Trials and Tribulations

I’ve always been the kind of person who replies, “Sure, why not?” when someone asks me if I want to do something. In the past, this attitude has gotten me in to trouble, but on the other hand, it also got me into a five year (and counting) relationship with a really great guy, who introduced me to riding, which has branched off and opened a whole new world to me that I would have otherwise not known.

It was that “Why not?” attitude that kicked in when a friend invited me to go trials riding. You know, trials riding? Going really slow, over really big obstacles, on those funny looking motorcycles? Looks easy. It isn’t. But hey, it was December, there was over a foot and a half of snow on the ground, and I hadn’t been riding in two months, and I knew it would be at least four more before I got back on my dirt bike, so I couldn’t say no.

With that in mind my boyfriend and I loaded up our gear and headed out to go trials riding for the first time. It was late December when Ontario was suffering from temperatures that were, undeniably, cold. We’re talking regularly dipping into the minus 20 degrees Celsius, without the wind chill.  

After several wrong turns, two Timmies stops and missing the drive way, we finally made it to the place. It was a moderately heated, quite well insulated, Dura-Shelter type building with a large platform with plenty of different types of obstacles on top, as well as several raps and a kind of stair case built out of old spools (you know, the kind you see on the high way when they’re putting up hydro lines?). And I’m standing there, now dressed in my motocross gear (which, by the way, is vented for comfort in the summer heat, and not very warm) and a hoodie, watching my very patient, soon to be teacher, putting his engineering skills to good use, modifying the course so I don’t get hurt.

For those of you who don’t familiar with Brian Wojanrowski, and haven’t been following the off road updates in Inside Motorcycle and Inside Motocross, here’s the short version. Former motocrosser turned off road machine, Wojo is an accomplished rider, having ridden at the ISDE, won the overall championship at last year’s WEC series and has held the #2 CMA Hare Scramble plate for two years in a row, with his sights set on the big #1 this year. He has overcome several serious injuries, but still thinks of riding as fun. Racing, on the other hand, he takes very seriously. He is a fierce competitor, but leaves what happens on the track where it belongs, on the track.

He is also a very good, very patient, teacher, as I would soon find out.
So, there we were, and I’m sitting on a pile of wood watching Wojo and his buddy climb, bounce and rocket over obstacles and suddenly it hits me, “I might be over my head.”  Never one to let me do something dumb, and possible fun, on my own, my boyfriend, Mark, is beside me. In contrast to me, he’s excited. He can’t wait to get a chance to ride one of the funny looking Scorpas. Of course, Mark’s been riding since he was 9, and is up and riding in no time. In about ten minutes he’s mastered not only the ability of turning the somewhat twitchy bikes, but also going up the ramp to the top of the platform, and then back down.

I wish I could say it was that easy for me, but that would be a huge lie, and someone (most likely Mark) would call me on it.

HOWEVER!

Wojo, as I said, is a very good teacher, very patient, and, unlike my boyfriend when he taught me how to ride, is very good at articulating exactly what to do and what not to do. After initially driving straight into a wall, he gave me a few basic instructions which, in retrospect, are common sense. Always look where you want to go, not at the front tire; if you look at the front tire, you`re going to crash. Keep your knees bent and your head up, it helps your balance. Use your weight to help turn the bike rather than relying solely on the handle bars. And, most importantly, when in doubt, grab the clutch.

It took about ten minutes, maybe twenty, but eventually I got the hang of riding the bike on the flat ground and was able to turn the bike in a space roughly the same size as a compact car would take up. Oh, and this might be a good time to point out that the floor of the building was polished concrete, and I had snow on my boots, so not only was I having an issue with balance, but the minute my boot hit the ground, it lost traction, making me just that much less confident.
The second step was getting up the ramp on one side of the platform and going down the other side. The ramp up the back of the platform was narrow, but not as steep, while the ramp up the front of the platform was wide, but at a much steeper incline.

Wojo`s advice was on getting up the ramp was two-fold, and very simple. Number One: Do not stop, no matter what. Keep the momentum going forward. If you`re going up the ramp and you pull the clutch, you will then be doing down the ramp, backwards. Not good; the object of the exercise was to get up the ramp. Number Two: Do not sit down. The balance on a trails bike is different, meant for riders in a standing position (obvious, really, as they have no seat). When you “sit” on a trials bike, you change the balance so there’s more weight over the rear tire, making it easier for the bike to tip backwards, sending you, once again, down the ramp, this time on your head. Again, not good.

After a few failed attempts, I finally make it up to the top of the ramp and onto the platform. Now what? I pull in the clutch and wait for my trusty teacher to run around to the other side of the platform to give advice on how to get back down off the platform, which was about five to six feet off the ground, depending on what section you were on.

Getting down was much easier, as gravity does most of the work for you, you merely have to keep balance, be easy on the rear brake (too much front brake, as with any bike, will launch you over the handle bars), look forward, head up. With eyes on Wojo I ease off the brake and clutch just enough to get over the lip of the ramp and start going down and...Next thing I know, I’m on the ground. I did it. I had managed to go up one side and down the other. I did this several times, circling back around to the rear ramp each time, before Wojo had me do it the opposite direction. There wasn’t as much run off room going that way, and eventually I let off to let Mark ride again.

Mark, by the way, was already working his way onto small obstacles by this time. He was also contemplating the cost of purchasing one of those fun little motorcycles, I’m sure of it.  The final task Wojo set out for me sounds pretty simple: go up the front ramp to the top of the platform, turn around, and come back down the ramp. Easy enough, right? Not so, the top of the ramp was approximately the same size as two queen beds put side by side, width wise, and Mark and Wojo were both standing at the top.

I made it up no problem, but for the first few attempts Wojo had to help me turn the bike around. I eventually got the hang of it. After three or four runs I was feeling pretty confident, turning on my own, going down the ramp pretty slow, but up it fast, but in control.  While I never did get up onto any of the obstacles, I did learn a lot about riding a trials bike, and the patience and balance required. If you like going fast, trials riding is not for you, but if you dig a challenge and want to improve your over all skill as a rider, it might be something to try.

Big thanks to Wojo for being so bloody patient with me. I can be a difficult student sometimes, but I had a good teacher and it made all the difference. Also, thanks to his friend who let us ride at his place, even though he couldn’t come out.