Ten Tors Trial - 7th Dec '08

An early start on a cold and frosty morning saw me slithering on treacherous roads to the start at Littlehempstone.

The ice glistening on the road as Tim sets off for the Trial

Mike , Romily and myself had consecutive start numbers and were due to set off at 8.49 and 8.50.

Kev Jones, a TVTR Member, surrounded by the GasGas Gang

Yes, it was cold!

Before the action began (must be muddy where Merlin lives).

After a cursory glance by the scrutineers and a quick coffee we were away. The route was unmarked, so it was up to the competitors to follow the supplied road book. This was very well prepared and fairly easy to decipher, with clear and comprehensive instructions to guide us in the right direction. So it was out of the start, across a field and into the first lane. I won't bore you with the details of where we went, mostly because I couldn't possibly remember it all, but suffice to say we meandered around between Totnes, Halwell, Harberton and Buckfastleigh, taking in a variety of green lanes, private land and public roads.

Romilly

Yep, it's a Trial, I recognise the difficulty!

Mike making it look too easy

Due to a lack of input from the reporter/photographer, the webmaster has to guess the title. This is the trickiest section where the y spin you round several times and you have to walk a straight line back to your bike!

A tricky bit - again!

The competitors should remember to keep their numbers clean at all times - NOT!

A couple of lanes, a bit of road work, a few more lanes, through Totnes and out the other side saw us arrive at our first observed section - a slippery climb in a section of lane we all know well. Probably only 30 yards long, but they had picked the difficult part. I made a cock up at the off and had to put my foot down as the bike shot off sideways. I stopped at the top to see first Mike and then Rom ride smoothly up it with no drama and no messing about. We set off swiftly to follow the route and that set the scene for the day - a bit of riding, a few lanes, arrive at section, wait your turn, do your bit then on to the next one. Being a veteran of 3 LDT's previously - at such a tender age, its incredible, I know (there are no mirrors in Tim's house - Ed)- the observed sections were generally the easiest out of them all - not a bad thing. The Jubilee Trial in N Somerset - my first event of this kind, is known for being tough, the sections range from very difficult to completley unrideable. The last Jubilee I landed on my ar*e at least 6 times during the day, on the Ten Tors I only fell off once, and that was stalling the bike pulling away uphill only to find the downhill leg was 6 inches too short to reach the ground. Luckily I hadn't actually entered the observed part, so no points gathered for that one.

Wheeldon Indoor Arena

On our way round we stopped off at Wheeldon for a timed lap of their indoor circuit - its only short, but consists of banked corners, whoops and bumps and a small table top. Having nearly slid off on the first corner I was a bit disappointed with my lap - as Mike says, its the place to "release the inner oik" - you really need to attack it to get the best from it, and I was a bit half-hearted about it, I'm sorry to say. The trials section saw everyone, myself included, blatantly cheating by riding round the pile of tyres instead of going over them - nobody seemed to care, and everyone I saw was doing the same thing - that's what happens if you leave a gap at the edge, I suppose.

Another rider taking the democratic choice.

Mike on the main track and going for it

The weather on the day deserves a mention - crisp clear and cold. The sun was low and bright, which made it very difficult to see where you were going at times. In the tree lined lanes the strobe effect of passing from sun to shadow 15 times a second was very difficult to cope with - if I was prone to epileptic fits I think I might have had one then. Then there was the ice - even later in the day there were great sheets of black ice in the shaded parts. On 2 occasions we came up behind accidents caused by the ice, thankfully neither rider was hurt - and I'm sure there were plenty more. Nothing for it but to keep the road speed right down, keep a very sharp eye out and expect the worst round every corner. I managed to keep it the right way up all day , Mike wasn't so lucky and dropped it gently on some shadowy corner.

Mike watching the tape in case it moves!

Rom ascending 202-147 on the correct line.

Rom having a dab where he shouldn't have

Rom getting his act together again

Mike - Oops!

Could only a mother could love a face like this?

Romilly having a quick dab

and Mike cleaning it!

Romilly showing his misunderstanding of what was going on as he's plainly enjoying himself!

Mike and Rom at the end of 202-065. Yes, that's real mud on Mike's camouflage trousers

Mike trying to make it look harder than it is.

Rom asking the way!!

Rom looking good

Mike looking good

Rom

Mike

Rom

The very last section is a hill climb - short but severe bank in the woods, trees either side and roots across it. We arrived there fairly early due to out low start numbers, but already a crowd of bloodthirsty spectators had formed. We sat and watched for a bit as bike after bike launched itself up in a flurry of revs and flying mud with varying degrees of success. Some made it further than others, but practically all fell off at some point. Someone pointed out that it wasnt going to get any easier soI let half the air out of my back tyre and took my place at the bottom. Lots of revs, lots of flying mud with a very predictable result - I landed on my ar*e about half-way up. To be fair I got further than I thought I was going to!

The hill!

Tim versus the hill - Hill 1 - Tim 0

Sally Traffic never reported this one!

So, was it a rear puncture or good planning?

Then came the difficult bit - getting back down. I ended up with most of the bike one side of a small tree, and just the rear brake lever on the other side, on a near vertical slope that was so slippery you could not stand up on it. It took 4 of us to remove it in the end. For some reason my KTM objected to being upside down and refused to start after this - many thanks to Mike for the loan of his leg and his skill and expertise in coaxing it back to life, twice! Unforunately, my 2 companions decided that the risk to life, limb and motorcycle was too great and decided to pass on that one - slightly disappointing, and despite my best efforts to shame them into having a bash they both stuck with the pink option! On a positive note it almost guarantees I will have kicked their ar*es in the points - max points awarded to a non attempt, my efforts will only have scored me 3!!! All in all it was a brilliant day out. Not that dissimilar to a days laning, but for those with a competitive streak it has that added element. If you've never done one before then I would say the Ten Tors would be a good place to start - a decent days riding, and the observed sections are not too intimidating. I'd recommend it to anyone. Click Here for a video of Rom in the nadgery stuff - 9mb Click Here for a video showing you the wrong way to ascend a hill - 17mb The results came in the post this morning , but I've only just got them. Out of 152 starters, me 70th, 17 points. Mike 100th, 22 points. Rom 127th, 30 points Kev 140th, 36 points Just so you know how it works, there were 6 other riders with 17 points, I finished behind all of them as I had the slowest time on the Wheeldon speecial test. Overall winner got a grand total of 5 penalties on the 12 sections! Well done to him. Last man, in 152nd place, had a grand total of 47 penalties.

Report and photos by Tim H.

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