The good news is, I dont need to do copy this month as we already have an Inter route report so no need to spill the beans on the immediate 5 on the first section and a stall on Russ’s section first lap setting me up with 10 points straight away!

Nevertheless, it was a brilliant event with 73 riders turning out to Pen Y Graig on a really nice day. Due to this being a working farm and a whole flock of sheep needing to be sheered, we were asked not to turn up till after 09:30 and the good Aqueduct citizens followed this to the letter so a huge thanks for that! Its only with the landowners consent that we get to use these venues and these little asks and our conduct around them goes a long way to making sure our ability to use them remains in place.

14 Pre 65s and 20 Twinshocks were supported by 19 AC Monos and 20 Modern Monos. It was great to see 6 riders on the White (Beginner) route enjoying the day and at the other end of the spectrum, 9 riders on the Blue/Red (Expert) route. Clubman (Yellow) was contested by a whopping 28 riders with 30 riders in the Intermediate (Green) route. The biggest class was AC Mono Inters with 11 riders now contesting this group.

A few years ago, the club lost a member to a road based motorcycle accident and following this, a trophy was donated in his memory which focused on riders who were developing their trials journey but also embraced the spirit of the fellowship of the trials community that the club aims to uphold.

Pre Covid, the last person to be awarded this was Graham Pennington and during the start briefing he asked for a few minutes to say a few words. What followed was a heartfelt ask that the trophy be passed on to the operational committee of the club for all of the efforts over the Covid period, maintaining events within the Covid restrictions where this was allowed, even when only a small number of competitors were permitted. This was greeted with a roaring round of applause and was humbly accepted. A lovely way to start the event and remember Chris Davies!

Many thanks to everyone below who contributed to the event report.

Dave Riley – Pre 65 / Intermediate

I love the events at Pen Y Graig, even just getting there can be an event due to pulling a trailer, if anything comes the other way you are knackered.

 I arrived at the farm to the usual well organised car parking. I don’t know why but I always end up at the furthest point from the signing in trailer. I wandered down to Sign In and the usual 20 minute socialising by Chris de Burger’s van. Before the Trial commenced there was a “get together” where Graham Pennington presented the Chris Davies Cup to the Aqueduct Team for the great work throughout the Pandemic.

Continuing onto the Green Route which I was lucky enough to ride around with Kev Williams, it consisted of the following:-

Section 1 – Nice starter – In through the gates to an uphill climb to the left turning left through 2 trees downhill over a couple of roots. At the bottom of the hill turning right and straight out

Section 2 – A winding route through the trees ending in a right turn and quite a steep hill with a left turn mid way and straight out at the top

Section 3 – Down hill into the section with a tight turn to the right followed by a 180′ to the left up a slight rise over debris to a left hand downhill turn. At the bottom was a tricky right turn on a camber and up a bank to right with a tightish left turn over a few rocks which seem to disappear for the 2nd lap??

Section 4 – Uphill to a tight right turn through a bit of “Greenery”. Another left turn and over a large boulder and a slight left to a tightish right turn and out through the gates

Section 5 – Through the start gate and turn right through a bomb hole travelling up hill to a shale/rocky turn to the left. Through some more “Greenery” over a number of well placed rocks to a tight left turn to and (on the first lap), a tricky slippy boulder. On the 2nd lap a nice path had been established around the boulder

Section 6 – A steady downhill through trees on small rocks to a tricky right turn into a dip. Up and over a rock step and a tight left turn over rocks/shale. Followed by traversing across a tricky camber to a pair of trees and turning left down a steep hill to the end gates

Section 7 – All over moving rocks you went in through the gates and a slight right to a large boulder followed by loose rocks uphill to a left hand turn on a downhill camber and out

Section 8 – I believed this was the trickiest !! Into the section downhill to a steady left turn which needed to be the right line or it left the next turn really tricky. Uphill turning tight right and immediately over a fallen tree laid on the ground. If you got the turn wrong dabs were needed to keep going. Once over the tree, uphill again over a mound turning to the right, then downhill on a bit of a camber to a right turn through rocks and a tree stump. Up the bank and out to the left

Section 9 – In through the gates and a steady left turn to a loose climb with a couple of tree roots at the top. Once over the top it was an immediate right 180′ turn downhill straightening up to a left turn into a bomb hole with the out gates up the hill and immediately on the right

Section 10 – Into the section turn left downhill and across the road. Up a shale climb and turning left to a downhill tight off camber right turn followed by a steep shale climb which needed good traction in the bottom of the turn to get grip. At the top of the hill there were a few exposed roots with a left turn down the shale hill with a camber to a left hand turn over rocks and turning left again to the out gates

A number of riders were struggling with their orienteering skills as we must have been a good hour into the trial before we heard the last ” Do you know where Section 3 is??

A really enjoyable day was had by all. Thanks again

Michael Griffiths – Observer Section 6

Just a thought from behind the ‘board’…

I had a grand section (6), well thought out and a bit of a tester. The experts route was niggly to say the least and took marks off nearly all. Chris Garlic had a clean ride on his GasGas where as Richard Webster dropped few marks on his twinshock Fantic. Proving you don’t need the modern stuff to do well. It was nice to see Steve Jones back riding and finishing a trial with very few dropped marks. Seems all the ‘cheeky boys’ came to my section as I think the Woke brigade would have been going daft with what is known as banter flowing round. Non worse than that there Bill Brown sneaking down from the Northern climes ‘pot hunting’… Serves him right as he rode in the wrong group . Just one little gripe from me was the lack of thanks to the observers from many riders. Doesn’t cost a lot lads. Also finally there are one or two who could get a bit of a move on as 2 1/2 hours for a lap is a tad on the slow side… Did I enjoy the trial ? you bet , even the death ride back with Geoff….

Stephen Harding – Modern Mono / Clubman

First of all a big thanks to everyone involved for putting on such a great event and Chris deburger for keeping us fed and watered, and a huge thanks to all the observer’s for giving up there Sunday. The day started with a bacon butty and a decent brew from Chris deburger as usual, then the presentation of the Chris Davies trophy to the club from Graham Pennington, and well deserved, for all the hard work that they do and for keeping the club  afloat during a very difficult 2 years for everyone (no easy task). Then the ride down to the quarry from the farm yard. So here are a few of my favourite sections of the day. Back with my usual crew Tony Williams and Alan Hotchkiss, we made our way down to section 3 where Mark was waiting. We were first to the section so had a good look then started off . You started off from a bit of a high bank and dropped straight into the section then straight away turn right and climb up and over a few small rocks, up to a tight left, under a low branch then tight left and round a large rock. Then you drop back down tight past another tree, then right on a very loose off camber bank and climb up a fairly steep loose climb and out of the section. Dropped a few daft safety dabs on this one.

Section 8 – Sue on watch on this one. Again you start off from the from a bit of a steep bank and drop down into the section straight on to a couple of rocks. Then up and left tight past a tree, then a right up a bit of a climb up to a right and a rock sticking up to catch you out. Then keep climbing and over a fairly large rock to the top of the section then a bit of a right and mind you’re head on the low branch and right back down and a bit of a tight left between the trees and down then straight back up the bank over some good sized rocks and a tight left at the top of the bank and out of the section. I managed to clean this one every time,  

Section 10 David on watch – Geoff getting things moving at the start gate,  You start off from the top of a steep bank and drop down and across the main track and then straight up a steep shale slope and turn tight left past a tree on very loose shale then down hill on a loose off camber bank before climbing up right and then left over some rocks tight to a tree. Then on to a bit of a plateau and a tight left between two trees and out of the section and a bit of a steep drop back to the main track.  
 Overall I had a great day and some of the best  sections I’ve rode so far. Once again a big thanks to everyone involved. Well done aqueduct you guys smashed it again. 

Dave Pengillley – Twinshock / Intermediate

Arrived at the farm remembering not to be too early to allow the farmer to do some early morning sheep shearing. Directed up through the farmyard and was parked up in the usual orderly fashion by Geoff. Fantastic spot with stunning views over looking the valley. Strolled down and signed on then over to Chris for a coffee and chat which turned out to be very educational learning about the fine art of bee keeping, sheep shearing, and much much more like a proper old school field trip. Albeit with mature students !!!!!!

The entry gathered for the usual final instructions from Russell and Mark. There was a new speaker in Graham Pennington who presented the organisers with the Chris Davies trophy for 2020/ 21, in recognition of all the behind the scenes work that they had put in to ensure that the trials got restarted after Covid, and Aquaduct would continue stronger under the amca banner.

Down to the sections in the quarry. Section 1 was a nice straight forward section to ease us into the trial although you had to concentrate as the green route proved there was little margin for error.

On up into the quarry every section on the green route needed to be ridden inch perfect especially sections 6 and 7 over the loose rocks, at the end of lap 1 I was still clean but only just. (I knew it wouldn’t last)

Section 8 had a tricky right hand camber turn then straight over a slippy angled log closely observed by Suzanne. I manged to clean it on my first 3 visits, fourth lap on exactly the same line as I thought, the back wheel kicked

Sideways over the log which called for a well planted works dab to haul the Kawasaki back on line to complete the section for a 1.

Section 10 proved to be the sting in tail across the path up and around a tree then dropping down to a tight turn on loose soil leading up to a climb around another tree. First lap it rode well but laps 2 and 3 were a different story. Lap 2 a little too slow and had to work hard to force the bike around the tree for a scratting 3. On lap 3 determined not to make that mistake again, steady around the turn then approached the bank far too fast and needed a 2 to regain control around the tree.

An excellent well thought trial on the green route. As always thanks to the organisers and a special thanks to all the observers who give up there time so we can enjoy our sport.

Suzanne Jones – Observer Section 8

I had a great time!

A massive thank you to Graham Pennington it meant so much to all of the Aquaduct Crew , thank you to all you riders, it was a new section for me but you all did great.

Thank to Moz for his time and patience with me at the very beginning

All your thanks were very appreciated. See you all next time

Before we move into the usual stats, we have to close by once again say 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 still taking the time to support and the land owner as always.

Top Places

Pre 65

• Expert – No riders
• Intermediate – Dave Riley, Cotton (6); Les Richardson, Drayton Starmaker (8); Paul Owen, Bantam (11)
• Clubman – Steve Walker, Francis Barnett (0); Jon Flower, Triumph (1); Steve Jones, BSA (5)
• Novice – Terry Lloyd, Triumph (5)

Twinshock

• Expert – Richard Webster, Fantic (11); Steve Williams, Honda (41)
• Intermediate – Tim Cuffin, Majesty (3); Dave Pengilley, Kawasaki (6); Steve Sherwin, Yamaha (11)
• Clubman – 3 way tie (0) = Darren Riley, Bultaco; Dave Lycett, Honda; William Leigh, Yamaha
• Novice – Oliver Barker, Bultaco (3); Joel Riley, Yamaha (17)

Air Cooled Mono

• Expert – Chris Garlick, Gas Gas (3); Peter Ruscoe, Gas Gas (19); Kev Ellis, Yamaha (21)
• Intermediate – Mike Jones, Gas Gas (3); Robin Foulkes, Yamaha (7); Shaun Mountford, Fantic (8)
• Clubman – Stephen Richards, Yamaha (0); Bill Brown, Fantic (1); Tony Williams, Honda (13)
• Novice – No riders

Modern Mono

• Expert – James Brooks, Beta (6); Julian Price, Beta (24); Hayden Rainford, Montesa (50
• Intermediate – Paul Hornsby, Vertigo (3); Ken Williams, Montesa (14 T); David Williams, Montesa (14 T)
• Clubman – Jeff Hughes, Beta (3); Chris Mellor, Montesa (4); Stan Trojnar, Beta (10)
• Novice – Glyn Roberts, Montesa (10); George, Montesa (33); Jack Black, Montesa (67)

Observer List

1 – Elwyn

2 – Jan

3 – Mark

4 – Russ

5 – Tony Rainford

6 – Michael Griffiths

7 – Ade Robinson

8 – Suzanne

9 – Ben

10 – Dave

Stats

Bikes Classes

• Pre 65 –
• Twinshock –
• Air Cooled Mono –
• Modern Mono –

Route Classes

• Expert –
• Intermediate –
• Clubman –
• Novice –

Bikes

Pre 65

• BSA – 4
• Cotton – 1
• Drayton Starmaker – 1
• Francis Barnett – 1
• Matchless – 1
• Triumph – 6

Twinshock

• Bultaco – 3
• Fantic – 5
• Honda – 5
• Kawasaki – 1
• Majesty – 2
• Ossa – 1
• Yamaha – 1

Air Cooled Mono

• Aprilia – 2
• Fantic – 3
• Gas Gas – 5
• Honda – 2
• Scorpa – 1
• Yamaha – 6

Modern Mono

• Beta – 5
• Gas Gas – 3
• Montesa – 8
• Sherco – 2
• TRS – 1
• Vertigo – 1

It was sunny, how do I know that? Because after having my bike blocked in my garage by my roofer putting the scaffolding in front of the door I volunteered to observe. No I didn’t enjoy the sunshine from the side of a section, I enjoyed it by the side of the road waiting for a recovery truck to pick me up so sorry guys. I did offer and I was on the way honest! and Im gutted I didn’t get to see that wonderful Morgan 3 wheeler!

So back to the event. With entries now being capped to maintain safety and limit queuing (as in the last year or so certain dates and venue have seen in excess of 120 riders turn up which whilst wonderful for the club can bring its own new set of challenges), the 82 riders were spread across 30 Pre 65’s, 20 Twinshocks, 16 Air Cooled Monos and 18 Modern Monos.

It was great to see 7 riders in the Beginner/Novice class and at the other end of the spectrum we had 10 Experts. Filling in the middle classes were 33 Clubman and 34 Intermediates.

Paul Owen – Pre 65 / Intermediate

Back to a great venue.

Section 3. Looked easy with a climb up a bank to a very tight right turn but the rear wheel was on wet tree roots and always caused me a dab before a slippy off camber ride out to another slippy root to the out gate.

Section 6. Looked a simple climb up and down a bank 3 times. But again the roots became bare and slippy at the top of the bank and a rock at the bottom of the bank stopped you getting on the power and caught lots out.

Section 8. A simple ride to a right turn and down to a fallen tree. A basic hop over it and carry on down to a left to the bottom and a climb out the the exit gate. But the fallen tree took lots of points off the riders and a few were eating dirt. Sometimes the easiest of things are the hardest.

Top trials by a great club as normal !

Mark Newman – Twinshock / Intermediate

Well first of all I want to thank everyone from the club for all there hard work again putting on a great event as always and to the observers who without them we wouldn’t have an event..

and to wish Gordon a happy birthday …your a star ..

Anyway a quick sum up from me as I’ve been a tad busy this week. I know its hard to believe. I had set myself a difficult task riding a bike am not used to, an Ossa 250 Gripper, the characteristics of the bike being totally alien to me but I spent the first lap and a half just learning to ride it and I dropped 5 after 5, in total about 30 marks but things did improve and I finally finished on a total of 39 which seems a lot but as I said things did get better..

I found most of the  sections very challenging, is it me or have we moved up a notch on the difficult scale ? I didn’t find any dangerous but I just couldn’t get to grips with section 3, up a steep ramp with a couple of feet to turn right or run into the wall. I never cleaned this.

But I’ve got to say Rogers section I had a 5 first time through but then banged to control the Ossa power and really enjoyed this challenging but great section. I had lots of slack dabs most unnecessary.

This venue is great and the tree lying down on Harry’s section usually causes all kind of problems but the Ossa floated over it to my surprise so much a handful of front brake caused the front to tuck on me and I face planted the dirt. I did see loads of riders struggling to get over it, stopping dead on it or flying into  the thick bush at the back of it but low and behold I cleaned it the next 3 times through it once I’d calmed down with the throttle, and this turned out to be one of my favourites.

It’s great that this club can keep putting on super events and long may it continue. Many thanks again 

Mat Duff – Twinshock / Novice

This is my first event report so go easy. Arrived at Pen y Graig quarry with my Fantic 200 and greeted by the friendly parking Marshall who quickly directed me to a parking spot, bike off loaded, quick brew/chat, signed on, briefing and off we went.
This was only my second trial and I did think about going on the yellow route but I wanted make sure I was fully happy on the Fantic as its a recent purchase and wanted to build my confidence so I entered the white route.
My favourite sections were:
Section 4: Enjoyed this as it was one of the longer sections (on the whites) and it had a nice few turns and things to get around, one of the slower sections which had me trying different gears each time I entered but I finally found the Fantics sweet spot after a few laps around.
Section 5: Enjoyed this as it was a challenge avoiding the mud bath at the bottom of the short incline into the section, also a few difficultly placed rocks to avoid in the middle of the section which caught me off guard the first time around and then gentle a climb out.
Section 9: Enjoyed this as again it was one of the longer sections with a fairly tight turn around a tree and then a nice climb out the section
All in all a great day, great set up, great people and nice to see a good number of little Fantics out and about.
Looking forward to the next one and riding on the yellow route

Many thanks to the observers and organisers.

Stephen Harding – Modern Mono / Clubman

As usual a huge thanks to all the aqueduct team for putting on such a great event again, a big thanks to Russ and Mark for spending their Saturday setting up the sections and all the the observer’s for giving up there Sunday without whom it wouldn’t be possible to have such a great event.  The day started at the farm yard and as everyone was getting parked up we had a bacon butty off Chris deburger as usual and a decent brew and as we were looking at the array of well prepared bike’s there was the sound of a Morgan pulling up in to the yard and it did attract some attention, (nice bit of kit that ), then 11 o’clock start and  pre event instructions from Russ and then a ride down to the quarry for the start. 

So here are a few of my favourites of the day.

Section 1: David on watch, you start off from the bottom of the quarry and through the start gate up a bit of a slippery stony slope, up a bit of a bank then a right onto an off camber right trying to avoid the tree then climb a bit more and drop back down to the right again and then a bit of a steep drop back down and out of the section.

Section 6: Paul on watch, you start off from the main track and a steep drop down and over a bit of a bump and drop straight into a bit of a deep mud bath. So then you had to come out the other side and up and keep left before a tight right and drop back down into the mud trying to avoid the large rock whilst turning left past another muddy slippy rock and tree stump and out of the section. aA good section this one , I only managed to clean it once.

Section 10: Mark on watch on this one. You start off from the top of a steep bank and drop down into the section through the start gate and down a bit of a loose gravel slope then a bit of a left up an off camber bank and then a really tight right past a tree and keep the brakes on, Then a bit of a tight left round another tree  then right and out.

Overall I had a great day, I managed to clean 3 sections, could have been more but that’s how it goes, big thanks to everyone involved and can’t wait to see you all again at the next one. Cheers aqueduct team once  again. 

Before we move into the usual stats, we have to close by once again say 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 still taking the time to support and the land owner as always.

Top Places

Pre 65

• Expert – Jim Hough, Triumph (9); Chris Gascoigne, BSA (10)
• Intermediate – Paul Owen, BSA (12); Carl Winstanley, BSA (17); Keith Gardner, BSA (19)
• Clubman -Paul Brimelow, Cotton (0); Peter Cockins, BSA (3); Phil Clarkson, Triumph (3)
• Novice – Terry Lloyd, Triumph (2)

Twinshock

• Expert – Richard webster, Fantic (12); Ian Jones, Fantic (31)
• Intermediate – Tim Cuffin, Majesty (8); Craig Haworth, Fantic (30); Steve Sherwin, Yamaha (32)
• Clubman – William Leigh, Yamaha (6); Perry Tattum, Fantic (6); Will Birkin, Honda (8)
• Novice – Oliver Barker, Bultaco (0); Matthew Duff, Fantic (1); Andrew Liverseed, Beta (17)

Air Cooled Mono

• Expert – Chris Garlick, Gas Gas (10); Peter Ruscoe, Gas Gas (17); Kev Ellis, Yamaha (55)
• Intermediate – Jerry Hawker, Gas Gas (5); Robin Foulkes, Gas Gas (5); Paul Young, Gas Gas (5)
• Clubman – No riders
• Novice – No finishers

Modern Mono

• Expert – Shaun Mountford, Beta (43); Hayden Rainford, Montesa (53); Zain Pughe-Hutchinson (79)
• Intermediate – James Brooks (1); Paul Hornsby, Vertigo (3);Paul Hempkins, Gas Gas (22)
• Clubman – Jason Hanmer, Sherco (7); Sean Halstead, Montesa (17); Kaan Pughe-Hutchinson, Beta (21)
• Novice – Tony Williams, Scorpa (8); Jay Manmer, Oset (19)

Observer List

1 – Dave

2 – Elwyn

3 – Dave Lovell

4 – Russ

5 – Paul

6 – Steve Bee

7 – Roger Kenyon

8 – Harry Edwards

9 – Gordon

10 – Mark

Stats

Bikes Classes

• Pre 65 – 30
• Twinshock – 20
• Air Cooled Mono – 16
• Modern Mono – 18

Route Classes

• Expert – 10
• Intermediate – 34
• Clubman – 33
• Novice – 7

Bikes

Pre 65

• AJS – 1
• BSA – 11
• Cotton – 3
• Francis Barnett – 1
• James – 1
• Matchless – 1
• Starmaker (Drayton) – 1
• Triumph – 9
• Villiers – 2

Twinshock

• Beta – 1
• Bultaco – 2
• Fantic – 9
• Honda – 3
• Majesty – 1
• Montesa – 1
• Ossa – 1
• Yamaha – 1

Air Cooled Mono

• Aprilia – 2
• Fantic – 1
• Gas Gas – 7
• Honda – 1
• Yamaha – 4

Modern Mono

• Beta – 2
• Gas Gas – 4
• Montesa – 3
• Oset – 1
• Scorpa – 1
• Sherco – 2
• TRS – 2
• Vertigo – 2

Nant Ucha Farm always pleases the regulars. As well as being the venue with a great range of sections (especially when the wet stuff is flowing), it is a practice venue where a number of the riders hone their skills. April saw a great morning with the sun breaking through and allowed 70 riders to have a cracking days sport.

16 Pre 65’s, turned out with 18 Twinshocks. The AC Mono added another 14 bikes with the balance of 22 making up the Modern Mono class.

Due to the growing popularity of the club over the last few years, at present we are closing the regs at around the 70 bike mark in order to reduce queuing and to ensure that where parking is tight, the venue is not compromised.

Priority is given to those riders who have entered and are active within the club championship which means that classes resulted in 13 Experts, 32 Inters, 24 Clubman and 1 Novice route rider.

Rob Sloggett – Twinshock / Intermediate

After a few months out of it, it was great to get back out on the Bultaco at one of my favourite venues and jump back into the inter route after a bit of a sabbatical riding Clubman. One of the great things about the club is how the sections are marked out, challenging but not dangerous. Enough to make you think but not enough to make you not want to ride.

Russ and Mark had really gone to town this month, resurrecting a number of sections and obstacles that had not been used for quite a while and boy did it make great riding.

Section 2 was the first one of note. Russ had given me a insight at signing on how the Inters route had two options (steeper dryer rock step to the left, waterfall with running water step to the right). Experts were forced to the right but inters had the choice. Russ suggested to go left on the bigger step and after watching a number of the Experts getting caught up on some craggy aspects of their route, the left hand side seemed the obvious choice. At this stage I knew it was on the border line of my comfort zone. I had ridden harder but I had never ridden this and therefore the variables of approach speed, when to raise the front wheel and when to roll off become the new calculations. Any experienced rider will tell you that once you approach it becomes second nature and those inputs just happen but when you are on the edge of your comfort zone the 4th variable is mental attitude and commitment and that can fail you at any time! There is nothing sweeter when approaching something like this to get to the crest and know you have did it and even better, for a clean. I dropped 3 marks on this section and all of the dabs were away from that step and in the normal run of the stream…. its a funny sport!

The next section (4) freaked me out and riding up to it and seeing the flags just filled me with dread. About 8 years ago, I was riding a Montesa 348 but unbeknown to me it had a fault. A crack in the outer casing allowed water to flick into the electronics side and before I had diagnosed this I was practicing the exact obstacle. Basically a wall to the side of the stream, about 3 to 4 ft high (in those days it was a bit higher and less eroding at the top). You had a small kicker to help you up and it tapered off at the top. On the practice day in question, I attempted the wall and half way up the bike lost all power at a critical point. Dabbing into thin air, the bike came down on me and I luckily avoided a nasty injury but the legacy of that wall was stuck in my mind and I had not ridden it since on a twinshock. So faced with it in the section my first attempt saw me take a dab to line up and then a good dab at the top and I was happy just to get up for a 2. Next lap it all went wrong, at the critical point my brain just would not let me get on the power, my line was wrong, I half committed, filled with the memory from 8 years ago and almost repeated my tumble. Knowing I could not come away with this brain freeze, the 3rd lap once again saw a steadying dab to make sure I had the right line and then a steady climb for no more losses. Last lap it all came together. Perfect line in the approach, exactly the right level of commitment to the attack and confidence in the execution for a well deserved clean. Regardless of my result for the day, that single 30 seconds on the last lap made me a winner! Ghost put to rest…..

Finally sections 6 and 7 both had something a bit different. In section 6, Russ had us riding over the concrete slab. Have not used that in years! great to have it added back in. Funny how the inconsequential stream after just kept taking single dabs. Section 7 on the other hand was the usual mender around the stream with a great root and rock combination to navigate in the last third. A silly lap off line resulted in a 3 on the roots but nice to clean it on the last lap.

The usual thanks to all of the observers. Hopefully you heard my thank you to each of you on the last lap. To the “management and support teams” for putting everything in place, another great event and thank you to Dave and the family for the continued use of the venue.

Kev Williams – Pre 65 / Intermediate

Pulling up at Nant Ucha to the sun shining and the usual smiling faces off we went to sign on and get a bite to eat then back to the van for a chat with fellow riders and admire some bikes before getting ready for the off
It was a quick briefing by Russ and a congratulations by all to him and Suzanne getting married then we were off.

My favourite sections were:

Section 1: It started with a good 1 foot hop on to a rock being careful not to end up in the fence then dropping straight down to the left turning back right and up again following the fence line to then drop down to the left again turning right back up the bank for a second time then it was through the out gate over some roots.

Section 3: Starting this section with going over a little log then heading over to the right to then turn to the left and line your bike up and shoot up a steep tricky  climb with ruts and roots to knock you off line when at the top you then dropped down and out to the left over a off cambered slope covered in roots.

Section 6: A little drop off a wall into the stream with a instant turn right through some deep water to a slippery moss covered concrete slope being careful not to go off line then it was out the stream on to the opposite bank around a tree stump then back in to the river following it out to the out gate.

It was a great day and thanks to everyone who makes it possible

Steve Harding – Modern Mono / Clubman

First of all a big thanks to everyone involved and especially all the observer’s for giving up their Sunday without whom it wouldn’t be possible for us all to ride a trial comp, also a big thanks  to the land owner for the use of the venue and Chris Deburger for keeping us fed and watered. So here is my event report for Sunday. 

I arrived early to help set up (many hands make light work) and then was given an orange Marshall vest and and a walkie talkie to help direct the arriving riders to there parking place, and then had a bacon butty off Chris and a good brew before getting myself and the bike ready for the start. At the start, Russ put us into groups and we were told where our start sections were.
So here are a few of my favourite sections of the day. 

Section 4: As you start from the bank of the stream you drop in and cross a bit of a rock and shale stream and then out of the water on to a bit of a climb up the opposite bank. Then a bit of a tight left back down into the stream and try and navigate a bit of a tight right through some good sized slippery rocks and back out of the water up the bank again. Then a bit of a left and keep climbing up over a bit of a root and then dropped down over another root and climb up a bit trying to avoid the rock on the exit.

Section 7: Again you start off from the bank of the stream and drop down into the water across the loose rocks and then out of the other side. Then you had to climb the bank on the opposite side and take a bit of a tight right round some rocks and then drop back down through some very slippery off camber clay, drop back down into the stream and then take a bit of a left over the slippery rocks. Turn right and up a bit of a step and climb the bank before another bit of a right between two more rocks trying not to catch the foot pegs before a bit of an off camber bank up over tree roots and out of the section.

Section 9: Down at the bottom of the field. You start off from the bank of the stream and straight away you had to keep left down an off camber bank. Tight between two trees and then drop into the stream and straight away your onto some slippy rocks. You follow the stream down though a bit of a left and right then keep tight right against the bank as you navigate left past a good sized tree and then head up out of the stream and back up the slippery bank and out of the section. 

I managed to do the last lap with no front brake at all but was determined to not get a DNF. I had a great day even if my result wasn’t {haha}. Once again a big thanks to everyone involved and the aqueduct team for putting on another great trial. Cheers. 

Before we move into the usual stats, we have to close by once again say 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 still taking the time to support and the land owner as always.

Top Places

Pre 65

• Expert – Jim Hough, Triumph (7); Danny Littlehales, Francis Barnett (35)
• Intermediate – Peter Edwards, Drayton Bantam (2); Kev Williams, Triuph (6); Paul Owens, BSA (13)
• Clubman – Steve Walker, Francis Barnett (10); Paul Brimelow, Cotton (16); Keith Lloyd, Drayton Bantam (20)
• Novice – No riders

Twinshock

• Expert – Kev Ellis, SWM (39); Steve Williams, Honda (54)
• Intermediate – Dave Pengilley, Kawasaki (8); Tim Cuffin, Honda (8); David Matthews, Bultaco (12)
• Clubman – William Leigh, Yamaha (3); Graham Pennington, Ossa (14); Elwyn Beedles, Honda (18)
• Novice – Oliver Barker, Bultaco (24)

Air Cooled Mono

• Expert – Chris Garlick, Gas Gas (3); Tony Gush, Beta (5); Ben Butterworth, Honda (9)
• Intermediate – Mike Jones, Gas Gas (5); Robin Foulkes, Yamaha (6); Paul Cartwright, Gas Gas (21)
• Clubman – Alan Hotchkiss, Yamaha (67)
• Novice – No riders

Modern Mono

• Expert – Paul Jones, Montesa (12); Shaun Mountford, Gas Gas (26); Julian Price, Beta (37)
• Intermediate – Paul Hornsby, Vertigo (8); Gary Jones, Beta (14); Michael Warburton, Vertigo (16); Zain Pughe- Hutchinson, TRS (16)
• Clubman – Phil Clarkson Beta (3); Joel Isherwood, Beta (10); Stephnen Hall, Beta (27)
• Novice – No riders

Observer List

1 – Michael Griffiths

2 – Ian Jones

3 – Jeff Hughes

4 – Suz

5 – Gordon

6 – Russ

7 – John Flower

8 – Chris

9 – Mark

10 – Geoff

Stats

Bikes Classes

• Pre 65 – 16
• Twinshock – 18
• Air Cooled Mono – 14
• Modern Mono – 22

Route Classes

• Expert – 13
• Intermediate – 32
• Clubman – 24
• Novice – 1

Bikes

Pre 65

• BSA – 8
• Cotton – 2
• Francis Barnett – 2
• Triumph – 3
• Villiers – 1

Twinshock

• Bultaco – 3
• Fantic – 5
• Honda – 4
• Kawasaki – 1
• Montesa – 1
• Ossa – 1
• SWM – 1
• Yamaha – 2

Air Cooled Mono

• Aprilia –
• Beta – 1
• Fantic – 2
• Gas Gas – 5
• Honda – 3
• Yamaha – 2

Modern Mono

• Beta – 8
• Gas Gas – 4
• Montesa – 4
• Sherco – 1
• TRS – 4
• Vertigo – 3

March saw a return to the fantastic Nany Y Ffrith Quarry. This is an exceptional venue with so much space and terrain on offer but also sets of well established favourites offering the 4 routes a bit of everything (well unless you want wet running streams but we have enough of that in some of the other venues in spades!

So what of the 4 routes, well the 91 riders who signed on were split into 6 Novices, 32 Clubman, 39 Intermediates and 14 Experts.

In terms of the different classes, we had a good turn out of 23 Pre 65’s, 28 Twinshocks with 14 AC Monos and 26 Modern Monos. It was great to see such a bias on the Pre 65 and Twinshock class with some lovely bikes in attendance.

Mark Gaskell – Pre 65 / Intermediate

I confused a few people, as I turned up in a van instead of my usual box trailer. From the look of the score, I left any riding ability I had in the box trailer! No less than six 5’s, all unnecessary!

Superb venue, clear blue sky, and the usual Aqueduct organisation and sections we have come to expect.

Section 1. Let’s not talk about my performance in section 1.

Section 2. Maybe not section 2 either.

Section 3. Managed to lose just one dab here.

Section 4. Now this had me worried on the first lap, as the tree sticking out on the left hand side of the drop was exerting some sort of gravitational pull to my clutch hand, the consequences of which could be painful. So I paddled round for a 3. Then someone removed the tree! Next lap I managed to get away with a safety dab on the roots at the last turn before the exit. Third lap clean, but then another safety dab on lap four.

Section 5. A silly 2

Section 6. Clean!

Section 7. A steep drop to a tight left hand turn before a tree. Holding the Triumph’s engine against the back brake meant I cleaned it twice, and safety dabbed once. On the last lap a stone rolled the front wheel off line and I was too tired to fight it, 5.

Section 8. This was a tricky little section. If I cleaned the climb, I paddled the descent, and visa versa. Grip was there, but only at the perfect throttle opening and positioning. Frustration and elation combined.

Section 9. The hillclimb. Bread and butter for the Triumph (as long as it doesn’t spit its chain off, or jump out of gear!) First lap, up the climb with ease, then run straight into the left hand tree before the end flag and stop dead. 5, and a sprained finger.Section

10. Cleaned it once for Jan’s camera. Fived it three times for no apparent reason.

Despite my dreadful score, I really enjoyed the trial. Thank you again to all involved! 

Terry Lloyd – Pre 65 / Novice

Another excellent trial at a superb venue The white route was very good.

Section 1 comprised of two turns on a bank and out.

Section 2 in around a tree, up a bank and and a tight turn right to the outs.

Section 3 was just a straightforward ride through a gully.

Section 4 was very easy just up a shop bank and along although being down for two marks when I thought I was clean.

Section 5 down a fairly long section turn around a tree up out over some rocks and a step.

Section 6 just a straightforward ride through mud and a right turn out.

Section 7 some nice tight turns through trees had to be very careful.

Section 8 up A bank left turn along a camber what is a left to down of rocks.

Section 9 was quite a long uphill section with two turns up to the outs.

Section 10 up a shop bank with a left turn Along A bank with a left turn out around a tree many.

Thanks to you all once again.

Steve Harding – Modern mono / Clubman

As usual a huge thanks to all the aqueduct team for putting another great trial at another great venue and big thanks to Russ and Mark for spending their Saturday setting up the sections and all the observer’s for giving up their  Sunday so we can do what we love doing. Not forgetting Chris Deburger for keeping us fed and watered, and the land owner for letting the club use the venue.

Where do i start?
What a great place for a trial, it has pretty much everything.
I’m finding it hard to pick my favourite sections as I thought they were all spot on and there were some good distance rides between some of them to give you a bit of a breather, 
So here are a few of my favourites that I have narrowed it down to.

 
Section 4: Geoff on watch so no messing about, haha . You start off on the main track at a bit of an angle towards the left then through the start gate then up a bit of a bank. Then a tight left on an off camber bank and up over a bit of a step and then in to the woods. Still climbing and head towards a short tree stump and keeping it to the left and then turn tight right round a tree then back down and a bit of a left to the top of a very steep bank. Then drop down back towards the main track and a tight left through the end markers. A good section but cost me a couple of daft dabs.
Section 5. After a bit of a down hill ride from section 4, on the first lap there was a bit of a queue but it soon went down. Gordon on watch. A bit of a technical section this one, for me anyway. You start off from a bit of a slope down through the start gate and immediately down an off camber bank to a bit of a tight right round a tree.  Climb up to a bit of a tight left then tight right and an immediately drop down a steep bank into the bottom of a bit of a gully. A bit of a left and then fire it back up a steep bank and a really tight right as you get to the top. Then keep it right and drop down again before going back up towards the end of the section, up over some rocks and roots and out back to where you stated. I dropped a few on this one but enjoyed it.
Section 7: Mark on watch. Another good section this one. You start off again from the main track and cross a bit of a ditch and then straight up a bit of a steep slippery slope into the trees. You then turn right and in between the trees, you come to the top of a very steep slope so anchors on all the way down to the bottom then immediately turn tight left round a tree, a bit of a right towards the next tree where there was a large root sticking out to catch you out then a bit of a left. Then up out of the section. A daft dab or two on the first lap but after some encouraging advice from Mark I cleared it on the next three. 

Overall I had a great day riding with Tony Williams and had some laughs and banter on the way. Once again a big thanks to everyone involved, as usual you smashed it, well done and can’t wait to see you all at the next one, Cheers.

David Matthews – Twinshock / Intermediate

Think all the sections were set just right, all were cleanable but you don’t want someone riding clean! Three sections challenged me the most; 2, 7 and 8. The Bultaco was running well and I was enjoying getting back on it.

Section 2: A ride up and over tree roots that seemed to be taking marks. Had seen a few mishaps so approached with caution. I didn’t have a problem with the roots but the exit, a tight right turn kept taking a mark each lap so decided to have another look last lap and managed the elusive clean. Got a thumbs up from the observer so happy days.

Section 7: Well what can I say pretty straight forward looking section. When I saw the steep drop I thought this will be interesting stopping , Bultaco brakes not the best! First lap tried cutting across the camber and needed a dab, had a chat with Russ who suggested a different line. 2nd lap managed a clean, well chuffed, unfortunately that was the the only clean but 3 dabs so pleased with the ride.

Section 8: My favourite, very challenging up over the mud. Tight left at the top, over roots then slippy decent, tight muddy turn right towards the exit. As hard as I tried, unable to get a clean but overall happy after seeing others struggle.

Pleased to get the win ,thanks again Aqueduct

Before we move into the usual stats, we have to close by once again say 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 still taking the time to support and the land owner as always.

Top Places

Pre 65

• Expert – Chris Chell, BSA (17); Chris Gascoigne, BSA (39)
• Intermediate – Andrew Scott, BSA (11); Carl Winstanley, BSA (17); Roly Jones, Ariel (20); Dave Riley, Cotton (20)
• Clubman -Steve Walker, Francis Barnett (7); Paul Brimelow, Cotton (8); Steve Jones, BSA (15)
• Novice – Terry Lloyd, Triumph (2)

Twinshock

• Expert – Jim Williams, Honda (25); Paul Smart, Fantic (31); Steve Williams, Honda (41)
• Intermediate – David Matthews, Bultaco (16); Tim Cuffin, Honda (20); Steve Edgeley, Yamaha (21)
• Clubman – Elwyn Beedles, Honda (6); Graham Pennington, Ossa (7); Tudor Roberts, Fantic (12T); Williams Leigh, Yamaha (12T)
• Novice – Oliver Barker, Bultaco (4); Tim Swift, Honda (22); Joel Riley, Yamaha (31)

Air Cooled Mono

• Expert – Tony Gush, Beta (6); Chris Garlick, Gas Gas (13); Andrew Williams, Beta (31)
• Intermediate – Mike Jones, Gas Gas (14); Neil Brooks, Fantic (16); Robin Foulkes, Yamaha (17)
• Clubman – No riders
• Novice – No riders

Modern Mono

• Expert – Paul Jones, Montesa (12); Julian Price, Beta (24); Jerry Hawker, Montesa (28)
• Intermediate – Paul Hornsby, Vertigo (15); Neil Matthews, Gas Gas (23); Ade Robinson, Gas Gas (28)
• Clubman – Phil Clarkson, Beta (5); Mark Bill, Beta (6); Bobby Chadwick, Beta (22T); Stan Trojnar, Beta (22)
• Novice – Tony Williams, Scorpa (2)

Observer List

1 – Dave

2 – Jeff Hughes

3 – Chris

4 – Geoff

5 – Gordon

6 – Rob Jones

7 – Mark

8 – Paul

9 – Russ

10 – Suz

Stats

Bikes Classes

• Pre 65 – 23
• Twinshock – 28
• Air Cooled Mono – 14
• Modern Mono – 26

Route Classes

• Expert – 14
• Intermediate – 39
• Clubman – 32
• Novice – 6

Bikes

Pre 65

• Ariel – 1
• BSA – 10
• Cotton – 2
• Francis Barnett – 1
• Matchless – 1
• Triumph – 8

Twinshock

• Bultaco – 4
• Fantic – 6
• Honda – 9
• Kawasaki – 1
• Majesty – 1
• Montesa – 1
• Ossa – 1
• Yamaha – 1

Air Cooled Mono

• Beta – 3
• Fantic – 2
• Gas Gas – 4
• Honda – 1
• Scorpa – 1
• Yamaha – 3

Modern Mono

• Beta – 10
• Gas Gas – 7
• Montesa – 4
• Scorpa – 1
• Sherco – 1
• TRS – 1
• Vertigo – 2

The removal of Covid restrictions in Wales allowed an uncapped event, and it was great to see 102 riders sign on for what turned out to be a very wet and muddy day at Plas Onn. We have to start in these circumstances by thanking to observers who stood out in very challenging conditions!

The 102 riders were made up of 29 Pre 65’s, 25 Twinshocks, 19 AC Monos and 29 Modern Monos. Its great to see such a great representation in the classic classes and long may it continue!

The Novice class started the day with 8 riders, 32 in Clubman, 43 in Intermediate and 19 in Expert. The highest contested class of the day was the Pre 65 Intermediate with 14 riders, AC Mono coming a close second with 13 riders.

We have a great set of reports this time including a observer report and two from the youth riders.

Zain Pughe-Hutchinson – Modern Mono / Intermediate (Youth B)

The trial was very good as I like the place each time I ride  there .

I decided to ride the green route instead of my normal yellow and glad I did .

I liked how the sections were set not hard but not too easy either .

The sections up the stream were great I enjoyed the ride in between 9 and 10 .

Thank-you to everyone who helped out and needed the hot chocolate after. The only thing I didn’t enjoy was the long queue at section 5 as it was big all day.

Thank you all from Zain

Kaan Pughe -Hutchinson – Modern Mono / Novice (Youth C)

It was very slippy, wet and cold and was scary in places . I did like it because it was fun and entertaining .

My fav  section was number 9 at the bottom of the gully because it was nice and simple in the stream and my least fav section was number 4 because I couldn’t get off the bank to get to the start and had to ride the yellow route instead of white . Section 5 had lots of people and I got cold waiting but I had a go.

Thank you from Kaan

Mark Newman – Pre 65 / Intermediate

Firstly I must start off by praising all the officials and observers , that’s everyone who gave up there time over the weekend. You all did a great job and together that’s what makes this team so good. These trials are by far the best club trials I’ve been too.
So “THANK YOU “

Riding the green intermediate route on my 250cc Francis Barnett 
my favourite section of the day had to be 10 with its up and down sweeping slopes, rooted banks and muddy holes,. Nothing to tight, but still slippy. I love this type and the Francis Barnett gripped like a good un!

Section 5 Paul’s, this was another great section similar to 10, sweeping up and round across the loose rocks and flowing water ,with a climb out over the fallen tree trunk.. Nothing too tight, just a lovely ride if you kept it smooth.

Section 2 Russ’s, loose rocks, muddy climb. What’s not to like about this, until you are possibly over confident and not paying enough attention and your off line by a couple of inches, you need a dab and your foot finds a hole. A twisted ankle and the bike lies down, what a knob, that’s all it takes. From then on I’m finding it difficult to lean the bike over as any twist on the ankle and I know about it ,suddenly my score starts to mount up.

Marks section 1, I just couldn’t make the first turn around the tree. Cost me a 1 every lap, need to work on that.

A couple of unnecessary dabs on sections I’d cleaned beforehand starts to see my score In the 20’s, same old story, can do better.
All in all great day and I didn’t even really struggle getting into section 4 which I’m sure someone will give you the low down on that .

Tony Williams – Modern Mono / Novice

First of all a big thankyou to observers for standing out in the wet and cold conditions. A tricky trial this one, ground conditions did catch us out.

My favourite sections….

Sec 8, in the little quarry over rocky parts, all tight right hand turns. Manged to clean it then on to 9. Down into the stream, up over some slippery rocks, tight right then tight left turns. Quite tricky, nice testing section. Then the marathon trek up the stream to 10, this really drained you, you had to concentrate all the way.

Now onto 10, Michael Griffiths the observer, a hard man… A steep little climb, very wet then tight left, then tight left up step, then a very tight left back to the outs. Just managed to clean it.

Now must go back to section 4, what a comedy show…. good riders falling off before going in to section, it was so slippery there on a steep bank it made it a real challenge for white route but another great trial by Aqueduct again, a very enjoyable trial.

Michael Griffiths – Observer Section 10

Well where do I start. Blooming wet on arrival and a warm welcome waiting. Nearly got soaked getting my kit on but all well in the end. Went for a butty and ordered. The lovely young lady prepared it all and was after the bap to put it all on, alas de burger was nattering like Ena Sharples and it took a loud ‘DAD’ to alert him to his duties. All eaten and supped so Russ sent me walking up to the top of the hill to section 10.

By gum it looked a bit naughty , specially after a lap or three. Very soon after the start time Tony Williams arrived and zoomed round the white routs. Yes Tony you are getting better at each trial. Quite a few arrived and needed a bit of a nudge to get a bike in the section. It didn’t help one rider, scored a five walking the section with a slither on his nether regions down into the stream . I’ll not tell them it was you David……..

 It was nice to see Steve Jones riding again and doing well on his C15. Just hope he didn’t find any low branches as he didn’t finish. There were a really nice entry of 4T bikes and to watch Ben Butterworth on his Ariel is a great pleasure. Reminded me a bit of an Irishman riding something simular. There were a couple of Triumph twins that sounded great , Mark Gaskell and Jim Hough flying the Meriden flag.  Also a Cub or two (nearly said plethera but couldn’t spell it ) and the James and Francis Barnet models well represented with Selly Oak providing the Bantams. Oh yes one or two European and Japanese bikes. The modern bikes and Peter Ruscoe had a bad-un letting Chris Carlich stuff him..

 Some riders seemed to be on a bit of a go-slow and an hour and three quarters after the start a gang arrived and were more interested in having a mothers union meeting so I had a bit of a strop and requested they extract the digit. One did have the decency to ask if I was cold and wet (sarcastic blighter) but no I was fine with loads of layers on and Gortex on the outside, the thermals meant I was warm as well (plus the walk up the hill).

The riding standard on my section , in general was very good though Steve Blackburn looked most miffed when told he had just been given a 5. Shock on his face was amazing especially when after asking “why a 5”? Was informed for making the section look too easy.. Thought he was going to wet himself with the sounds he made, nowt like a bit of banter on the section !!!!!  

Darren Riley with his rather nice looking Sherpa ended their trial with me as the clutch packed in . There were some good looking Bultacos out. Mike Jones on the Cub was showing some promise but Mike you want to relax a bit more and possibly slow down a bit. These are sections not enduro. Keep at it though as it will get easier.

I’m rather glad no-one was about when I collected the section markers as it was a bit like dancing on ice  wearing clogs. Nearly slithered into a sitting position a couple of times but managed to stay upright. Not many bikes or vans about when I got back to my car. All in all a cracking trial and I’m looking forward to the next one, though you will have to wait ’till April before I’m back moaning at the slow coaches as National duties call during your next trial . Won’t see you in May as the SSDT gets in the way. Thanks all for a super day and well done Aqueduct on setting out yet another cracking event.

Stephen Harding – Modern Mono / Clubman

First of all as usual a huge thanks to all the Aqueduct team for putting on such a great event again and all the observer’s for braving the cold wet and wind for at least 4 hours, it must have been freezing for them, and  not forgetting Chris DeBurger for keeping us fed and watered and the land owner for the use of the venue .
On arrival we were directed to parking by Sue and Geoff where we parked up and got ourselves a good brew and a bacon butty off Chris DeBurger and then went over to Jan and Chris to get signed on and collect my bib (No 1 no pressure) ! The weather was cold and as I was fuelling the bike it started to pour down, but luckily it cleared up just before Russ gave us the event instructions.  So on to some of my favourite sections. 

Section 6: You start off from a bit of a steep bank (very slippery ) and drop down into the stream and back up a very steep slippery muddy bank. Over a tree root and then onto the top of the bank before a tight right around a tree before dropping back into the rocky stream. Then out, back up the bank on the opposite side and again wet and slippery steep slope and left past another tree and along the bank a bit before dropping back down steep into the stream. Back up over some large boulders and a tight right then out of the section.  Tricky and slippy but enjoyed it, first clean of the day for me.

Section 7: You start off from the bank of the stream and straight away dropped into the stream and keep right. Ride up stream and keep right past a log lying in the water and avoid the tree stump to the right then a bit of a right up the bank and along the edge of a slippy grass bank. Then dropping back left into the stream and up over 2 large rocksand a tight slippery right and out of the section. Another good section and a clean for me .

Section 8: A bit of a ride back up the main track and into the main farm yard and turn right into the entrance to the small quarry behind the barn. You start off and turn a bit of a left across some quarry slate and then turn tight right and up a what was by now, very wet muddy slippy shale and rock and at the top of the mound keep right and drop down into the main part of the quarry. Then across the very loose slate and head towards a steep incline and a tight right as soon as you reach the top and along a tight ridge keeping an eye on the fence on the left as you exit the section. Another clean for me.

 
Then on to 9 and 10, another two good sections and a bit of a long rocky ride up the fairly fast flowing stream and a bit of a workout over the rocks in-between them.

Over all I had a great day and think I brought half the field away with me. Once again a big thanks to everyone involved for putting on another great trial for over 100 riders. Cheers

The regs are now open for the March event and will be at Nant Y Ffrith.

Before we move into the usual stats, we have to close by once again say 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 still taking the time to support and the land owner as always.

Top Places

Pre 65

• Expert – Ben Butterworth, Ariel (5); Chris Gascoigne, BSA (16); Jim Hough, Triumph (16)
• Intermediate – Peter Edwards, Drayton Bantam (5); Carl Winstanley, James (10); Craig Haworth (15)
• Clubman – Simon Willmore, BSA (3); Steve Walker, Francis Barnett (5); Paul Brimelow, Cotton (14)
• Novice – Terry Lloyd, Triumph (41)

Twinshock

• Expert – Kev Ellis, SWM (55); Steve Williams, Aprilia (66)
• Intermediate – Tim Cuffin; Majesty (15); Dave Pengilley, Kawasaki (19); Jim Droughton, Majesty (23)
• Clubman – Callum Grant, Fantic (12); Elwyn Beedles, Honda (15); William Leigh, Yamaha (22)
• Novice –

Air Cooled Mono

• Expert – Chris Garlich, Gas Gas (13); Peter Roscoe, Gas Gas (27); Terry Musgrave (86)
• Intermediate – David Matthews, Yamaha (9); Robin Foulkes, Yamaha (11)Tie; Paul Edwards, Fantic (11)Tie; Mike Jones, Gas Gas (13)
• Clubman – Andy Steele, Yamaha (25)
• Novice –

Modern Mono

• Expert – Jim Williams, Vertigo (35); Julian Price, Beta (44); Hayden Rainford, Montesa (51)
• Intermediate – David Ellis, Beta (12); Zain Pughe-Hutchinson, TRS (23); Neil Liptrot, Gas Gas (24)
• Clubman – Phil Clarkson, Beta (10); Brandon Trumble, Beta (17); Sean Halstead, Montesa (18)
• Novice – Glyn Roberts, Montesa (43); Tony Williams, Scorpa (52); Logan Price, Beta (61)

Observer List

1 – Mark

2 – Russ

3 – Jeff Hughes

4 – Gordon

5 – Paul

6 – Elwyn

7 – Geoff

8 – Dave

9 – Roger

10 – Michael Griffiths

Stats

Bikes Classes

• Pre 65 – 29
• Twinshock – 25
• Air Cooled Mono – 19
• Modern Mono – 29

Route Classes

• Expert – 19
• Intermediate – 43
• Clubman – 32
• Novice – 8

Bikes

Pre 65

• Ariel – 1
• BSA – 11
• Cotton – 1
• DOT – 1
• Francis Barnett – 1
• James – 1
• Matchless – 1
• Triumph – 9
• Villiers – 1

Twinshock

• Aprilia – 1
• Bultaco – 3
• Fantic – 5
• Honda – 6
• Kawasaki – 1
• Majesty – 3
• Montesa – 1
• Ossa – 1
• SWM – 1
• Yamaha – 1

Air Cooled Mono

• Fantic – 3
• Gas Gas – 9
• Honda – 2
• Scorpa – 1
• Yamaha – 2
• Not listed – 2

Modern Mono

• Beta – 10
• Gas Gas – 5
• Montesa – 5
• Oset – 1
• Scorpa – 1
• Sherco – 2
• TRS – 1
• Vertigo – 3

The first event of the year is always a good indicator of how the season is going to pan out and Aqueduct tend to favour Nant Mawr Quarry for the January event due to the large parking area and the fact that if the weather is bad, you dont need to tow cars out of a muddy field!

Whilst Wales was operating under restricted Covid restrictions, fortunately this venue was just over the English border and whilst the club still maintained its good Covid protocols, its OK for me to report that 99 riders turned up without fears of a Chester FC type investigation happening!

The 99 riders were spread out over 26 Pre 65, 27 Twinshock, 18 AC Mono and 28 Modern Monos. The Expert route was contested by a brilliant tally of 23 riders with 39 running on the Intermediate route. The clubman class had a healthy 37 riders and those up and coming novices took the final 7 spots

Steve Harding – Modern Mono / Clubman

First of all I’d like to say a big thanks to everyone involved in setting up another great trial, especially Russ and Mark for spending a day in the rain on Saturday to set up the sections for all of us to enjoy on Sunday. So  a huge thanks to all the team and observer’s for braving the cold so we could have a trial on Sunday, and not forgetting Chris Deburger for keeping us fed and watered throughout the day.

Upon arrival we were met by Paul and Sue to guide us to our parking space, then a bit of time to get the bike and myself sorted for the day, a decent brew and a bacon butty off Chris Deburger and get signed on and collect my bib off the girls and ready for the day,. It was a cold but sunny morning so perfect conditions for the trial, all of the sections were spot on, some forgiving and then some tough ones, so here are some of my favourite sections of the day. 

Section 1: A bit of a queue, but it soon went down. You start off from the top of a steep bank, so slow past the start gate and down a very steep slippery slope towards a large pool of water trying to avoid the deep ruts into the water and then back out up a bit of a slippery muddy bank and then a bit of a tight right on a slippery off camber bank in-between two trees and then follow the ridge between two more trees. Drop back down into the water over some deep ruts and then a tight left back up a bank on to a very slippy surface and almost stop to turn tight right again and out of the section, tough but I enjoyed it,  

Section 7: Sue on watch. So you start off from a bit of a bank then straight into the section and turn a bit of a left and then right straight up a slightly slippery slope and over some roots up a bank and then a bit of a tight left on an off camber bank and follow it along to a tree and a tight left again and drop back down into the bottom of the section, then head towards a tree and a large rock and turn tight right between them ,and it was tight then back up a slippery bank and left through the end markers trying to avoid the deep ruts to put you off, another good section. 

Section 8: You follow on from 7 along a bit of a ridge and the stop before the start of section 8 in a bit of a deep muddy puddle,  you start off from the mud and through the start gate then  straight away turn left up a bit of a step and turn tight right again and head up a very steep slope and over the tree roots and keep right as it levelled out a bit before going up again and choose left or right to pass a large rock and the over a few small rocks turning left and then drop back down the slippery slope and turn tight right and out , I messed it up the 1st 3 laps but some good advice from Mark and I cleared it on the 4th lap,  

Overall I had a great day riding with Tony Williams, only us 2 from our normal crew but enjoyed it, Massive thanks to everyone involved and look forward to the next one.

• 

Wal Cope – Twinshock / Intermediate

I guess the invisibility cloak worked well – I reckoned I’d dropped 6 but the results said 4 – definitely not complaining! I won’t mention where the cloak worked. 

Last time I rode an Aqueduct trial was before furlough and Covid 19 was in most of our vocabularies, when a huge entry turned up at Nant Mawr. I remembered enjoying the intermediate route that day so thought I would have another go.

Starting at section 9 (so I wouldn’t forget – last number on my bib) I was clean for the first 3 sections, but dropped a dab on the first rocks of section 3. This section proved by nemesis as I lost half my marks here.

Next dab went down on the very slippy middle turn of section 7 on the first lap, but the annoying one was section 6. 3 cleans taking the tight line on the first turn, but sat in the queue on the last lap, everyone was taking their front wheel outside the rock and rear inside, so thought I would do the same. Down went the right foot – should have stayed on my line!

Favourite section for me was number 8 – the blast over and between the rocks on the way up needed a good attack after getting the corner right at the bottom – 4 cleans was very satisfying!

Maybe the inter route was a bit easy for me – I’ve upgraded to the hard route at Red Rose so maybe next time out I’ll do the same at Aqueduct.

Thanks for a great day out, especially to the observers who stood out in the cold but kept smiling! 

See you next time.

• 

• 

Richard Osborn – Modern Mono / Intermediate

Arriving at the venue on a cold, bright, sunny Sunday morning in January you are met by what can only be described as an amazing view, the intimidating slabs of rock rising high above the car parking area forming an impressive arena. The quarry is a change to the other Aqueduct venues which tend to be more wooded areas, therefore the quarry offered an interesting mix of sections over rock, water, mud and shale. 

Section 1: At first the section looks pretty straight forward, but after walking the section it becomes apparent that there are some tricky bits. The initial drop down the bank seems ok, but then you find that the ground offers little resistance, at the bottom of the bank there was a tight little turn over a hidden tree root that caught a few people out resulting in a silly dab (me included). Once the turn and the root had been negotiated it was up and over a small incline in to the water. Out of the water and in to a tight turn between a couple of trees. A tree root sticking out in between the trees focused the mind before a muddy incline and tight left turn took you out of the section. The mud got increasingly deeper during the day meaning each lap was slightly different. 

Section 2: A completely different terrain to section 1. The start gate for section 2 raised questions regarding the new AMCA rules regarding the front wheel entering the section as it was proving difficult to undertake a standing start at the gate without poking a tyre past the flags. Therefore, it seemed better to start the section from further down the bank and enter the section a bit blind. The section started with a left hand turn in to a rocky ‘trench’ before turning right across the path which gave a little bit of respite before launching across a series of greasy rocks. I found out that any hesitation resulted in walking the bike through the rest of the section for a big 3. Once the rocks had been mastered, a 90 degree turn round a tree led to the exit gates. 

Section 3: The start gate was at the top of a steep rise that meant caution was the best approach before tackling a series of pointy rocks. I think I picked a different route over the rocks on each lap. Once over the rocks there was a tight left and right over loose shale followed by a tight left handed turn down over more pointy rocks, the tight right at the bottom of the rocks was surprisingly difficult as the bike had to be threaded between two rocks that offered the ideal place for a dab …..or two. 

Section 4 : Up the bank to the next level of the quarry led to the next section, and like section 3 the section offered a variety of pointy rocks to bounce off. A slight right turn led across loose rocks which meant that momentum was the key, hesitation over the rocks resulted in another embarrassing 3 as the bike was walked over the obstacles. Then just as you could see the exit flags, a big rock in the middle of the route that seemed to move to a different place on every lap, would catch the front wheel and lead to a silly dab as the front left the section, but as new AMCA rules were applied, what would have been a clean resulted in a big fat 1!

Section 5: Initially looked an easy clean, a rise through some pretty stable rocks led to a right hand turn around a tree, but this is where the terrain changed from rock to a shale down hill section. With the back wheel locked, the front needed to be threaded to the left between rocks before you could relax and exit the section.  

Section 6: This section was hidden away further down the quarry and the technical aspect of the section meant that queues started to form on the first lap. However, the position of the section meant that riders could look down on the section whilst queuing so they could pick their line. The section was short and tricky, with tight turns over rocks which meant that total commitment to a line was required, any change in route seemed to result in a dab or three as I found out.

Section 7: Now we were out of the rocky part of the quarry, we were back to muddy sections. Section 7 was a series of tricky tight turns that tested the rider but the terrain offered surprisingly grippy conditions. The final left turn required lots of concentration as the front wheel needed to be lifted over a slippery rock and tree root to successfully exit the section with a clean. 

Section 8: For me this was the most difficult section of all. A quagmire of mud and water needed to be negotiated before you even entered the section. Once in, a tight right handed up hill section required a bit of beans to get over the rock step, before making another tight right hand turn which required less speed and more precision. I got caught out twice by excessive use of the throttle on the first step resulting in both feet down to stop me ploughing into a tree. Once the second right hander had been negotiated, a smooth left handed turn around a tree led to an easy down hill section and out. 

Section 9: Where was the observer ?? A strategically placed van offered the perfect spot for the observer to view the short, muddy section. After picking your way through thick mud and water, the uphill left hand turn was tricky and required lots of smooth throttle control and shifting balance (and a tongue out of the side of the mouth) in order to keep the forward momentum. Once at the top of the turn eyes were focused on the greasy tree root running across the path, a little hop of the front wheel cleared the root, a tight left hand turn led in to a water filled ditch and out. 

Section 10: The terrain could not get any different to sections 1 – 6 ! Mud, water, tree roots, Section 10 had it all. The section started with a steep muddy incline and left around a tree on to a traverse across the bank and over a tree stump, then a tight left hand turn took you down to the water. There were a couple of routes to choose from in order to exit the section, but by the 3^rd lap, I realised that the slow route straight through the water was better than trying to keep to the edges. A steep muddy step up the bank on the other side led to the end of the section and the end of the lap. 

Some tricky sections and a mix of terrain meant that it was a great trial. I’ve only ridden the venue once before but I hope it becomes a regular on the calendar, maybe a summer trial with Chris de Burger on the BBQ would be an idea!

• 

• 

• 

Paul Owen – Pre 65 / Intermediate Route

Nant mawr quarry . This is always a full entry with it being the first event of the year and in the unique setting of the high walled dish shaped rock quarry. With 100 riders on bikes from pre65 to modern it was going to be another excellent event by the club. Here is 3 of my best and worse sections in the green intermediate class.

I dropped 4 marks on Section 2 . It was very challenging on a rocky terrain. You entered the start gate to the left and across a path with a rock sticking out that could easy take a dab off you. You then dropped into a dip then over a lot of bigger rocks that if you got it right you would just skip over then. But get the first one wrong and you got them all wrong. Twice I messed up and I manage to get my foot trapped in the rocks and as I was falling I hit the tree that squashed m fyingers covering the clutch. My hand slipped off the clutch and bars and the bike shot forward with the kickstart digging in my calf muscle but it also released my foot from the rocks. Lucky I still stayed upright and kept moving forward around the tree and out to the exit gate. This happened on lap 1, section 2. I knew it would be a long painful day after that (haha). I still have a nice bruised leg days after.

Section 5 was another rocky section. It was a simple easy section as you rode up a bank, turn right ,drop down to a left hander then out. But it was all loose rocks and so unpredictable as to where it will kick you on the climb up and down. I managed to stall the bike as I dropped down the bank just because I’d give it to much back brake as the front wanted to slide from underneath me. So that was another 5 marks to my score. But I wasn’t the only one picking up big marks on that section.

Section 7 was very challenging as you started off and up a muddy greasy bank over a big tree root. You had a very tight left hander off camber turn back down the muddy bank and straight into a tight right hand turn on the flat but the mud was slippy and so easy to tuck the front . Then it was up another bank and left hand turn but this time it had a steeper drop and with no run off you were onto some slippy rocks that you had to turn sharp right and over a rock and log then out to the exit gate. I had no dramas on that as the old bantam has a good tight steering lock. I dropped 11 marks from a possible total of 200.

I was hurting and aching after a poor first lap, but I was happy with the results as I came 2nd in class. Actually 3 of us were on 11 points .

Big thanks to the club and the observers for a great day.

Chris Garlick – AC Mono / Expert

Nant Mawr Quarry is one of the best venues I have rode at, possibly my favourite. I dont know if this is because I have raced Enduros there and driving into the quarry bought back memories or the fact that it has a variety of sections from deep water to muddy banks and roots, to big dry dry rocks and slippy ones. It really has a bit of everything.

Sunday saw a good turn out of riders, all ready to do battle but not before getting a bite to eat from Chris DeBurger who’s food is always on point. At signing on we were greeted by the usual smiling Aqueduct team who are always great to chat with and always helpful.

Section 1 was a steady one to get us warmed up, made up of muddy banks with rocks before diving into some deep water. The bottom of it felt solid enough but just before getting back onto the banking and going right for the end markers there was a soft spot which tried to grab your rear end wheel if you hesitated.

Section 2, this was a good section where your reactions had to be quick as there were slimy rocks, you had to be precise and ready to correct the bike at any time. One wrong touch and you could of been facing the other way.

Section 3 was probably the hardest, quiet technical and one wrong move would of put you over the bars into a rock pile. Riding high on the banks and around a small tree then dropping down naturally put you on your left then you made the next turn through the rock garden… tricky. After this it was a blast across the quarry to section 4.

This was my favourite section of the day. It looked easy until you rode it, it was a banking full of rolling rocks and stones that could and would move at any time.

The next 4 sections were more rocks with twist turns, then it was back across the quarry where we finished the lap with slippy banks, deep water and some rocks!

All in all another good trial and a well deserved overall win to Steve Martin on the Expert route. Looking forward to the next event.

We return to Plan Onn for Februarys event and will be closely monitoring the Welsh Covid rules to make sure we comply. . We always close by once again say 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 still taking the time to support and the land owner as always.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Top Places

Pre 65

1. Expert – James Francis, BSA (6); Ben Butterworth, Ariel (7); Paul Smart, BSA (17)
2. Intermediate – Paul Edwards, Drayton (2); Paul Owen, BSA (11T); Carl Winstanley, James (11T); Phil Alderman, Triumph (11)
3. Clubman -Steve Walker, Francis Barnett (2); Paul Brimelow, Cotton (4); Mike Jones, Triumph (17)
4. Novice – Terry Lloyd, Triumph (15)

Twinshock

• Expert – Steve Martin, Majesty (2); Jim Williams, SWM (11); Kev Ellis, SWM (16)
• Intermediate – Tim Cuffin, Majesty,(3);Andy Cope, Fantic (4); Robert Reese, Honda (6)
• Clubman – Robin Boyd, Honda (6); Elwyn Beedles, Honda (11); Steve Blackburn, Montesa (17)
• Novice – Peter Reese, Honda (30); Sam Swift, Montesa (36)

Air Cooled Mono

• Expert – Chris Garlich, Gas Gas (4); Peter Ruscoe, Gas Gas (12); Mark Blackwell (44)
• Intermediate -Paul Edward, Fantic (3); Mike Jones, Gas Gas (13); Alec Roberts, Scorpa (18)
• Clubman -Andy Steele, Yamaha (24)
• Novice -Pete Rainsford, Yamaha (72)

Modern Mono

• Expert – Julian Price, Beta (18); Mike Hawker, Beta (73)
• Intermediate – Dave Ellis, Beta (2); Steve Sherwin, TRS (9); Neil Matthews, Gas Gas (10)
• Clubman – Oliver Cookson, Vertigo (6); Tomos Matthews, Beta (9); Phil Clarkson, Beta (10)
• Novice -Logan Price, Beta (31); Jay Hanmer, Oset (43); Tony Williams, Scorpa (56)

Observer List

1 – Ian

2 – Chris

3 – Roger

4 – Gordon

5 – Martin

6 – Paul

7 – Suz

8 – Mark

9 – Elwyn

10 – Dave

Stats

Bikes Classes

• Pre 65 – 26
• Twinshock – 27
• Air Cooled Mono – 18
• Modern Mono – 28

Route Classes

• Expert – 23
• Intermediate – 39
• Clubman – 30
• Novice – 7

Bikes

Pre 65

• Ariel – 1
• BSA – 9
• Cotton – 1
• Drayton – 2
• Francis Barnett – 3
• James – 1
• Matchless – 1
• Triumph – 8

Twinshock

• Aprilia – 2
• Bultaco – 3
• Fantic – 5
• Honda – 8
• Kawasaki – 1
• Majesty – 3
• Montesa – 2
• SWM – 2
• Yamaha – 1

Air Cooled Mono

• Beta – 1
• Fantic – 5
• Gas Gas – 4
• Honda – 2
• Scorpa – 1
• Yamaha – 1
• Unlisted – 2

Modern Mono

• Beta – 8
• Gas Gas – 5
• Honda – 1
• Montesa – 4
• Oset – 2
• Scorpa – 1
• Sherco – 2
• TRS – 1
• TW – 1
• Vertigo – 2

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 3^rd 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

I think probably for the first time in the clubs history “sorry, regs are now closed” appeared on the Facebook page and website. That is never a message the organisers want to send out but maintaining a safe event and keeping queueing to a minimum has always been the priority of Aqueduct Classics. The flip side of that, is that it demonstrates the popularity of the club within the Pre65 and Twinshock sector but also the fact that it now attracts a good following of modern monos who like the layout of the sections for developing or older riders as well as a healthy stream of younger riders…

Long may it continue (and I suspect on current form…. it will…)

So what of the day? Well we ended up visiting Nant Y Ffrith (a stunning venue) with 107 riders of which 19 were Pre 65, 29 were Twinshock, 13 being AC Monos and 46 Modern Monos

Leading in with the Novice group, we had a fantastic 15 riders in this class, 34 in Clubman, 39 in Intermediate and 19 in Expert

Without going into the Regs forms in detail, from what I can see with the bike types and capacities, at least 7 of out riders were in a Youth class and that is also encouraging to see!

A huge thank you to Mark, Steve, Damien, Dave, Michael and Ian for their section reports below.

Mark Newman – Pre 65 / Intermediate

Massive thanks to everyone involved in setting out and  running this trial its a superb venue and as usual everything went to plan apart from my riding..
Some challenging sections and a great ride round but my best sections just happened to be the ones I cleaned  ….no really….yep !

Section 6 was looking tricky, in through the start gates over to the left due to a right turn up a steep bank between the trees, along the bank drop back down then a camber across between the trees, sharp right (looks slippy) but keep it going and you can find the grip. Along the bank and a steep drop down to the exit..

Section 9, a lovely flowing section. Up and down and round the trees over roots etc. I just love this type of section, even though it was a relatively easy one you had to be aware the roots will catch you out ..

Section 10 very similar to 9, down and between trees, an off camber up over some logs up and round taking it easy as too much and you can over shoot the tight left and right to make the end cards..

Got to mention all the sections we’re challenging but not dangerous and lots to think about, a great trial great company and cold but clear and dry. I felt for the observers as it was a really cold day stood outside for several hours, so we can enjoy our day. I can’t thank them enough..

Steve Harding – Modern Mono / Clubman

First if all a huge thanks to all the aqueduct team for putting on such a great event again, and not forgetting all the observer’s for braving the cold and without whom it wouldn’t be possible to have such a great day. 

I turned up at about 9:30 and was greeted by Sue who directed me to a parking space and then I started to prep myself and the bike for the 11o’clock start.  I had time for a brew and great bacon and egg bap from the great Chris  deBurger (bap ,barm, roll ,cob, batch, call it wot you like ) but it was good. This was my first time riding the yellow route with Aqueduct and I was a bit nervous as it felt like a bit of a big step up for me. So 11o’clock arrived and it was time to start, Russ put us into groups and I was in group 1 to 20 and was sent all the way down to section 4 to start . I wa​s not with my normal group and felt a bit nervous but I met up with Mark Kirk who I had met on  a previous trial and we were both doing yellows for the first time so I was glad I could ride with him and his buddies for the day , cheers boys .

Three of my favourite sections. 
From the start, section 4. After a good long ride from the car park along a very slippy mud and rocky  track you turn a tight right on to a very steep long rutted drop to arrive at section 4. You started on the main track and straight into a bit of a ditch and straight up a steep muddy slope with a small tree stump just to put you off then keep climbing and a tight right and drop down on an off camber bank and turn back up left to a really tight right between two close trees and drop down with a bit of a left and then back up on to the track. Phew my first yellow clean. #

Section 7, Russ on watch. You start off from the main track again through the ditch and straight up on to a very slippy steep incline and another log to negotiate before climbing even further and over a large sandstone to the top then a tight left round the tree and a slippery left and right down to the exit and back on to the track. A tricky section but enjoyed it,. 

Section 8. A bit of a tough one for me but I gave it a good go on each lap as I was determined to finish the yellows .You start off in the dark woods on a steep incline so I started well before the start gate to get a bit of a run on such a steep start. As you go through the start it was a very steep slope and straightaway you had to get over a big root and then immediately turn left and slow the bike down before going into the old ruins and negotiate the rough sandstone rubble before turning a tight right and firing it up the corner wall and climb the steep banks then a right and tight left over a small stone wall out of the section. Overall I had a great day, some tough sections but learning all the time. 

A massive thanks to everyone involved , a great venue and very well organised as usual. Well done aqueduct, and thank you…

Damien Morey – Pre 65 / Clubman

Yellow route was just right for me, very challenging, just about same as clubman on Redrose etc.

Section 1 Steady twisty climb with roots and walls Took points

Section 2 bloody horrible Tight turn back on yourself over roots and rocks manage that then horrible slippery log to go over before exit

Section 3 Up between trees tight turn between trees on exit that went worse as day went on

Section 4 Twisty slippy up and down on banking tight exit hard to keep grip

Section 5 Slippy start steady turn in mud High banking on exit 

Section 6 In round the back of trees over log tight turn between trees then exit

Section 7 In up slippy bank onto top tight turn round tree went very slippy later in day

Section 8 Up bank over rock pile exit through gulley and step that cut away as day went on

Section 9 Steady winding Section up banking tight left turn on exit

Section 10 Big drop then round trees and out

Rider verdict, Some went better, some went worse, 2 was very tricky, 5&7 went very slippy. All could take points if you lost concentration, 2&7 where the hardest for me 

Dave Pengelli – Twinshock / Intermediate

Arriving at this excellent venue early I was surprised to see how many eager riders were already kitted up ready for action, I was directed down a newly graded road to be parked by Geoff,

The action started promptly with a quick brief from Russel and the team where we were split up to ease the queuing, I opted to start at section 1 saves confusion later on when trying to decide when and where the 4 laps finish. must be an age thing!!!!!!!

Section one was a tricky opener under the watchful eye of Elwyn Williams. Into the section up a slight rise, over a rock then between two trees which had to be ridden accurately or the result was sore knuckles, quick turn to the left up another rise while turning right at this point there was an overwhelming desire to dab on the right whether it was needed or not, tried to resist the temptation but it got me in the end.

Section 2 had me pacing up and down looking at a root near the top of the bank before another tricky root just before the end card’s I did not like the look of it and could not decide on a line, the observer calls the next man in; yes, he is on the green route watching closely taking note of all the major issues I had been looking at, with steady throttle he rode the section as if was a mere grassy bank. Note to self don’t look too hard. Rode it not as good but a clean recorded,

Across the track to section 3 a nice little section to settle the nerves then a bit that I really enjoy a nice long blast along road and track to the next cluster of 3 sections, there was a bit of queuing here but what a great opportunity to catch up with lads that I had not seen for a few years and talking bikes/bits and banter, The Kawasaki seems to start a conversation I am always surprised how many people have owned one or know someone who has had one in the past, what could be better on a fresh Sunday morning.

From here another run up a track to where Russ was observing again a well thought out section which could catch you out if slightly off line, then off to section 8 set in an old ruined building it had everything a climb, tight turn’s, rocks and a cross camber turn to finish off which looked very tricky. I tell myself don’t look at it too hard remember section2 !!!!!! then a couple of very good riders 5 it while I sit in the queue, too late for another look! rode into the section nice and steady I had already decided first sign of trouble on that camber and a big dab was going to be planted firmly on the ground to ride around and boy did I need it…. well pleased to get out for a 1, second lap I cleaned it and thought I have got that mastered now, soon to be proved wrong with marks lost on laps 3 and 4, while others around me cleaned it with ease, oh well that’s trials for you.

Sections 9 & 10 were exposed at the end of the venue, could have been a different day there it was freezing cold; a special shout out must go out to the ladies observing here they must have been frozen by the time they had managed to get a hot drink and food from Chris.

Having had experience of running trials some years ago I know first-hand that to run a trial of this quality it is not just a matter of rocking up on a Saturday putting a few flags out and then a quick tidy after the event. The aqueduct team put an awful lot of time & effort into running trials and it is good to see all the positive comments on-line following an event.

Finally, but most important.

A massive thank you to all the observers standing out in all weathers so we can enjoy our sport, it makes a trial when all sections are manned and again credit to aqueduct members who give up a ride to observe, so don’t forget lads a cheerful thankyou goes a long way on that last lap you never know it may just get you the benefit of the doubt on that next iffy 5 or 3.

Michael Jones – AC Mono / Expert

What a trial, had to pull out the old trusted 1998 GasGas as the Tiger Cub and TRS were out of action.

To start section 1 & 2 were a lovely introduction to the treats the Forrest had to offer a mix of rocky steps and tight loose camber turns surprising how dry it was for winter which was nice.

Section 3 was great, had a technical part where you had to just clear rocks with your sump guard to get correct approach for a steep bank and immediate turn, it got easier with the day, noticed had a classy observer hut like ray mears would make. The trail riding in between was a highlight down towards 4/5/6 there was a bottleneck here which provided a welcome resting point it was a bit slippery down here but again nice selection of camber turns and banks. Section 8 was a stand out due to the atmosphere with the haunting abandoned house and the way the section weaved around it. 9 was my personal favourite probably because it was bone dry and had a lovely log to hop over which felt good. 10 felt easier that the previous 9 which provided a confidence boost going into the next lap. Great location was especially nice as I live in coedpoeth so only 5 mins away, thanks to all the observers/organisers.

Ian Jones – AC Mono / Expert

Good to be back, after a hip replacement in June my surgeon,  a keen motorcyclist said to me you’ll ride better now I’ve levelled you out, so having never ridden this venue before I was keen not to miss this one, so luckily I entered a week before, just as well really as the entries closed a few days after with just over a hundred entries .

As I arrived at the wooded venue I was greeted by Geoff, had a quick chat and I parked by section 10, after a quick brief by Russ it was off to section 1, my riding partners Julian price and Tony Gush looked at the rock step and said it caused problems at the last trial, instant panic for me, but good rides from Jim Williams and Kev Ellis eased the worry a bit. I cleaned the step but had a couple of dabs on the tight turn after,.

Section 2 consisted of sharp drop and a cambered turn then over a few tree roots and out, my first clean ride, we somehow missed section 3 and after a nice ride round arrived at section 4 , a ride around some trees made a bit trickier by the overnight rain, Julian was unlucky here as he thinks a branch caught his kill switch lance and stalled his beta instantly, after a shaky first lap I was settling down with some good rides and some daft dabs but I was trying not to put pressure on myself being a bit rusty.

The short wait at the sections was nice to have a breather and chat, section 7 observed by Russ was a slippery, had a couple of cleans on this one but on the last lap being over confident ended up on the deck with a worried Russ running over to offer his help, sorry mate.

All in all a cracking trial in which I managed to clean each section at least once but ended up with a score of 22, no favourites but all good sensible sections, nice to see Colin Sager who I’ve known for 40 years getting into the spirit of things on a tidy Honda Tlm .

Many thanks to the Aquaduct team , land owners and Chris de burger for everything they do in these

Before we move into the usual stats, we have to close by once again say 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 still taking the time to support and the land owner as always.

Our next event is on December 5th at Plan Onn.

Top Places

Pre 65

• Expert – Chris Gascoigne, BSA (19); Pete Morris, Triumph (43)
• Intermediate -Carl Winstanley, BSA (10); Dave Lovell, Triumph (14);Paul Owen, BSA (14)
• Clubman -Steve Walker, Francis Barnett (6); Peter Cockins, BSA (13); Paul Brimelow, Cotton (14)
• Novice – Damien Morey, Cotton (20); Alan Dyson, BSA (22)

Twinshock

• Expert – Tony Gush, Majesty (20); Kev Ellis, SWM (20); Jim Williams, Honda (24)
• Intermediate – Tim Cuffin, Majesty (10); Dave Pengille (12); Tony Dillon, Fantic (13)
• Clubman – William Leigh, Yamaha (16); Dave Lycett, Honda (16); Steve Blackburn; Montesa (22)
• Novice – David Broderick, Bultaco (9); Steven Gardner, Yamaha (41); Joel Riley, Yamaha (58)

Air Cooled Mono

• Expert – Chris Garlich, Yamaha (6); Colin Sagar, Honda (11); Ian Jones, GasGas (22)
• Intermediate – Paul Jones, GasGas (10); Mike Jones, GasGas (17); Alec Roberts, Scorpa (23)
• Clubman – Andy Onions, Yamaha (20); Andy Steele, Yamaha (54)
• Novice – Mike Roberts; Fantic (19)

Modern Mono

• Expert – Dafydd Belton, Vertigo (27); Julian Price, Beta (36); Neil Brooks (38)
• Intermediate – Hayden Rainford, Montesa (11); Tony Mvkenzie, TRS (15); Zain Pugh-Hutchinson, TRS (16)
• Clubman – Oliver Cookson, Vertigo (12); George Jones, Beta (22); Dyfan Smith, Beta (22)
• Novice – James Onions, Scorpa (11); Kaan Pughe-Hutchinson, Beta (14); Logan Price, Beta (16)

Observer List

1 – Ewyn

2 – Dave

3 – Susan Caldwell

4 – Paul

5 – Roger Kenyon

6 – Mark

7 – Russ

8 – Carys Belton

9 – Suz

10 – Chris

Stats

Bikes Classes

• Pre 65 – 19
• Twinshock – 29
• Air Cooled Mono – 13
• Modern Mono – 46

Route Classes

• Expert – 19
• Intermediate – 39
• Clubman – 34
• Novice – 15

Bikes

Pre 65

• Ariel –
• BSA – 8
• Cotton – 2
• DOT – 1
• Francis Barnett – 1
• James – 1
• Triumph – 6

Twinshock

• Bultaco – 4
• Fantic – 7
• Honda – 7
• Kawasaki – 1
• Majesty – 4
• Montesa – 1
• Ossa – 1
• SWM – 1
• Yamaha – 3

Air Cooled Mono

• Fantic – 2
• Gas Gas – 4
• Honda – 2
• Scorpa – 1
• Yamaha – 4

Modern Mono

• Beta – 13
• Gas Gas – 6
• Montesa – 5
• Oset – 1
• Scorpa – 2
• Sherco – 4
• TRS – 7
• Vertigo – 4

A typically mild early October greeted the 65 riders who turned up at Pen Y Graig quarry ready for a great days spot. As usual, the sections had been marked out with 4 routes making perfect use of this venue. Generally dry under foot, the break down of bike classes was 19 Pre 65’s, 9 Twinshocks, 7 Air Cooled Monos and 30 Modern Monos.

Right from its inaugural competition, whilst being a club with its roots firmly in classic trials, it has always valued the modern class as a feeder class to catch peoples interest in the classic scene or as a more forgiving bike to ride for beginners coming into the sport. Therefore it was no surprise to see 9 beginners in the modern mono class including a number in the youth class.

The overall breakdown of route classes was 11 Experts, 30 Intermediates, 11 Clubman and 13 Novices.

Paul Owen – Pre 65 / Intermediate Route

Another great event with aqueduct classics, and the club set out another amazing trial. I was riding the old rigid frame bantam in the intermediate class as the expert class has gone even harder for me and I know my limits….ish haha . Here are my 3 favourite sections but all 10 were equally as good.

Section 2….With a gentle right hand climb onto a flat then a steep downhill slippy rooted off camber bank immediately into a sharp right turn and a tree to the left . But it was a fallen tree and was the same height as your handlebars. You had to be 100% committed to the drop in as there was only one line. Once around the corner it was a simple left, right between 2 trees and up the climb to the out gate. I drop two 1’s on lap 1 and 2 just because I had to pull the front around from hitting the tree but I cleaned it on lap 3 and 4. It was the trickiest section of the trial for me but it gave you a big grin if you cleaned it.

Section 4… with another straight forward uphill start to a platform then up onto a big rock that was so easy to lose the back end as it wanted to slide to the left and if it did it would kick you towards a tree. Once over the rock slab there was a slippy off camber that looked nothing but could catch you out on the gravelly footing to the exit gate.

Section 10…this was at the very bottom of the quarry near the entrance. Yet again another climb up the banking from the start and into a left hand turn back to the bottom, and a very tight right hander and up a 5ft climb over a rock then straight into the left and up again. You had to keep your momentum over the rock and turning. Then you followed the off camber banking to a rocky drop to the exit gate. It was a steady section but took 5 marks off me as I’m sure the gearbox locked up and stopped the bike dead as I was attacking the 2nd climb on my last lap. Luckily I stayed upright but bent my wrist back and hit the headstock really hard with my chest and it knocked me for six. I finally got the bike started after about 20 kicks and the bike seemed ok. But then I heard a clacking noise in 2nd and 3rd gear. Which is a common thing to break in a standard bsa bantam chocolate gearbox. Apart from that hiccup it was one of the best trials I have done even though I ended up in 6th on 11 points.

Plus the group of lads I was riding with made it very enjoyable with banta and laughter. Massive thanks to the organisers and observers for another great day.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Stephen Harding – Modern Mono / Novice Route

A big thanks to everyone involved in setting up another great trial at this brilliant venue, a massive thanks to all the observer’s without whom it wouldn’t be possible to have such a good day, so thanks to everyone  for  giving up there Sunday so we can do wot we love doing, cheers, and not forgetting Chris deburger for keeping us fed and watered, cracking bacon butties and a brew to start the day.
Here’s three of my favourite sections although it was hard to choose as they were all great.

Section 5 – Mark on watch, So you start off from the main track looking straight down a steep shale slope to where Mark is standing, into the section, back brake on and front on quite a bit and roll down to where Mark was then a bit of a tight right and in to a bit of a wooded area and some loose rocks then left across some more mossy rocks between some more trees and then a tight right past another tree and then fire it up another steep shale slope and out of the section and then up an even steeper slope back up on to the main track, a bit of everything on this section but I enjoyed it. 

Section 7 – Russ and Sue on watch. Another one of my favourites. You start off from the bank and drop down a bit of a shale bank and a bit if a right past a tree and on to a rocky base along and through a couple of more trees .Then a tight right up another shale bank and an even tighter right out of the section, I managed to clean this one every time so was made up.

Section 9 – Dave on watch. A great section this one. Again you start off from the main track straight into the section and up a steep shale slope and head towards a large tree and then a tight left round the tree and on to some good sized rocks keeping an eye on the big rocks then on to the top of the section through the flags and the a really long very steep slippery shale slope back down to the end of the section trying to avoid the tree to the left on the exit.

Overall I had a great day with some great riders, had some fun and good banta along the way.

Big thanks to all the aqueduct team for all the hard work that you put in so we can do what we love doing, cheers Can’t wait to see you all at the next one,..

• 

• 

• 

• 

Tony Williams – Modern Mono / Novice Route

Here we are back at Pen Y Graig, great weather which made all sections very grippy. We will start on the white route, Section one.

A short steep drop on to a slow left turn with loose rocks everywhere. Then tight left over a small bank, then into a dip before a steep climb to out flags. Everything going well until the last bit and who walks straight in front of me, the one and only Peter Edwards a yard before out flags! Had to hit the brakes, missed the out flag, but great observing – as he had seen what happened and did not down mark me! 

Later on I got Peter back, my Honda was running a bit rich, smoking a tad and he was in a queue behind me so I left engine running for a while……

Next section 7, a short one but over loose rock & marbles underneath you. Down short bank tight right, then a full lock exit to the outs. Got it right three times, but the last one eagle eyed Sue spotted me having a safety dab on exit!

Then on to section 8, up a bank, round a tree, drop down into dip, up steep bank right turn on & flat for ten yards. Then right turn in between two trees, very tight, then full lock left to out. I hated this one, first time got it all wrong missed the out flag, well flattened it. A 5 off from Ian.

An enjoyable trial, a tad easy in some sections, but the young ones loved it, gives them great confidence for the future. Well done Aqueduct. Many thanks.

• 

• 

• 

Steve Blaxall – Air Cooled Mono / Intermediate Route

I arrived at the farm yard in my van, wound the window down to get parking instructions off Mark Samuel. To be greeted with “Its your fault” and he pointed to the rip in his trousers. Apparently last minute alterations that morning to a section they were not happy with had caused a little accident. I wont repeat what I said, but we both had a laugh and the banter had started. It was the start of a good day. 

Here are  3 sections that tested me in different ways.

Section 2 – Ride into the section, slight uphill across to the right, then left after the markers and across the level ground. The hard bit is now in front of me. its a short steep decent with a right hand u turn at the bottom to come back up the bank. This was a tight turn. and what made it worse was being all closed in, the ground sloping away and a tree that would not let you past if your turn was not exactly right. Once out of there you rode out looking up to the left. The end cards were at the top of a steep climb. You had to ride between two close together trees before you got there. They were the type of trees that could jump out at you if you weren’t concentrating.  I made a complete  hash of this section first lap, taking lots of dabs going into and around that turn in the dip. I cleaned it once, which pleased me and a strategic dab in that turn for the 2 other laps. 5 marks lost in all.

Section 5 – Only 2 marks lost here. but it had the type of turn that I dont have much confidence in. The section starts down a long steep bank, followed by a fairly tight right in front of the observer. Now ride up the bank in front of you and turn left at the back of the tree, now its a shallow climb to the rear of another tree. Its now a tight turn left to go back down the bank switching from up hill to down hill in the turn. I was never settled doing this turn and basically winged it!. At the bottom of the hill it was a right turn back on yourself and a gentle climb to the end cards. I could quiet easily of dropped a lot more marks on this section. Definitely need to practice more on this type of turn.

Section 6 – A section we have seen before but now in reverse. A steep downhill left required a lot of attention and smoothness with the throttle as it merged into a steep uphill climb. At the top was an immediate right turn down a bank that was scattered with rocks. Remember to keep turning left through the trees then right – it was  tight  here and could easily catch you out then a straight run before turning right at the foot of a bank, aim for the end of the rocks, before turning right to cross the mud and up the short steep bank remembering to keep left, so as to make the end cards down the other side. Cleaned this on the first lap. Second lap coming down the rocky bank I must of freewheeled with the clutch in ,just using my brakes (not a good habit of mine ) by the time I let the clutch out i was already in the tight turns, this upset my balance and several dabs were now required. Not good. Third lap I excelled my self and made an effort to leave the clutch alone and I was clean right up to bank at the exit, only I was off line going up the bank, being too far over to the right. Not a problem I thought. I will correct it all the other side. I didn’t get that far. I used to much back brake at the top, stalled the engine, lost balance and fell down the bank, nearly making the exit cards but without the bike!. Think that’s a 5? Fourth lap was uneventful with a single dab. Clutch use seems to be hard wired in me. Need to force myself to use it less. 

Was happy with my ride, only one five which i think is a new 1st for me on greens. It was a great day, saw a few more faces returning again, the banter was flowing and it was great to see the youngsters on their 50’s & 80’s. We really are fortunate to be doing this.  Many thanks to all the crew and observers for taking the time and effort to make this all happen. Last but not least,  Chris De Burger for keeping us all fed. 

Before we move into the usual stats, we have to close by once again say 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 still taking the time to support and the land owner as always.

• 

• 

• 

Top Places

Pre 65

• Expert – No starters
• Intermediate – Peter Edwards, Drayton Bantam (1); Kevin Walker, Triumph (5); Mark Lucas, Drayton Villiers (8)
• Clubman – Graham Miller, Triumph (2); Paul Brimlow, Cotton (4); Steve Walker, Francis Barnett (13)
• Novice – Paul Beswick, BSA (0); Paul Jones, Triumph (16)

Twinshock

• Expert – Tony Gush, Majesty (12); Paul Sagar, Honda (19);Jim Williams, Honda (22)
• Intermediate – No finishers
• Clubman – Darren Riley, Bultaco (24)Joel Riley, Yamaha (17)
• Novice –

Air Cooled Mono

• Expert – No starters
• Intermediate – Shaun Mountford, Beta (0); Mike Jones, Fantic (2); Steve Blaxall, Fantic (21)
• Clubman – No starters
• Novice – Pete Rainsford, Yamaha (18)

Modern Mono

• Expert – Mark Blackwell, Beta (60); Mark Diggle, TRS (78);Declan Marsden, Gas Gas (81)
• Intermediate – Spence Bradley, TRS (0); Robin Foulkes, Sherco (5);Ken Williams, Montesa (7)
• Clubman – Gary Jones, Beta (6); Jeff Hughes, Beta (19); George Jones, Beta (24)
• Novice – Jay Hanmer, Oset (0); Logan Price, Beta (3);Glyn Roberts, Montesa (5)

Observer List

1 – Pail Cartwright

2 – Dave Lovell

3 – Chris

4 – Gordon

5 – Mark

6 – Steve Jones

7 – Russ / Sue

8 – Ian Jones

9 – Dave

10 – Elwyn

Stats

Bikes Classes

• Pre 65 – 19
• Twinshock – 9
• Air Cooled Mono – 7
• Modern Mono – 30

Route Classes

• Expert – 11
• Intermediate – 30
• Clubman – 11
• Novice – 13

Bikes

Pre 65

• BSA – 5
• Cotton – 1
• DOT – 1
• Drayton – 3
• Francis Barnett – 1
• James – 1
• Matchless – 1
• Triumph – 6

Twinshock

• Bultaco – 1
• Honda – 5
• Majesty – 1
• SWM – 1
• Yamaha – 1

Air Cooled Mono

• Beta – 1
• Fantic – 2
• Gas Gas – 1
• Honda – 1
• Scorpa – 1
• Yamaha – 1

Modern Mono

• Beta – 10
• Gas Gas – 5
• Honda – 1
• Montesa 3
• Oset – 1
• Scorpa – 1
• Sherco – 3
• TRS – 2
• Vertigo – 3

It had almost been two years since Aqueduct used the excellent Nant Ucha Farm as a venue, in fact the last time was November 2019 before the world entered its crazy phase! The venue has change quite a bit, with Dave and the family investing the time is clearing some great new areas and settling the land and streams after harsh rainfall had modified the woods in places. To highlight how good this practice venue is, whilst Mark and Russ were marking out, some riders were using the venue to get some practice in for the upcoming Scott Trial. Says a lot that really.

So back to the day. Good weather, hearty spirits as we get use to the new format and this being the 5th consecutive month that we were able to hold an event, a sense respectful competitive normality has been resumed.

A total of 69 riders rucked up and quickly filled a dry field with vans, cars and 4×4’s with a great selection of bikes filling the classes with 23 Pre 65’s, 13 Twinshocks, 7 AC Monos and 26 Modern Monos. Whilst not back to the pre Covid levels, it is great to see the attendance up in the high numbers. This support for the club is really appreciated.

From a class viewpoint, the numbers of Expert riders remains slightly lower at 7 in this class with 31 riders running as Intermediates, a healthy 20 at Clubman and 11 Beginners.

Paul Beswick – Pre 65 / Beginners

Battle of Britain memorial day dawned and another early doors start to get to Nant Ucha Farm, another venue I’d never been to before, for a Battle against Dabs. What a stunning venue Nant Ucha Farm is with so much wonderful terrain including STREAMS  I love stream sections and no mud even better. I was blessed. Now just because I love streams doesn’t mean I can ride them and I really had to dig deep today.

Three sections in particular highlighting my talent deficit areas.

Section 6 a simple meander along the bank of the stream then a drop into the stream and out along the far bank which was littered with awkward slippery rocks. There was a flipping great log across the right line which forced you onto the wrong line over those rocks making a sharp right turn as you exited the stream. Marks lost grrr. 

Next came Section 7 a run in over loose rolling rocks, which seemed to be different every lap, then into the stream and across up a steep bank strewn with rocks and tree roots. Again more Marks lost another grrrr.

The final section on my Nemesis list was Section 9 which was basically a ride through but, and here’s the BIG BUT, a VERY tight right turn trying to avoid some big rocks EXACTLY where you wanted to place your front wheel and strewn with rounded river boulders like ball bearings to catch you out AND THEY DID. More Marks lost grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. 

A very enjoyable trial smoothly organised and excellently laid out and executed. The only reason I lost those 5 marks was down to lack of talent on my part. Must do better. Reminds me of my school days  Looking forward to the next trial wherever it may be and another chance to shout at myself lol. Thanks to the Aqueduct classic team for giving me so much enjoyment along with all the observers who are the cherry on the cake. Thank you one and all. One last thing nice to see Geoff has finally found his purpose in life he he.

• 

• 

• 

• 

Rob Sloggett – Twinshock / Clubman

Last month I gave the Majesty a run after its being sat around for 12 months so this month was a chance to get the Bultaco out. The last time, the exhaust had exploded so this was the first outing with it all repacked, sealed up and running with the clubfoot. Both bokes have very different characteristics but I have to say that the Bultaco is my secret favourite!

A final leisurely ride on Clubman’s before jumping back up to inters next month and apart from the 6 silly dabs it has been really enjoyable riding the clubman route. It has allowed me to work on two areas of weakness I wanted to target but I am sure it will got to pot in October!

Sections 5, 6 and 7 make up my write up this month all for different reasons. Starting with Sec 5, I was really expecting this one to take more marks off of me. It had my weakness which is a cambered left hand turn and half way up the bank after the turn you hit a root step which if you got it wrong would either bring you to a stop on the front wheel or spin out the rear so a good confident attack was needed. Knowing that if I struggled on the camber I would be be late on the power this had all of the markings of a mark taker. A single dab on the first lap as a steady after the step following a good secure turn on the camber set my head up for three following cleans. Could have been much worse if I let it get to me.

Section 6, at the far end of the venue was a corker. Hearing the green route was a bit of a tasty one, I was happy that I was on clubman’s but even looking at the scores, with this route taking an average 3 marks per rider it had the potential to trip you up. A simple entry into the section led you towards a rock slab with a left to right camber and triangular in shape o you were not hitting it square. The wrong speed or line, especially for the early riders were guaranteed to cause the rear to spin or slide away. Once again a single dab on the first lap built my confidence for other 3 laps to run as cleans. The rest of the section in the early laps had enough loose rocks to tickle the front wheel if you you not careful and I suspect a few marks were lost on the first few laps as a result of these.

Section 7 was an interesting one as it presented multiple routes on the first element. As you came into the section you dropped into the stream the had a sweeping left turn within the banks of the stream to then turn right and up a bank. You could either run in the centre of the stream bed with a more acute line to the bank or run your front wheel around the bank edge in front of you, closing the initial turn but giving you a straighter line at the bank. I have never really adopted this technique so thought the event was a good chance to practice that line and technique. Once again a single dab from a loose rock that caught me out and 3 further cleans set me up nicely for the day. What was interesting about this section when looking at the results was that the average clubman loss was 3.8 but specifically in the Modern Mono’s it was 5.4 so something about it did not favour the modern bikes over the older steeds?

All in all a fantastic days competition with the observers, as always being thanked on the last lap for taking their time out.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Our next event is due to be held on Sunday 10th October where we will be returning to Pen Y Graig Quarry.

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 to make this happen, the observers for still taking the time to support and the land owner as always.

Top Places

Pre 65

• Expert – None
• Intermediate – Keith Gardner, BSA (6); Keith Wells, BSA (10); Mark Newman, BSA (12)
• Clubman – Steve Walker, Francis Barnett (3); Keith Lloyd, BSA (26); Henry Lewis, Triumph (40)
• Novice – Paul Beswick, BSA (5); Kevin O’Toole, AJS (37)

Twinshock

• Expert – Jim Williams, Honda (33); Jack Lycett, Honda (41); Steve Williams, Honda (78)
• Intermediate – Jed Bownes, Fantic (50); Alex Barrie, Honda (69)
• Clubman – Rob Sloggett, Bultaco (6); Owain Charles, Majesty (7); Darren Riley, Bultaco (10)
• Novice – Alan Hochkiss, Majesty (27); Joel Riley, Yamaha (52)

Air Cooled Mono

• Expert – Terry Musgrave, Aprilia (58)
• Intermediate – David Matthews, Yamaha (12); Paul Cartwright; Gas Gas (22); James Mylett, Honda (24)
• Clubman – None
• Novice – None

Modern Mono

• Expert – Mark Diggle, TRS (53)
• Intermediate – Tony McKenzie, TRS (5); Ade Robinson, Gas Gas (8); Ad Gray, Gas Gas (11)
• Clubman – Ken Williams, Beta (8); Gary Jones; Beta (10); Martin Howard, Beta (10)
• Novice – George Jones, Beta (9); Steve Harding, Gas Gas (21); Simon Davies, Sherco (26)

Observer List

1 – Terry

2 – Russ

3 – Suz

4 – Mark

5 – Dave

6 – Gordon

7 – Paul

8 – Izzy

9 – John

10 – Annette

Stats

Bikes Classes

• Pre 65 – 23
• Twinshock – 13
• Air Cooled Mono – 7
• Modern Mono – 26

Route Classes

• Expert – 7
• Intermediate – 31
• Clubman – 20
• Novice – 11

Bikes

Pre 65

• AJS – 1
• BSA – 9
• DOT – 1
• Francis Barnett – 1
• James – 1
• Matchless – 1
• Triumph – 7
• Villiers – 2

Twinshock

• Bultaco – 3
• Fantic – 2
• Honda – 4
• Majesty – 2
• Ossa – 1
• Yamaha – 1

Air Cooled Mono

• Aprilia – 2
• Fantic – 2
• Gas Gas – 2
• Honda – 2
• Yamaha – 1

Air Cooled Mono

• Beta – 8
• Gas Gas – 6
• Honda / Montesa – 4
• Sherco – 3
• TRS – 4
• Vertigo – 1