Variety is the spice of life!
By TMX Archives on 18th Mar 09
There is something out there to suit everyone and this week JD tells us about his enthusiasm for all things bike, on or off road... FOLLOWING-on from a superb day out at the recent Hawkstone International motocross, with its massive crowds and big noise and even bigger artics and awesome high-speed action, I took-in the other end of the spectrum last Sunday with a trip up onto the remote moorland at Fell Green, above the tiny village of Bootle on the exposed Cumbrian coast, for a round of the ACU Traditional Trials Champs. No huge crowds, no artics, no noise, just around 125 riders and a handful of keen officials, all out to enjoy themselves.
Two events in total contrast to each other – but every bit as enjoyable in their own way.
The Bootle Trial was, as you'd guess, a much more personal affair than the boisterous loose-scrum that was the all-singing and dancing MX, offering plenty of time to talk to individuals, catch up with old mates, make some new acquaintances – and above all have a laugh. A few of us were having such a good time at the finish, poking fun at Alan Wright – is there ever a better pastime? – that when the ribbing eventually calmed down, we discovered there were next to no vehicles left and we were virtually the last to leave, proving the point that time really does fly when you're enjoying yourself. Doesn't it Wrighty!
And my point is? Well, this little job of mine does actually attract its fair amount of criticism, believe it or not (I know, it is hard to believe, isn't it?). Now, the criticism is fine, heaven knows I make plenty of mistakes, and we all know that if you can't take a bit of stick, don't sign-up but what occasionally gets to me is that the points raised and the metaphorical fingers jabbed, are often over something very specialised and the complainant refuses point blank to take in the whole picture.
And the whole picture is? Well, the title Trials and Motocross News is a big clue. True, it should probably be called Trials and Motocross and Enduro and Supermoto and as much other stuff as we can cram in News – but there isn't that much room on the cover! Ergo, the phone rings and its a guy wanting to know why there's a picture of a motocrosser on front page, when his lad has just won a trial and an hour later, well... you guess!
Me – I'll watch anything on two or three-wheels and do just that most weekends, hence Hawkstone International one week, a club trial the next and a classic bike show the week after. Satellite TV has really opened-up my two-wheel sporting horizons. AMA Supercross, MotoGP, World Superbike – even Indoor Trials brings the whole cornucopia into my house, week in, week out. Yes, if you want to look at it one way, each discipline to the other is chalk and cheese. Not to me though, it is all cheese – just different flavours. Obviously, we are not all the same and thank heavens for that. But it is exactly why I have a little difficulty narrowing down my horizons when someone is haranguing me about a single rider or a single event.
There are dozens of events most weekends and every single one, club trial or international MX, means everything to the guys and gals putting it on.
I'm certainly not expecting a hardcore MXer to suddenly start checking out the Pre-65 trials results – it would be like a Man U fan showing a sudden interest in Liverpool – but we are all equal partners and each event is just as important as the next in its own way.
Following my own advice, I have noticed that a pair of brothers with the family name Millard have been making a name for themselves in the exclusive and somewhat specialised world of sidecar motocross. Now again, believe it or not, I was quite a fan of sidecar MX back in the 1980s (yes, it is forever ago) when men were men and racing sidecar outfits were truly frightening. They certainly were when they were 900cc parallel twin four-strokes with someone called Terry Good at the controls... how he ever got a passenger.
Anyhow, towards the end of my love-affair with the chariots, which ended when the big roaring twins were replaced with wimpy two-stroke singles, there were a pair of racing brothers, Paul and Mark Millard, who campaigned a mighty 1,000cc parallel twin two-stroke EML, which excited me even more than the four-stroke twins. And those lads could ride as well, making that big, good-looking stroker really howl. I remember at one meeting in the north east – sadly I can't remember the track, I know it wasn't Eastgate – there was an almighty quick drop-off ap-proached off a ski-jump and the passenger was yelling the driver to go faster and they were sending the outfit virtually into orbit.
Anyway, although I haven't actually been to a sidecar MX for getting on for 20-years (I know, shame on me) I have several times recently caught myself out checking the results for the young Millard boys.
Has anyone got an EML twin laying around doing nothing? Only joking...!