Sphinx Trial 2005

Other Year's Sphinx's: 2004 2006

Ben's Main report - WITH five clean rides in the 11th annual Sphinx Long Distance Trial, overall victory came down to just a few seconds over the special tests.

Keith Wells edged it, ahead of Ady Clissold, Graham Lavis and Gordon Brown whose failure on the first test proved costly. Clerk of the course Steve Venn actually showed the lot of them the way but then again, he had spent the week plotting the sections, so qualified for the best working club member award. Not even the final section around a bike-swallowing swamp could throw them of course, nor the twists and turns in Irene's Wood under the shadow of Cleeve Hill.

More than 120 riders were drawn to the Cheltenham Home Guard MCC event, which started at Hazleton, eager to make the most of fine Cotswold rights of way and some private land.
With no overall award, Wells' won best 250cc and Clissold the Geoff Gibbons Memorial Trophy, dedicated to the man who forged a strong link between the club and the village of Hazleton.
After a dousing in the stream bed just outside the village, another mainly downhill section beckoned at Syreford Lane. 
Its looks were deceptive though, as a steep, sharp climb with a bark worse than its bite exposed the wide variety of riding abilities on show.
However, the event is about more than the sections, and clerk of the course Steve Venn and his team put together a cracking route, especially in the light of recent land legislation, which did put paid to one pair of sections on private land.
All sorts of riders of all sorts of machines single out the event as a "must ride" and who better to illustrate that than Roger Tushingham, who somehow manhandled a rigid two-stroke 640cc Scott around for the loss of just 13 marks.
With riders on far more suitable machinery getting in to treble figures, his score was all the more creditable. He finished second to Colin Hedges, who only let slip off the Matchless' footpeg once to win best pre-65.
That was at Puesdown Lane, which made sure everyone went home with a dirty bike but good memories of another successful edition of the Sphinx.
Thanks to all land owners and observers for their help.

Results
Pre-65: Colin Hedges (348 Matchless) 1 mark lost.
Trials: Steve Jones (250 Yamaha) 7.
Trail 250: Keith Wells (200 Honda) 0.
Trail Over 250: Kevin Lennox (520 KTM) 8.
Over 45: Ady Clissold (200 Beta) 0 (Geoff Gibbons Memorial Trophy).
Working club member: Steve Venn (250 Gas Gas) 0 (Mark Kirby Trophy).
Team: Silhil Footers (Graham Archer, Graham Harrison, Richard Gill) 49.

And how did our locals fare?

• In the Trail 250 Class
• Stan Howitt - 10
• Jimmy Marshall - 19
• Cliff Hannam - 20
• Roy Breakwell - 25
• Colin Jones 28
• Dave Harris 30
• Ian Hannam - 31
• Darren Thomas - 43
• Jack Pegler - 51
• Lee Hook - 53
• Mark Hanchett - !!
• Trail Open
• Anthony Moore - 29
• Mike Wells - 42
• Paul James - 43
• Mike Allen - 47
• Backmarker/Organisers class
• Ben Falconer 11

Colin's from the saddle report

With 16 of our local club members entered, it sure is a popular event. This popularity is helped by the sensible sections that all look to be perfectly rideable (until reality intervenes!) and a pleasant ride around the Cotswold lanes with some choice private land thrown in.

Our star performer was Stan the Man. This must show that you don't need trick parts on your bike to do well but a few high tech improvements to the body parts can bring back the riding ability of your youth. Well done you old Hippy! (sorry, another In joke.)

On the sections most of the lads had a good start with many of us remaining clean until section 9 at Cook's Bank where a cambered approach to two big steps unnerved and unseated a number of us. If the furthest clean mattered then Anthony Moore had wiped the floor with us lot, waiting until section 12 to blot his copy book with a 5 and I am betting it was down to a full lock left followed by a full lock right over some irritating roots which caught him out. Ant was of course entered in the Barge class with Mikes' Allen and Wells with Jammer and incidentally, Ant wasn't the only one to navigate their barge cleanly over the troublesome steps in section 9 as Mike Allen got his 525 KTM through clean too!

Getting back to those of us on comparatively Cheat bikes with sensible wheelbases it is hard to imagine how Ben managed to drop a 5 on Postlip lane unless observer Guy Mansfield-Smith pushed him off. Then again it did take 5's from Mark, Jack, Mike W and Jammer. Guy was also competing and managed to post the fastest time on special test 1 of 21.38 seconds. Out of our lads Roy came out as king of the tests with 24.1 and 28.0. none of us could match Roy's first time but Mike Wells, Ant and Me all equalled his second time. In defence we can only say that experience is such an advantage! Perhaps we should get Roy to organise a training session for Special Tests for us!

The second Special test timekeeper should get an award for triumph in the face of adversity: Julian Bishop, whose Cheltenham Home Guard-issue stop watch stopped well enough but wouldn't start. He managed to wind up his own ancient timepiece and operate it for 3 hours and that was after riding the whole course and every section acting as an unofficial minder for me. Julian and I had volunteered to observe so we rode around as course openers. Although not entered, he rode each section blind just so I could see roughly where to go which didn't help thanks to my memory as I'd still managed to five 2 sections thanks to getting lost, and in the end he was on about 10 marks less than me. (If experience comes with age, when am I ever going to get mine?)

It was good to see the Brown family team from Ross out together, with Gordon being one of the clean sheets and Roger (Daddy) having an excellent ride on 4. Kenny is obviously rusty from not riding enough dropping 15. He was on a very interesting bike though as how many 2 stroke 125 Yam trail bikes have electric starts?

I had the pleasure of observing the penultimate section and cheating, in as much as I saw how you lot did before tackling it myself. With only Stan, Jimmy, Roy and Ian cleaning it with ease the rest only had steadying dabs so it was a pleasure to watch Jammer ride masterfully through until a tree grabbed his throttle hand and planted him so firmly on the floor his right leg was pinned underneath. It was a number of minutes before we recovered our composure enough to realise he may need it lifted off of him. Never mind, If I did 5 I wouldn't be alone.

After seeing so many smiling faces at the end I think we owe a big thank you to the CHG for such a good event. There was only one complaint I heard all day and that was Darren's ribs were aching from laughing at the Barge riding crew's antics.