Old uns' are the best!
By TMX Archives on 6th May 10
IT'S all about the Scottish Six Days Trial for the next two weeks and the Scottish got underway with yet another cracking Two Day Pre-65 trial last Friday/Saturday, the report of which you will find elsewhere in this issue.
It all went pretty much as previous years with big, enthusiastic crowds turning out to watch a wide variety of riders on an even greater variety of bikes. It is all the different machines on display that make the two days such an enjoyable outing for many with catching-up with old friends equally high on the list. I still can't believe how well riders like Peter Gaunt, Derek Brooks, Peter Salt and many others perform, despite not exactly being in the first flush of youth. Salty had been to the doctors complaining of a bad knee (along with all the rest of us...) and the doc had effectively said, What do you expect at your age! When asked what he should do Salty was told to Get out there and do it while you still can! So I am doing, he concluded.
You will find on the front page a superb pic by Eric Kitchen, another man who has been there and done that, several times, and it is of a rare machine, a 250cc OK Supreme. It's rider, Rob Griffiths, made a monumental effort to get this totally unsuitable it even sports a hand gear-change machine to the finish and although it never quite made it this bike surely represents the true spirit of Pre-65?
It was great to see ten-times British Trials Champ and four-times Scottish Six Days Trial winner Steve Saunders make his debut in the Pre-65 Two Day and mounted on a beefy 350 Triumph twin. Said Steve, I've tried lots of bikes and if winning at all costs was the aim I'd obviously go for a lightweight Triumph or James or something but I really enjoy riding this and it in the real spirit of Pre-65.
Steve finished fifth on just five marks lost including a big dab on Pipeline on Friday where he recovered from a virtual standstill. Most riders would have given it a big handful and spun to a halt but Steve coaxed it forward up the slippery slope. Would he come back next year? Definitely, I'd ride this again, I've really enjoyed it but not the Six Days!