Byron Trials

Hey everybody! Today I competed in my first observed trials event! It was kind of a last minute decision. And it turned out to be a good one! One of the nice things about trials is that I don't have to get up as early to get there on time. So I got enough sleep and got to the course with perfect timing!

Everybody was really friendly there and the rules were easy to follow. There were 51 riders total with all the classes, which is a big turnout for trials, I guess! Soon my group and I were on our way.

In the first section I dabbed my foot three times going up this tricky hill-turn. It ended up being the most points I got in any single section! There was a line every time we got to a new section, which kind of sucked. But there wasn't anything to do about it, since we had to do all of the sections in order.

I ended up getting through most of the sections without much difficulty. Halfway through the third, and final, time through the sections it started raining. I'm not a weatherman, but any time rain starts hitting the ground means mud! And mud means limited traction, which means foot dabs and crashes! Uh oh. I was kind of getting worried. But I ended up being worried about nothing, since I actually had fewer faults in the muddy conditions! Just call me lucky. Or skilled. *ahem* ;)

Riding the trails out of the woods was also really fun. Just back and forth flowing everywhere! Doing that in the rain got me really muddy, though.

After I finished, I went back to a section and helped clean up everything. Another guy and I ended up cleaning two sections. It seemed like it was harder to get it out of there than riding over it was! But I wasn't complaining.

I ended up getting 3rd place out of 18 guys in the intermediate class. That's with only 9 points. I'm pumped on that! The day was a success!

-Greg