JDs PAGE
By TMX Archives on 19th Dec 07
Editor JD looks back at the past year, looks forward to the next and wishes you all a very merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous new year.... HO! HO! HO! Merry Christmas everybody!
Yes, this really is as close to feeling like Santa Claus as it gets for me, wearing my editor's battered pork-pie hat, complete with Press card tucked into the band and, to complete the well-known cartoon illusion of a journalist, a whisky bottle
poking out of the pocket of my hacking jacket! And just in case any of my superiors happen to read this, the latter is not actually true! It may have been true in the case of T+MX's founding editor Bill Lawless (and for those who ask after him, Bill remains in rude health and writes an equally rude, on occasion, column for the local paper) but premium Stella is the maximum weight my pockets will take.
And the closest I get to feeling like Santa Claus is when the annual bumper edition of T+MX, the time-honoured Christmas Double issue, is finally signed-off and is winging its way down the phone lines to the printer and from there to you, dear reader, to enjoy over the festive season. THEN the T+MX editorial team can finally log off, turn-out the lights and whizz home – through the snow and fairy lights obviously – for a jolly old Christmas Double ourselves.
Now for the sad bit, having slogged away over a red hot computer, worrying away about the 100-plus pages, I will sit down and read it throughout the Christmas break and enjoy it every bit as much as I hope you all do. You might think this strange (and you might be right!) but reading articles for print and reading them for pleasure is two different things. When reading at work I am looking for errors, checking ‘facts', spelling, etc, etc. At home, it is just for the pleasure of reading.
Once again, the off-road year has been one continuous helter-skelter ride. After last Christmas there was barely time to let the old rum pudding settle before it was back behind the wheel for the Sheffield Indoor Trial, then it was the opening British National trial, the Vic Brittain, then the now annual Tough One Enduro (and how fast has The Tough One become a don't-miss event?) at Nantmawr, then it was the big Hawkstone International motocross and then the season really got into full-swing...
Talking of The Tough One, it is always good news to see off-road sport evolving and moving forward. The last few years has seen an explosion in Hare and Hounds style races, from club events right up to the extreme end of things with events like The Tough One. The latter of course is Steve Ireland's baby. I admire Steve – sure, he's a no-nonsense lad who's ruffled a few feathers along the way but there's no denying that he GET'S THINGS DONE!
While others moan about lack of land and this problem and that problem, Steve just pulls his boots on, gets out there in the muck and MAKES events happen.
And it is just as good to see more British riders, good honest club riders – not just the stars – spreading their wings and having a go abroad at events like Erzberg, the Red Bull Romaniacs, Mettet Supermoto etc, etc. Heaven knows, we're all for tradition at T+MX (support for events like the Scottish Six Days and the Scott Trial are prime examples) but it is all-too-easy to confuse tradition with being stuck in a rut and there's a long list of casualties that have failed to move with the times. The British Experts Trial is just one example.
One thing is certain these days – you can't afford to stand still. We move in fast-moving times and these ‘new' events are not just the Classics of the future, they are instant classics of today. They arrive out of the blue and riders take to them instantly. The other side of the coin is that as soon as an event loses its appeal, for whatever reason, it's a dead duck. There's no long, lingering death, it is just gone. End of.
Interesting that two events previously mentioned, the Scottish and the Scott, were both in rapid decline before their respective clubs moved decisively and positively to give them a whole new lease of life. You just can't afford to take your eye off the all.
Whatever, T+MX has had an exciting 2007 and we hope that you ALL enjoyed a cracking season, whatever discipline you ride in or follow. Have a a great Christmas and here's looking forward to a fantastic 2008...
