Newsletter.Doc Page 1

The Bexleyheath and District MCC NewsletterMotorbiketrials.com

July 2008“Keeping Trials Alive”

CLUB TRIAL ASH 1 ST June 2008 By Steve Wright

We were lucky with the weather as rain was forecast for Saturday evening which thankfully didn’t arrive. It was nice to see some new faces and hopefully you all had a good days sport. It was a close run competition in the youth yellow class with Mervyn Hemphill just getting the better of Jack Kettle Smith, with Ben Allcott coming third in his first trial, well done!Neil Martin is well ahead of the pack in novice yellow (it must be all those lessons from Sam Conner), also nice to see Peter Lown back again after a long lay off. Graham (the jap) Bridger went clean all day on the novice reds with Rodger and Dennis tying on six a piece. Richard Lewis is also back in the novice group while he gets to grip with his new 4 stroke. Steve and Allan had a close battle in the inter B’s as did Doug and Paul in the inters, both finishing on 66 each. In the experts, Rob pipped Gary to win with a great ride losing only 37.We are easing the yellow route to accommodate the raw novice riders so, if it’s too easy move up to novice red, which we will also try to make a little easier. We now run 5 classes, so there should be something for everyone. A note for your diary - we are running an evening practice trial on Wednesday 9th July at Wainscott. A few riders have offered tuition, so if you would like a bit of help just ask. Should be a fun evening!

JULY CALENDAR

WED JULY 9TH EVENING CLUB TRIAL 6PM WAINSCOTTThis will not count for year to date results. . A2 coast bound then A289, drive down Wainscott bypass to large roundabout at end, Take the third exit this will take you up to a mini roundabout turn right and after crossing bypass the farm entrance is on left

SUN JULY 13TH NKTC DOUBLE FIVE TRIAL RIDLEY

SAT JULY 26TH WORKING PARTY WAINSCOTT 9 30AM

SUN JULY 27TH CLUB TRIAL WAINSCOTT 10AM

AUGUST CALENDAR

SUN AUG 17TH OWLS WOBBLER TRIAL 10AM

SAT AUG 30TH WORKING PARTY CAMPING WEEKEND 10AM

SUN AUG 31ST CLUB TRIAL HASTINGS

Newsletter.Doc

By Ron Pattenden

As mentioned last month, I intended to do the Arthur Bates Trial (a round of the Sammy Miller Products Trial Championship) at Rhayader in mid Wales. The weather forecast was good so I decided to ride there on my Jilun trail bike, do the trial and then ride home – a total of about 550 miles.I started on Saturday the 7th June in glorious sunshine – I had put a 5 tooth smaller rear sprocket on, so it was nicely high geared for the journey. We had a last minute panic visit to the vet, as Archie (our Jack Russell) had cut himself whilst out doing desperate things in the woods. This meant that I forgot to pack the larger sprocket to change for the trial. That was something that I would regret later.I wandered through the A and B roads of England and Wales and eventually arrived at 7.30, after having Fish and Chips (the best I have had for years) in Builth Wells. The campsite was only 500 yards from the start and was in a superb position right next to a small river. There were a few guys on the campsite doing the trial next day, who couldn’t believe I had ridden on “that thing” all the way from Eastbourne, intending to do the trial next day. After much bending of the arm in the local boozer, we all went to bed about 11.30. It was cold overnight and the guys all said they didn’t get much sleep. I however had bought my 4 season sleeping bag with me and was warm as toast.I was away at 10.33 as I was riding number 3 out of 73 starters. We started at the farmers market, but there was a bit of confusion, as there were about 50 Green laners starting their Sunday's entertainment at the local sports club. (it seems there are so many Green Lanes here that there is always loads of bikers here at weekends). I eventually got away to the first 2 sections at Aberceithon. These sections were through a rocky stream and I lost a couple of marks on each section. Then it was on through the beautiful Elan valley to Ashleys where there were another 4 sections. This was where I needed the other sprocket – it really is too high geared for near standing starts up hills. I then carried on to Cross Keys (4 sections), Cefnllyn (2 sections), Bryn (6 sections), Skeleton Alley (2 sections), Brynscolfa (6 sections), and finally Bwich (4 sections). Then it was back to the start area to sign off, followed by a good few beers with the few riders who were again camping overnight. Monday was again sunny and I enjoyed the ride home, although I kept getting strange looks , whilst standing upright on the pegs, to relieve the sore bum.I attempted all the sections, although I have to admit there were a cluster of 5’s in there, but I did manage to clean 3 sections. The sections were about the same level as red routes in our club trials, and would have been quite do-able on my Montesa, but on the high geared Jinlun…..no chance. But what a great days sport, and a good bunch of people. Especially the chair guys who were having about the same luck as me on some of the sections. There were only 2 riders in single figures – the winner on a Fantic 300, and 2nd on a Bultaco 340. Most of the British bikes were struggling to a certain extent, and as for me I lost 95 marks and came LAST!!!!! Still what the hell, I had a fantastic weekend with wall to wall sunshine.Whilst on the trial I (along with quite a few others) followed the wrong arrows and ended up at Abbeycwmhir, where I met the landowner (Bernie – who is now my bestest new friend). He hosts lots of 4 wheel drive days on his 193 acre “bit of land”. He said if we wanted to come on a weekend when there is no 4 wheel drive events on, we could have the use of all his land, with lots of Trials type terrain plus we could camp there too. Check out www.tuffterrains.com. I also met him after the event in the pub where he turned up on a very nice looking Triumph Thruxton.I would definitely do it again, and I think maybe I will get the Royal Enfield Bullet out of hibernation for next years event – but perhaps I will trailer it………..

I will definitely be doing round 1 of the ACU Trail Bike Championship at Caerphilly on 13th July, and am told the sections are easier – (must remember the other sprocket). If anyone wants to join me please phone 01323840149 or email ronhilary@yahoo.co.uk

Page 2

Newsletter.Doc

My name is Chris Northover and I am one of the mad fools partaking in this epic trip, trundling along beside me will be my long suffering Dad, Dave Northover. We are going to ride from Dover to John O’Groats to Lands End and then back across to Dover. The journey totals around 2000 Miles and we aim to complete it in four days, requiring long riding stints and little rest! The trusty steeds to be taking us on this voyage will be a pair of Honda C90 Mopeds, with an impressive top speed of 50mph… on a good day…

down a hill. Why? Well, why not? Ok, there’s a whole list of reasons why not, but the overriding reason for doing it is to raise money for my motorcycle racing in 2008. I’ve been given the chance to race in the

British Junior Superstock series which will run as a support race to the British Superbikes. This series is highly competitive and previously has launched the careers of several successful racers such as Cal

Crutchlow, Tom Sykes and Craig Jones. I am fortunate enough to be riding for Team Haribo Starmix thanks to Ride Now Racing Ltd., a company dedicated to helping young riders achieve their potential. I have to

bring a monetary contribution to the team and this is what I am raising money towards. Race team sponsors Ixon have supplied some of their fantastic road gear to help us survive everything the elements can throw at

us and Steve Jordan Motorcycles has kindly supplied one C90 for the trip. I am hoping to raise £1000 - £2000 pounds on this little escapade, to help fund my racing this season! Anyone interested in finding out

our progress or making a donation can get in touch either through wrongwayround@hotmail.com or through my website www.cgracing.co.uk. We will be leaving from Dover on the 27th May and, all things

being well, returning to Dover some 4 days and 2000 miles later!

Page 3

Newsletter.DocThe Wrong Way Round

The plan? To ride around Britain on a pair of Honda C90 mopeds in 4 days, to help to raise money for my British Superstock 600 racing this year. After much running around and having to cancel once due to snow and gales, Dad and I found ourselves at Dover on Tuesday 27th May, 11:30am with a 2000 mile journey ahead of us. Loomesy and newly converted pillion Liz were to be our Suzuki SV650 mounted support crew, to run for spares and the like in times of emergency or extreme need for cake! The route was to take us from Dover, up to John O’Groats, down to Lands End and finally back across to Dover, all in the space of four days. Hopefully. Sporting some snazzy bike gear supplied by Ixon we had no worries about looking good, even if we were to end up stranded somewhere “Oop North!” we could be sure we’d be looking cool! My C90 was very kindly donated to me by Steve Jordan Motorcycles to help me with this mad fund raising scheme, so we were already ahead, providing I didn’t wreck it… no pressure then! Day 1 - Tuesday:

Leaving Dover we headed up to Peterborough services for our first stop, making good progress, with no route confusion and only one mechanical hitch it was all very easy and simple and in hindsight it cruelly lulled us into the belief that every little thing was gonna be alright, as a great man with dreadlocks and a funny hat once said. With a quick temporary fix on the exhaust of my bike at the services, we were back on our merry way again, heading North with new found confidence. A couple of hours on and my exhaust fell off again (so much for the bodge!) but, once again, was bodged on so we could continue. Further North still we stopped for a bite to eat in a random car park and also decided it would be a good idea to repair the exhaust more permanently, so a new nut was sourced and lockwire used to replace the snapped bolt at the front to give us many more miles of C90-ing pleasure. Or so we hoped! We pressed on, aiming to get as far north as possible, although we wouldn’t make Edinburgh as we had originally planned. We had a comedy moment when Loomesy and Liz had to go ahead looking for an emergency toilet stop and then got lost! After a brief manhunt and some guesswork, we found each other again and the 3 horsemen and one horse-woman of the apocalypse were reunited ready to continue our crusade! The new target was just north of Tow Law on the A68 and after riding miles in a horrible wet mist we arrived at a random layby on a side road in the middle of the night, looking forward to a good kip!

Day 2 - WednesdayRising at 6 the next morning, a quick breckie was wolfed down and we were back on the

road by 7. Dad and I went on ahead, whilst Loomesy and Liz were to catch us up using the superior pace of their trusty steed. Father and son exchanged racing lines and mounted an all out speed assault on the A68 and its unsuspecting traffic. Like a pair of jockeys turning up at the Grand National on Blackpool beach’s finest donkeys, the sight of 2 C90’s being ridden by supposed adults in full on racing style, crouched down to aid aerodynamics, left many a passer by shaking their heads in bewilderment! We made it all the way to Edinburgh when it dawned on us that we hadn’t seen the other half of our apocalyptic quartet, had the hare really been outdone by the tortoise (or pair of tortoises in this case) again? Especially after the last time the story was published and he was humiliated in print! The truth was less a story of slow and steady triumphing over speed and more a story of the triumph of gravity and diesel over motorcycle stability! Poor Loomesy and Liz had succumbed to the unseen slippery peril exiting a roundabout and got to see a rather closer view of Northern England than they had bargained for! Thankfully, they both emerged as walking wounded, with the cut and bruise on Liz’s knee rivalling the dent in Loomesy’s pride for best injury rights! With a plethora of helpful locals, a resourceful chap on a BMW GS returned to the crash site with tools from his garage to make the minor repairs to the bike and Liz was taken to the local hospital for a check over. Once we were assured of the well being of man, woman and machine, a new plan was formulated – Dad and I would continue up to John O Groats alone and then meet up with our comrades at a campsite near Loch Ness to be confirmed later on.

We pushed onwards over the Forth Road Bridge, which was an interesting experience given the vicious combination of lorries, rain and wind, and out of Edinburgh on yet another great road which wrapped itself around the breathtaking Scottish landscape, its dry stone walls creating a trench across a battle field of the elements. Passing Knockhill race circuit, we stopped for a photo

Page 4

Newsletter.Docshoot but, tempted though we were, didn’t have enough time to try for a couple of practice laps ready for my race later this year! Sadly, the amazing roads came to an end for a while once on the A9 and the journey up past Inverness seemed to take forever! The last 100 miles or so up to John O’Groats were much more fun, although a brief mechanical issue regarding Dad’s chain and then his back wheel being loose provided a brief distraction! Riding along the A99 is a bizarre and disconcerting experience as, after miles and miles of riding across barren landscapes, from nowhere appears an industrial estate with a Tesco, Next and various other superstores, which then disappears and you’re back into the wilderness wondering if you had hallucinated the 24hr Tesco garage! Counting down the mileage signs, we finally arrived at John O’Groats and I duly marked the achievement with a slightly wobbly victory wheelie! Then, horror of horrors, we pulled up to take the obligatory photo with the famous signpost and it wasn’t there!! Almost 1000 miles and no damn signpost!! Apparently, due to repeated abuse, the sign is removed after the booth closes, although the cynic in me thinks it’s because they insist on charging £17 for a photo with the signpost and don’t want to miss out after hours!! Yes, it’s true, even in the furthest reaches of the Scottish highlands, extortion is rife, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if there’s a wee kiosk at the North Pole selling souvenir snow. Now that’d explain the ice caps disappearing!

Leaving John O’Groats, we headed south at last, down to our planned stop for the night at a campsite beside Loch Ness. About 2 hours in to the leg, we stopped for a bite at the side of the road in the middle of nowhere, rather foolishly on a steep hill! Once the bikes were parked up, they obviously decided that what we really needed after over 12 hours of solid riding was a bit of culture and decided to supply that through the medium off interpreted dance. The opening piece was a lovely Mexican wave style sideways arc, but unfortunately the dance ended there, rather abruptly I thought! Like Honda dominos, whilst Dad and I were still laughing and trying to pick his bike up off the floor, mine fell over behind us and I laughed so hard I nearly dropped my Jaffa cakes! With the bikes righted and food consumed, we pressed on down towards Loch Ness as darkness fell. By the time we reached the Loch of Nessy, we were feeling the effects of over 18 hours on the road and both of us were looking forward to getting a few hours kip. Unfortunately, the cruel blade of fate cut through the highland air, drawing metaphorical blood in the form of a punctured rear tyre on my bike, just a few miles from the campsite! I say a few miles, but unfortunately due to signpost confusion (our error – the speed of the C90’s must’ve been too great for us to read them properly!) we ended up on a 30 mile detour, via the wrong campsite. A situation worsened by the fact that none of us had a signal! Needless to say, by the time we made it to the campsite, the flat tyre looked worse than my hair in the mornings and we were left with no option but to wait for the shops to open in the morning and source a new tube and tyre.

Day 3 - ThursdayAlthough frustrated at having to wait around for half a day whilst we located and collected

the parts it was nice to get some sleep (we were still up and about by 9 however!) and even nicer to have a bit of time to relax in the beautiful (if rare!) Scottish sunshine! As soon as the new tyre was on, we were back on the road and hoping to get some good mileage done when suddenly Dad started dropping back. The look of sheer disbelief and amusement on his face when I rode back to him said it all; another puncture, good job he’s got a good sense of humour!! We fixed this swiftly (we’d had some practice by now!) and pressed on, taking no prisoners on the winding mountain roads as we went! The scenery was spectacular and we were thankful of the snail like uphill pace of the bikes, giving us plenty of time to gaze around us! All these ups, downs and wiggly corners came at a price however, and the slow going, coupled with the morning’s delay, meant we were well behind on our intended route by the evening, only making it as far as Gretna Green. After assuring Loomesy I wasn’t going to try and marry him to a random local in the night, we hit the hay, ready to really go for it in the morning to make up the lost ground.

Day 4 - FridayUp at 5am, we wasted no time in getting on the road to Lands End, with a new adjusted

route making use of the motorways to cut down the journey time. In full speed tucks, slipstreaming every lorry we came to, we made great progress down the motorways and were at Jct 8 on the M5 by lunch time. Our fuel stops would have put F1 teams to shame, with me filling the bikes and cans whilst dad checked the oil and then dashing in to pay while I strapped everything back on the bikes! All was going so well, it was inevitable that something would have to go wrong really and it

Page 5

Newsletter.Docduly did; just as we pulled into the services. Rolling into a parking space, my bike (complete with now cracked header pipe on the exhaust) backfired. Not usually a massive issue, but unbeknown to me the float bowl on the carburettor had vibrated loose and was pouring fuel down over the exhaust! Within seconds, the flames were licking up around the handlebars and I leapt from the bike, dutifully remembering to take my clipboard holding the route with me! I must admit to being reluctant to return to the burning bike, but felt it would be advisable to remove the 10 litres of fuel in plastic cans from the back seat! Dad grabbed the bike from the floor and I poured about 2 litres of Evian (expensive stuff to be using, might have been more cost effective to let it burn!) over the flames and we stamped and blew the last of them out! At this point I laughed. Hysterically! Uncontrollable, insane laughter of a person who has been locked in a crash helmet for the last 3 days and gone slightly mad at the ridiculous situations he’s been finding himself in! Good ol’ Dad, with his patent bodge-it-and-scarper mentality, remained confident of the bikes ability to run again and, by a minor miracle, we were back on the road within an hour, having enjoyed a celebratory lunch over our handiwork!

With this behind us, nothing could stop this freight train loaded with lunacy from completing the journey and we hammered our way down to Lands End, only stopping to fuel and waterproof up. Skidding up to Liz and Loomesy (who’d gone on ahead to meet us there) in the car park at Lands End was an emotional moment and, although there was one more leg still to go, we had made the last big milestone before the home straight! The same signpost saga greeted us at Lands End, so we stuck our own sign on the post and took the piccies anyway!

The aim Friday night was to make it back to just outside Salisbury to sleep in Mum and Dad’s house for the night, before getting up early again for the final push to Dover. Again, we relentlessly pushed on and the journey was rolling by, although our pace once again lessened by the rolling Cornish hills! There was a lot of encouragement from passers by on the A30, who all seemed to find it very amusing to see two C90’s in perfect flat-out harmony screaming their way along the inside lane! Disaster struck again about 40 miles from the night’s stop, when my exhaust fell off completely and I must apologise to all inhabitants in the West of England for the noise! Then the fog set in. For the last 35 or so miles we rode along with 6 to 10ft visibility, weary from the days riding and wondering what else was left to throw at us! Roadworks. That was what was next! It’s in times of extreme fog that cat’s eyes are the most useful and you can guess what the road resurfacing meant! Finally we made it, albeit 2 hours later than planned thanks to the fog! As we climbed into bed, it dawned on us that we had ridden 700 miles that day and had been on the road for 21.5 hours!

Saturday morning we were rearing to go, excited by the prospect of making back to Dover, but also wary of the distance still to go in which anything could go wrong! Racing and slipstreaming our way along the motorways (again to make up for lost time) the journey seemed to pass really quickly and, unbelievably, without incident! We finally rode back onto Dover seafront, 2010 miles and 98 hours after we had started, triumphant and exhausted!

It was an unbelievable trip, and was really enjoyable in a slightly sick and twisted kind of way! The challenge of endurance combined with all of the problems we overcame made the adventure very special! I cannot thank enough those who supported us throughout this trip; all those who sponsored me to help with my racing along with Mark at Ixon for supplying us with the fantastic clothing (2000 miles through all weather and no leaks or discomfort can’t be bad!) and Steve Jordan Motorcycles for my C90 which I only slightly wrecked! As Dad keeps telling me, it’ll polish out so if you know anyone who wants to buy a nice C90, let me know! Thanks also to Mum and Nan for looking after us and to Lizzy and Loomesy for being our trusty companions on the road! Special mention to Liz for doing this, when it was only her 3rd time on the back of a bike, legend!!! Finally, Dad, thankyou so, so much for doing this with me and for keeping me going, even when it looked impossible, I’m up for a second lap whenever you fancy!!

Off now to nurse the blisters and numb hands, so until the next time we come up with a ridiculous idea, goodbye and go do something silly, it’s great!

Chris NorthoverEternally Grateful National Superstock 600 Racer

Page 6

Newsletter.DocRound 2 (ish!) – Thruxton By Chris Northover

Woooooo!! Couldn’t have asked for a better start to the season really! Getting out for the first time at Thruxton on Friday, I soon realised why people’s descriptions of riding Thruxton always involve several expletives! This place is really fast and, just to help you on your way while you’re cranked over at 120mph; it’s bumpy as a neglected B road! After free practice I was languishing down in 21st place, still trying to get my head around the track. Walking the track Friday night with the team helped clear things up a bit, along with watching the Supersports boys at club chicane. Saturday morning brought rain and wind (although, thankfully no more snow!) and I was determined to push hard to get up to speed. Still sulking because the team said I couldn’t wear a rain coat over my leathers, I set about getting on the pace, improving my lap times all through the session and finally finishing in 7th place. The final qualifying session in the afternoon (with more rain this time) went even better (although still no raincoat) and I qualified 4th (again!). Despite spending all Saturday night and Sunday morning doing the sacred rain dance, the weather decided that what we needed was a beautiful sunny day, great for my girlfriend to top up her tan, bad for me having very little dry setup data for Thruxton! Nonetheless, we lined up for the start of the race Sunday evening and it was nice to note that not everyone had gone home straight after the superbikes! After a slightly dodgy start I was in fourth and managed to pick my way to the front within a couple of laps. Unfortunately, so did a certain Mr Luke Jones who, after a few laps of chasing me and showing me his front wheel, nipped past. I tried all I could to stick with him, scaring my poor mum half to death as she watched my bike bucking and fishtailing past lap after lap but was forced to settle for second place. Even second was not going to be gifted, as persistent challenges from Jamie Hamilton kept me on my toes until the race was eventually red flagged with only a couple of laps to go.From then it’s still all a bit of a blur, probably mostly down to the amount of champagne Mr Jones sprayed in my eyes! My first national championship race, my first podium and my first chance to pour champagne down my girlfriends back in public, priceless! I cannot thank enough those people who’ve believed in me and helped me all this way, to all my family, friends and James, Derek and all of Team Haribo Starmix and JJR Racing – you’re all superstars and I’d never be here without you!!CG

Page 7

Newsletter.Doc Page 8

FOR SALE

320 Majesty completely rebuilt.

£1850

Bob Poole01732 462999

For Sale

2005 Gas Gas 300,

Silver,one owner,new guards etc...£1.600.

phone Chris Anderson on 07986 730638

01227 731465

FOR SALE

2007 Motorhispania RYZ50 Enduro Moped.

0nly 600 miles from new.Showroom Condition,

Taxed, Mint. £2000

01732 847781

For Sale

2005 Gas Gas 300,

Silver,one owner,new guards etc...£1.600.

phone Chris Anderson on 07986 730638

01227 731465

Houses for Rent in Spain

Visit Jerez, Cadiz, Seville – Cheap Flights and Car Hire

Bob Poole01732 462999

FOR SALE

320 Majesty completely rebuilt.

£1850

Bob Poole01732 462999

For Sale

new wheel bearings 2 fit most trials bikes(6004) £2.50 each

others available these r available at NKTC and SE

combine events 4 collect only… Howard Ph-01622

730826

Houses for Rent in Spain

Visit Jerez, Cadiz, Seville – Cheap Flights and Car Hire

Bob Poole01732 462999

For Sale

spark plugs,ptfe lube,brake&carb

cleaner,silicon spray,chain lube all very low prices…see Howard Webster at NKTC trials or ring 01622 730826

FOR SALE

CONTACTS

CHAIRMAN - Roy Gent. Phone: 020 8698 6208

SECRETARY - Dennis Fleet. Phone: 01322 446556 E-mail: djfleet@hotmail.co.uk

EDITOR - Paul Jenkins. Phone: 01732 847781 E-mail: jenkinsp@blueyonder.co.uk