FOLKESTONE
TRIALS CLUB|
|
FOLKESTONE
TRIALS CLUBFor Sale
250 Sherco
First Reg'd 2002, very reliable
£800
Phone Keith (Jim) Mason for more details on 01303 489650
(To view in Capel le Ferne,Nr Folkestone)
Newsletters
Newsletter April 2012
Introduction
Wow, I don’t know about welcome to spring, more like summer now! March encompassed two excellent trials, one being our own at Great Dowles, more in Ozzies Obs, and the Barham Trial which was all the better for not being under two foot of snow!!
A warm welcome to four new members, Vernon Bloomfield, Colin Wimble, Simon Griffin and Kevin Friend. Hope to see you all out and about at upcoming trials.
An apology from myself as I was asked to put the date of the social meeting in last months newsletter to try and generate a larger turnout, which I believe it did, unfortunately I completely forgot about it. Doh! I will be at the next one, hopefully.
Finally I would like to hear from anybody who would be interested in hiring a minibus to the World Trials round at Nord Vue, Penrith. I have unashamedly plagiarised a piece from the ACU newsletter below to give a brief overview and links.
World Trials British Round
Exciting news for trials fans as the World
Trials Championship returns to Nord Vue, Penrith, Cumbria at the end of July,
for those that came in 2009 you will know how good this compact venue is, with
all the sections just minutes from the start stage, work has already begun on
the sections Graham Jarvis will pit his section building skills against the best
trials riders in the world and with great spectator viewing you won’t miss the
action of your favourite stars. The venue offers good car parking and camping
areas including a campsite bar. The organising team are arranging a host of
other activities starting on the 27th July (see website for details). The venue
is only minutes from the M6, JNC 41, Penrith.
The title sponsorship is shared this year between the Lloyd Motor Group based in
Carlisle and Sheffield based TRC Truck Rental. Event director’s John Kerwin and
Graham Jarvis promise an improved trial over 2009 as the venue matures, the
trade village will be bigger and the early support from the trade has been
excellent with most of the major importers taking stands or sections.
Tickets are on sale now at a special discounted price go to
http://www.britishtrialgp.com
Recent Results
Great Dowles Combine, Folkestone Trials Club, 11th March. See Ozzies Obs and Eds Note!!!
Would just like to thank all the observers for the trial, your time is truly appreciated.
Martin Harrison, Gary Finch, Dave Mills, Jen Heathcote, Pat Mason, Malcolm Anderson, Pete Walsh , Dave Sawyer, Jeff Williams and Dee Southern.
Nailbourne Non Expert, Barham MCC, 18th March
On the novice route Pete Southern and Jim Mason tied on 36, myself on 40, followed closely by Dave Fagg on 41 and Kevin Friend on 59. Welcome ride back from Gary Finch who scored 37 but not sure which route he rode on his comeback. Good ride whatever! Dave Mills and Marc DiAmaco rode intermediate for 40 and 47 respectively. Well done to all.
Upcoming Dates
EKCT Trial, Tenterden MCC, Maywood Farm, Woodchurch, Sunday 8th April
Heel Farm Trial, Sittingbourne MCC, Heel Farm, Stalisfield, Sunday 15th April
Weald Non Expert, Tenterden MCC, Clay Hill, Tenterden, Sunday 22nd April
Folkestone Trials Club, Social Meeting, Black Horse, Tuesday 24th April 7.30
Ozzies Obs
Another month has flown by. Gorgeous George has just won the Bradford By Election and we’ve got a fuel shortage and there is now VAT on a hot Pasty. I do wonder whether I am still in the real world or some parallel universe sometimes. Still it could be worse I could be that unfortunate student who got 56 days porridge for having a rant on twitter about a footballer. Lucky that same Judge doesn’t have access to my front room when I have a rant at something on the box otherwise I think he would banish me to planet Zog forever . I do think we are going PC mad and are losing sight of our heritage for free speech!!! Or perhaps that was all a myth.
Anyway thanks to Steve for an excellent March newsletter. No I don’t want the Editors job back Steve your doing just fine. Just had some copy last month for folk that missed the AGM.
Firstly many thanks to all who helped set out our Great Dowles Trial, Observed or helped in anyway. With out you the trial would not take place so a big thank you. Also a big pat on the back to Graham and Debs who set out a very good trial. Gramham must be one of the few CofC ‘s who has taken 15 Marks from Elite rider Ben Morphett. The results show that Matt Strank won it on 39 although Kevin Morphett would of won it on 13 but for being a late entry. Moral enter early you can always ring up and cancel your entry for whatever reason under the EKTC rules. Darren Bayfield was top Folkestone rider on the Inter route on 51. Given some of those big climbs his was brave ride on a 125. Not far behind was a new member or should I say an old member making a welcome return Vernon Bloomfield on 55. Jon Hunt 75 and Mark D’Amico retired with a broken front brake pipe.
On the reds Pete Southern showed every one a clean pair of heels on 7 good rides from Dave Fagg 14 and Gavin Horley 24. Nigel Hales still improving after moving up from the Yellow route 42 and me on 63 suffering a bit from Shingles and a cold ah! And a good start of 5553. Jim Mason retired. Another late entry Terry Lloyd rode brilliantly for 20 must be his best ride to date even beating son Joe on 35. Jon Dent had a big smile on his face every time I saw him losing 17 on the yellow route. But the ride of the Day must go to Vince Gooding on 3. How did he do that! It was only a year ago he was on the Yellow route at this same trial.
We had a good social at the Black Horse on the 27th March I think there were about a dozen members . We had a short committee meeting before hand where we agreed to
fund up Ben Morphett’s SSDT trial entry. So as Folkestone are sponsoring Ben good luck for this year we will all be rooting for you. Ben does seriously appreciate our support and has asked me to thank the club. Ben will be giving members a trials tuition day at some stage during the year at date to be arranged. Otherwise it was agreed to run an open club trial with two or three easy routes at Stowting Woods on the 12th August. under the AMCA banner, We will be inviting folk on a have a go basis and we will also be inviting local clubs to join in. More details next month.
Finally we have some new members who have recently joined the club. I will try to make sure you get a copy of this newsletter via email in case you don’t get the TSM.
Chris
Eds Note. Dear Christopher, I do believe that I did turn up for our own trial, and even though I was a late entry, I feel taking the Pete Walsh approach to not giving out late entry results, especially as it was probably my best ride to date, is not best policy!!!!
Anyway folks, that’s all for this newsletter, hope to see you all at the various trials this month and please remember this is your newsletter so send in any articles that you would like published. (As long as they are factually correct[Chris!])
Newsletter March 2012
Introduction
Welcome everybody to spring! Two trials this month which either were cancelled or maybe should have been cancelled. For those who decided the Barham trial would be a good idea when they had to dig their cars out of the snow just to get there ; you must be mad. And yes I was one of those ; what was I thinking. But saying that, if it was to snow again, I’ve had some valuable practice!! Stand out ride on the day had to be Strank Senior, made it look effortless on a thirty year old bike. Also all those who finished. More from Chairman Chris later on that one.
In fact most of this newsletter has been written by Chris ; do want the newsletter back Mr Osmond??
This month we have a new contributor in Ben Morphett. I would like to thank him for taking the time out to write an informative piece, thanks Ben.
Hope you all have a good month and see you all (?) at the Folkestone Trial on 11th.
Recent Results
5th February 2012 Walker Memorial Trial at Wrinstead Court Farm………Cancelled
12th February 2012 Phil Hughes Combine at Grove House Farm………..See Ozzies Obs
Upcoming Dates
Great Dowles Combine, Folkestone Trials Club, 11th March
Nailbourne Non Expert, Barham MCC, 18th March
Richard Bartlett Trial, Gravesend Eagles, 25th March
Folkestone Trials Club, Social Meeting, Black Horse, 27th March 7.30
Bens’ Blog
Ben Morphett – My 2012 Winter
First of all I would like to thank Folkestone MCC for accepting me into their club with open arms and for the amount of help you’ve given me it really is appreciated! Without people like the Folkestone club I would not be able to carry on doing what I do at the level I compete at without the help and support especially through these tough times and with fuel costs being so expensive! Everything helps!
Over the winter period I did take a little bit of off time through December after a hectic year with not a lot of breaks in it, I had a nice relaxing week in Spain with my mate in his villa and with my girlfriend what was a nice and chilled week for me and also a chance to get the shorts and t-shirt on again. After the New Year through January I started my training again with gym, running etc. It was a brilliant start to the year with my charity fundraising trial held by such an enthusiastic club it was great to see how many people turned up, and it definitely was a brilliant event! So thanks again to everyone involved and everyone who turned up and to the people who made donations, I can’t explain how much I appreciate it, I am very grateful!
Through January with not many events being held, its given me a chance to get practising the no-stop rule! I actually think is a positive move, it shouldn’t really effect the south east events as thinking back to past trials and sections definitely 99% of them I've ridden in would make good no-stop sections with no alterations needed, there is a way of riding no-stop and I really enjoy riding it! In the British championship being one of the 9 or 10 people that ride in the Championship class over the past 2 years with many times there only being 4 of us riding the day before on the practise lap which I think is pathetic, how can anyone say that having a solid entry of 7-8 people competing to be best in Britain is a competitive and strong championship, its not that’s fact! As for British championship going no-stop I could count at least 20 people who will more than likely put their name forward for riding in the championship class this year! That’s purely due to the rule change and rather than the same top 2 or 3 people that ride their bikes full time, it will level the playing field for other decent well known riders who haven’t got the chance to ride their bike full time with a chance of achieving a good result. At the end of the day what ever rules being run the cream will always rise to the top so as for making trials a competitive sport again in this country its definitely a positive move!
February
I've finally managed to get myself a van, now being able to afford the insurance I can now take myself training during the week on days what im not working which is a bonus! Also I've started up trials training days! A bit of information one full day is £120. your allowed up to 6 riders per day, obviously the less riders you have the more you will gain from the day but the more expensive it will cost per person, however if you have the full 6 people it works out at £20 per person what is the basic cost for a trial entry, I will assess the way you ride, coach you on the things you will benefit from the most, teach you techniques for the level you ride at which will help in many situations and also give you coaching points for you to progress onto in the future. A few Folkestone members have already had training days with me and I'm sure they will tell you how much they’ve benefited from it. I'm very open about the day, you decide when you would like the day to begin and the day will end when you are satisfied that you’ve had enough, I haven’t done any set times as I understand that many different people have different levels of bike fitness. If you’re interested in a training day or if there is any more information you would like to know my number is 07891625438!
Wallace Cup Trial
Having ridden in this event the past two years and won it both times I was looking forward to a good start again to my national calendar. I started the day off quite well cleaning all of the early hazards until I got to Seymour’s arena, I completely lost my front wheel off of some rocks in the second section and ended up over the handle bars and while cursing myself in frustration I realised I had picked up a puncture as well, from then on I never really felt comfortable throughout the rest of the day knowing it was damage limitation, and after another really slack 2 also in Seymour’s I managed to stay clean until the last group of sections where I lost a further 4 marks what really was not good, I cant put my finger on what went wrong for me, I've been training really well and felt really good leading up to the event! It was just a bad day where I never really settled in, as I've learnt over the years now that day is over I've accepted it, learnt from it and now I'm looking forward to the forth coming events where I'm looking to achieve some decent results!
Its great to be a part of Folkestone MCC and I'm looking forward to a very bright future with the club!
Many Thanks. Yours in Sport Ben Morphett
Ozzies Obs
Have included my AGM report in this newsletter for those who missed the AGM. Also included are the draft minutes of the AGM as to what happened .
Sorry I missed the Dinner and Prize giving on the 24th February Man Flu or something similar ) . It sounds like it was a success. Well done to all you prize-winners who were
Graham Kemp best Expert
Marc DiAmico best Intermediate
Dave Fagg best Novice
Dave Mills best Over 40 Intermediate
Pete Southern best Over 40 Novice
Nigel Hales most improved rider
Jon Dent Best Endeavour
Thanks to Dee for organising everything and our Guest of Honour Ben Morphett for presenting the Trophies. I also understand Ben received a cheque for £1150 being the proceeds of the fund raising new year trial. Well done every one involved.
Attended the Barham combine on the 12th February. After a lot of snow I was surprised to see the Trial was still going ahead. The conditions were at best treacherous and at worse dangerous. I decided after a get off at section 2 and being a wussy that I was off back home before I received an intensive course in pain. Well done if that's the right term to those who stayed. I understand Dave Fagg took 45 minutes to get back fro the bottom of a slope he was plucky enough to attempt to go down. Moral : when its tricky going down its usually trickier going back up. Well done to Mark D'Amico Jon Hunt and Dave Mills for completing the trial on the blue route no results because just to finish was a result and to give scores takes away from the determination of these three riders. And from what I heard the marking was a bit shall we say interesting!
There is a committee meeting at 7.30pm before the social on the 27th March. Please do come all invited. Don't forget our Combine Trial on the 11th March. No working party needed as Graham can cope with this one as he knows the land like the back of his hand.
Chris
It’s that time of the year again, AGM time.
What is an AGM? Wikipedia, the internet encyclopedia states:-
An annual general meeting (commonly abbreviated as AGM, also known as the annual meeting) is a meeting that official bodies, and associations involving the public (including companies with shareholders), are often required by law (or the constitution, charter, by-laws etc. governing the body (in our case both company law and the ACU rules) to hold. An AGM is held every year to elect the board of directors and inform their members of previous and future activities. It is an opportunity for the shareholders and partners to receive copies of the company's accounts as well as reviewing fiscal information for the past year and asking any questions regarding the directions the business (in this case FTC) will take in the future.
With this formality in mind, I will attempt to deal with these matters. Last year I said it was steady as she goes. Well its much the same for this report and I would be concerned if it were otherwise.
Membership is fairly constant at about 35. I won’t pre-empt our Treasurers report other than we seek only to make a modest profit or surplus of income over expenditure with most monies being ploughed back into the Club as expenses, Company House and accountant’s fees etc or items purchsesd for the Club’s benefit; such mundane items as staplers, which seem to expire with great regularity, marker cards and riding numbers, etc.
We are an active Club with one of the biggest rider numbers in local combine trials. We ran 4 trials during the 2011 calender year, the first being our Great Dowles Combine Trial held on 13th March. We had 45 riders and it was won by Andy Brush. The second was our Good Friday Trial, held over from January because of the weather, which took place on 22nd April at China Farm. 45 entered and the trial raised £800 for Ben Morphett, who duly obliged by winning it without loss. The third was The Dave Weller Memorial Trial held at Stowting Woods on 19th June with a slightly lower entry of 48 riders than usual. Jamie Webster emerged the winner. Our fourth Trial was the Chunnel Non Expert, again held at Stowting Woods on 20th June. There were 63 competitors and this was won by Gary Roberts. All in all, there were no particular problems and all ran sucessfully. Many thanks to all the riders, officials and helpers who make our trials so successful and well supported.
In October quite a few members renewed their Trials Clerk Of the Course and Stewards tickets. Keith Mason reluctantly retired having decided that last year’s Chunnel Non Expert was his last as a Clerk of the Course. I would like to take this opportunity to thank him for his many years of acting as a Clerk of Course for this Club and as the Combine Steward and for his reports.
Our embryonic Enduro section continues to grow. Our riders attended events in Wales Dorset, Hampshire and Surrey and locally. We now have 5 riders competing regularly. I hope that we can shortly run our own Enduro event, as I managed to obtain my Enduro C of C course last November after 2 years of trying to get on a course.
Our membership of the East Kent Combine allows our riders to compete in combine events locally. This year FTC hosts the annual awards at our Great Dowles Trial on 11th March 2012. I am pleased to say that FTC has won the A. Critoph Cup for observers, due in no small part to the ever presence of Pat Mason & Dee Southern. Well done girls and any one else who observed. Also well done to our own Dashing Dave Mills who won the over 40’s Intermediate Cup.
We are also members of the South Eastern Trials Combine. This combine meets twice yearly at Blindly Heath Surrey. Jon Hunt , Steve Rankin and myself usually attend. This last year we voted to introduce the Non stop Rule and we also supported a similar rule change in the local combine. It appears that the rule change has been controversial and has not been well received by many. The rule is, in simple terms, if you stop, i.e. your front wheel stops or, to put it another way, ceases forward travel, you will be penalised as a failure, i.e. given a 5. We have put an item in the AGM for discussion on this topic, so I will leave it there for the moment.
Many of our members ride in the South Eastern Centre Trials Championship. Well done to all those competing. The standard is usually harder than the local combine. For the record, Graham Kemp finished 6th in the Over 40 Cup for Inter riders, Dave Mills 5th and Pete Southern 6th in the Over 50 Red Route Cup. I think our riders’ attendances in these events has fallen, in part probably due to the higher travel costs together with the increased severity of these trials. This is cetainly the case with the Intermediate riders, who find the novice route too easy and the Intermediate too hard, often being as hard or harder than our combine Expert routes. We tried to Introduce a 50-50 route last year with a three event format. To say we were underwhelmed would not be an over statement. We shall not be attempting to run such a championship again, unless considerable support is given in advance by the riders. This is a shame, as I firmly believe in such a format, which the two most successful trials clubs in the South East use, as does the North Kent Combine. Why do we not? Answers on a post card or should that be twitter or facebook?
Which brings me nicely on to the question where are we going? In my report in 2011, I suggested the Club should consider the purchase of a piece of land for club members to practise and run trials. Unfortunately, I have been unable to find a piece of land easily. However, I am in the process with others of purchasing Ovendens’ pit at Harbledown. This will make Harbledown self sufficient, as we have to rely on the generosity of China Farm for parking and access. I propose in 2012 to redouble our efforts to find a suitable piece of land for the Club’s use.
In addition I am hoping the Club can run an enduro event. This will have the benefit of providing another revenue stream and widening the base of riding members, as there seems little in the way of East Kent enduro events for local riders.
Another consideration for debate at the AGM is our joining the AMCA - more of that later in the meeting. Steve Rankin is in the process of reviewing our Web site and there will be an update in early 2012. Included in that will be perhaps consideration with the EKTC and or clubs of a twitter or facebook involvement. Ideas welcome.
It would not be right to end without saying a big Thank You to Jon Hunt for balancing the books and paying the bills. It’s a thankless task which, bearing in mind we are now a limited company, is also a stautory duty. Jon puts a lot into this Club and deserves our thanks.
Another deserving and similar thanks is due to our Trials Secretary, Steve Rankin, who I hope despite his recent comeback never becomes a professional rock star as we would lose someone who runs our web site and posts the results of our trials next day, something that no other local combine club can do. Well done Steve. You are a star!
Many thanks also to Graham & Debbie Kemp for their continued support in setting out and runniing our trials events. Debbie even broke her wrist whilst riding the sections when setting out our New Year Trial. Hopefully Debbie is now on the mend and will be seen riding soon.
Otherwise, I would like to thank the members for their continued support and help and look forward to another successful year. We have an Annual Dinner and Prize giving 24th February when our newest member and Guest of Honour Ben Morphett will be presenting the Trophies, so be there, as there will be the surprise trophies as well.
Draft Minutes of the Folkestone Motorcycle Club AGM
held on 31st January 2012, 7.30 p.m. at the Black Horse Pub,
Monks Horton. Kent
Members Present: -
Chris Osmond, Chairman, (CO)
Jon Hunt (JH)
Gavin Horley
Dave Fagg
Terry Lloyd
Peter Southern
Denise Southern
Cliff Jarvis
Ann Jarvis
Keith Mason
Pat Mason
Steve Rankin (SR)
Steve Line
The Chairman opened the meeting and thanked those present for attending.
Meeting Closed 20.55
Well that’s all for this month. Blimey Chris that was a whopper!!
Please send in any results, info or anything of interest for next months cliffhanger!!
Newsletter February 2012
Introduction
Well the new trials year is well under way with the Folkestone New Year trial, the GEST Trial, the Sidcup Sixty and the Dunlop all taking place in January. It appears that the Dunlop is not everybody’s cup of tea. But with the non stop rule coming into effect this year, I personally felt it was a much more ‘user friendly’ trial, the results reflecting that. It also proves a point about the new rule when the Elite riders are first to finish!!!! By all accounts, most riders had a good day out at The Gliding Club.
With the Sidcup Sixty, with only two Folkestone members turning out, my personal feeling about this trial is the distance to travel, always a large entry and consequently a lot of queuing, which makes for a long arduous day.
Best wishes to Debbie Kemp who is recovering from a hand injury and some bruising whilst practicing for the New Year trial.
Also spoke to Martin Harrison recently and it appears that his leg still isn’t healing properly and he was awaiting a call to go in for another operation. I’m sure you will all back me in wishing Martin well.
Would also like to take this opportunity to welcome Phil, Ben and Max Morphett as a fully fledged members of the Folkestone Club.
Apologies to Pete Southern for missing his result at the Sittingbourne Trial where he carded a very impressive 8.
For Sale
Jim Mason has his 2002 Sherco 290 for sale for £800. Phone 01303 489650
Recent Results
Folkestone Trials Club New Year Trial
Report by Brian Hodges
On Monday 2nd Jan 2012, Folkestone trials Club ran their New Year Fundraising trial, the proceeds going to Ben Morphett’s 2012 Trials campaign at Bibury Woods, Harbledown, Nr Canterbury, Kent. Many thanks to the consortium of landowners who continue to do sterling work enhancing the sections. The trial was advertised as being suitable for riders of all abilities, also billed as a no stop event. It worked well for a first attempt with a good amount of common sense coming into play from the observers who we all thank for their efforts. With this in mind, C of C Chris Osmond and his band of helpers set the 10 section, 4 route x 4 lap course accordingly in dry conditions. On Sunday the heavy rain arrived altering the sections dramatically. Monday morning bright and early the team set out changing the sections. What a fantastic job they made of it, a credit to them all. Section 1 a bomb hole section with steep drops and climbs, not too difficult, just right to get things moving. No 2 a different story, hard for all classes, a steep climb, turn up over a man made step, tight turn, drop into hole and fire up another step, turn up steep climb to end. Section 3 very hard for elites. Fire up over very high tree stump, turn and drop over awesome man made drop followed by another stump to end. Section 4 a wooded section with slippery turns between trees with some fallen trees for experts. No 5 an easier one in the quarry. Steep straight climbs and descents, most coped well. Section 6 also in the quarry, up steep bank, turn and drop along adverse camber, turn and fire up steep bank, with overhanging tree roots for elites. Nos 7 & 8. Extensive work with digger and strategically placed tree stumps and logs on both of these two. No 7 getting very slippery with a nasty little ledge for novices to overcome. Some failed and ended up in a little hole for a five. Section 8 had some very high man made steps, some on an angle : very tricky. This was probably the hardest for novices with a very slippery turn in a little gully to get out of. No 9 up steep muddy bank over step, turn along slippery camber then turn up and over tree branches with a slippery turn to end. Section 10 quite straight forward climbs and drops in large crater with high fallen tree for elites. Ben made the efforts on his behalf well worth while with an outstanding performance in the elite class, completing the whole trial for an incredible loss of just a dab. This on section 8 first lap. A real treat to watch. Thanks Ben. Mark Cottingham who is no mean rider 2nd on 67. Mark, a very thoughtful, methodical rider was conscious of the no stop rule and was affected by the effort to keep moving which cost him some marks. James Allen who had such a good ride here a few weeks ago in the Open to Centre Round on the expert class had a go at the elites this time and came in 3rd. Kevin Morphett who informed me he was approaching 50 years showed he had lost none of his skill to win the expert class from Simon Mepham by 4 marks, Simon having a much better ride this time. Young Matt Strank in 3rd place followed by Steve ‘Captain’ Mannerings’ 4th and Jordan Wells 5th. Dave ‘Sugar’ Plumb remarked he was riding c**p but still managed the win on the expert B’s with a very good ride from young Matt Jordon to take 2nd place from the more experience Chris Anderson and Mark D’Amico. A tie on the inters with Gary Roberts shading it from Shaun Wallis. Stuart Campbell recovering from a broken foot, therefore dropping down a class, 3rd with Duncan Jordan having another good ride in 4th place. Mark Osmond, son of Chris 5th, Adam Bell 6th. Vernon ‘Bloomers’ Bloomfield making a comeback after some 15 years started off very well to win the novices class, a fantastic ride from Emma Morphett 2nd just 2 marks behind. The very experienced Doug Norris 3rd, Kevin Crook 4th, Graham Knowler finding some of his old form 5th. Joe Lloyd and Thomas Wallis both found the going a bit tough on the youth novices with Joe 1st and Thomas 2nd.Dave Strank had another classy ride on his C15 BSA to win the pre 67 class riding the novice route and was in fact the lowest scorer. Nicole Clark soldiered on, on the adult yellow easy route despite being the only rider, as did Max Morphett, Ben’s younger brother on the yellow youth route on his TY80, probably the one Ben started on. Young Max has a very hard act to follow! Rupert and Chris Kimber the lone entry on the sidecars, rode the novice route and lost a very creditable 18 marks. Great ride lads. A big thank you to all the Folkestone Club members and friends for a great days sport. Special thanks to Chris Osmond who I’m sure was the main driving force in the staging of this event and to Steve Rankin for all the paperwork plus the prompt results. Hopefully a great deal of cash was generated as I know Ben will appreciate it and will put it to good use furthering his 2012 campaign. Good luck Ben and thanks for the entertainment.
NOTE ED : It appears we managed to raise approximately £1100 for Ben. Fantastic effort by everyone.
Folkestone Club members results.
Ben Morphett in the elite class dropped 1 mark and Marc D’Amico took on the expert route and came away with 128. Mark Osmond rode inters for 38. Novice route riders were Gavin Horley on 73, Steve Line on 75, Dave Fagg on 82 and Terry Lloyd on 93. Joe Lloyd on youth novice rode for 76 and Max Morphett in one of his first competitions scored 95 on the yellow route.
Sidcup Sixty on 15/01/12 at Canada Heights
Pete Southern on 29 and Chairman Chris on 83.
GEST Trial on 08/01/12 at Monkins Farm
6 Folkestone riders turned out for this one.
Red route runners were Pete Southern 15, Steve Rankin 38, Jim Mason 57. Nigel Hales 62, Chris Osmond 62
Marc D’Amico rode blues for 74.
Dunlop Trial on 22/01/12 at Charing Gliding Club
A turnout of 7 club members.
Ben Morphett riding elite managed 2nd place on 5 with Sam Connor the victor.
Riding blue route Graham Kemp finished on 23 with Jon Hunt on 38.
On the red route, Gavin Horley had a magnificent ride for 13, with Chairman Chris also weighing in with a great ride for 31. Jim Mason went round for 48 with myself on 42.
Thanks go to Pete and Dee Southern and Pat Mason for observing.
A special thanks to Pete Walsh for his administration on this event!! Priceless!
Track ‘n’ Trail at Bidworth 02/01/12
The Hunt Family drove down to this enduro event in Wiltshire to blow out the cobwebs, and from what I’ve heard it certainly achieved that. Jon finished 4th on 7 laps with Jonny finishing 9th on 5 laps.
Upcoming Dates
5th February 2012 Walker Memorial Trial at Wrinstead Court Farm
12th February 2012 Phil Hughes Combine at Grove House Farm
24th February 2012 Club Dinner and prize giving 7.30 Black Horse.
Club Dinner
Please find below the menu for the club dinner. Prices are £15 for 3 courses or £10 for 2 courses. As these meals are subsidised by £5 by the club, these prices apply to one club member and one guest only. Please make your choices and pass them on to Chris Osmond by the 17th Feb as all meals have to be pre-booked to avoid the delays we experienced last year.
French Onion Soup with Cheesy Croutons
Mushrooms in White Wine and Stilton Sauce
Goats Cheese Crostini with Balsamic Caramel and Pine Nuts
………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Pork Shank in a Cider and Apple Sauce
Chicken Breast wrapped in Bacon stuffed with Brie and served in a Mushroom Sauce
Beef Bourguignon with Creamy Mash
Black Horse Fish Pie
……………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Choice of Desserts
Ossies Obs
As Chairman Chris was busy with the AGM this month, there are no Ossies Obs, but I’m sure he’ll be firing on all cylinders next month with an in depth report of what was discussed and all the implications.
Well that’s all for this month.
Please send in any results, info or anything of interest for next months enthralling episode!!
Newsletter January 2012
Introduction
Welcome everybody to the January 2012 newsletter, and a happy new year to you . I would first just like to say thank you for your feedback on the previous newsletter, it appeared generally to go down quite well. I would again like to remind all club members that this is your newsletter, and I am looking forward to regularly receiving any snippets of information that relate to the club, trialling, motorsport in general or anything else that you feel might be of interest to the other club members.
Would also like to take this opportunity to welcome back Gary Finch, who has decided to sling the leg back over the trusty (rusty?!!) steed again.
Recent Results
Mutton Lancers results on 27/11/11 at China Farm
Excellent turn out of 11 Folkestone Club members from 83 starters. Results as follows:
Ben Robinson 20 Dave Fagg 45 Pete Southern 50 Gavin Horley 52 Joe Lloyd 57 Terry Lloyd 60 and Chris Osmond 87 all rode novice route.
Graham Kemp 30 in intermediate, Darren Bayfield 20 in the twinshocks and Dave Mills 42 on the 50/50 route. Thanks to Dee Southern for observing.
Sittingbourne Cup Trial on 11/12/11 at Yetnor Farm
10 members started from a field of 44.
Red route rider results are Debbie Kemp 11 Dave Fagg 36 Steve Line 40 Nigel Hales 42 Chris Osmond 56 and Jim Mason 57. Cracking ride from Debbie.
On the intermediate route, Jon Hunt 65 and Dave Mills and Marc D’Amico tied on 72. Our resident expert Graham Kemp was an unfortunate retirement due to an overheating engine.(Problem now sorted)
Thanks from all again to Pat and Dee for observing.
Membership News
If you haven,t renewed your memberships, then by now your 2011 ones would have expired, so I will leave this information in as a reminder for anybody who has forgotten.
ACU licence renewal
Whether you want to renew your licence online or via the post you will need to have a unique code. The main reason for this is for the ACU to ensure that all ACU licence holders are members of an affiliated club. Therefore for me to issue anybody with a code they need to have renewed their membership for 2012.
We appreciate that this means you will have to renew your membership earlier than some of you may like but we are not making the rules here.
I will of course still accept postal ACU renewals via the post with your membership fee and forward to the ACU with the code if required.
I hope this clears up any questions anybody may have relating to this new system, if not give me, Jon Hunt, a call on 07767703467 or send me an email to jslhunt@onetel.com
Membership renewal
If anybody renewing their membership has changed address, email or telephone would they please forward them to me.
The membership fee for 2012 remains very good value at £15 for Adults and £10 for 16years and under.
The sporting motorcyclist is a further £20.
Ben Morphett Fundraising
This next section is devoted to the fundraising being overseen by Jon Dent on behalf of The Canterbury College to provide a fuel fund for Ben Morphett to travel to a world round. This is a summary written by Jon of progress this last month and future plans.
We will be handing out ‘Trials Widows’ promotional leaflets at the New Year Trial and Jane, Ben’s mum and Ruthanne, my wife and head of Beauty here at the college are going to work together to devise and host a special ‘Spa Day’ event , here at the college in mid - February in our brand new Spa which includes luxuriously appointed Commercial Hair and Beauty Salons. I am thinking of a corporate style day which could include a Spa session, Steam room, Sauna, Spa pool, etc, followed by an option for a Hair or Beauty treatment of choice followed by a light lunch to be put on by the catering Division. Profit funds to go to Ben’s Travel fund. Ruthanne and Jane are going to work out the details but any suggestions from members about this or any other events or activities we could do will be really appreciated.
From Bikes to Bass - Steve Rankin
Some of you may or may not know that I used to play in a Rock band throughout the 80’s, though to be honest, it’s been hard not to notice ‘Millsie’ (Dave Mills) excitedly blasting ‘Evil in her eyes’ from his mobile phone at every opportunity at Trials after finding a copy of it on ‘You Tube’.
But yes, I was the Bass player in a Heavy Rock band called ‘Vigilante’ We never got rich and famous but we did get a good following around Kent in the 7 years we were together, gigging, recording and even producing some videos, until 1990 when we decided to go our separate ways
That was pretty much the last time I played, apart from the odd dabble here and there, I focused on other things, such as Trialling and really thought it was just part of my past.
Then, about 18 months ago I bumped into one of our roadies, who put me back in touch with our vocalist, almost instantly the words ‘Re union gig’ were mentioned and once the other members were rounded up we set about learning the old songs in preparation.
It took over a year to get to the stage where we were reasonably happy and confident enough to unleash ourselves back into the world, which to be honest has changed considerably in the 20 odd years since we played last, but eventually we booked a gig at the Britannia in Margate on the 16th Dec (2011) .
The day of the gig I was extremely nervous, I’d done a stand in gig for another band a few months ago so I knew I could still do it, but this was different, I had no idea how we would be received, whether people would remember us or even if anyone would turn up.
I needn’t have worried, the place was packed out and it was amazing to see so many of the people that used to come and see us originally.
From the very first number among the lights and smoke, there was a party atmosphere and we played 2 sets of our own songs mixed with classic rock covers (Thin Lizzy, Bon Jovi, Iron Maiden etc) which totalled around 3 hrs!
We came off exhausted but very happy, it hadn’t been a faultless performance and there were a few PA issues, but the main intent of a fun evening had been well and truly met, so much so that we are going do it all again, so if you fancy a night out and like loud music come and see us at the Brittania on the 4th Feb.
If you want to see some of our online videos or hear some of our tracks check out our website www.vigilanterockband.com
Cheers' Steve
Upcoming Dates
9th January 2012 EKTC Gest round probably at Monkins Farm , Northiam
15th January 2012 Sidcup Sixty at Canada Heights, Swanley.
22nd January 2012 The Dunlop Trial, at The Gliding club, Challock
31st January 2012 Club AGM and social 7.30 Black Horse
24th February 2012 Club Dinner and prize giving 7.30 Black Horse.
Ozzies Obs
Happy New Year to one and all.Good luck with the wishes and resolutions.
Had me birthday last month and am now officially an OAP - no money yet as paid 4 weekly in arrears! still I have lived to collect it which is something together with the bus pass.
Not much to report as have been busy for the last 3 days setting out the New year Trial. One bit of news is that Ben Morphett will be riding as a Folkestone member in all International and National & Centre Trials so a big welcome to Ben who feels that we at FTC have done a lot to assist him over the years so he wishes to recognise this by riding under our banner. Thanks Ben and good luck for 2012 we will all be rooting for you.We hope to get a few items from Ben in future newsletters saying what he is doing etc and hopefully some top tips so keep reading your newsletter.
A big thanks to Steve on his first newsletter last month great read keep it up!
Don't forget the AGM at the end of the month. I think all the post holders are prepared to continue for another year unless anyone wishes to contest these posts. If there are any points you wish to bring up please let me know as I hate being hijacked on details that may deserve an answer but I just do not have the details to hand on the night.
Possible consideration of joining the AMCA? I will set out these items in more detail in the AGM papers which I will email or send to you all shortly.
That's it for 2011!
Now let me at 2012 and that big Championship win !!!!!! and the new bike and the 3 stone weight loss and the Lottery win!! Sweet dreams!
Chris
Well that’s all for this month.
Any feedback, good or bad is most welcome.
Happy New Year
Newsletter December 2011
Written and edited by Steve Line
Introduction
Welcome everybody to the December 2011 newsletter, the first one that I have edited, and probably the longest prose I have attempted since my English O level, and I only got a C grade in that so you’re all in for a big treat!
First things first; a big thank you to Chairman Chris for putting the newsletter together for the past 2 years. I really had to twist his arm to let me have a crack at it as he enjoyed doing it so much! So here goes.......
I would like to remind all club members that this is your newsletter, and I am looking forward to regularly receiving any snippets of information that relate to the club, trialling, motorsport in general or anything else that you feel might be of interest to the other club members. This could include birthdays, anniversaries, sponsorships, for sale or wanted items etc.
Recent Results
GEST enduro event at Brede on 30/10/2011
One update from last months newsletter is the results of the above event. Out of 93 starters, Darren Bayfield finished in17th place completing 16 laps, with Jon Hunt in 36th place passing the post 15 times. For info, the winner was James Jackman who was the only person to complete 18 laps. Thanks to Jon Hunt for results.
Ted Westhead Trial results on 6/11/11
Excellent turn out of 13 Folkestone Club members from 49 starters. Results as follows:
Keith Mason 10 Debbie Kemp 13 Jon Dent 16 Steve Rankin 16 Nigel Hales 17 David Fagg 19 Terry Lloyd 25
Gavin Horley 33 Chris Osmond 38 Joe Lloyd 39 Pete Southern RTD all rode novice route.
Jon Hunt 21 in intermediate and Graham Kemp 19 in expert class. Well done to all, some excellent rides. Limited feedback says good trial enjoyed by all. Also a mention to two ever presents, Dee Southern and Pat Mason for observing.
Membership News
Next is a brief reminder by Jon Hunt in regards to ACU licence and membership renewal.
ACU licence renewal
Whether you want to renew your licence online or via the post you will need to have a unique code. The main reason for this is for the ACU to ensure that all ACU licence holders are members of an affiliated club. Therefore for me to issue anybody with a code they need to have renewed their membership for 2012.
We appreciate that this means you will have to renew your membership earlier than some of you may like but we are not making the rules here.
I will of course still accept postal ACU renewals via the post with your membership fee and forward to the ACU with the code if required.
I hope this clears up any questions anybody may have relating to this new system, if not give me a call on 07767703467 or send me an email to jslhunt@onetel.com
Membership renewal
If anybody renewing their membership has changed address, email or telephone would they please forward them to me.
The membership fee for 2012 remains very good value at £15 for Adults and £10 for 16years and under.
The sporting motorcyclist is a further £20.
Ben Morphett Fundraising
This next section is devoted to the fundraising being overseen by Jon Dent on behalf of The Canterbury College to provide a fuel fund for Ben Morphett to travel to a world round. This is a summary of progress so far. Thanks to Jon for all info and his efforts in this regard.
After taking part in the Ben Morphett fundraiser organised by our club last year I was really inspired by the notion of helping Ben with his career as he is such a fantastic rider and such a nice lad.
Initially, I met with Ben and his Mum and Dad to discuss ideas of how we can work together to raise funds and his profile.
Ben explained that the only thing really preventing him from taking part in the World Championships is the cost of diesel to get there and we estimated this at around £2000 per trip, so we settled on this as being our first target, we want to be able to say that Canterbury College students have sent Ben to a World Championship round and then see how we can progress things from there.
Our first action was to ask Ben in for an initial promotional day where he gave a short demo and came and did some work with our Motor Vehicle students.
He is a natural with young people and they found him really inspiring. Outcomes from this event were that we made a short promotional film which is on our website in the Motor Vehicle area if you would like to look. We paid Ben £200 for his contribution which got him financially off the ground, so to speak and agreed a number of other initiatives.
As part of this day we did a promotional photo - shoot with Ben and produced a range of extremely high quality posters and flyers for him to autograph and use at events and public appearances in the future. I understand from Ben that his main Sponsor Malcolm Rathmell was delighted with the posters as well so we feel as though we are building a really good positive and productive long term relationship. The Print Company has also offered Ben the opportunity to ‘wrap’ his van for him, (for free, as a result of the business we do with them), with any images and text he would like to aid with his self - promotion.
The next part of the plan was to for Ben to do a massive obstacle race at the China Farm site with our Uniformed Public Services students. (We are very grateful to the landowners for their kind contribution to this event).
These students are aiming for careers in the military, Fire Service , Police etc. and do a lot of fitness training so Ben and I devised the notion of a ‘Beat the Bike Challenge’, a sponsored event to raise money to help send Ben to a world championship round.
This was a fantastic success over eighty students took part over a huge course, the students did one lap on foot and Ben had to do three laps (!!!) to try and beat their time. Needless to say he did and it gave him a sound bit of endurance training just prior to riding in the Scott!
The event was organised superbly well by Keith Strong the Manager for UPS and his team and Ben and Phil had a really great time too.
The staff and students loved it and our Media students have filmed the whole event and have produced a brilliant short film which is also published on our website, we will be providing Ben with copies next time he comes in.
The Media department are also going to produce a short promotional documentary for Ben which he can send to prospective sponsors going forward.
Our next innovative event is to run our ‘It’s time to treat Trials Widows’ campaign. In short the idea is that the information is sent to all members of all clubs in the South East and that they book their partners a treatment in our brand new state of the art, commercial Hair and Beauty Salon and Spa as a Christmas gift, prices are very competitive and all profits will go to Ben’s Fund.
Ben has also agreed to make a VIP guest appearance at our annual prize giving event in December, whereby he will be able to mingle with a large number of eminent figures in regional industry and have the opportunity to do a bit of self - promotion.
In the New Year Ben will be doing more work with the Motor Vehicle team and one of their fundraising events is going to be a sponsored ‘Beat Ben’ event on the Bayford Meadows Go Kart Track.
I have also asked Ben to apply for a supply lecturer post in order that he can come in and do some teaching with our Sports and Motor Vehicle Students.
As an organisation, we view Ben as a highly valuable partner, who we want to work with on a long term basis and help as much as we can to further his career as he is an inspiration to all young people and is an outstanding ambassador for our great sport of trials.
This is about where we have got so far but if anybody out there has any ideas and would like to work on a project with us to help Ben , please contact me. My phone number is 01227 811225
I apologise if this is a bit lengthy but I guess we are doing a lot of work to try and help Ben move forward.
Fundraiser at China Farm 2nd Jan 2012
So whilst we are on the subject, we will need volunteers to help set up the above trial. I'm sure Chris will want as much help as possible in the days before to be able to set up a memorable event. As most people will be on holiday, and probably would have eaten too much, the fresh air will do you good!!! Working parties for the New Year trial on the 29th and 30th December at Harbledown, meet 11am( late start as it is Christmas after all ).
Upcoming Dates
11th December 2011 EKTC Sittingbourne Cup Trial -Yetnor Farm Sittingbourne
2nd January 2012 Fundraising trial at Harbledown
9th January 2012 EKTC Gest round probably at Monkins Farm , Northiam
15th January 2012 Sidcup Sixty at Canada Heights, Swanley.
22nd January 2012 The Dunlop Trial, at The Gliding club, Challock
31st January 2012 Club AGM and social 7.30 Black Horse
24th February 2012 Club Dinner and prize giving 7.30 Black Horse.
Ozzies Obs
May I welcome Steves’ first edition of the clubs newsletter. If my proof reading of the content is anything to go by it’s a very good read and it’s refreshing to have a new face on the editorial. Well done Steve !
During November Jon Hunt , Pat and Jim Mason and myself attended the East Kent Trials Combine AGM at Teynham Near Sittingbourne. Not much to report everything running as usual. Roy Piles and the officers re-elected enbloc. Entry fees unchanged at £15 under 16’s £10.
Oh yes something vaguely controversial all clubs to have a massed start with each class starting at a different section. Ie Novices to section 1 Experts to say section 5 inters to section 8. Obviously the Cof will select hopefully suitable sections to use. The only problem I foresee is those of you like Debbie & Graham who ride together but on different routes will either have to join up after the start or blag it (I shouldn’t say that should I). The only problem with that is if you win your class you might be subject to a protest. I think we shall just have to watch how this develops. Otherwise there were some murmurings about people riding out of class and a suggestion that the old rule if you win your class at 3 combine Trials during the year you should go up a class, will be strictly enforced.
All clubs should put on a yellow route irrespective of whether there are any entrants so that people entering on the day can be ensured of a ride.
Combine trials for the newcomers are always on the 2nd Sunday of the month save for November when there are no ACU events on rememberance Sunday so it is then the 1st Sunday.
I forgot to mention in last months newsletter that at the South Eastern Trials combine AGM in October we were informed that Owls and Gest clubs were joining the The AMCA to run there club trials but were staying with the ACU to run their combine and Championship Trials. The Benefit being that you can run clubs trials using the AMCA’s cheaper insurance and new club riders don’t have to have a licence to compete. Now I was always it now appears of the mistaken belief clubs could not belong to both but it appears you can. So with this in mind I am of the opinion we should seriously consider joining the AMCA perhaps we can debate this at our AGM? Any views please contact me.
Otherwise May I wish you all the seasons’ greetings, happy biking and hope you all have a Good Christmas and New Year. Remember No social this month as its bust enough and we’ve got two big events in the New Year.
Chris
Well that’s all for this month.
Any feedback, good or bad is most welcome.
Merry Christmas
News News News !!!
lots of News this month so don’t light the Fire with this edition.
Firstly as from November Steve Line has agreed to edit the newsletter, which will free me from the chore (I mean Delight) and bring a fresh approach to the newsletter. To quote Steve “ never mind the quality you will get quantity if nothing else”! Thanks Steve for volunteering and it does prove that some people do heed the call to arms. Now don’t forget to give Steve any info you would like to see in the newsletter. Steve’s mob no. is 07949 215688 and his email address is: steveline99@hotmail.co.uk
Goood to see so many Folkestone riders at the Barham Cup Trial On the 9th Ocotober. 14 riders in all representing 27.5% on the entry. Probably more riders than any other club - be very proud. We may be a small club but we are the most active. Thanks also to Dee and Pat who officiated as observers. Where do I start? Top club rider was Grahan Kemp losing 33 on the Expert route. On the Blues Marc D’Amico 50, Millzi 57,Jon Hunt 63 On the Reds top Novice Pete Southern 16,Debbie Kemp 17,Dave Fagg and Steve Rankin on 20 but Steve gets it on most cleans (31 to 28), Nigel Hales 27 , Joe Lloyd 29. Terry Lloyd 33,Gavin Horley 40 and me on 45 well it was my first trial back for about 5 months. The ride of the event for me was Dave Faggs 20 and I suspect he will be riding combine Inters shortly at this rate. A good combine trial after the 1st lap where it paid to be a late starter. I understand they had to ease the sections early on the Sunday morning after setting them out in the dry on Saturday. Well done everyone else - lets hopefully have a similar turnout for the Ashford combine on the 6th November.
News. Jon Hunt, Steve Rankin and myself attended the annual SE Centre Dates bun fight and AGM on the 19th October. We managed to secure two dates for Championship Trials being the 17th June 2012 for the Dave Weller Memorial trial for a round of all Championship Classes other than Elite Experts at Stowting Woods and 21st October 2012 for the Chunnel Non Expert & Pre 67 trial at Harbledown.
Following the dates meeting was the Combine AGM. Not much of significance other than all Championship Trials will be conducted under the Non stop TSR 22 B marking. Clubs will be free to use whatever marking system they wish for non championship Trials . For the sake of consistency from talking to Roy Piles the EKTC Chairman our local combine will put a similar rule change before the AGM on the 16th November 2012 see dates for Diary for details. I understand all national trials will be under similar non stop marking rules and that only leaves the FIM on stop trials ruling.
At our committee meeting on the 11th October it was agreed we would purchase 200 coloured wire type flags to help set out sections where cards were inappropriate. Also agreed that the AGM and social would be held on Tuesday 31st January at the Black Horse - Monks Horton. In addition there would be a subsidised Annual Dinner & Prize-giving at the Black Horse on Friday the 24th February with tickets at £10 per person for a two-course meal. Menus will be with you by next month. Dee has kindly agreed to be Mistress of ceremonies for the prize giving with additional goodies for award winners. So a nite not to be missed!! Book tickets through you or me won’t get a subsidised meal. As it’s so close to the usual last Tuesday in the month there will be no social in February.
Enduro News;
Darren Bayfield and Jon Hunt competed in the Gest clubs Eastbourne Hare and Hounds on the 30th October. Both enjoyed themselves and were feeling a bit sore afterwards over what is primarily a Moto Cross circuit for 3 hours -as yet no results. I ate something that disagreed with me the night before so didn’t make the start which was a shame as it sounded a good event and I was looking forward to a rip round the fields.
You should be sending your club subscriptions of £15 plus £20 for TSM to Jon Hunt for 2012. (£10 for Youths) : The Bungalow,White Hill, Bilting,Nr Ashford, TN25 4HB
ACU licences can be renewed on line. You may have to contact Jon to get a special number to access this facility. Otherwise post licence as normal or give to Jon at next trial.
6th November Sunday SETC Trial Charring Hill
12th November Charlie Wake Trial –Kingsfold -Championship Classes Wickham &DMCC
16th November 7.30-p EKTC AGM Dover Castle Pub Teynham Nr. Faversham
27th November Championship Trial Harbledown Barham & DMCC
4th December Jack Britain British Bike Trial Canada Heights Sidcup &DMCC
4th December Southern Experts
2nd January 2012 Fund Raising Trail Harbledown
31st January Club AGM and Social 7.30pm Black Horse – Monks Horton
24th February Club Dinner Prize-giving 7.30pm Black Horse
That’s the lot from me
Chris
Just found out there are only 30 days in June so have lost a day again. So this newsletter will be very short I’m afraid.
Firstly may I thank everyone who helped with our Dave Weller Memorial trail on the 19th June. We had good feedback and it was good to see Jamie Webster win. He was certainly the most stylish rider on my section (7), which looked very daunting indeed. Well done to Graham & Debbie Kemp who worked very hard all weekend. We just got away with the weather, as the heavens opened up justas we were packing up. I think if we had had that shower during the trial it would have been a very different outcome.
Good to see some of our club riders taking part - well done to all who rode. Well done to our new members Gavin & Stuart Horley in riding this Championship round. Good also to see The Lloyds doing well. Sorry to see Millzi was injured following a spectacular crash practising on the Friday when he collided with Darren Bayfield. Thanks for observing this also goes to Pat & Jim Mason, Pete & Dee Southern and everyone else who observed.
We had a very quick committee meeting before the social on the 28th June. Apologies for the lack of notice. We agreed that I will be writing to the EKTC and the SETC combine to say we have not resolved matters with regards to one of our member’s complaint to Ashford Club concerning the running of the recent combine trial. It was also agreed that we would run another New Year fund raising trial at Harbledown for Ben Morphett in 2012. I mentioned that I & Jon Hunt may not be a round to help with setting out and running the Chunnel Non Expert trial in September because of work commitments. If any of you can spare the time to help Jim Mason it would be very much appreciated. Otherwise it was good to see everyone at the social. It seems that only Pete Southern and Millzi are competing in the SETC Championship rounds at the moment. I am not sure of the reason for the lack of support of these rounds and I would like any feedback from riders as why they are not competing, so I can pass it on to the SETC.
Dates for Diary.
10th July 2011: GEST Club Combine trial Morghew Farm, Tenterden - regs in TSM.
24th July2011: Tenterden & DMCC John Buttle Trophy Trial at Crabtree Farm. Cranbrook
27th July 2011: Social Evening, The Black Horse Pub, Monks Horton 7.30pm
Once again, apologies for the brevity of the newsletter.
Chris
We had a lovely time at the Scottish SDT in early May. Only one horrible day when it rained - got a photo of your truly in the Trail Magazine to prove it. I think our presence was a bit of a jinx on Graham Jarvis as we witnessed most of his fives which led to him finishing 3rd when he looked good for the win. Our Ben Morphett finished 15 th after a disastrous first day saw him slide to 43rd after to which he clawed himself back during the week. Got to be a good bet for a future win.
Otherwise had a good time with the lads and apart from the odd fight ( Only joking) we all got along. So if you haven’t been give it a go. We tagged on to Dee and Pete Southern who gave us plenty of good tips on what sections to see as they are old hands at the Scottish and their knowledge of the event is worth listening to. Met up with Graham and Debbie Kemp so lots of Folkestone folk just like home. The Centenary Parade was great with all the town turning out to watch with the usual bag pipes and drum band and a display by the world champion bike trials rider which was just fantastic. Can’t see Folkestone town doing the same next time we have a Trial but you never know.
Saw the May combine results for the Ashford Trial. Stuart Campbell won it, which I guess must be his first win. Some good rides by amongst others Terry Lloyd on 29 on the reds. Darren Bayfield on 51 on the blues with Marc D’Amico on 73. Unfortunately had to write to Ashford club regarding some incidents, which have still not been resolved.
ACU Business. I attended the Area Combine meeting held at Blindley Heath on the 18th May as there was an important issue as to funding on the agenda. Suffice to say it turned out to be another talking shop with not much being decided. I wonder why we turn up but we did get our 50-50 route at one of the previous meeting so you do get some good out of attending. As too decisions - 1.) funding will stay the same 2.) No Stewards are being appointed because of funding issues. Should a club require a steward then it should appoint one itself in the absence of a steward the default position is the Clerk of the Course! 3.) Pre 65 and twin shock bikes must have a tubed rear tyre 4.) There is concern that many clubs do not follow the recommendation that colour cards denoting the route to be ridden are not being used and this may well become mandatory from 2012. (Note to Steve Rankin..... Noted!) 5). Next SETC meeting 19th October with AGM and dates meeting. If any one would like to attend please see me. Its worth going to if you want to become involved with club or see your self involved with the future running of then club.
Our Championship Trial is on the 19th June and there will be a working party on the 18th to which we need some willing volunteers!!! Meet at 10AM at Stowting Woods please give me a email or call if you can make it. Don’t forget its your chance to put something back to the sport and you can get all smug with yourself as well for helping. Got to be a plus for the feel good factor.
Its this time of the year when I| remind everybody that I have to earn a living so will not be around so much till October when the swimming season ends. The same applies to Jon Hunt with the Harvest season. So bear with us if the administration is less than efficient during this period.
Enjoyed my day at the Hook Woods Cup Trial on the 30th May. We had 8 riders which was about as good as any of the other bigger clubs like Bexleyheath or Owls. Our 50-50 route was I think a success with 8 riders electing this route with another entering on the day. The Expert 50-50 was not so successful but it early days and we will see what happens after our trial. Just got the results. Graham Kemp 20 on the Expert B. Millzi 25 Marc D’Amico 31 and Steve Rankin 62 with Darren Bayfield 21 FNA on the Inter B route. On the reds I lost 62 with a good ride from Gavin Horley on 45 FNA. Nice to see Ben Morphett ride under our banner losing 9 on the elite route which was won by Sam Connor clean all day!
Dates For Diary
5th June SE Centre Team Trial
12th June Tenterden Combine Murray Brush Trophy Trial at Rakins
15th Sidcup MCC Practice Trial Canada Heights
19th Dave Weller Memorial Trial Stowting Woods
Enduro News
Jon jn. & Jon Hunt Sn. Are competing in the Track n Trail weekend event 11th & 12 June Dorchester.
We have another Enduro rider now that Jon Hunt jn. Has bought himself a Suzuki RM 250 F . Thus Folkestone went mob handed to the recent Eastbourne Enduro where Darren Bayfield finished a very good 16th Jon Hunt Sn. 72 me 117 and Jon Jn. On his first outing 119 out of 154 riders. Every one did the See-Saw except wussy me. Very brave you lads! I noted Thomas Moss an Elite Trials rider was at the same event and came 7th as was also Simon Bird, Gordon Fennings & Derek Strudwick just to name a few Trials stalwarts who competed.
Best Kiss
A group of Trials riders were practising when they saw a girl about to jump off a bridge so they stop. One of the riders gets off his bike and calls to the girl “ What are you doing”?
“I am going to commit suicide “ she replies.
Whilst the rider didn’t want to appear sensitive, he didn’t want to miss an opportunity so he asked “ Well before you jump why don’ t you give me a parting kiss”?
So she does and it was a long deep lingering Kiss.
After she’s finished the rider says, “ Wow ! That was the best kiss ever. That’s a real talent you are wasting. You could make many a man happy. Why are you considering committing suicide”?
“My parents don’t like me dressing up as a girl….”
On that note that’s all.
Chris
Hi Folks this will be another short newsletter because I’ve run out of that time stuff. I am frantically trying to do all the little jobs before I depart with my muckers to North of the Border to inhabit that spring wonderland they call the Scottish Six Day Trial (SSDT). There are four of us Travelling in a hired Transit Van Jon Hunt,Stevie Line,Steve Rankin and myself. Should be interesting. We hope to meet up with fellow FTC members Dee & Pete Southern and Debs & Graham Kemp who are also going. Will report next month on anything of interest.
Firstly the Fund raising Trial on Good Friday appears to have been a success with not many moans and a lot of good feedback. According to good King Jon in the counting house we have raised about £750 for Ben Morphett which I think will be presented to Ben at the SSDT. Will try and get a photo and a bit in the TMX. So I would like to thank everyone that helped, rode, observed etc for helping to raise this amount. We as a club do more for Ben than anyone else including the ACU according to Ben’s dad Phil . So when you see Ben riding give yourself a Pat on the back for helping the lad. Thanks also to other members who kindly made donations. Thank you. Anyone out there who wishes to make a donation to Ben’s fundraising contact Jon Hunt. Special thanks to Stevie Line who spent all of Thursday setting out the Trial with me. And finally thanks to Steve Rankin for yet another administratively hassle free trial where the results were on our web site on the evening of the trial. Some good rides by club members Graham Kemp was top FTC rider with 51 on the White route . Darren Bayfield 23 on the Blues . Following close by the ever improving Marc D’Amico on 42. On the reds Terry Lloyd on 19 Joe Lloyd 29. Jon Dent seems to have won the yellows on 14 after a count back of furthest cleans. I understand Jon is moving up to Reds for his next trial if so well done just take it easy! Remember there is no disgrace in missing outs a section(s) if they look too difficult.
Also pleased to welcome three new riders to FTC which the Good Friday Trial was their first of hopefully many. Ben Robinson 1, Gavin Horley39 and Stuart Horley who retired after a nasty crash. I understand Ben has ridden before and certainly that scores suggests we have another possible inter rider. I also understand he is or was a MX rider. Sounds like a candidate for the the Enduro section as well.
As for other trials have no information on the Ashford combine on the 8th April. Same for Heel farm on the 17th April other than the results in the TMX . With Marc D’Amico Novice on 23 . And ever greens Millzi on 7 (what a good ride) and Pete Southern on 23 Jim Mason 36 and Debbie Kemp the leading Lady Novice on 32. Well done Debs! Graham Kemp was top FTC rider for 53 on the over 40 Inter route.
Dates For Diary
8th May EKTC Second Combine Trial Elmsted nr, Wye
30th May Hook Woods Cup . Hook Woods West Horsley Surrey
On that note can I urge as many of you that have avoided riding the Championship Trials to enter the Hook Woods cup especially in the 50-50 routes. As this club has waged a lonely battle to introduce these classes to the SE Champoiship. There will be 3 trials this year that will make up the Inter B and Expert B Championship.
Hook Woods Cup
FTC 19. 06 .2011 Dave Weller Memorial Cup at Stowting
Barham & Dmcc 27.11.11 Mutton Lancers Cup at Canterbury
Enduro news
Jon was 2nd at the Team traction Enduro on the 17th April and clearly in ontention for the intermediate prize.
I completed in Track n Trail Enduro with Jon hunt on the 10th April at Beaminster .Jon had a good ride and was 6th in class out of 19 riders. I came 13th out of 15th in class which if my maths are on the ball will give Jon 6th Place overall and me 5th overall in class so we should both get a trophy!! Not bad for a National series with people like Darren Boulter.
Next Enduro Eastbourne 15th May
That’s all .
Chris
Ozzie’s Obs.
We had a good committee meeting on the 9th June. It was good to see so many faces, which shows there is a lot of interest in what goes on at the club. Glad to see some of the newer members taking an interest as well. Most notable items were the AGM is to be on the 22nd January 2010. This is slightly later than normal due in part to our financial year ending on the 31st December so that we can get a more accurate picture of our finances and to save Jon (Hunt ) unnecessary work with a split financial year if that makes sense. It was also agreed to have the annual dinner on the same date. In addition we are hoping to make some rider awards. This will be in the form of the best Folkestone riders in their respective classes. Since we don’t have a club championship we will use the combine results and possibly the Center Championship results. So there it gives you an incentive to enter the combine events. In addition I hope we can award other riders such as best beginner and Best endeavor.
The Channel Non Expert trial is on the 19th July at Stowting and Jim Mason is the Cof C. We need as many helpers as possible for this trial. So please phone Jim (01304 202031) and let him know if you can help as there is sure to be a lot of undergrowth to clear at this time of the year the more so as we have not run a trial at Stowting for a year. Perhaps we can have a working party the Saturday of the 11th July as well as on the 18th. Please help as there is a lot of work and Jim will not and cannot do it all on his own.
At the Dave Weller trial is was good to see so many people helping clear and set out the trials it made it easier for everybody concerned and earnt us a very good report from the ACU inspecting steward who congratulated Folkestone trials club for a very well run event. So all those involved take a bow! Results on the Club web site. May I thank Graham and Debbie Kemp for getting the Trial spot on. Also for all the course setters Jon Hunt ,Steve Line , Jim Mason, Gary Finch &,Steve Rankin. Thanks also to all the Land owners who gave their permission to use their land for this trial. In particular Pat Goode the farm manager at China farm for allowing us to park our vehicles. A big thanks to Steve Rankin for the usual high degree of efficiency in coordinating the paperwork and having the results on the internet by 10.ooam Monday morning. Its great to have a team like this. The only unfortunate notes were that Tony Williamson (he of ring through lip) sustained a nasty broken thumb which will keep him off bikes for some time. I have spoken to him and he is to use an overworked expression gutted. The more so since he eats breathes and lives for his biking and not to be riding will come hard. He says he will do some observing and watching. Hope you get riding soon Tony. Otherwise the entry was a bit low for reasons I am unsure of. I did expect to see an entry of about 100 so to get 55 was a surprise. We are trying to move this trial next year to possibly December.
On the Yellow route the twin shock boys seemed to be having their usual battles with Terry Lloyd 37 beating his son Joe on 87. Again well done Joe -just a personal observation don’t be in a hurry to do the sections- take your time I think you will see am improvement. Good to Marc D’amico attempting some red routes, shame he had to go home early to cook the Sunday Lunch (What’s going on it was Father’s day!).
As to results. On the Red route Pete Southern on 58 Jim Mason on 84.
On the Blue route Mark Osmond on 63 just slither in front on Jon Hunt 64 and Darren Bayfield 67 with Louie Baxter on his first Championship inter on 112( keep at it Louie the scores will come down ).
On a financial note I have managed to source some cheap tyres from Alan Clark at Watling Tyres Alan says he can get IRC or Michelin tubeless Rear tyres for £63 but we need to order 5-10 any one interested so we can do a bulk order? Let me know it is quite a saving with Intas quoting £72.50 for an IRC.
Just had a call from Dee Southern who relayed the fact that Monty Banks (of Grass track fame) died recently and his funearal will be at Capel on Thursday 2nd July . Our thoughts as usual got to his family. For those who don’t know( and that’s unfortunately most of us) Monty was a founding member of Folkestone MCC and did much to get the club started. Folkestone was indeed big in Grass Track terms in the early days of the 60’s.
Just a little note there are now quite a few Folkestone riders ( not to mention our own Graham Jarvis and Dougie Lampkin ) who are into Enduros. Whilst not wishing to detract from the trials scene I am hoping we can accommodate an Enduro section. At the moment we have about 5 riders but rumour has it others are interested. Mark Osmond entered his first Enduro at Canada Heights along with 350 other riders and did reasonably well in the Clubman entry after his gear lever fell off losing at least a lap whilst spanner man (me) mackelled it so he could finish. Darren Bayfield our resident Enduro hero did well to get a top 5 finish at Westfield in an event run by Gest MX club on 10th May 2009. I did my first Enduro at the Eastbourne AMCA club meeting at Brede and finished 92nd out of 136 which was great as I didn’t finish last and even beat Edward Kennet (yes the speedway star). If other members are getting results can they let me know and I will put them in the newsletter.
Sorry if anyone turned up for the social on the 30th June but work commitments stopped me and a few others from attending. Next social 28th July .
Dates for diary Gest clubs Extra combine trial at Morghew Park Farm Tenterden on the 2th July .
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Ozzie’s Obs.
It will be a brief newsletter this month as things are heating up on the work front. Let’s start with the big news that a number of members from the Club went up to Carlisle for the World Round of the Outdoor Trials, which was won by Tony BOU. What an incredible trial, set out by our very own Graham JARVIS! I can’t do sufficient justice to the sections, save to say they were, for the most part, at the limit of the abilities of this world-class field of riders. I think Graham JARVIS was very happy that only Tony BOU cleaned his hardest section. Dee SOUTHERN captured this moment on her video camera. Perhaps we can persuade Dee to share this with us at the next social - if it hasn’t been posted on You Tube already.
Congratulations also to Pat and Jim MASON, who observed at this trial – a tremendous accolade for Pat. I should also mention how much Pat and Dee have been involved in observing recently. Dee was on duty at the Thames Trial recently – of which more below. Well done, girls!
Moving on to more mundane matters, we are proposing a Committee Meeting on Tuesday, 9th June 2009 at 8 p.m. at the Black Horse Pub, Monks Horton. Matters to be discussed, amongst others: the Annual Dinner, AGM prizes, expenses (always a popular one), purchase of a gazebo for signing on (to keep Steve RANKIN dry if it rains), supporting youth riders and an update on the Dave WELLER Memorial Trial. Please give me a call if there is anything you would like to add. All welcome.
TRIAL RESULTS
The Ted WESTHEAD Combine Trial on 10th May 2009 was won by Keith FRANCIS. Stevie LINE had a good ride on the Reds losing only 30 marks. I lost 44. On the Blues Jon HUNT narrowly missed winning the Over 40 Cup with 13 marks, being beaten by Mark RIDGE on 9. Tough luck Jon, you lost an unfortunate 5 on section 2. Young Dave MILLS lost 31. On the Yellow Route Terry LLOYD lost a measly 3. So expect to see him on the Reds shortly! Ralf THOROGOOD lost 18 and Jo LLOYD 41, which again was a really good ride for a young rider on a twin-shock bike.
The Thames Trial was held on the Bank Holiday Monday, 25th May at Hook Woods in Surrey. Our club was well represented and it was a fairly low scoring trial, for a change. On the Reds Dave MILLS had a good ride losing only 12 marks. Steve RANKIN lost 38 and yours truly 65, which I was pleased with - and thanks to Steve RANKIN for minding me on the rocky section. On the Blues Mark OSMOND had a good ride losing only 31 in the company of many riders who usually ride expert in the Combine. Mark said that he thoroughly enjoyed the trial, especially riding round in the company of Alexz WIGG, Sam CONNOR, Becky COOK and Ross DANBY – all world-class riders. In what other sport can you mix locally with such exalted company? Thanks also to Dee SOUTHERN for observing.
DATES FOR THE DIARY
Sunday, 7th June 2009, Inter Club Team Trial at Crowborough, E. Sussex. We have entered 2 teams, Folkestone Fliers (Jon HUNT, Pete SOUTHERN and Gary FINCH) and Folkestone Fanatics (Darren BAYFIELD, Mark OSMOND and Dave MILLS). Do come along and support the riders. It’s usually a cracking trial with lots of rock streams and you never know, we might win.
Tuesday 9th June 2009, Committee Meeting, as mentioned above.
Sunday 14th June 2009, the Tenterden Club are running a trial at Rakins, Gills Green, Hawkhurst, Kent, start time 10.30 a.m.
Sunday, 21st June 2009, the Dave WELLER Memorial Trial at Harbledown, Canterbury. Graham KEMP needs all the help we can give him with the preparation of this trial. Please try to at help on Saturday 20th June. Meet at Howfields Woods at Harbledown at 10.00 a.m. This is our big championship trial and I would like us to put on a good show. We should get a good response because we distributed fliers at Hook Woods and it has been advertised on the center website for some time. If you can help observing, please contact Steve RANKIN (07968 674157).
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