Spen Valley MCC

Rd 1club championship 14/01/12

Report: Ian Exley

51 riders turned up at Harden Moor despite the sub zero temperature to ride a 3 lap 10 section course plotted by Paul Duffill,Dave Hodds and Steve Tattersfield.

John Hillam showed his young apprentice Ben Horner how it should be done on the hard course taking an easy win dropping just 15 marks to Ben’s 38.

Nathan Allen just pipped club stalwart Stewart Oughton to the top spot by two marks on the middle route.

Mark Constantine was a clear winner on the easy course by ten clear marks from runner up Giles Walker.

Section 1 was a steady opener starting with a ride over a couple of slabs & steps followed by a series of tight turns between and over rocks with the exit up a banking

The tight turn on the easy course took at least a dab from the entry except for winner

Mark Constantine who cleaned it twice.

Michael Major was stationed at section 7 where all three courses had to climb a very slippery rock covered cambered bank to the ends cards.A steady throttle hand was needed and Michael Benn riding the mid course proved this by keeping feet up on all three visits,John Hillam managed the only clean on the hard course.

Section 9 started with a climb up a rock covered bank,the hard course then had a series of large rock steps to negotiate,the mid & easy routes bypassed these but had an

Awkward gap between two rocks to negotiate before a tricky slab and step.

Again Messrs Hillam and Benn were best here with a hatrick of cleans

Two riders of the days awards,firstly A class rider Thomas Housecroft eclipsed

All the adult riders on the middle course,his loss of 11 marks would have taken top spot.C class national rider Joe Faunthorpe again showed what a young talent he is by

Dropping just 25 on the same route which would have been good enough to take 4^th place amongst the adult ranks.

A special mention goes to young D class rider Edward Earle who battled round the easy course for a very respectable 95 marks.

HARD COURSE (ADULT)

1.John Hillam (Gas) 15 2.Ben Horner (Gas) 38 3.Jamie Stephenson (Gas) 55

4.Rob Loney (Gas) 62

MIDDLE COURSE (ADULT)

1.Nathan Allen (Gas) 18 2.Stewart Oughton (Bet) 20 3.Michael Benn (Gas) 24

4.Chris Monie (Mon) 26 5.Neil Wright (Gas) 34 6.Jeff Prior (Ossa) 35

MIDDLE COURSE (A CLASS)

1.Thomas Housecroft (Bet) 11 2.Nathan Major (Gas) 44 3.Ben Francis (Gas) 126

MIDDLE COURSE (C CLASS)

1. Joe Faunthorpe (Bet) 25 2.Kieran Child (Bet) 63

EASY COURSE (ADULT)

1.Mark Constantine (Bet) 16 2.Giles Walker (Bet) 26 3.Leigh Bell (Gas) 33

4.Stephen Hall (Mon) 41 5.Martin Brown (Bet) 43 6.Steven Fielden (Ossa) 51

EASY ROUTE (B CLASS)

1.Joseph Fox (Gas) 60 2.James Bottomley (Gas) 66

EASY ROUTE (C CLASS)

1.Thomas Constantine (Bet) 58 2.Aaron Carter (Bet) 79 3.Joe Smith (She) 134

EASY ROUTE (D CLASS)

1.Edward Earle (Bet) 95

Spen Valley MCC

Rd 9 club championship 27/12/11

Report: Ian Exley

39 riders turned up at Harden Moor to work off their xmas excesses for the final round of this years Spen Valley club championship

Paul Duffill assisted by Dave Hodds,Martin Brown,Keith Normington & Ian Exley set out a steady 4 lap 10 section course.

Usual hard route winner John Hillam had to settle for the runner up spot as his young protégé Ben Horner took the top spot by a single mark.

On The middle route Chris Ward took the win from Mick Smith with 3 marks to spare.

Ian Exley won the easy route by a clear 8 marks from friend and close rival Giles Walker.These two riders and Martin Brown have been neck and neck all season making the easy route club championship go to the final round.

Rene Smith was stationed at section 1 which had the riders climbing a steep banking between two rocks with a large step just before the ends cards.The majority of the entry recorded cleans but a loss of speed over the slippery rock did catch a few out.

Section 3 on the middle & hard routes had a series of steps and big slabs the easier route missed out the big slab.John Hillam was the only rider on the hard route to record four cleans,with Mick Smith & Stephen Jarman managing the same on the mid route.

The final section had all three courses going through a foot peg snagging gap between the rocks followed by a ride across some more rocks,the harder the course the bigger the obstacles,finishing with a tight turn and exit off a step to the ends cards

John Hillam was best here on two dabs,his young apprentice Mr Horner would have matched him until a brilliant clean turned to a five as eagle eyed observer Don Speight spotted him exit the section the wrong side of the end flag.

The rider of the day award goes to young B class rider Thomas Housecroft who dropped 8 on the mid route which would have earned him 3^rd on the adult course.

Another year of exciting spen valley trials has come to an end but it starts all over again with the 1^st round of the club champs sat 14^th jan at Harden Moor see tmx for full details.

HARD COURSE (ADULT)

1.Ben Horner (Gas Gas) 14 2.John Hillam (Gas Gas) 15 3.Richard Mellon (Gas Gas) 50

HARD COURSE (B CLASS)

1.Jack Price (Gas Gas) 23

MIDDLE COURSE (ADULT)

1.Chris Ward (Bet) 2 2.Mick Smith (She) 5 3.Jack Raynor (Gas Gas) 8

4.Ben Raynor (Bet) 9 5.Jeff Prior (Ossa) 14 6.Chris Monie (Mon) 15

MIDDLE COURSE (A CLASS)

1.Edward Berry (Gas Gas) 38

MIDDLE COURSE (B CLASS)

1.Thomas Housecroft (Bet) 8

MIDDLE COURSE (C CLASS)

1.Keiran Child (Bet) 13 2.Joe Faunthorpe (Bet) 28

EASY COURSE (ADULT)

1.Ian Exley (Bet) 9 2.Giles Walker (Bet) 17 3.Keith Normington (Bet) 21

4.Mick Ellis (Ossa) 42 5.Mick Jones (Gas Gas) 89

EASY ROUTE (B CLASS)

1.Zac Ashworth (Gas Gas) 51 2.Joseph Fox (Gas Gas) 60 3.Robert Ainley (Gas Gas) 60 4.Edward Ainley (Gas Gas) 133

EASY ROUTE (C CLASS)

1.Joe Smith (She) 124

Spen Valley MCC

Rd 5 club championship

Report: Ian Exley

49 riders decided not to watch the football and ride a 4 lap 10 section course

Plotted by Paul Duffill,Steve Tattersfield,Martin Brown and Leigh Bell at the

Fantastic Parkwood off road facility at Tong.

Ben Horner continued with his run of good form with a comfortable victory on the hard route from Neil Savage. Steve Tattersfield left his golf clubs at home and made a rare appearance to take top spot on the middle route from Nathan Allen.Paul Hobson just back from holiday showed no effects of jet lag and took the runner up spot behind Ian Exley on the easy course.

Margaret Spencer was at Section 2 which started with a climb up a bank to several

Angled slabs & steps,followed by a tight turn on loose stones over more rocks to the end cards.Stephen Jarman managed to stay feet up on every visit on the middle route.

On the easier route plenty of threes were recorded as rear wheels spun on the slippery

Slabs.If your nerve held a higher line up a large slab bypassed the steps which helped

Leigh Bell,Ian Exley,Giles Walker and Mick Ellis to record a full house of cleans.

After a spot of gardening a new section was found for number 5 which involved riding over a series of large moss covered logs,the harder the course the bigger the logs.Jack Overand who was observing had an entertaining afternoon as too quick an

Attack resulted in a sudden stop and for a few unlucky riders an even quicker dismount.young c class rider Joe Faunthorpe had two fantastic cleans on this section

With a fully commited attack getting applause from the watching riders.

A lack of observers meant some of the club members having to ride a lap then take over observing duties which normally wouldn’t have been a problem but the light fades quick and early in the winter.For the majority of the entry section 10 with its drop into the stream,climb over tree roots with further drops & climbs out of the stream over rocks caused little problems but when riden in poor light and in some cases with headlights on made an entertaining end to the trial for some.

Our next event is the final round of the Ras Sport sponsored nov & beg series

At cliffe lane Sunday dec 11^th start time 12.00 a seperate electric course will start at 10.00 am.Please bring an observer as the club pay £10.

HARD COURSE (ADULT)

1.Ben Horner (Gas) 18 2.Neil Savage (Gas) 30 3.Matt Pettet (Mon) 33

4.James Croft (Gas) 61

HARD COURSE (B CLASS)

1.Matt Whelan (Gas) 60

MIDDLE COURSE (ADULT)

1.Steve Tattersfield (Bet) 9 2.Nathan Allen (Gas) 14 3.Peter Field (She) 14

4.Stuart Hampson (Bet) 19 5.Chris Monie (Mon) 20 6.Stephen Jarman (Bet) 37

MIDDLE COURSE (A CLASS)

1.Nathan Major (Gas) 41

MIDDLE COURSE (B CLASS)

1.Jake Walker (Gas) 56

MIDDLE COURSE (C CLASS)

1.Joe Faunthorpe (Bet) 52

EASY COURSE (ADULT)

1.Ian Exley (Bet) 5 2.Paul Hobson (Bet) 7 3.Mick Ellis (Oss) 13

4.Martin Brown (Bet) 14 5.Paul Williams (Bet) 14 6.Giles Walker (Bet) 15

EASY COURSE (B CLASS)

1.Zac Ashworth (Gas) 27 2.William Hoare (She) 28 3.Jacob Simpson (Gas) 36

Spen Valley MCC

Rd 9 Ras Sport nov & beg championship

Report: Ian Exley

A very muddy and slippery cliffe lane greeted 38 riders for the final round of this years Spen Valley Ras Sport sponsored novice & beginners series.

Flag planters Leigh Bell,Martin Brown,Stephen Hall & Paul Hobson set the

course on the easy side due to ground conditions and judging by the many smiley faces they got it spot on.

Stuart Oughton took top honours on the hard route with the ever consistent Stephen Jarman taking the runner up spot.

On the middle course a back on form Giles Walker took the win on the most cleans verdict from Mick Hammond making for an interesting end to the championship as his main rival Ian Exley finished 6^th struggling with “man flu”.

Mick Ellis ruled supreme on the easy route as he has done all year but got pushed hard this time by Ben Hodds.

The first three sections were set “steady” and didn’t cause too many problems taking the odd dab or two from some of the entry.

Section four looked straight forward with a drop into the stream,over a large rock between two trees with a tight turn up the slippery clay banking but it took marks.A hole appeared under the water before and after the rock and too slow an approach caused a few riders to stop dead or slide of line before attacking the slippery exit,Stephen Jarman and Peter Field both riding the hard course managed to keep their feet firmly planted on the pegs on every visit.

Section seven was a real muddy affair,a ride over a small fallen tree followed by a climb up a slippery banking,a drop back down the banking over a series of small logs with the hard course having to ride over a tyre through thick mud to the end cards.Observer Jack Overand had an entertaining afternoon especially when Steve Ashworth’s attack on the the tyre ended with him sat on his backside in the mud

(yes steve martin caught it on camera).Steve learned by his mistake and cleaned the section on his three further visits.

The final section was a beauty,a turn over fallen trees into a mud bath with a full

Attack up a small banking with a fallen tree at the top.The most spectacular attack of the day award went to Mick Ward who’s 3^rd gear attack not only cleared the tree but nearly sent him into orbit,best here was Stuart Oughton dropping just a solitary dab on his last lap.

Our rider of the day award goes to old timer Paul “Thai Pork” Hobson who

Finished 4^th on the hard course showing he’s quickly got to grips riding his new mount.

The clubs last event of the year is our champ trial 27^th dec at Harden Moor start time 11 am

HARD COURSE (ADULT)

1.Stuart Oughton (Bet) 6 2.Stephen Jarman (Bet) 11 3.Peter Field (She) 15

4.Paul Hobson (Bet) 19 5.Steve Ashworth (Gas) 20 6.Roy Palmer (Gas) 20

HARD COURSE (A CLASS)

1.Nathan Major (Gas) 19

MIDDLE COURSE (ADULT)

1.Giles Walker (Bet) 25 2.Mick Hammond (Bet) 25 3.Matt Benn (Gas) 26

4.Keith Normington (Bet) 30 5.Chris Bradley (Ajs) 43 6.Ian Exley (Bet) 43

EASY COURSE (ADULT)

1.Mick Ellis (Oss) 12 2.Ben Hodds (Gas) 14 3.Mike Frizzell (Bet) 27

4.Robin Martin (Oss) 36 5.John Kirwin (Bet) 46 6.Andy Warren (She) 46

EASY ROUTE (A CLASS)

1.Lorcan Riley (Gas) 6

EASY ROUTE (B CLASS)

1.Dominic Thompson (Gas) 93

EASY ROUTE (C CLASS)

1.Zac Ashworth (Gas) 12

Spen Valley MCC

Rd 4 evening trial series

Report: Ian Exley

A beautiful summers evening greeted the 36 riders at cliffe lane gomersal for the final round of the evening series.Leigh Bell & Stephen Hall had plotted an eight section four lap course in the stream and on the steep bankings with the severity upped slightly for the last round.It was no suprise that expert John Hillam won the hard course by a comfortable margin from chris hunt after all cliffe lane is his back garden. On the middle route Stewart Oughton continued to dominate the local trials scene but was pushed hard by the ever improving Jordan Ashington.The easy route was won by club stalwart Keith Normanton who had a near perfect ride losing just one solitary dab.

Section 1 with its drops into the stream and climbs up the slippery clay bankings not to mention a tyre thrown in gave observer margaret spencer plenty of entertainment with many riders scrambling to the ends cards or coming to an abrupt halt on the tyre and an early bath,the only riders who managed four cleans here were stuart oughton & keith normington,their years of experience paying off.

Section 6 observed by the ever cheerful martin brown was another that caused a few problems with its very steep descent followed by a tight turn across a camber and climb over tree routes, B class national star jack price got it all wrong on lap one but recovered with three brilliant cleans.

The ride of the night though has to go to rising star william tolson who rode the mid route for a loss of 12 marks which was good enough for 3^rd putting a lot of adults to the sword,not bad for a ‘c’ class rider. The next spen trial is the next round of their nov/beg series sun 31.7 at rockinstones quarry with a start time 12 noon,

A first for the club at this event will be a seperate course for the E class with a start time of 10am,hope to see you all there.

RESULTS

HARD COURSE(ADULT)
1.John Hillam (Gas Gas) 17 2.Chris Hunt (Gas Gas) 34 3.Chris Monie (Mon) 83

HARD COURSE (YOUTH B CLASS)
1.Jack Price (Gas Gas) 37 2.Matt Whelan (Gas Gas) 64

MIDDLE COURSE (ADULT)
1.Stuart Oughton (Beta) 7 2. Jordan Ashington (Gas Gas) 9 3.Grant Whitaker (Mon) 12

MIDDLE COURSE (YOUTH A)
1.Nathan Major (Gas Gas) 15 2.Ben Francis (Gas Gas) 34 3.Alex Walker (Gas Gas) 36

MIDDLE COURSE (YOUTH B)
1.Andrew Eley (Beta) 51

MIDDLE COURSE (YOUTH C)
1.William Tolson (Beta) 12

MIDDLE COURSE (YOUTH D)
1.Charlie Smith (Beta) 74

EASY COURSE (ADULT)
1.Keith Normanton (Beta) 1 2.Tony Booth (Beta) 11 3.Mick Driffield (Yam) 21

EASY COURSE (YOUTH C)
1.Zac Ashworth (Gas gas) 54

EASY COURSE (YOUTH D)
1.Jacob Smith (Bet) 57