Wyegate Trial 21st March 2010

Final Results

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Photo Gallery

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Want to see what happened in previous Years? Then go to the Past Winners List and click on the year number.

Also have a look at our Wyegate's Remembered Page

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Stop Press

Final Results are up, see link on right.

Jackie now has her Photo Gallery up. The Video edit is going to take some time however.

Clerk of Course Says

Those who made it to the end said it was hard but they enjoyed it. Even those who retired early appeared to have enjoyed what they had managed.

I admit to upsetting the Club President by sending riders down that steep bank to the first sections. Apparently he nearly ended up in the quarry - I got my ear bent when he caught up with me sweeping the road at the bottom of Buckle Wood!

An enormous thanks must go to the Orepool Inn for accommodating us at very short notice, and thanks to everyone for keeping the car-park free and keeping the mud and mess to a minimum.

As ever, we are very grateful to local landowners for the use of all the private land. Huge thanks as well to all those club members for their efforts on the day and over the last few months, and also to all those enthusiasts who turn out on the day to observe.

Snippets

Graham Duller's day on the Panther ended early with what was believed to be a broken kickstart...The other Panther hero, Andrew Weddle, made it round in nine hours with Chris Harvey...Chris put the chain on twice in Ian Wixon's rocks and reckoned the event was ideal Scotland prep for him and the Norton rigid...a group of snap happy tourists took plenty of pix to satisfy their curiousity at Mork...there was no easing in section this year, as Lord's Grove took hatfulls of marks (see the Section Statistics for confirmation!)...Western Centre Clubman trials champ Glyn Smith brought out a drum braked XR200, with a 17 inch back tyre from Lidl (or somewhere similar!) for his first LDT - and promptly romped up Pant Glas for 1 and clean...collective opinion seemed to be P-G was harder this year, so too P-G 2...where observer Pete Dunkley offered a handy sliding scale "tariff" in return for marks lost...observer Goff Hannam let Ben Falconer have another go at Wixon's Rocks 3, just to see if he could clean it for his own benefit but unlike last year he made a right horlicks of it both times...David Eeles counted 29 Pamperas on the entry list - plus one more: Stan Howitt, who may well become a Pamperaman after a magic carpet ride round...four Scorpa T-Rides is probably the most seen in one place too...big big thanks to the observers, who spent several hours waiting for under 100 riders to bimble round...and then did it again in the afternoon - heroes all.

Overheard ponderings of bored Marshals waiting for riders: What is the collective noun for a group of Panthers? Surely it has got to be a Pride of Panthers - I'd be proud to have got one of those around the event!

A collective noun for Pamperas? Hmm.... To pamper - to spoil, indulge, coddle or cosset. Sounds like a hairdressers! Must be a 'Salon of Pamperas' (Ha Ha! Good one Vess). BenF says it should be a 'Wyegateful of Pamps'.

Craig Hancock missed his ride thanks to some Thieves who raided his garage the week before. He's offering a £500 reward for the return/info leading to the bike or if you can spread the word it would be great. They were - One KTM450 exc-r 2008 Black and Orange and One Yam YZ125 Blue and White.

Hands up all those who think they need a bit more practice! Perhaps you should get yourselves over to Roy Breakwell's for the club's Trail bike trial. You won't get the 100 mile ride around (Phew!) but great sections you can look at and try 3 or 4 times. And don't forget to ask the better riders for advice. Rockfield Trailbike Trial 1st May 2010 (Sat pm)....

How come none of us writers have come up with the obvious headline 'Two Big Cats seen roaming free in the Forest'? Don't worry - there's still time. Though I think legend has it they should be Pumas not Panthers!

Rider's Say

Sam Jones says: For the last couple of years now I have fancied doing the Wyegate, I didn't have a clue what it was all about, I just thought it looked fun! Lets face it, when do we get to ride around the beautiful Wye valley these days? Never ..

So with the help of my mentor and sponsor, Roy Breakwell, he lent me the 09 Beta Alp, as my normal steed the KTM 300 exc had to stay behind. I was a bit gutted at first, this was soon to be forgotten about as we dropped into Wyesham Woods, whoosh, glad I'm on the little fella! Got to the bottom in one piece only to look up and see my wing man, Breakwell, doing a roly poly off the edge of the cliff! Oh shoot, he's a goner! Luckily a tree got in his way, I think the worst part for Roy was walking back up the hill to his bike. Well I thought, at least that would slow him down a bit, but no!

As a newcomer to trials riding, I found the whole experience a real good day out. 90 miles, 8 hours of riding some of the best trails in the Wye Valley. To go with that, it was all pretty relaxed, apart from most of the section where I wanted to go back and do it again, only better, that's the nature of the beast ..... looking forward to the next one. Thanks to Roy and the club for making it happen.

Pete Barnett says: This year's Wyegate was a fairly tough challenge mainly due to the rain, but was a superb event and really well organised, we had a marvellous ... Read More.

Graham Lavis says: Thanks for a good day out, towards the end I moaned like hell because it was too long and I was tired, none the less I will be back next year for a another try, God being willing. I am also proud to have got round on my Pampera, at an almost pensionable age and to have finished in the top ten!

James Osbourne says: The GPS worked perfectly, along with my Acerbis route book. I'm not sure I could manage with just one or the other, but the two together are spot on. I only ran past a couple of turns the whole day. It's quite funny being overtaken by people, the same people again and again when you realise that they have gone the wrong way... again and again. I did overshoot and miss a right at 'corner cottage' I think it was, but the next right brings you back to the same place, probably just a few hundred yards further.

Personally I didn't do very well. I've never ridden my trail bike (TTR250... not a trick Pampera or Beta EVO with fuel tank and seat) on a trials tyre (old ones at that) in slick mud before... and I simply couldn't get any grip to get the speed I needed for a large number of the inclines in the sections. Where I totally failed I just stopped near the bottom of the slope, but where I nearly made it caused the most problems as I didn't crest the hills and then fell all the way to the bottom, at least three times. Very frustrating. In the one wood, the one with all the overhanging trees and garlic, I couldn't ride the cambers to get to the sections, just kept ending further and further down the bank. The weather was lovely, but all the rain on Friday and Saturday did the damage.

Just over mid way I fell off a few times both in and out of the sections and that zapped so much energy it was all I could do to continue. I tried walking through the last sections for a hopeful 3, but that resulted in more 5s, usually as I flopped onto the ground again at the slightest problem. You do get a sense of accomplishment just to finish though!

And... I did get up Pant Glas step, and the rest of the section without help, so that is an improvement on last year. I did stall at one point so it was still a 5 mind. Congratulations on a well run event.

Paul Farley says: Just to say thanks for another excellent Wygate, one of the hardest for a while? Excellent organisation, perfect road book and competent observers.

It was nice to see a few more pre 65's, I'd heard there would have been at least another three, if mechanical gremlins and lack of time hadn't intervened. Andrew Weddle rode his old Panther like an absolute hero and deserves a reward for riding ' the most unlikely trials bike ever', Maybe another class needs creating for pre-unit, pre 65's?

Only criticism; some of the nadgery going between the trees, specially the drop down from Wysham lane onto the disused railway line, was bordering on dangerous and a lot of the less experienced riders found this type of tricky going exhausting.

Thanks again to all the hard working club members that make this event one of the best long distance trials. Oh yes, nearly forgot, The Orepool is really nice now and the food delicious and great real ale!! Good venue.

Pete Dunckley says: This Year I observed at Pant Glas and instead of the much hoped for bottom section, I was assigned the slightly tamer top section. Now, the top section of Pant Glas has always been the poor relation of the big rock step of the bottom section and is a section that even a total trials numpty like me can clean, but over the last year or two, the top section of Pant Glas has finally come of age and now presents a challenge worthy of this legendary lane.... Read More.

Graham Coleman-Hill says: Just want to say thanks to the club for putting on a great trial again, good to meet you guys in the pub on Saturday (4 pints of cider and bed after 1.00am what preparation). Hopefully see you next year and pass my thanks on to all who made it happen.

Ben's Press Report

ONE of the toughest editions of a classic long distance trial produced a worthy winner from the most competitive entry for many years.

Since 1983 riders have battled it out over the Wye Valley's notorious rocky gullies for the coveted Wyegate Cup, and this year Gavin Moore became the fourth to win it more than once.

The Swindon man backed up last year's win with a convincing victory by four marks. He faced down challenges from 2008 winner Henry Bendall, 2005 winner Julian Page, and 2004 victor Steve Grindle with a ride of great maturity.

The event's 31 sections over a 100 mile route was demanding enough and with old-school no inspection of observed sections, riders relied on intuitive riding skills to read the terrain ahead of them.

Clerk of the course Ian Vessey and his team eased some sections due to rain in the run-up to the event, but the Wye Valley's geography still threw up plenty of difficulties for all.

Moore, who dropped only one mark last year, lost five this time. Three were at Keith's Field near Mork early on. Apart from single dabs at Wixon's Rocks and Forge Wood, that was it, and it allowed him to claw back the advantage from half a dozen riders whose challenges fell by the wayside all day.

Lydney's Bendall went through the muddy slot at Keith's Field for one but lost the advantage at Limekiln 2 with a three of his own.

At this stage Cinderford rider Grindle was leading – he dropped two marks at Limekiln, his first loss of the day.

A five mark maximum at Forge Wood's evil rocks put paid to his challenge for the top prize. Only five riders went through the second section in Forge Wood clean, including two more on pre-65 machinery – Sam King (Stroud) and Paul Farley (Abergavenny). Moore managed it, as did Dave Cottle (Bath) and Jason Bendall, who put a poor start behind him to reel off clean after clean from section eight onwards.

Grindle's and King's team mate Ben Bowkett (Cinderford), rode a Triumph Tiger Cub which must be twice his age. He lost marks on 10 sections but never very many at each, which kept him in the hunt.

A five mark loss for Page (Treharris) early on in Lord's Grove made it hard for him to catch up. Section three there was only cleaned by Grindle, Cottle, Moore and Henry Bendall.

Henry went through the second half of the trial for five marks lost, while Moore lost just two, handing him a deserved back-to-back victory.

The day belonged to all associated with the event and everyone had a tale to tell – a strong contender for the Spirit of the Wyegate award must be Eldersfield's Chris Harvey, who manhandled his 1949 rigid Norton round for 72 marks.

The club wishes to thank all observers and landowners for their invaluable contribution to the event.

Section Statistics