I've Scot' Six Days off work
By TMX Archives on 6th May 09
My fellow work colleagues think I'm on a jolly for Six Days, but I can promise you I'm hard at work (ha, ha, ha)... AS Bank Holidays, Sod's Law and production schedules dictate, this jolly column had to be written last week, if you see what I mean, before I even headed north to Scotland for this year's Scottish Six Days Trial which will be well underway by the time you read this - and depending on how long it takes you to descend to my page five words it may even be over...
I've had many trips to Scotland over the years for reasons many and various and for some reason have had plenty of incidents along the way. Like the time myself and Mannix were heading for the Irish ferries at Stranraer with Chris Myers (in Chris's van) and he was pulled by the plod for speeding, round about Glenluce. So Mannix and I sat in the van pulling faces at Chris until he cracked and his new pal the copper got all red in the face and spluttered, "Oh, so you think it's funny do you sonny!” And threw the book at him.
Then, Mick Wren (before his ACU committee days, I hasten to add) and I were heading to Loch Lomond in his car (do you see a pattern forming here?) with bikes on trailer and Mick is telling me a tale of how he suffered a trailer puncture exactly a year before just about...as the trailer suddenly veered off the road with - and you couldn't make it up - a puncture. At least Mick had a spare wheel, the previous year he had fixed the flat by inserting a 21” front tube. Some trick on a 10” mini wheel!
Early one Sunday morning a gang of us were belting north to a trial at Newcastleton in the Scottish Borders in the famous Birkett Transit when we started seeing strange debris scattered along the road. Cassette tapes (yes, it was that long ago) pens, box of tissues, bottle of pop, bag of sweets, and it was just registering that this was the kind of detritus that you have messing-up the inside of your car (my car anyway) when rounding a sharp corner we came across a souped-up Escort Mk1, all chequered-tape and rallye stripes - on its side in the middle of the road. And a couple of likely lads were sheepishly scrabbling to get out of the side window. They looked OK, except for the odd dribble of blood and banged head, so we carefully picked our way round the wreckage and carried on our merry way. It was obviously not a good omen because due to some strange inter-clan feud that was going-on in Scottish trials at the time, all of us Sassenachs apart from Birkett were excluded from the results. It was all a bit cloak and dagger - to do with Championship points we were led to believe, and us interlopers were spoiling someone's chances. I should have felt flattered that someone actually thought that my finishing position would have a bearing on an eventual championship!
Whatever, I now have over 30 years experience hammering in and out of Scotland but all good things come to an end and I am sorry to say I got clicked speeding a bit up Glencoe last year and I would just like to say, in case any Scottish Polis are reading this, I have subsequently mended my ways. So if you find yourself trundling along nice and steady on the way back from Scotland - or from anywhere else for that matter - you know who's up front - and why!
Enough Scottish tales for now...
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AND now for something completely different. You can read on page 4 (or 5 - I don't know) and I hope you will, about a Mid-Wales Off-Road forum that purports to tackle ‘illegal' off-road riding, which on the face of it is a good and worthy thing but, like TRF spokesperson Mark Williams, whom I invited to pass comment on the issued press release, I'm somewhat concerned about the wording which to me at least tends to suggest that ALL off-road riding is illegal!
One quote - from a policeman - is "The law has become very complicated, so the advice has to be ‘if in any doubt about it - don't.' Nice and positive, not. Basically, don't go green-laning because you will be prosecuted. It appears to me to be a deliberate attempt to lump trail-riders, who in the main are an incredibly law-abiding bunch, especially TRF members, in with the clowns who just rip around everywhere on their illegal machines. And members of the public are encouraged to report riders' registration numbers - oh how the vociferous anti-motorcyclist fanatics will play this card.
Nowhere in the release is there any encouragement to riders to go out and enjoy riding on legal unmade roads - as they are perfectly entitled to do. And legal trail riders, as Mark Williams points out, contribute significantly (or at least they did when they were allowed) to the local economy.
Sounds like a good idea that's lost its way...