No1March 2015 Issue 256

WWW.CROYDON-MCC.ORG.UK

Croydon AGM is on 25th March at 8.30 pm at theChessington venue

Its that time of year again. Colin Fox and Joe Beard will need lots ofwilling helpers this year to put the usual 'Brilliant' Croydon Time CardEnduro on at West Harting Down. The added interest this year is thatour venue has been chosen for the Inter Centre Enduro later in the yearand much of our course will be used, so its likely to be a tough courselayout this year with added spice. Dont forget folks this doesnt happenby its self and our club has an excellent reputation to uphold set byprevious events

2 Weeks preceding the17th May 2015West Harting Down

Croydon MCC InfoIssue No 256 March 2015Club OfficialChairman and Trial SecretaryDick Bentley, Epsom. 01372 727244

Trial Secretary (Deputy)Graham Stratford, Old Coulsdon. 01737 553 599

Enduro SecretaryJoe Beard, Morden. 0208 330 7141joseph.beard@virgin.net

Enduro Secretary (Deputy) - Quarter MasterColin Fox, Medstead. 01420 564337

Membership SecretaryHazel Collins 0118 942 1534 rhaze@talktalk.net14 Brookside, Calcot, West Berkshire RG31 7PJ

TreasurerVictor Hurst, Crawley. 01293 882 694vrh62005@yahoo.co.uk

EditorPaul Chandler, Ockley. 07917 040 121chandlerpaul@live.co.uk

Vacancies - Secretary

TRF Contact Steve Sharp Carshalton, 0208 773 4204steve.j.sharp@bt.com

Website www.croydon-mcc.org.uk

Hazel’s CornerAs at 18 February, we welcome three new members in:

(i) Geoffrey Gostage of Egham who found us on the internet(ii) Kevin Wakeley from Hayes, introduced by Mark Beakhouse(iii) Paul Lane, persuaded to join us by Joe Beard

Renewals so far are from:Michael Chandler of MersthamJason King of SilverstoneClive Gammage from Chart in SurreyVic Underwood of CheamPeter & Jamie Moller of Rogate near PetersfieldLawrence Wheeler from New Addington who bought a shirt as wellAndrew Sharp of EdenbridgeMark Beakhouse and George Beakhouse of UxbridgeChris Stanger from Faygate

Awards that I currently hold for club members are for Chris Stangerand Andrew Sharp – both from the Kingston enduro last year at IronHill.

I have a Norton (Commando?) cylinder head (pictured below). Isanyone interested in it? For a fee, of course! Other bits here haveto go, too.

Croydon Shirts.

We still have a few shirts left at the unbelievable price of £10, wear or besquare ladies and gents. They are appropriate for all occasions fromchristenings, job interviews and weddings. Oh they look good when ridingfor your club too.

Contact Hazel for sizes and collection.

HAZEL COLLINS

The Witley Classic Warren Heath

Round 1 SEEC Timecard Enduro Series

No doubting the effort Witley MCC put in to make this one of the most popularevents in the SEEC Timecard Enduro calendar, 18 mile lap of pure forestry goingand 3 special tests which consisted of a Cross Country Test, Enduro Test and anMotocross Test, i felt the winning recipe was going to be desire and fitness,entry of over 160 riders a very cold February morning that turned into atorrential downpour before the end... a proper Classic Enduro.

WWW.Wibberley Wins Witley

Championship Class

Daryl Bolter on the Crescent KTM was favouritepre-­‐race and was very much pumped up ready forthis event as a warm up to his busy BritishChampionship season ahead but from the off hehad a small teething problem on his new bikewhich by the time it was fixed his adrenalin hadwaned so used it as a training event and stillmanaged to post the fastest test times, BenWibberley on the Freestyle Husqvarna wasrelishing a battle with Bolter but even without hepushed hard all day and kept his timecard cleanto take the win, runner up was Steve White is hisfirst ride in Championship class on the ZincladKTM and kept clean all day on the going times, 3rd

Malcolm Coles who has not ridden competitively for a while showed his abilitytoday for all to see but felt a bit deflated after brake failure towards the endthat held him back a bit, 4th with a solid performance was Dan Lawry whom hada fantastic season last year driving sidecar enduro and still a bit lost minus histhird wheel, 5th Darren Osborne also on his debut in the elite class.

Expert Class

No doubting the winner in this class Tom Ellwood who would have been acontender for Championship class victory with superb test times and kept cleanon the going, runner up Jack Barwick who was pushed all the way by Mark Kirby

who was relishing in the testing conditions who camehome 3rd, 4th DomWilson with a solid showing andconsistent throughout the event, 5th James Mestonwho is one to watch with good skills but needs to calmdown a touch to bridge the gap.

Vet A Class

Neil Challice comes and goes and has an enigma abouthim but today he laid his cards on the deck andshowed all he is the man to beat in this class by takingthe victory and to be honest everyone in this class hasto try and raise their game if they want this title,runner up was Dave Coles who like Neil managed to

stay clean on times all day, 3rd Al Ranger who relishes on challenges and lovedthe event and was very much worthy of that final podium.

Vet A O50 Class

Great battle in this class with the top 3 allstaying clean on the going which resulted inthe test times being the key factor and it wasPaul Armstrong who looked fearless on thetests and seemingly faultless which gave himthe class victory, runner up for the rarelyseen smiling face of Euan Harrison whom Iam sure gave his all and will be happy withthat runners up spot, 3rd Joe Beard who wasso close to Euan he could smell hisaftershave.

Clubman A Class

Maybe I should take up crystal ball readingsas I predicted the top 3 in this class althoughnot in the exact order as they finished but Idid have Darren Perry as class winner and he did not disappoint with hiseffortless looking style but was pushed by royalty in a pair of Kings namely Scottand Peter and have not seen Scott so aggressive and I feel that’s what gave himthe family victory over Peter today who had to settle for 3rd spot.

Vet B Class

Probably the most popular victorytoday with Jeff Cannons taking thetop spot and very much deservedwith a mixture of aggression, skilland that burning desire of wantingto win, Shane Babey made thelong journey from the South Westand put in a sterling effort for 2nd

place, 3rd place Matt Hubbard whoperformed so well on the special tests but lost time on the going which affectedhis result but never less a great start to the season.

Vet B O50 Class

It did not start to well for John Muizelaar aftergetting a branch caught under his rear brakecausing him to stop to try and repair and thenhis transponder not working correctly but Johnis not fazed by these small problems and wenton to stay clean on times and put in fastest testtimes of class to take a very well earned classvictory, runner up was Craig Redmond with asolid showing and like John stayed clean ontimes, final podium went to Stephen Scott.

Clubman B Class

What a fantastic start to the season for DorsetPolice MCC rider Neil Deakin with an emphaticclass victory and very much the star of the

class, runner up and what a great start to his Clubman B career for Jonathan Birdafter a successful season last year as a sportsman, 3rd teenager Ben Harding whoexcelled on the tests but lost time on the going.

Evo Class

It’s always great to see the bikes of yesteryear outthere still competing and victory went to HondaXR280 ridden by Hans Gilham, runner up a SuzukiPE175 ridden by Alan Woods and 3rd a KawasakiKDX200 ridden by Colin Fox.

Sportsman Class

Liam Hastings took class victory with a solidperformance and stayed clean on times all dayand posted fastest test times of the class, runnerup Mark Barter from Dorset Police MCC, 3rd NeilWilkinson who was only a whisker away fromrunners up spot.

MY HALF DAY AT WITLEY’S ENDURO ON 22 FEBRUARY

For a change, I was not among the first arrivals at an event. I suffered digs from Colin Cowley (below right) because, for a change, I was not first. I’d left home at 6.40am because Warren Heath is only about half an hour away from home so arrived at 7.20am.

I drove straight into a convenient parking place and set up the table full of goodies for people to buy or just collect. I’d taken awards from previous events (last year and the year before that) for some of the riders and managed to give away four. Other winners had obviously ignored my invitation to collect them (or I didn’t have an e-mail address for them).

It was extremely cold and I have to apologise to those who asked how I was and my answer was just a clipped, “too cold.”

The sun rose and it became half a degree warmer so I was glad that I’d parked in what would become a sunspot and not a shady place.

I noted from the riders’ list that we had twenty-five members competing today and, as usual, ticked them off my list as I saw them. Among those who had entered were: Darren Osborne, Clive Gammage, Mick Stradwick, Chris Stanger, Joe Beard, Shane Babey, Euan Harrison, Colin Cowley, James Archer, Jason King, Paul Lane (below), Rainer Halsall, Peter Moseley (below), Max Rose (accompanied by Mark Alway), Mark Beakhouse, George Beakhouse (below), Kevin Wakeley (below) and Colin Fox. Those whom I did not see were: James Meston, Robert Taylor, Ian Mitchell, Andrew Sharp, Chris O’Grady, and Andrew Wright.

Paul Lane Peter Moseley George Beakhouse Kevin Wakeley

David Millar has not been to an event with Clive Gammage for the last few events because his knee keeps popping out of place so he cannot ride at the moment. I hope it improves with time, David.

It was about half past eleven when I ate my sandwich, prepared the night before, of course, to enable the flavours to mix. Egg mayonnaise with slices of tomato this time. It was such a cold meal though that I could not taste any of it. I didn’t last

much longer because the wind was bitingly cold and rain was about to begin so I left at about 12.30pm and came home. Two or three people renewed their membership at this event so thank you to Chris Stanger, Mark Beakhouse and George Beakhouse. Jason King collected a membership card because he’d lost his existing one.I spotted former member Peter Robinson (pictured left) riding from home up to the control area so had a brief word with him. He’s thinking of returning to the sport.

Club Member’s Comments

Colin Cowley – Thanks to the marshal who pulled me up and I pinched his finger in the head stock, and thanks to Aaron Smith for pointing a nice way up through the trees and, if he

had moved, I would have hit the tree and squashed my fingers, hope he's ok, and best of all I finished. Don't think many people had brake pads at the end of the event.

Euan Harrison (pictured left) – Good day at the Witley classic. Nothing like as wet as last year. Shame the last test was cancelled. we were waved past start back onto course. It would have made the last check time tight, but achievable. Well done to the Witley crew and I hope you didn't get too wet clearing up. I've just had a nice long soak in the bath with a beer. Now about to watch WSB while consuming half my body weight in roast pork….

Joe Beard – What an awesome event!

!

Ian Mitchell – Thanks for pulling me out of that hole today Euan. I can't believe I dnf after you got me out of there. I think the clutch plates went just before I got to the last test of the day. Can't complain really. I think that’s my first breakdown since I started riding which wasn't caused by crash damage or puncture. Sod’s law made it happen at the end of the day. I was 5 hrs in and about 3miles from the end so all the walkers had gone home Chris Stanger – Shame Ian Mitchell you have been going well recently. James Archer (pictured right) – That was a loop to be proud of [Witley] guys, bit of everything in it.Same again next year please, hopefully I'll manage more than the 1 loop - wanted to be able to say I'd done the whole lap before crying off.

HAZEL COLLINS

THE SCOTT TRIAL 1959Reading Mike Slaters account of the 2014 Scott Trial brought backmemories of my first Scott Trial in 1959, 55 years ago. It seems Mikeslater like me, a southerner drew early numbers, he was no6 in 2014and I was no4 all those years ago.

What ‘Southerners’ don’t always know is the effect of the YorkshireMoors weather, freezing fog, drizzle, slimy grass, heavy dew and mist.All usually caused by warm bogs and cold weather (Ed, I think I knowwhat you mean Mike!) and it burns off slowly. I noticed all the goodriders had later numbers for starting which meant you had greatervisibility and most importantly you could see to pick a path throughthe bogs. Something denied the early starters by the fog and mist.

Like Mike I started off early and was riding well although the wet slimygrass was very difficult and the visibility minimal. I was experiencingrocks and waterfalls the like of which we just don’t have down south.You also learn a lot from example, I arrived at a very steep drop onwet grass and stopped to have a look for a path down, hoping to missthe ones in a pile at the bottom.

Whilst I waited twoYorkshire works ridersarrived at the top, theyjumped off the bikes andsat down beside them andpushed off down the hill,sliding down on theirbacksides whilstfeathering the front braketo slow themselves down !At the bottom theyremounted and shot off.

There are many swollenstreams which you ridethrough on the route,which get very difficult as 180 riders plough through. You can learn alot from the Welsh boys, they went up and down stream searching forcrossing places. Us southerners were learning to ride the moors at thetime, so how did I get on ?

Well, arriving at a ravine at speed with a 90-degree bend and amissing marker flag, my brakes were ineffectual on the wet grass andI went over a 40’ ravine edge ending in a pile at the bottom. I brokethe frame on my new 250 Francis Barnett

I was very lucky there were spectators who helped me and got meback to the finish, fortunately the Francis Barnett competition

manager was there, Ernie Smith. He loaded up the bike and took it tothe factory, repaired itand had it back withme in a week at nocost!

(Ed .. Ill try that withKTM next time but Iwont hold me breath)

In all I did 2 ScottTrials, One on theBarnett the other on a250 Greeves, I finishedthe course 17 minutesout of my time limit onthe Greeeves after I gotstuck in a deep bog foran hour.

The Scott Trial has always been held on a Saturday, at the time I usedto do a lot of National trials with Eddie Reynolds of the Weybridgeclub who rode a 500 BSA. Eddie had an old Post Office Morris Minorpick, with 2 bikes on board it was good for 35 MPH. I rode my FrancisBarnet from Wallington to Park Lane where I would meet Eddie load upand begin the journey.

There were almost no motorways so it was a long flog up the old A1,we took it in turns to do the driving. In November in was very cold andthe pick had no heater, so we wore our Belstaffs to try to keep out thecold. At one point we went into a dip in the road and heard a large‘crack! A sheet of ice had frozen the screen solid! We decided to find aB&B but all we could get to was an old transport café with a room atthe back. No Premier Inns in those days.

The room was frozen on the inside and the bed grubby, we didn’t sleepso at daylight we pushed on to Richmond where we found a pub with alog fire. Going home was better as my bike went to the factory so wegot 40 MPH on the straights and 15 on the hills with only one bike onboard.

We ran out of petrol as the gauge wasn’t working, so we unloaded thebike and using some rope and Barber belts we towed the van to apetrol station, it was very slow going.

All in all memories which last a lifetime, I am now 78 and over the yearsmotorcycles have played a large part of my life, competing up toInternational standards.

My advice to Mike slater is YES do it again, you are well equipped thesecond time around and like me try to get to Yorkshire a couple of

days before the trial to try and get your bearings and see what you areup against. The Yorkshire boys use the Moors for practise, you cantalways beat em’ but you can learn from them.

I’m just of to Bike Week in Daytona, my twelfth visit.

Mike Bradbrook.

Daytona Bike Week 12 visits !I wonder why ?Mike thanks for your input Mike, Alwaysinteresting and always welcome.

Mike Bradbrook

Anyone seen Mike ?

TRIALS TORQUE

The Jan Group Trial was run by the Kingston Club at Hungry Hill - Riderswere Mark and Ben Alway - Ian Rhodes - Vic Hurst and yours truly.Vic retired with a broken kick start on his Yamaha. Mark won the'Twinshock' class and Ian and Ben continued their battle in the Noviceclass.

The Feb Trial run by Sunbeam MCC should have been at Bagshot but atthe last moment the Army withdrew permission.(Ed.. There is a blanket ban at Bagshot at the moment, I know Dick Coles isnegotiating with them at the moment)

Hook Woods was the replacement venue and it was run in conjunctionwith a TVTC Trial. Two laps of twenty sections were laid out. Mark waspresented with his Trophy for the Star Group Twinshock Champion 2014.

(Ed... Has anyone got a camera at the Trials that could send me some pictures ofthe Croydon competitors. I looked at the Star Group web site which is very good butputting names to faces is quite difficult. Well done Mark, it would be good if youcould write me a piece about your year. )

Riders were Mark and Ben, Ian and myself, Vic observed. Sections wereon the easy side – Mark won the Twinshock on 3 marks lost, Ian and Benwere 24 & 23 marks lost. I made a right mess of a section not realisingthat the section continued where 19 ended !

Dick Bentley

Any Croydon Members going this year who could do a diary forthe No1 would be very welcome. Alternativley use club fundsand send me !! All in favour say.......