I DID do 1hr practice each day last week, and went to the TCQ trials event yesterday. I never like the idea of the (nearly 3 hr) drive for me but as usual, when I go, I think wow, that was brilliant, I wouldn’t have missed it. Going to an event really highlights where your weak points are, gives you a yardstick etc. Plus the social side is great … and I got to make friends with a really top guy – we parked next to each other, totally hit it off, and rode together all day and talked to each other non stop, and can’t wait to get together for some practice, or another event, etc. It was held at Robjoy, which is a property at Maroon owned by the multigenerational trials immersed Gough family. After pulling up for a much needed coffee in Boonah I turned up to find that it’s a really lovely place in the foothills of the mountains, rolling paddocks to park and camp in just off the road, and they’ve set it up with amenities like a big covered shelter area for the organizers, scorers, BBQ etc. – and well maintained clean flushing toilets, showers, running water and so on. It’s great trials country with all sorts of features within a few hundred metres. They’d set 6 sections, and the plan was to do 3 laps before lunch, then 3 more in reverse direction after lunch. The terrain had been soaked by recent storms so things were slippery. It was a humbling experience. The white line (T6) sections were I think the hardest I’d done so far. It’s amazing how you look at the stuff and think “I do much harder stuff at home”, then I mysteriously put my foot down in tight slippery corners, or roll the front out on a rock and fall off. I lost points generously. And my new mate Shaun, who is quite a newbie and hardly ever gets to practice, was doing just as well as me!! But anyway it's all very good experience. I kept reminding myself not to gloat over mistakes, and focus positively on the next section. I feel a bit weird and frustrated because by now I’m pretty confident and comfortable attacking quite substantial obstacles, staying upright on rocky sections and so on. But clearly I still need to do a lot more work on the basics, particularly cornering and crossing loose stones on off camber slippery slopes. I kept putting my foot down where I know I shouldn’t. Also on one section, you crossed a little gully on an angle, having to give it a well coordinated squirt of RSG to emerge onto the track on the other side … but it’s all running across the side of a steep hill, sort of off camber and steep. I could get through the gully no problems, but then I still don’t understand why, but on the other side, I’d be a bit off-line, front wheel a bit too high, or back wheel sliding down a bit and I’d start dabbing. Maybe I was off balance, dunno. I couldn’t seem to overcome it, like it’s a mental problem. But on the other hand, I was good at some tricky stuff too, like blasting out of a mud gully, up a slippery mud hill and between 2 close trees - easy! Shaun couldn't do it, as he hasn't done any RSG type stuff. As medical research has proven, bacon is the cure for many of life’s problems. They had heaps of great bacon with their sausage BBQ and as a result I only lost 1 point in the whole afternoon 3 lap session. To be fair, the lines were easier in reverse, and it was drying out fast. Anyway it was a great day and I’m hoping to get to 2 more events over the next fortnight! Thanks for reading!

Posted by Andrew von Berky at 2021-10-24 23:40:29 UTC