Leven Valley Two Day
‘Give them what they want, and they will come!’ These are the words expressed by so many who came to Kinlochleven in late September and enjoyed the second running of the ‘Alternative Scottish’, the Leven Valley Two-Day Trial. Greeted by traditional autumnal weather, the ‘Gods’ were kind, and the rain stayed away, opening the door for two days of international trials action. The organising Kinlochleven & District MCC gauged the severity of the hazards to give the 250 riders an enjoyable two days of competitive riding. At the close of the action, it was Steve ‘Butch’ Robson who, based on his age, became the second rider to proudly hold the magnificent Sammy Miller trophy. It was presented by the guest of honour, Bernie Schreiber.
For the majority of the people who travel to the event, it’s quite a long but rewarding drive to Kinlochleven. It lies at the eastern end of Loch Leven at the foot of the spectacular mountains known as the Mamores, in Scotland.
Passing through the magnificent area of Glencoe, which is seven miles east of Kinlochleven, you are greeted with a small town that is popular with walkers, climbers and winter sports enthusiasts.
The start area of the trial is on the site of a huge aluminium smelter, which was established in 1904 and powered by a hydro-electric scheme that dammed the Blackwater valley above the village. At the time, when it was built, it was the largest in Europe. The smelting plant is long gone, however, its vast pipes that used to carry the water down to the smelting plant remain. They can be found at the side of one of the most iconic trials sections in the world, the ‘Pipeline’.
Welcome back
Fort William has been the home base for many years of the Scottish
Six Days Trial, which is traditionally held the first week in May each year. Kinlochleven has played a significant part in this event, with many hazards scattered around the surrounding hills. It also welcomed the Pre65 Scottish since the mid-eighties, a two-day event catering specifically for trials machines manufactured before 1965.
After becoming the first non-European to win the FIM World Trials Championship in 1979 on a Bultaco, tall American, Bernie Schreiber, blasted the trials world with a win at the 1982 Scottish Six Days Trial riding an Italian SWM. No other non-European rider has won the event since that memorable six days. After the win, he had never returned to the area in the Highlands until the Kinlochleven & District MCC welcomed him back to be the guest of honour at the 2019 Leven Valley Two-Day Trial. The club president, Martin Murphy, had spoken with Bernie earlier in the year and he openly embraced the opportunity to return to his old hunting ground.
Triumph times
More closely associated with Bultaco and SWM machines, on which he scored his major success, Martin offered Bernie the opportunity to ride a four-stroke Pre-65 machine in the event: a mighty 350cc Triumph Twin housed in a Special ‘Drayton’ frame. Arriving in the UK on the Friday morning before the two days of action, Bernie first set eyes on his ‘steed’ for the weekend that afternoon. Despite the fact that the gear change and rear brake levers were the opposite way around in the more traditional British setup, he was soon enjoying his new-found fun on the Triumph, having a quick ride up the side of the iconic pipes above Kinlochleven.
As the early evening darkness descended on the area, so had the 250 riders entered including the Classic Trial Magazine test rider from Italy, Justyn Norek Jnr. He had made the long journey alone with only his 350cc four-stroke Greeves/Triumph Special for company! Adding an authentic international flavour to the event were the ten riders from Tarragona, Spain, who all looked very professional in their own ‘team’ riding kit.
Sunshine and smiles
The start of the day was welcomed by sunshine and the close of day one with smiles all round. Despite a few clouds in the sky, the riders started in numerical order and headed out and up onto the old Mamore road to cover 30 sections on a 20-mile lap. The old road was once the main link between Kinlochleven and Fort William and is set in a very dramatic landscape surrounded by high mountains. It’s a truly beautiful part of the world that also takes in the West Highland walk from Glasgow to Fort William.
The hazards all rode very well. Such was the high standard of riding that, at the close of the day, ten riders were ‘clean’ having parted with no marks all day. Nine riders had two marks, and a further six had parted with three marks lost including American, Bernie Schreiber, leaving the event wide open for a new winner in 2019 as the 2018 winner, John Charlton, was not riding.
From the original entry of 250 riders, 14 were non-starters, and two had retired. The ten riders on no marks lost knew that day two would be a true test of nerves as the tie-decider is based on the rider who is the oldest.
Precious
Any mark lost on day two would be precious, such was the closeness of the marks lost on day one. One early retirement was Schreiber, who took a nasty fall between sections, in turn, damaged the clutch on the Triumph. He returned to carry out repairs, but the damage was terminal. He did return to Pipeline later in the day though to ride the iconic hazard, but this was cut short with a badly misfiring machine.
For the rest of the entry, the route takes them high above Kinlochleven with terrific views of the surrounding area. The Spanish riders, from Tarragona, all looked back and spoke of ‘Living the Dream’ – many of them had lived for this day, to ride their trials machines in the Scottish Highlands, and they loved it. The route on day two is a little harder, with some open moorland riding. It is very familiar with the Scottish Six
Days Trial as you arrive at the hazards situated under the Blackwater Dam. It’s then the ride down to Pipeline and the opportunity for each rider to attempt to ride the hazard feet-up. Many ‘clean’ passages were made up the steep intimidating climb. For the riders, the sheer elation of reaching its highest point is what they have lived for in all their trials riding years.
A good turnout of spectators warmly applauded all the riders who made the summit. For the ‘clean’ rides, the roof was raised on many occasions, both by the rider and the supporter as the cheers echoed around the surrounding hills.
Super Steve
For the riders who stayed behind and rounded off a good weekend at the awards presentation, the major award winners had the opportunity to have them presented by Bernie Schreiber. He handed over some of the trophies along with some of the major sponsors who were there.
Before the main awards were presented, the organising team handed out prizes from the raffle that had been donated by many of the trial’s sponsors, which was a nice gesture. It was ably supported by John Moffat on the microphone.
Bernie thanked everyone for the warm welcome on his return as he then proceeded to continue with the presentation. With the Special awards out of the way, it was then the countdown to the overall winner. When the name, Steve ‘Butch’ Robson, was read out, a huge cheer that raised the roof echoed around the ‘Ice Factor’ building, which was the headquarters for the event. ‘Super Steve’ was one very happy guy and a very worthy winner.