This weekend saw the 2010 Red Marley trial and after a number of years where the event has been dry, the recent rain made the going very difficult and slippery.
The sections marked out in the dry on Saturday morning took a battering on Saturday afternoon with the downpour which required them to be eased off on Sunday morning as some of the sections in the wood were difficult to reach, let alone ride through!
The event comprises of 2 laps of 20 sections in 3 main areas of the land, a stream with rocks and steep rooty banks, a wood with banks, fallen trees and a quite slippery hard packed ground and a second wood with a deep sandy surface on steeper banks.
I started in the stream and had a steady ride through on the first lap with a few dabs and a 3 on a difficult section over 2 fallen trees in the stream with a muddy gripless turn. The sections here had been marked very tight (perhaps too tight) and were very difficult to clean without a bit of lifting of the front or back wheels.
Next was the top wood, which was most affected by the rain and was very slippery, but as the sections had been opened up there were plenty of options for lines and with a bit of creative thinking they were all ride-able with the odd mark here and there.
This was followed by a couple of sections on the very rooty hillside on tight cambered turns and I was taken by surprise here with a 5 when I lost the bike across some pretty simple looking roots.
Finally the lower wood, which by the time I got there had carved lines in the sections and were not too bad.
The lap went for 26 marks, which although not brilliant I was fairly content with as I saw other riders losing plenty of marks.
The second lap went in a similar fashion with a steady, though not spectacular, ride which included a big 5 where I ended up on my back under the bike trying to clean section 11 rather then taking an easy dab, however a very consistent 26 left me on 52 for the trial.
Although it was quite a hard event, I thoroughly enjoyed it and was pleased with the end result and yet again the bike performed faultlessly and didn't miss a beat all day.
Results
Experts (Up to 250cc)
1. Ross Danby 13
2. Scott Faulkner 28
3. Alan Nicklin 38
4. Kevin Taylor 47
5. Ben Millichap 52
6. Mick Burton 61
7. Alan Whitton 63
8. Chris Denney 64
9. Dave Wood 65
10.Adrian Kent 84
Experts (Over 350cc)
1. Chris Collins 38
2. Dave Dawson 52
3. Chris Chell 62
4. Simon Chell 66
5. Gary Hawkins 77
6. Pete Reed 89
7. Mick Bowers 103
8. Tim Britton 131
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