In order to make sure the last event of the year flowed smoothly the regs were shut early but this still secured an incredible 84 riders to Plas Onn on a cold but dry day. This is always a popular venue due to the range of sections for all routes and with a decent ride between them.
We had a great representation in the classic classes with 25 Pre 65 machines, 21 Twinshocks and 11 AC Monos. These were joined by 27 Modern Monos. Across the classes we had 16 Experts, 33 Inters, 30 Clubman and 5 novice riders.
Once again, it was great to see a number of juniors on low capacity bikes running in both the novice and clubman classes.
{We just need to get a nice Whitehawk 80s and Fantic 50 parked in front of the signing on to get them interested in the older classes……}
Many thanks to all of this months contributors, whom without these report just do not happen.
Mark Lucas – Pre 65 / Intermediate
A very cold morning welcomed a large number of competitors to the latest round of the Aqueduct classic trials series at the excellent Plas onn venue.
Suddenly we were all woken up by the warming up of Kev Ellis and his Triumph. Russell then appeared and did his normal rider briefing. The entry was split into different classes to avoid queueing as much as possible. This meant that the green inters route started at section 5.
Section 5: Started at the bottom of the top field, down the grass slope from the gate and drop into fairly deep water, I thought this may get deeper during the trial but the stream bed seemed quite hard at the bottom so the drop in did not change. The green route then had to climb the bank up the other side. I was only about the 3rd bike up the bank the first time and I did think this bank may get slipper during the trial but again no real issue. Turn in the field at the top, back down the slope over the tree roots into the stream. Turn left in the stream over about a 6-inch rock step. The step was slippy the first time but during the course of the trial the slime was taken off. Following the step, climb the bank to exit the section. As usual for Aqueduct, well laid out sections, many little rocks and tree roots that could catch you out for at least a dab.
Section 6: Sorry still not sure of people’s names in the club yet but this was marshalled by the rider of the Triumph twin not sure why he was not riding.?
I have done this section before, but it still catches me out. Start on the right-hand bank and enter the stream to ride uphill, turn sharp right over the slippy rocks over the first little hump on the right. Back down into the stream again followed by another turn to the right where a large rock is present on the left hand side of the groove as you leave. This rock does not stop you following the groove, “well only in your head anyway”. Continue up the stream where there is a sharp exit up some rock to the end cards. Once again, I found this section slippy on my first attempt where I dropped 3 marks, but the following attempts got a lot better.
Again, not a dangerous section at all but quite a few places where marks could be dropped.
Section 7: Mr& Mrs Russell on this one.
Started on the bank on the right hand side, tight right turn into the stream up over some rocks as you moved to the right hand side of the stream . My first attempt started so well but while moving over to the right-hand side of the stream I found a very slippy flat rock which stopped me accelerating out of the stream up the bank. Then in usual fashion for me on this Villiers the power came and the front wheel was in the air. Never mind got up the bank fast. Once at the top of the bank a right turn down a gulley to re-enter the stream. Then a sharp climb had to be negotiated followed by a tight left turn to exit the end cards. I saw a number of lines in the mud where riders had put on loads of power to climb the bank, I bet a few riders did not make the end cards.
Nice section, got easier during the trial but again many places where marks could be dropped.
Section 8: This was the first section in the upper valley as I like to call it.
Started by a steep drop into the stream bed. During the trial I saw a few riders on the green route drop down this slope very quickly but the bank on the far side was there to catch you out if you dropped in too fast. On my first attempt here I had the idiot rider syndrome, went down the drop in C15 mode however shutting the throttle on the Villiers did not slow it down. I then slammed the anchors on and stalled my brain (may work one day). Anyway, I was so annoyed that I started the bike and cleaned the section, not really sure if this made it worse. Following the first drop in, ride up the stream to a rock step which had 3 rocks placed at different angles. I did see some riders come to grief here but as long as the front wheel hit the front rock in the correct position the bike flew over them. From this point it was just follow the stream to the end cards. Quite a tricky section and marks could be lost easily.
Section 9: Started in the stream up a step, it was better if you went up the step to the right-hand side as shortly after you had to move off left up a small track. Once up this track drop back down into the stream for a very short time to turn left again up the bank over some tree roots. Quite a nasty little turn this for the green route dropping back into the stream and I saw many riders take a dab here or fall off into the stream. Following this drop back into the stream the route followed the stream following the up to the end cards.
I was doing well on this section and had cleaned it 3 times however I had some major grief the last time. Gave the bike far too much power up the step which put me out of line for the little track. I had a battle and tried to fight it up the track but unfortunately over balanced and needed a 10-foot leg to stop me falling into the stream. I did lie in the stream for a bit working out if anything was hurting until Steve Bee came running up to check on me. Thanks Mate !!
Several other riders were taking the mick about my superman dive but I can say riding from section 10 back down to section 1 was bloody cold after being soaked.
Section 9 was one of the hard sections on the green route and rider concentration was a must or it would catch you out as I found out.
Section 10: This was the top section up the steam, it was a very long section and did cause some queueing. However, this gave the riders a chance to chat and discuss what had happened lower down the course.
Section started on the right of the stream with a good climb out of the stream, up the bank to the left. This bank did get slippy and the groove in the path did get deeper. The Villiers shot up this in second gear very easily. Once at the top of the bank it was a tight right turn to drop back down the bank. Once back in the stream, cross to the other bank up a step, over some tree roots quickly followed by a tight left turn dropping back into the stream again. Once back in the stream power back on again to climb a bank on the right hand side of the stream followed by a sharp right turn to drop back down into the stream. Once this was complete ride up the stream onto the right hand bank to turn sharp left up some tree roots on the right bank through the end cards. Again, a very testing section with plenty of scope to loose marks.
Once section 10 was finished the long ride had to occur down the top valley and fields to the very bottom to get to section 1, a great blast but the mud in the last field did catch a few riders out.
Section 1: Marshalled by Mr Samuel it must have been bloody cold in the middle of that field !!!
A gentle little trip up the stream with several turns to catch out the unwary. Interesting, following the turn to the left and then right back into the stream was the different lines taken by new bike riders and pre 65 riders. Several on the new bike riders made the turn to the right quite tight so that they could ride up the side bank where as the pre 65 riders just went wide into the stream. No matter all ways lead to the top of the bank .
Section 2: Started in the stream, up a slight step followed by a sharp turn to the left and right through the trees. Once this was negotiated another turn to the left up another step, not too hard but a lot of turns where dabs were easily made.
Section 3: This was the section that took the most marks off me and was tricky towards the end. Section started on the right-hand bank of the stream dropping down into a very muddy right turn, then up the bank to the right to the large tree. Left behind the tree then straight up the bank over some very greasy tree roots. Once over the tree roots a left turn had to be taken to exit the section up the little cutting into the field. This last turn I found most difficult turning and going over the tree roots at the same time. The mud from the lower part of the section did get moved up to the tree roots and I think this made them really slippy, well that’s my excuse anyway.
Section 4: The last section on the lap for the green route. This section was long for the expert route with a number of difficult turns so there was quite a large queue here. However, with this amount of riders and only 2 places that held the riders up I think is excellent.
Section 4 for green route was a steep drop down on mud to the left over some loose rocks followed by a right turn in the stream to climb the bank on the other side. Then there was a tight turn to the right up behind the tree then left of the big rock!!! Don’t go the normal way to the right!!!.
Up the bank followed by a left turn up the gully. This did start out alright however the tree root halfway up did get very slippy and to have a dab was the norm here.
Once again, a great trial, well laid out sections not dangerous but tricky and could take marks easily. Thanks to all the Aqueduct crew for a great trial.
Richard Webster – Twinshock / Expert
Sunday 4th Dec 2021 was my first ride with the Aqueduct club, and after a season of mainly riding the Rockshocks Championship it was another outing for the Fantic 300. Like most Sundays out on the bike, a visit to Greggs en route with my mate Robin Foulkes was the order of the day for some “essential carbs” – although we should have gone for some Ready Brek if we had known how cold it was going to turn out. But we soon warmed up at signing on when Jan revealed her leggings to us – that got the blood flowing but we nearly had to pick Rob’s eyes up off the floor.
After returning to the sport in 2018 following a short break of 25 years it was great to see so many riders ready to ride, entries at many clubs is often less than 50 and sadly it seems to be the youths that are missing. But with a field of 90+ riders it looks like there is plenty of interest in the events run by Aquaduct, well done to the team.
The experts started at section 8, a fairly simple start to the section with a drop into the stream which shortly afterwards by a tricky little turn and climb out and up the left-hand bank before dropping back into the ends cards. Some took the high line approach to this turn, others opted for the tighter low line. I tried both, not much in it really.
Onto Section 10 and one of the longer ones too, with the final turn out of the stream and to the left across the tree routes catching a few of the earlier riders out. The ride back across to Section 1 reminded us of how cold it was, and how cold it must have been for the observers who were stood still for all those hours – well done and thank you all.
Section 2 featured what we thought was a simple bit of navigation up through the rocks and out for a turn around a tree before crossing back across the small gulley. This was more of a test than we thought when it was walked it but I came away with a clean sheet.
Section 3 was a simple enough beginning, however the end of the section up a small rock step and out over a set of slippery tree roots had a few people struggling, but surprisingly the scores didn’t reflect this with many cleans observed.
Section 4 was another long one and the longest queue of the day. Despite 3 layers and a jacket, it was bloody cold when not moving. 2 words – little acorns, or was it just me, eh guys? This section took my first mark of the day, the final drop and tight left-hand turn up the gulley and over the rock/log proving to be highest scoring section of the day for the Experts. It took another dab off me on lap 2 and then on lap 3. I managed to forget how to ride my bike and stalled it for a maximum.
Section 5 had a difficult little rock step combo midway followed by an even harder looking exit. What we hadn’t spotted was a cracking little line across the middle step and an easier route around the slab at the exit. I forget the rider who did this first, but thank you for being the guinea pig and showing us the line.
An easy section 6 followed before we completed the lap at Section 7, the sloppy middle part took a dab off me on lap 1 but nothing on the following laps. I did manage to escape a potential trip over the bars on lap 2 when I caught my brake lever on a branch as I dropped back into the stream but somehow held onto to it without penalty.
And that was it, all done, dry but freezing cold and smiles all round. A low scoring trial meant that mistakes were easily punished, and I can’t keep my concentration longer than about 10 sections these days.
See you at the next one. Thank you to the observers and the team, I hope you’ve thawed out now.
Logan Price – Modern Mono / Novice Route (Juniors)
I arrived, handy with grandad Karl Kavanagh with my bike on my nans car as his van was off the road. This meant grandad was going to have to walk round after me instead of following on his Fantic. I started on section 8 with a clean but had a fall on the rock step halfway through Izzys (section 9), bit of a wobble for a 3 on section 10 and then off down the yard to section 5 with dave.
We was allowed to loop as much as possible as I would of ran out of time, otherwise section 5, deep water caused my bike to cut out and gave me trouble with a couple of 5s for the rest of the trial riding with my choke on and revving high. Section 6 was Dave who taught us on the training day and I was keen to show him my skills, Section 7 with Russ was easy (ha ha), off down the field towards sections 1 to 3 playing on the bank as I went with grandad in his wellies walking behind.
Big mark was on section 1, think my bike cut out and gave me a 5 and I also stumbled and fell on my last go. I messed up section 2 first time with a missed exit gate but then rode the other laps fine. Section 3 was a bit muddy but i’m using 2nd gear a bit more now and it got me through fine. I attempted section 4 once and hit neutral on the climb out taking another fall and the queues got too much later on so i left that for a 20.
Back to the 8 to 10 gully sections for the last 3 loops, the big queues gave me a chance to make a new friend and after falling on the section 9 step 3 times i finally hit it faster and cleaned it. There is a video of me on section 10 if you want to look on my youtube page under “logan price trials”, Plenty of fun stuff on my other bikes to watch too.
My feet were cold and wet but despite the bike cutting out, a few falls and missing section 4 i did ok on 65 points. Im finally growing into my bike and love riding. Thanks to Jan and Chris for the chocolates and all the Aqueduct people for giving me great day out and a big blister on grandads toe
Stephen Harding – Modern Mono / Clubman
First of all I’d like to say a massive thanks to all the team and observer’s for putting on yet another great trial and the land owner for the use of the venue , not forgetting Chris Deburger for keeping us fed and watered.
On arrival, we were directed to parking by Sue and Geoff who must have been freezing stood out in the cold, then went to sign on only to be greeted by Jan dressed as Mrs Claus, (sort of) haha , I think a temps {and pulses} went up a few degrees! Got a decent brew and a bacon butty off Chris and got the bike ready for the day .
This was the last trial of the year and I have been one of the lucky ones who have been able to do all 12 and i appreciate how hard it has been for the club to put on these events for us riders over the last 12months with covid restrictions and all that, Having been encouraged by the team and some riders, I’ve moved up to the yellows ,so here are some of my favourite sections from the weekend,
Section 1, Mark on watch. You start off from the edge of a stream and a small drop in to the water and head a bit left then a tight right round an old tree stump and a loose rock then a bit of a right and over some loose rocks left and up a bit of a step in the stream and keep left up on to a bit of a dry grass and mud bank and then drop back into the rocky stream and right up a very slippy muddy bank and out of the section,.
Section 8, starts off from a bank of a very fast flowing stream. You start from the bank of the stream and drop down into the stream and keep left tight to the bank while negotiating a couple of large rocks in the water and then turn right in the stream and up out on to the bank on the opposite side and climb as you turn left past the observer and then drop back down a bit and up again and over a slippery tree root and along then out if the section.
Section 9, a good ride up the rocky stream and my feet are a bit damp by now after walking the routes haha . You start off in the stream straight away on to some big slippery rocks and then towards and gas it up a bit over a fairly big step up on some large boulders and carry on through the stream then a bit of a left up a wet slippery muddy bank and right round the tree and back right into the stream and out of the section.
Not going to mention section 4 !!!
A big thanks to everyone involved especially all the observer’s who stood out in the freezing cold for over 4 hours so we could have a trial, Cheers all and have a great Christmas and a Happy New year to all . Look forward to the next one
Before we move into the usual stats, we have to close by once again saying a huge thankyou to the club team for all of the effort they put in over the preceding months to make this happen, the observers for continuing to take the time to support and the land owner as always.
We start 2022 with a return to Nant Mawr Quarry on the 9th January. Dont forget to visit the regs page and if you need an AMCA licence you can apply for one here.
Top Places
Pre 65
- Expert – Chris Gascoigne, BSA (5); Martin Stanistreet, James (8);Danny Littlehales, Francis Barnett (17)
- Intermediate – Kev Williams, Triumph (7); Mark Gaskell, Triumph (9); Roly Jones, Dot (10)
- Clubman -Paul Brimelow, Cotton (4); Jordan Hobbis, BSA (14); Rob Goodwin, Francis Barnett (18)
- Novice – No riders
Twinshock
- Expert – Richard Webster, Fantic (8); Steve Martin, Majesty (9); Tony Gush, Majesty (12)
- Intermediate – David Matthews, Bultaco (6); Jed Downes, Fantic (9); Craig Howarth, Fantic (9)
- Clubman – Graham Pennington, Ossa (11); Perry Tattum, Fantic (11); Kenton Hackney, Bultaco (28)
- Novice – Joel Riley, Yamaha (28)
Air Cooled Mono
- Expert – Robin Foulkes, Yamaha (53)
- Intermediate – Paul Young, Gas Gas (3); Mike Jones, Gas Gas (12); Ian Emery, as Gas (17)
- Clubman – Andy Steele, Yamaha (18)
- Novice – Karl Wilson, Beta (98)
Modern Mono
- Expert – Jim Williams, Vertigo (27); Julian Price, Beta (33)
- Intermediate – Paul Edwards, Beta (7); Hayden Rainford (9); Steve Sherwin, TRS (20)
- Clubman – Oliver Roberts, Beta (12); Daniel Capper, Beta (25); Tomos Matthews, Beta (26)
- Novice -Logan Price, Beta (65); Jay Hanmer, Oset (106)
Observer List
1 – Mark
2 – Bill
3 – Gordon
4 – Ian
5 – Dave
6 – Dave
7 – Russ
8 – Annette
9 – Izzy
10 – Ange
Stats
Bikes Classes
- Pre 65 – 25
- Twinshock – 21
- Air Cooled Mono – 11
- Modern Mono – 27
Route Classes
- Expert – 16
- Intermediate – 33
- Clubman – 30
- Novice – 5
Bikes
Pre 65
- Ariel – 1
- BSA – 9
- Cotton – 1
- DOT – 1
- Francis Barnett – 2
- James – 4
- Royal Enfield – 1
- Trifield – 1
- Triumph – 3
- Villiers – 1
Twinshock
- Bultaco – 4
- Fantic – 6
- Honda – 3
- Majesty – 4
- Ossa – 1
- Yamaha – 3
Air Cooled Mono
- Beta – 1
- Fantic – 1
- Gas Gas – 5
- Honda – 2
- Yamaha – 2
Modern Mono
- Beta – 11
- Gas Gas – 4
- Montesa – 4
- Oset – 1
- Scorpa – 1
- Sherco – 2
- TRS – 1
- Vertigo – 2