I really enjoyed by Lands End (see my Blog http://classicalgas.spaces.live.com/blog/ and Photo Album http://classicalgas.spaces.live.com/photos/ ). OK it was dry and I got up Cutliffe Lane but it was still a challenge with all those "chicane type restarts" like the one at Daracott that stopped me. Talking of the restarts at Beggars Roost and Daracott where there were chicanes marked with tape. Would you be penalised for knocking the tape over?
We finished early and were able to have a nice relaxed afternoon and evening. How was your Lands End?
From a motorcyclist's point of view the trial was excellent, helped of course by the weather, dry roads and not having visors misted up really helped. Bike came back with hardly any mud on it! Wished I had not done the Darracott restart on the left - dropped into the centre and stalled. Restarted in the centre without any bother once I had realined the monster. Do I give in and go for something more modern - I have an XT 500, only 30 years old and a lightweight, now can't get a front tyre for the Triumph - 3.50X 19 trials don't seem to exist.
ReplyDeleteWe were an early number and thoroughly enjoyed the trial. The only real delay was about 1/2 an hour on Daracott when a competitor broke his transmission at the bottom of the hill and the tractor had to come right down to the bottom. There seemed to be plenty of marshalls on the hills and the organization was pretty good as far as I was concerned. Wonderful dry warm weather - Why don't we do all our trials in the summer? I messed up the restart on Bishops Wood because I took no notice of Jim in the passenger seat. I thought that the restart on Beggars Roost was a bit tight for those with wide cars and will be interested to see the answer to Michael Leete's question. Went back to spectate at Bluehills after we finished and noticed that the queue had built up from nothing to back into the lane. This seemed to be because most of the Class O cars that tried Bluehills II had to be towed up. I think that Bluehills II is far too rough for what class Class O was originally intended for. What do Class O competitors think? Had dinner with Mike Young and Steve Boakes who are back trialling after about 10 years lay off. They said they enjoyed themselves but commented that the hills were much rougher (but not more difficult) than before, especially the potholes on the slope after the Bluehills II restart.
ReplyDeleteenjoyed the trial ,fingers crossed claimed gold ,very nearly came to grief on bishops wood (to fast) ,blue hills 2 looked a no go after the restart pot holes but the 205 dug in and found grip to pull through , intresting note on page 22 of the programme under blue categories ,will not be required to perform restarts ! adrian booth pug 205
ReplyDeleteJohn - Don't change your bike. You and it are a special part of the MCC scene. Anyone can ride Jap Stuff. - Michael
ReplyDeleteThe Lands End? Excellent. My first trial in my own car. I did the Ilkley last year in a friends Golf, but you can't beat being in a machine that you've put together yourself. The old Black BMW 320 went like a dream, never missed a beat and if the holes on Blue Hills II hadn't been so deep, we might have got to the top and claimed a Bronze, having failed Beggers & (I think it was) Sutcombe. Even on these two we got to the top unaided, it just wasn't in one clear attempt. My thanks to Mike Dalby who stepped into (or rather sat into!) the navigators seat at late notice and got us round with out to much trouble. He seemed to know someone on every section, making me feel very much apart of the community. Reg Salway
ReplyDeleteWe had a great event in Class 0. It was not a walk in the park with the restarts catchng us and a few others out. Dave Parry watched Blue Hills restart most of the day and observed that it was later in the event that holes developed in the loose surface created. We found the bottom half of the main hill to be the roughest. Out of the seat, nasty noises and a puncture. The competitive section of B.H.2 was not much of a challenge nor as rough. Last year decisions were made in the intrest of safety to change how the section was to be run and this proved to be effective. Sunday saw the event organisers inspecting Blue Hills and discussing how the very matters you have raised may be addressed. It would be hard to say that Blue Hills 2 is a Class 0 hill. That said there are individuals within this Class who are aspiring to go into the main event or have come from the main event. To diferetiate between inexperienced individuals or inappropriate vehicles is not easy to implement but there is a mechanisum for this. It would be a shame for Class 0 not to have a go at "Our Hill"should they wish. There will always be delays at Blue Hills with vehicles arriving at minute intervals or in groups. There is no way progression through BH1 & BH2 can be made within a minute. A fair assesment will be had from the results. This being a personal view from both sides of the fence. I do know that the MCC will be putting together a working party to attend to parts of the hill prior to next year. All will be welcome ! Regards Jonathan L
ReplyDeleteInteresting about the holes on BH2 restart. When we got there, maybe in the first 5o cars, there weren't any. I stopped with my front wheels just in the box with my wheels straight ahead and the car was more or less on the level so getting going wasn't a problem. Of course I then had to do a sharp left turn and only just had the lock to get around before the slope of the deviation kicked in. I guess the holes were dug by people who choose to get round the corner first then stop for the restart, by which time they would have been on the gradient. I think I am correct in saying that the old BH2 restart for the higher classes was on a concrete "restart slab".
ReplyDeleteWe thought it was a great event. Three weeks rain free prior to the day must be an organisers nightmare but Roger and colleagues did a great job and it was still a tough trial - perhaps because of that very dryness? I 'm interested in the questions about the tape on Beggars restart. Looking at the MCC SSR's for 2005 (I can't find the most recent ones) there is no mention of hitting tape (or even markers) as a reason for failure of the test. I'm sure that hitting markers is mentioned elsewhere but can't find where. What happens if you don't hit the marker but do hit the tape and that moves the marker its attached to? By the time we go to BH2 the ruts at the top were huge and I have heard comments that tie in with what Michael suggests i.e. people stopping high in the box and then having to spin and dig their way out. It made for a pretty dramatic exit from the section for later cars that stopped low in the box. Has anyone seen any pictures of the event yet (apart from Michael's)? Usually one can find them on the Saturday evening or at least on Sunday. As it was my first time up BH2 after three fails I'd like to find a picture. If anyone can point me in the direction of a website with pictures I'd be grateful. (Green and black VW no.232) Toughest section for us was Powells - the replacement for Hoskin. Getting off the steep start left a bit of burnt clutch smell in the car for a while. One question - what happened to North Petherton? I know that I'm not alone in thinking that the catering standards at Bridgwater RFC were definately below par. The transport cafe at North Petherton was always great for food and drink. Have they decided it's not worth opening for us? All in all I can't think of many better ways of spending 24 hours (although Hans might know something about Russian females that I don't). Thanks to Roger and colleagues and to all the marshals. Pete
ReplyDeleteFrom another motorcyclist - threewheeled this time - our Land's End was good
ReplyDeletefun too. Yes, it was lovely not to have to worry about wet goggles and
glasses! Demister can do only so much...To my astonishment the WASP kept on
climbing those hills, I shall be waiting with bated breath for the results.
Maybe this won't be my last trial (as I always swear it will be the day
before) after all.
A reminder in my Editor's role - stories for Triple will be required,
especially if your trial was full of incident.
Our first Lands End.......... but certainly not our last. However, entering Class 0 was a mistake as it doesn't offer the challenge you long for and get on other trials. Class 4 for us in future. The organisation is superb, although the obligatory rests are a little frustrating (just how many bacon rolls can one eat!). The route is much too easy to follow (although some distances were hopelessly inaccurate) and there should be more dependence on basic navigational skills. Perhaps this would overcome the parade of cars, mile after mile which is simply boring. At times the road route was little more than a Sunday run in the country! Come on! This is one of Britain's major Trials. It needs to be viewed as such. Overall though...............bl**dy excellent.......and those Blue Hills................Wow!
ReplyDeleteI had a great time, the weather was wonderful, and the light meant taking photos was easier than normal. I took some photos of the start at Plusha, and most of the Bikes and the first part of the cars at Hoskins. I had sometrouble getting out of the wood, having driven too far in at the start of the trial. I then went onto to Blue Hills 2, where I saw a fair number of cars through. I had to leave before the end as I had to be back in Birmingham by 8:00 pm. My photos are here:- http://hoits.smugmug.com/gallery/2694524/1/142706513 the start at Plusha http://hoits.smugmug.com/gallery/2694549/1/142710801 Motorcycles at Hoskins http://hoits.smugmug.com/gallery/2694731/1/142717055 Cars at Hoskins http://hoits.smugmug.com/gallery/2694761/1/142718139 Blue Hills 2 And don't worry Michael, I even managed to include a couple of you. As usual I have lots of other photos, so if you want a particular competitor let me know and I'll see what I can do. Dave Cook
ReplyDeleteRe North Petherton start - the original start site is due for redevelopment and it could not be confirmed that it would be available to the MCC for this years L.E.. The two lads that have run this start site for a while Tim Adams and Mark Hamlin suggested this years site at the rugby club. They are members of both clubs. This was a new experiance for both Bridgwater Rugby Club and the MCC, neither quite knew what to expect first time out. I do know that everyone that looked after us there worked for nothing because it was in their intrest. Since the two lads mentioned and myself are old friends I am sure that feed back will come from B.R.C. and be passed on. The MCC team that looks after the start are all friends and family, some of whom are members of the police (should you wish to know this)This may turn out to be an ongoing arrangement if both organisations receive what they want. This could include menu requests ! All costs involved in an event have to be paid for by someone - mutual arrangements are by far the best. Ref. Best food on MCC events - I rated the bacon & egg baps of Minehead Rugby Club -who we no longer use. Re. Michaels ref to the concrete restart slab on BH2 - these were dark days - the edges of the slab became undercut and was a real diff breaker getting onto it at speed. The Blue Hills rain would see most of the event spinning there, as it can still do today, down on BH1. Agreed this was set upon quite a gradiant above the present day "S" .
ReplyDeletePete a video of you on Blue Hills 2
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nzhHSuSB6w
Also one of Harvey attempting to have the Pop over on Blue Hills 2.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rYgy6_ilOY
More later.
Just been looking at Duncans Videos. How deep was that bhole Harvey went into? It wasn't there when I went up earlier on. - Michael
ReplyDeleteit was there when i went up if it wasnt for the sump guard and a bit of speed to slide over it we would not have made it
ReplyDeleteNigel Jones would like to have some LE pictures of his Skoda no 531, particularly on Bishops Wood or Blue Hills. If anyone can help please mail Nigel at jonesmini@btopenworld.com
ReplyDeleteThanks Duncan. Only just had enough momentum to get out of the hole! You might be interested to learn that I first tried to down load the video on my work computor and it was blocked by the pornography filter, as were Michael's blog and stills. Is that to do with Blue Hills? Or is there still something Hans hasn't told me about Russian women. Thanks again though Duncan - I'll treasure that one! Pete
ReplyDeleteIt's only a Sunday drive in the country when the weather's as good as that
ReplyDelete(which it generally isn't)!
Basic navigational skills - trouble is that the route has to be agreed by
all villages etc. on it, besides the RAC, ACU & Police. I suppose we ought
to warn new competitors that MCC miles are not the same as other people's...
Excellent day despite having to repair the exhaust after hitting a rock at Crackington and change a bent wheel. Other damage - sprained wrist after hitting an unseen rock by the gate at exit of Blue Hills 1 A couple of vids on You Tube here Stoneless street
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsoOs-cOj9k Rodney's revenge
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YB9OZ99yD0
Crackington
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEYOwEXOp7U MikeW TR7 no 250
Sorry Celia, I wasn't critcising the route, it was great. I also understand the difficult work and need for PR. The markings at the junctions L or R etc were perfect as well. But to a point, that's the problem. It almost does away with the need for a navigator/co-driver/passenger (call it what you like) and they enjoy a challenge too! Some simple navigation (self-plot map references with approach and depart) with route checks would raise the tempo (in the car) a little and liven-up the road miles. Is it just me? Am I the only one who thinks this? No doubt I'll get shot down in flames for suggesting it though! Nigel Jones (car 531)
ReplyDeleteSend me the story for Triple!
ReplyDeleteYours,
Celia Walton
Maybe the navigation would be harder alone on a bike in the wind, rain, fog with maybe a little ice and snow mixed in... !!
ReplyDeleteFirst thing I check - is the internal heater working well!
Personally the MCC route markings are excellent with very few of the one day trials getting close.
That was a huge hole the Pop disappeared into - made bigger too. It is a Mine I suppose.
Mark
Mike - Like the repair!
ReplyDeleteProbably the best repair....
I'll get my coat
Thanks to John Lees and Dave Cook for all the excellent photos. Dave - Sorry I missed you at the at the top of Bluehills but your picture sees us just as we discovered our puncture so we were a bit pre-occupied. Peter Mountain
ReplyDeleteHi Nigel Glad to see you are plotting to move on to Class 4 - perhaps it'll be a bit more of a challenge! I'm not sure how much the navigational aspect has ever been seen as part of the challenge of an MCC trial. More about getting there (and in the early days back) over challenging terrain and, these days, unsurfaced sections. Last time I did the Land's End I took a wrong slot before the first section along with quite a few other competitors at 3 or 4 in the morning. We all stopped where the tarmac ended and started to turn round next to a cottage. The residents were all awake, including the toddlers, because this had been going on all night. Being in an open car the resident approached me in a rage and threatened to set his large barking dog on me. Then threatened to call the police. Then said he would never let the club use the nearby section again unless I personally guaranteed that no-one else would come down the lane. I did my best to calm him down and block that wrong slot in the dark and I know Roger went round after with a bottle of the MCC's finest afterwards but it could easily have worked out differently...and then we'd have had even fewer sections to enjoy!
ReplyDeleteIan, That's a very reasonable comment. I forget that "wrong slotting" may upset the locals. Perhaps incorrectly, I see navigational errors as part of the challenge and fun, but wouldn't want to upset residents who might not see the funny side of it! It's one of the down-sides of living in the very pc world we live in. I'm not too pc myself you see, but do my very best to respect others. There's no doubt that self-navigation would be difficult for the bikes and not too much fun in open-topped cars (you can't beat a roof and heater!). Hopefully Class 4 hills will compensate for the boredom of the road sections. Fortunately, I have a Cattle-prod to keep my co-driver awake!.........Mind you, I think he's starting to like it.
ReplyDeletePosted on behalf of new member Mike Young - hi.michael this is my e-mail mryoung@btinternet.com My new trials car went well on lands end, pumped tyres up to +5pls.and still to much grip.1937 austin big seven class 2.no power but lots of fun.hills no wors than 12 years ago except bh2 which was f****** silly for us 10 cars form end. only stoped when on the point of tuning over.A photo of that if someone has one would be great.thanks Mike Young.
ReplyDelete