Dyfed Dirt Bike Club

Click here to download the regs for the Cwmgof Trial, to be held on 21st Feb 2010.

After the constant rain of the last few weeks, there were a lot of happy, if not a little cold faces turning up to Penbrey race circuit on the 13th of December for the annual President shield team trials competition. Having conscripted a couple of riders DDBC was able to enter 2 teams of 4 riders into this years event and being an enduro club, any chance of silverware against 3 trials only clubs would have been a bit ambitious but we would have a go. One team would ride the hard course and the other the easy course, the best 2 from each team would then be put forward for the final result. With a 11am start time DDBC's trials elite decided to meet up early especially as some had yet to see their bikes and to make sure everyone was happy with the format. The riders tackling the hard course were Dylan Hughes, Jon Stobbs, Gareth Davies and Paul (Elvis) Davies, easy course team was Anthony (pink bag) Griffith, Tom Williams, Owain Peckover and Anghard Eynon. With an entry of over 60 riders, Bryan Puckett decided to split the entry up at the start. Neath and Dulais Valley would start at section 5 and DDBC and their neighbour club Vale of Towy starting at section 1. With no time limit on the event but the promise of a hot meal at the end, everyone rushed off to their first check and then proceeded to stand round waiting for someone to be the first rider in. DDBC's secret weapon Paul (Elvis) Davies stepped up to the breach and set off showing that he hadn't forgotten anything after his 6 years off a trials bike. Section 1, 2 & 3 were in the wettest part of the lap and it quickly became apparent that it was going to be a low scoring event and that section 2 would more than likely decide the final result. With a deep rut on the easy part of the section the riders on the hard course needed to exit this rut to get into some soft going before giving it some to clear some rocks, any loss of momentum would certainly result in a number of dabs to keep going. Section 4 & 5 were on some waste rubble that caught a few out as some parts of it were very loose. Section 6, 7, 8 and 9 were in the sandy wooded land behind the race track, with the sandy terrain offering plenty of grip the sections had been marked out with plenty of very tight turns. These were the sections that DDBC's volunteering observers Meirion, Kevin and Chris were posted with trigger happy photographers Ian and Daniel ready to capture any spills. With what was best describes as a paddy field on the approach and exit to these sections, the 60 or so machines soon produced 2 very deep ruts that saw a number of riders needing help to extract their bikes. Finally section 10 was in a grassy gully with a steep climb out with a few tight turns thrown in for good measure. At the end of each lap most riders dived into the pit's for a drink and some fuel for the bikes. Owain suffered a holed silencer due to rear tyre rubbing against it, but carried on and to be fair it sounded ok when the suspension was compressed as the tyre sealed the hole. Tom was enjoying himself and was happy that his recently injured hand was holding up and went on to produce good score. Very few riders saw Griff on the course and he was quick to deny any rumours that he was first in the queue for the meal at the end. Elvis produced the club's best score with 10 marks lost that includes a silly five, Dylan was close behind with 12 marks lost also suffering an other silly 5. Jon and Gareth were both having fun with Jon's confidence growing with each section on his borrowed bike. Anghard was the only lady in the event but that didn't put her off and produced a very respectable score, the observer at section 10 was very impressed with her riding until she rode over his food bag at the end of the section. Vale of Towy won the event with DDBC finishing 4th, with the calibre of rider we were up against it was a good result.

As usual a big thanks must go out to the organising team and to all the volunteers that helped on the day.

Photos of the event available at http://ianrams.zenfolio.com/p162471523

Click on the link to download the 2010 Membership Form.