Less talking, more action!
By John Dickinson on 25th Jan 07
It's not so much global warming that we should be concerned about it is a plain lack of facilities...
EVERYONE is talking about Global Warming - at least that is what the media is telling us. Translated, this means that the media is talking about Global Warming. Note the Capital Letters attached in order to drive the point home that THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT.
Personally, I don't actually know a single person who is talking or has talked seriously about Global Warming, I guess we are all too busy doing what we do to contribute to all the hot air being spouted about all the hot air.
But that does not mean that all this talking is going to go away. There are far too many political points to be fought for. There isn't a single MP that hasn't hitched his/ her horse to this runaway carriage. In reality, not a single one of them will do a single thing to stop Global Warming, even if it exists. And even assuming it exists - I really have no idea, nor has 99.9 per cent of the population - is it really in our power to do anything about it? Will switching to a ten watt bulb in your garage - so that in the gloom you fall down the pit, or stand on something really sharp, or poke yourself in the eye - really stop the Antarctic glaciers melting?
Let's be honest, has a single car journey or a single holiday flight been cancelled because of Global Warming? Your chorus of ‘No' is the simple truth.
When the kids returned to school after Christmas, my 30-minute run to work stretched immediately to its 50-minute norm, thanks to all the mums out on the school run. Mums clearly have no interest whatsoever in Global Warming.
Talk? As much as you can stand to listen to. Action? Nothing to be seen, the roads are every bit as clogged with traffic as before we were told that continuing to drive would result in a painful and horrible death for mankind.
Unfortunately we, as in off-road sport, are every bit as guilty concerning lack of action - and I don't mean about bloody global warming.
The trade is concerned about a lack of new bike sales and from the manufacturers down through the importers, dealers, riders, clubs - and press - the question is, what are we doing about it? Very little is the overall answer.
I'm not talking about selling bikes to the converted, with manufacturers squabbling about a larger or smaller slice of the same old cake, I mean what are we actually doing about getting some NEW blood into the sport? What does every single prospective purchaser of an off-road bike want to know when he enters a dealer's showroom. ''Where can I ride it?''
And how many dealers can hold up their hands and point out exactly where little Johnny can zip off to to ride his Auto 50 racer and his dad the shiny new trials bike - because he's too scared to race! - that they have just purchased.
The most frequently asked question that we at T+MX receive starts with: ''Where can I ride my bike?''
OK, we can help in some cases, thanks to the number of privately run motocross practise tracks dotted around the country, although it is much more difficult for trials. Sure, plenty of us have somewhere where we go - but how many are strictly legal, at least legal enough for us to print them or pass on details by word of mouth? Very few, is the answer.
We have been talking about it for years, if a dealer could answer that all-important question with a bright: ''Yes, there's a cracking off-road facility not five miles from here, open five days a week at £20 a time,'' or even, ''Open ONE day a week at £20 a time,'' the chances of a new sale would rocket. I have run this one past several people in the ‘trade' in the past couple of weeks. Everyone agrees, nodding sagely that that is exactly what we need, before holding their hands up and saying resignedly: ''But what can you do?''
The huge bright spot is that you can not kill the urge to ride a motorcycle, no matter how much legislation is piled on, no matter how many ‘Green' taxes unfairly applied, no matter how much countryside is denied us.
The ultimate answer is in our own hands and the need for purpose-built, professionally run, facilities for all off-road disciplines: trials, motocross, enduro, even just plain old riding for fun on the new breed of Chinese-sourced ‘Pit' and ‘Trail' bikes has never been greater...