Sunday, January 17, 2016

FIM Trials - Duluth, MN - 06/05/2005

We 3 drove up to spectate, a wet, cool day down here in southern MN and conditions were not that much different up on Lake Superior.  The Trials event was held at Spirit Mountain Ski Resort, the same place that Andy's Very Boring Rally is held.  This is a MN rally that I've not attended yet but will get another chance in 2018.

I have seen some of the indoor "trick" riding but I was astounded with what these talented riders were accomplishing on ground many of us would have been unable to stand on let alone ride over.  Mossy, wet rocks and mud.......challenging enough on the level.



 There were quite a few new and vintage, non-competitive bikes on the grounds being used as transport between sections by the spectators.


 Parking spots......






 We had to either walk between sections .....


or ride the chair lift.  As so often happens along Lake Superior, fog was present and thick in places.


 They were riding and able to use those upper gears in their transmissions.












This was the talented young Spanish woman.....with a vocabulary that put maritime laborers to shame once she was nailed with a couple of points here for dabbing.  It was probably OK, I doubt the judge on this one knew the language.





10 comments:

  1. Incredible skills in the videos I've watched of this kind of trials riding....I just keep imagining though, doing a faceplant in such terrain...yikes.

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    1. Dom, growing up with our 'trail bikes' in the woods and hills, we just dabbled with this sort of thing; I was more interested in the challenge of going slow, my brother early on got interested in going fast (motocross). I fell enough but wasn't even close to riding in the places these pros were going.

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  2. I'm always impressed with the skills trial riders have. Incredible!

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    1. Richard, even being there I was amazed at what they weren't afraid of. There were obstacles where I told myself, "OK, I can see how that might work" but there were 10 times that many where I was in disbelief at not only their attempting but conquering.

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  3. Brings me back to the days when I rode vintage trials - nowhere near this level of course. To any of you readers who have an opportunity to try it I say, go for it. You'll have a blast.

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    1. David, we've got a fairly active MN group that holds events in a few places here in the state. I took the TW to the area nearest our home and used my little 'road' bike to access a few of the sections, not even foolish enough to really try anything. Old and young, it was fun seeing so many out having amateur fun, he's and she's. A couple of the guys in our VJMC club have the old examples. My uncle on the farm bought a Suzuki Trials bike, somehow strapped a big plank on the back and used it to chase cows and fix fences. Local dealer just about gave it away because no one else wanted it at the time. Worked great for unc because it was very forgiving re: shifting and clutch work. I remember my other young farming peers joking about the old timers being able to get all the way through town in their straight six pickups...using only third gear.

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  4. Makes you feel like you are not taking enough chances, doesn't it? There's a Red Bull channel on our Apple TV where you can watch extreme motocross like this. It simply boggles the mind.

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    1. David, I don't know about the chances part...There were places we had trouble standing, just watching the skills displayed.

      I did a very poor job of photography and with the videos of that day; wish I could go back and do it again. Better camera now and I hope a slightly better eye.

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  5. Yup - that looked a little too intense for me but looks like it was fun to watch!

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    1. I've been very proud of myself for making it through deep sand, the equivalent of training wheels for these people. They can even pause long enough to plan rather than react to where they're going next. Just impressive!

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