Jack Sheppard: New challenges
By TMX Archives on 10th Nov 16
The season is just about winding down and at the start of the month I finished the last British championship rounds up in Scotland.
It was a time for mixed feelings really. I was pleased with how I had been riding in general and overall in the year but disappointed to just get pipped at the last round for second place.
I have to try and remember now that I am unable to get as much bike time as I have previously done so to even stay up there and compete with the top boys has been great this year.
Straight after the event in Scotland it was time to pack up and drive back to home to clean and prepare everything ready for me to fly off to the other side of the world two days later.
I flew out to New Zealand and was able to become a part of the great trials community over there for a few weeks. I travelled around to three different areas of the country where I took different groups of riders for training and tried to help them all progress and build on their skill level.
I was very pleased to be able to have this opportunity and also while I was in New Zealand I was able to take part in their NZ championship which is a three-day event run over their Bank Holiday weekend.
The event was held in Blenheim this year which is on the South Island and is known for its hot and dry conditions.
I absolutely loved riding the event because there were great sections and all the Experts were very good company. The event overall was on the easy side for me in the end but turned out well for all the riders so I managed to take the win and become New Zealand Trials Champion by cleaning 105 out of the 108 sections over the weekend.
I am still away hoping to do a little more training over the coming couple of weeks and also enjoying the experience .
Coming up for me when I get back is to hopefully collect my new Beta machine and then it's back to training to prepare for next season which will come around before I know it.
Once again I would like to thank all the people and sponsors who have made it possible for me to ride and compete at such a level – thank you all.
Feet up till next time!
