Boxing Day turned out to be a gorgeous day filled with blue sky, crispy air, and a few wisps of early morning fog. I’m not known to brave shopping malls the day after Christmas, and this year was no exception. Ron Walsh, a friend and dual sport riding buddy of mine, invited me to a Canadian Pacific Trials Association (CPTA) practice ride. I gladly accepted, and with camera in hand I made my way out to the Belcarra Regional Park to find out what the world of trials riding was all about. To be completely honest, I had no idea what to expect. I had seen a few YouTube videos of trials competitions but that was pretty much it.
The first thing I noticed was the size of the bikes. I knew they were smaller than ‘regular’ dirt bikes but after throwing a leg over one I was astonished at the weight, or specifically the lack of weight. Ron informed me the bikes come in at around 65 to 70 kilograms (about 150 pounds). Wow, that is light. My DR350 tips the scales at twice that! The second thing trials bikes will do is introduce you to a whole new world of motorcycle manufacturers: Sherco, Ossa, Beta, Gas Gas, Montesa, Scorpa. Ever heard of them? Me neither.
Click on the photo to launch the gallery.
ossa_trials_bike
The age diversity among the riders was far greater than I had anticipated too. Preteens to golden years were well represented, and both genders too, albeit the majority were male.
The most interesting part of trials riding was not only the safety of the event but also the ‘togetherness’ or intimacy of the ride. Much of this has to do with the lack of speed, of course. However, I think there are other underlying factors going on here. Watching riders act as ‘safety spotters’ for competing riders as they traversed challenging sections of the course was a truly refreshing experience. At an enduro event it’s not unusual see a rider and his bike be run over by the oncoming traffic!
The high margins of safety are also a boon for spectators. I cannot think of another moto event that would have allowed me to snap close up photos of the action with a 20mm (30mm on APS-C) lens without risking life or limb. It was a great feeling being that close to the riders — I felt like I was part of the competition myself!
To end the day, an impromptu game of croquet broke out! Yeah, you read that right. Judging by how each shot was scrutinized, and watching the riders scratch shot counts on their score cards lead me to believe croquet is taken as seriously as the riding. Who woulda thunk it?
All in all my first exposure to the world of trials riding was an amazing experience. Even though today’s trials action was nothing more than an informal get together /slash/ practice, I can’t imagine a full-blown nationally contested event would have left me less satisfied.
So keep your eye on the 2010 CPTA schedule and mark your calendar. I think the sport of trials riding will make fans out of all of us 
hello my name is Dwight Herbert and i am a rc rock crawler i’ve bin doing this hobbie of most of my life and what i and my wife and aswell great freinds that rock crawl and us both couples do not belong to any club but do buy parts from local rc hobbie shops in the tri cities.So any way i have bin living at 391 ioco rd port moody for most of my life and i am 38 years old.so the reason that i am trying to contact you is this on sunday feb21 2010 there was a competion i guess so we were confronted with great agression lunging his bike at us and useing choice words that i don’t agee with his behavour, he was acusing us of leaving trash around and told us that to tell our other buddys to do the same, and we told that guy who ever it was that we don’t talk to anyone in any clubs for that matter, and we take in and take out our garbage and we also don’t smoke
so any way this has bin very upsetting for our party of four people that love to go out on sat/sun to do wht u guys aswell are doing crawling rocks.So if u can locate that person that is or has bin the agressor to stop it, and i have given to all of the local rc shops what had happened on sunday and thet will spred the word to clean up after them selves so if this keeps up with the garbage beinig left behind think as well there are high school kids that go up there as well when well after everyone has gone i know this because when i was a kid i was up there too.
i’ll be pleased to hear from you.
Hi there Dwight,
Thank you for leaving a comment. To be honest you have left me more than a little confused, so please don’t mind the questions
1. You mentioned that someone lunged their bike at you. Where exactly did this incident happen, at the Trials Club riding area on Thermal Plant Road or closer to your home at 391 Ioco Road?
2. You also mentioned the term “rc” a few times (“rc rock crawler”, “local rc shops” & “rc hobby shops”). Please explain what you mean by the term “rc”.
I can’t imagine anyone from the local trials club that would do this & believe it may have been a random incident from a rogue rider. If you can answer my questions it would greatly assist me in helping you.
Cheers,
Arthur Pappas