourself in the sections. You can adjust difficulty to suit on Sunday or stay in the same class if it seems appropriate. As has already been said, if you let folks know that you're a total newbie, they'll be more than happy to help. Have fun and don't stress!
Thanks for the input fellas. I will stick with the Novice line for sure so I can get a good grip on how an event goes. There are two more events put on by this same club in Ohio in October that I plan to attend and could bump up to Intermediate if I feel up for it then. Pretty freaking excited!
You'll bump up immediately after the Ryan Young clinic Choicecut. Clinic is starting to fill up, and the farm is shaping up nicely. Have fun this weekend!
I can't wait for that clinic! October is going to be trials every weekend. Going to ride an event the 5th/6th, RYP school the 19th/20th and another event the 26th/27th.. Should be a great month! Edit: And another event in Toronto, OH November 11th..
Choice, You should just take vacation and stay down here that week, practice what Ryan teaches you, and ride the 2 day MTR is putting on out in western NC. 2nd day is a Money Trials.
That would be sweet, but my wife could only get off the Monday after the clinic. We are coming down that Friday and heading back on Monday. I suppose I could always tell her and my daughter to thumb it back to Ohio.
