Monday 5th June, 2017, Results

Overall Results

The same property as day two, but a much better trial.

The sections were set out along a creek. Kevin and I started at four but the idea was to start at one and just follow the creek. Not all the sections were actually in the creek but they were, at the very least, set up alongside it. This made it a bit hard for Kevin when his bike stopped running around section seven.

There were some sections that I remembered from last year but quite a few were new, at least for me.

I had a great day, definitely my favourite one.

Sunday 4th June, 2017, Results

I had been to this place last year. It was pretty wet and greasy and not my favourite day. On my second lap my tyre came off the bead. Luckily not all the air had come out and Kevin managed tio get it back on with his handpump.

It was pretty cool, literally, because we were at the base of the mountains and they had snow on them half the way down.

The North vs South was on and we lost it by a lot.

Saturday 3rd June 2017, Results

I came down in convoy with Kevin Tither, Kevin Pinfold, Richard Latimer, and Steve Wade. We were all staying at the same place and, because I was the only girl, I got the double bedroom.

To get to the sections we had to go along a railway bridge to get over the river. There were no trains because of the 2016 earthquake. I didn’t really like riding along the rails because it was bumpy and, even though it was completely safe, I felt that I was going to go over the edge.

The trial was pretty easy. SI ones usually are compared with the NI ones.

It drizzled a little but was mostly fine. On section three Kevin Pinfold cleaned it and decided to show off so he wheelied down the last bank and almost looped the bike.

I quite liked section two. It had a bank near the end that I kept dabbing at the top and it took me until my third lap to clean it. It was cool to finally get it.

Sun 17th Sept 2017, Infracon Quarry, Mangatainoka

Results

It was overcast all day, but only drizzled once, and just for 5 minutes.

The trial was at the Mangatainoka Quarry. A farmer had been using it for his animals so the ground was a boggy shitty mess. This wasn’t so bad apart from parking, the smell, and the start of section five.

The trial didn’t get set up on Saturday so everyone had to get there early on Sunday to help set up. Mum and I set five with a bit of help from Kevin. It wasn’t too bad either. It took me until the last lap to clean it so it was fairly challenging but not impossible.

The sections were all rocky. I was riding with Kevin and Warwick. They were riding A Grade and I was riding Intermediate, to practice consistency rather than hard stuff.

I quite liked three, although it was the only one I didn’t clean. I cleaned every part of it, but just not at the same time.

At the end of the day after I’d finished I tried it and got it first time.

Two was so frustrating. On the first lap I cleaned going over the rocks at the start, only to dab on the corner just after them. Second lap, I dabbed on the rocks AND the corner. Third lap I completely mucked up the rocks but I finally cleaned the corner. Then, on the last lap, I finally cleaned the whole thing.

I think the trial was pretty good. The sections were a bit easy but I didn’t not like any of them. I wasn’t riding that great. I’d like to blame it on the fact that I was riding Hazel’s bike which is older and a lot heavier than mine but it was mostly me. Still, I had a fun day.

3rd September, Maugakotukutuku Valley, Paraparaumu

Results

I didn’t know if  was going to make it to the trial. On Sunday morning Mum was driving med to Kevin’s to drop me off when the clutch in the van stopped working. Luckily Kevin was happy to come and pick me up.

It was drizzling off and on all day but it wasn’t actually that slippery, especially for the Maungatuk’s.

I’m going to the oceania champs in Australia in a few weeks and my bike was at Nick Ball’s, all cleaned and ready to go. Richard Latimer kindly leant me his Beta 125 so I could ride.

I rode with John Lawton.

My favourite sections were one and five. On my first lap I got a five on section one because I it took me about a lap to get used to Richard’s bike. After that I cleaned it all day.

Section five had a corner that was super tight and I didn’t get it all day but, after we’d finioshed, I got it first go.

I didn’t really like six and nine. Six was easy; just up around a tree on a rocky slope, along the side of the hill, over a small ponga, and out. On the first lap I dropped a stupid dab going along the side of the hill. That was the only time I got points on that section but I always felt that I was going to muck it up.

I didn’t really not like nine… it was just super frustrating. No one in intermediate cleaned it all day. It was the only section which I didn’t clean at some point during the day.

Paul Wheatley turned up just after lunch to have a ride around. Mike Dench had problems with his radiator so had to pull out.

The social is getting really competitive: Kelly beat Emily by two points.

20 Aug 2017, Gorge Quarry, 4999 Napier Road, Woodville (SH3)

Results

Kevin gave me a ride over.

It was raining in the morning but let up before we started. The trial was at the gorge quarry. The gorge is closed at the moment so we had to go over the saddle road. The rocks are nowhere near as grippy as Hawkes Bay but they’re still cvool to ride on. There was some trees and a few banks too.

I was riding with Kevin and Warwick. They were riding A Grade, which I usually ride. Because I want to work on my consistency I decided to ride down a grade.

My favourite section was seven. I got a one on it on my second lap when my back wheel skidded a bit on top of a small bank. Other than that I cleaned it all day. It started off going over a railway sleeper, then a tight left corner over another sleeper, tight right corner, then turn out to the left a bit, then come back in and up onto a small mound of dirt, ride along a bit, then turn left and go up a bank. The bank is on the side of the hill so, when I got to the top, I had to put my front wheel out onto the side of the hill, so I didfn’t get cauught up on the tree before turning down. Then it was jusdt up onto the mound a little bit, around another tree on a bank, then down and out.

My least favourite section was five. On my first lap I didn’t have another glance at it after I walked it and I got lost and missed a peg. On my second lap my back wheel caught on something while I was turning on the side of the hill (I thought I was gioing to do a head-dive, freaked me out a bit). On my third lap I cleaned it perfectly and I was just going down the bank at the end when my front wheel hit an extremely small stone and my bike went one way and I went another, right before the end flags. I finally cleaned it on my last lap.

It was really cool to have Paul Simmons there to compete against. There were five guys fromn Hawkes Bay there. I found it quite easy but most of the others were around the 50 point mark. But then again, I was riding down a grade.

I had a bit of a cold but, other than that I had a great day.

16th of July, 2017,  Foley Road, Woodville

Results

For once Mum had the weekend free so she got to come to the trial. She hadn’t been to one in while so she was pretty excited.

The trial was quite different from the ones we usually have there since all the trees have been cut down. It was almost unrecognisable. It was slippery farm land with rocks and hills rather then banks and tree roots and such.

Setting up had been a bit of a challenge. The far side of the creek was covered in slash. This is where we normally have most of our sections. It had also rained for much of week and the setters (Phil Stevenson and Warwick George) were reluctant to use the creek too much when they set up the event on the saturday, partly because they were worried it might not drop enough by the next day.

The trial started at the bottom of the first paddock below the car park (one and two), through the quarry (three), along the creek and fence-line (four,five and six), and then back on to the hillside beside the quarry (seven and eight). There was quite a bit of variety packed into a very small area.

I was riding with John Lawton, Mark Sidebotham and Warrick George. Warrick found it a bit too easy, Mark had it pretty sussed, but John and I found a few things to muck up. I was quite annoyed with myself because the only sections I should have had trouble on were one, two and maybe seven. The rest were very easy and it was frustrating when I got points on four and eight. John would have also been kicking himself for making a meal of two.

My favorite section was three. I cleaned it all day which is nice. It was basically just some banks with a few corners. On the last bank every time I went up I wheelied over the top, or at least it felt like that to me.

I also liked four. I cleaned it on the first and last laps. It started in the creek, going over a knee-high rock. My back wheel slipped off three of the four times I did it. Luckily it never took the flag out and I didn’t dab. Then it was out of the creek, around some corners, over a few logs and out. I was getting my points just before the last log on a tight corner.

I wasn’t a big fan of one and eight. One had a rock at the start which I struggled with all day. I was a bit afraid of falling off it, which doesn’t help. I didn’t like eight because it had a log that was slightly off the ground. It was easy and I could do it but I didn’t like it, so I didn’t have fun on it.

Mum rode with Tony Hildeston from Hawkes Bay. It had been a whole year since mum had done a Manawatu trial – her last one was also at Foley Road. She really liked it but struggled a little with the slippery conditions. Tony rode Clubman, but tackled the Presidents line in the quarry and was pretty happy at clearing it.

It felt like an easy day but there were only five clear rounds out of the 48 ridden. It’s quite hard to get a clean round! Callum seemed to have the measure of the day and both him and his dad were rewarded with clean rounds.  Very well done.

I had a good day and (with the exception of stupid errors on seven and eight on my last two laps) was happy with my score.