Feature: Bainbridge Hillclimb
By Team TMX on 9th Dec 15
OK! WEVE already had enough of dark winter nights when you have to switch the lights on at three in the afternoon, not to mention having got up in the dark in the first place. So, as an incentive to get through winter and to cheer us all up we decided to think back at those almost forgotten long, hot days of summer.
Remember? When you could go for a misty early morning bike ride at 4am, or one after work and still have a beer in the garden as the sun gently set approaching midnight?
And when some enterprising clubs organised mid-week evening trials and motocross events that somehow seemed so much more laid back and more fun than traditional Sunday meets. Something to do with almost sneaking a blast on your bike.
But why not? What else were you going to do on a Wednesday evening?
As we said, more than a few clubs run evening events and one worthy of a look back is the Bainbridge club's Grass Hillclimb that runs in a fabulous setting deep in the Yorkshire dales.
The event has history and older riders will tell tall tales of when it actually ran at Bainbridge back in the day alongside the village sports and where in the scrambles it was not unknown for riders to get elbowed into the river that acted as one of the track boundaries.
Those heady days are sadly gone but recently the Bainbridge MCC, a very social club that runs motorcycle road rallies and the odd trial, introduced a Wednesday evening grass hillclimb.
The first one ran at the original venue and it proved far more popular than they could have imagined with several thousand people turning up to watch.
The club then had to switch venues and they came up with a brilliant replacement, near Aysgarth, famous for its spectacular falls on the river Ure.
The bottom line is that this unique two-lane hillclimb is an absolute cracker.
Not only did it attract around 90 riders but several thousand spectators arrived to pack the hill. Start time was 6pm but spectator cars were still streaming down the narrow lane and into the field at 7.30pm.
Not even a threatened rainstorm could keep them away and in fact only a couple of miles down the road at Ingleton there was a cloudburst and the road was totally flooded.
With classes for Pre-65, Twinshock, Modern MX plus Open and a trials class it was pretty much Run what you Brung!
The Open class saw several unexpected machines including a turbo-charged 1000cc four-cylinder Yamaha, built and tried up the hill by Will Bratley, a more conservative four-cylinder Kawa fitted with large knobbly tyres, a Suzuki DR Big 650 and even a dope-burning speedway bike.
Trials riders on display included local Yorkies like Will Reynolds and Jack Stones while Jack's cousin Jimmy Stones gave his Sherco trials bike a rest and was giving a KX250F some stick.
Riders literally got dozens of attempts at the hill in all kind of head to head situations and DJ/MC Wilko (Andrew Wilkinson) kept up a constant stream of info and banter.
The results were really of little consequence, except to the winners of course, with the overall win going to KTM rider Ryan Staveley, the Pre-65 to young Ben Butterworth on his Grandad's lovely, shiny Cheney BSA, from CCM-mounted septuagenarian (he's over 70!) Mike Barnes, while Russ Townson was top Twinshock and Jack Stones took the trials class.
The Bainbridge club did a fantastic job, maybe because they don't promote this kind of thing on a regular basis and everyone had a great time – and it was still only twilight as we made our way home.
So that was it, a superb summer night back in July and one to look back on as we stare out through the curtains into a wet, dark night – and it's only six o'clock!
Here's looking forward to next summer!
