Saturday was the annual Nostalgia Trial held in Kendal, Cumbria. This was the first time I had ridden the event and it was one of the best trials I have ridden for ages.
There was an entry of 200 at the event split between pre 65 and twinshock bikes and the trial consisted of 2 groups of sections, 7 on the rocky hillside and the other 8 sections in a woodland area so there was everything from loose rocky jumbles and slippery rocky, rooty gullies in the first group to steep climbs, slippery cambers and rocky streams in the second group. In total 3 laps of the 15 sections.
Riding in the unit pre 65 group I started at section 1 and almost immediately realised that the lack of trials that I had ridden this year along with the general lack of riding on rocks for ages had taken me by surprise. The sections honestly were harder and more severe than I had expected and in due course I started holding on too tight, trying to make the bike do what I wanted rather than riding loose and the result was far too many marks lost through my lack of conviction and not believing that I could clean them!
A five on section 1 as a result of losing the front wheel on a loose rock and ending up on my ear and a couple of 5's from a stall and not enough agression on a cambered climb were the specific lowlights of a first lap that cost me 30 marks, however during the lap there were some good rides, specifically on section 7 a pretty difficult section that started up a rocky gully then turned up a slippery cambered bank over more jagged rocks then back across the stream up some rock slabs and big roots - that ride at least gave me some heart that I was able to do OK.
The second lap improved with a loss of 18 marks which included a 5 on the last section, a steep long climb that got steeper and looser at the top where I just broke grip and had to bail out.
The final lap, with sections becoming more bedded in and a clearer line through some of the rock fields was better and a lap without a 5 was a better result but still returned a lap of 17, many of which were lost because I was knackered to be honest! (note to self - go to the gym!!!)
There will be stories and reports of long queues but I didn't find them too bad and I think the longest waits were only at about 4 or 5 sections and I found the rest a bit welcomed to be honest.
The trial did tell me that I need to start to venture out and ride some more severe sections as they did take me a while to get my eye in. I think I was riding these sort of sections regularly when we lived in Lancashire but in the last few years I have not been used to the severity and it is suprising how it makes you ride so rigid on the bike when you are not so confident.
I must say though, the top guys are in a different class. The trial was won by Paul Hays on 4 marks and even thinking about it after the trial, I think without any errors the best I could have managed at my ability level would have been about 9-10 marks per lap, which puts his ride into perspective!
My total of 65 was not great but I am happy with how things went and how I rode towards the end of the trial. I will certainly be trying for an entry again next year as it was a really great trial.
Update - I have just found the results from the trial and perhaps I didn't ride quite as badly as I thought I did, considering some of the names that were on similar marks. It appears that I was about half way down the entry so I am a bit happier than I thought! See the results here
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