Wessex Centre ACU Chattering

Mendip Vale’s  Traders Trophy turned out to be a super event, with a nice warm sunny day. I was given a lovely section to observe, a proper straight climb over loose rocks finishing off with a very slippery rooted bank then a flat dry exit, it was just about perfect.

As is usual there were lots of spectators wandering about with nothing to do, but sadly the club still struggled to find enough observers. Later in the day Rob Pike turned up to watch Tom ride my section. He told me that he’d had to give up his ride, because they were so short on observers, and he had just started to tell me about his new road bike when we were interrupted by the arrival of two riders, who wanted a serious word with him. It was Ben Bramwell and his mate and evidently they both had a bit of a cob on for one said to Pikey, “Your observers are rubbish.” I stopped listening at that point,  (I didn’t want to hear again the usual nonsense about being robbed of victory by those vicious and incompetent observers), but it did trigger a memory of a similar situation which took place many years ago.

It was in the Kickham Trial, an old Wessex-Centre National, which started from the Jolly Collier at Camerton. I was helping Dick Green with the sidecars and because of a shortage of observers three of us were conducting them round as a mob. Anyway it rained cats and dogs, which made all the sections just about impossible to ride, so by the time we’d got to Pipehouse the entire entry had become  totally exhausted. They were a pathetic sight, fifty broken men all lying about, half way through the toughest trial for years, and it was looking like they weren’t going to finish in daylight. Well after a bit of a meeting they decided that the only course open to them was to have a word with Dick, to try and persuade him to ease things off. So they appointed a spokesman and off he went to see Mr Green.

I followed on and I heard what was said. Spokesman, “Dick the trial is getting to be near impossible and we’ll never finish in the light at this rate. Could you please consider altering things to make it all a bit easier?” Quite a nice reasonable little speech I thought, if a little risky considering Dicks bad temper. And so it proved for when his answer came back it was quite poetic.”  I Didn’t !!!!!!!!!!!! ask you to come here. So if you don’t like it you can all !!!!!!!!!!!! off now.”

I’m with Mr Green. Too many A class riders these days think they can do as they please. They should stay away if they won’t behave.   Ba