Riding school rated
The slowest form of motorsport in the world but the trickiest to master
Trials Day
TRIALS RIDING IS the gymnastics of the two-wheeled world with riders (often clad in rather fetching 1980s glam-rock-style spandex…) making their motorcycles do the unfeasible. For most of us, it conjures up childhood memories of Kick Start on TV but the sport has come a long way since then and if you have never witnessed the current superstar Toni Bou do his stuff, get onto Youtube now and prepare to be amazed. Yet how hard can it actually be? Can riding a bike over a tree stump at
5mph really be that tricky? If you fancy finding out the answer, and having a brilliant day out in the process, book yourself on a trials school such as Staffordshire-based Trials Day.
Run by Stu Day, Trials Day is a one-stop location for anyone who has an interest in trails riding. From complete novice to expert, Stu’s set-up can cater for any experience level and he has a range of Gasgas bikes to meet any requirement. As a complete novice, I turned up with nothing aside from enthusiasm and was a little taken aback when presented with the riding kit of a pair of trials boots, open face lid, MX trousers and a shirt — but no armour. Asking Stu if the lack of armour meant I was unlikely to fall off, his laughing response of “Oh yes, 100% you are going to crash” made me a little worried before be continued “trials is like ballet on a bike; you need to be able to move around and I’ll teach you how to fall off.” That £25 damage waiver was probably money well invested…
Once kitted up, Stu kicks off with a bit of a Joe-wicks-style workout (minus the squeaky voice) as we limber up for the day ahead. Trials boots aren’t ideal for a pilates session but Stu insists stretching out will prevent cramp later as trials is a very physical sport, so I copy his lunges and try not to laugh. Already out of breath, the next stage is to meet the 250cc two-stroke Gasgas trials bike (which doesn’t have a seat, so there is no rest) and Stu explains how to stand on it when you ride, and how to fall off (basically leap to the side) when it all goes wrong. He also hammers home the importance of always keeping your fingers on the clutch lever which, in retrospect,
is a lesson I probably should have paid quite a bit more attention to…
Next up are some basic exercises on a flat grassy field to help build the foundations of trials riding through learning the proper technique. Drills such as standing up and riding one-handed in circles may sound easy but I’m soon rolling across the grass having launched the Gasgas in the opposite direction. As a road rider, it is all very alien as you are putting your body in some strange shapes in order to correctly distribute your weight for maximum grip and agility but the drills are fun and also effective, especially the turning in a tight circle when your inside peg is almost on the ground due to the huge amounts of lean – and all on wet grass, which was a bit of a mind blower!
With the basics in place, the rest of the day is taken gently upping the ante in a variety of locations around Stu’s 200-acre farm. After the field I moved to a small copse where I merrily zig-zagged around tree roots, rode up and down small inclines and even took on a log, which was dispatched with a bit of confidence, demonstrating just how capable the bike (if not the rider quite yet) is. All the time Stu explains the correct technique and jovially encourages you to push yourself to try something that can look intimidating but is actually well within your capabilities if you just trust the bike and the techniques he has taught you. Not that it always goes to plan though…
After gaining a bit of confidence in the copse, we moved on to an uphill rocky incline, which I attacked with gusto, loads of revs and a complete lack of thought about what would happen if, by some miracle, I reached the top. Amazingly, I did and gracefully cresting the rise with the engine well on pipe saw the Gasgas pointing towards the heavens and me running behind it. Remember that lesson about keeping your finger on the clutch? Nope, me neither and I pirouetted the Gasgas around its back wheel and threw it into the scenery (again) while I rolled down the hill. Once he had finished laughing, Stu explained my mistake — the clutch cuts the power in an emergency — and a few minutes later I made it up the section still attached to the bike. And this is how the day progresses, with tougher challenges interspersed with a few crashes and a lot of laughs.
Mastering a trials bike is nothing like road riding and, to be honest, very few of the skills are interchangeable aside from the low-speed control. However, that isn’t the point of Trials Day. This riding school is all about learning a new technique, challenging yourself and basically having a right good laugh in some stunning scenery. If you have a group of friends who are all into bikes, I thoroughly recommend spending a day with Stu. Because trials happens at a slow pace, the chances of injury are minimum and you can always hear your mates’ shouts of encouragement as you defeat a tricky section. Or more likely, their laughter as you fire yourself into the undergrowth…