Rick, Jason, good to meet up with you at Haynes Museum and beyond. It’ll be interesting to see what Jason is going to ride next after the CZ

.
My competitive trial didn’t begin. A faulty AC regulator kept blowing headlamp bulbs so I had to return from the M1 and dump the bike in the garage

. A quick phone call to advise I’d be a non-starter , then I volunteered to marshal and was allocated Ilsington Village Hall car park with Nick Jones.
Jumped on my road bike and tore off to Popham through rain and much traffic in time to see off my riding companions, Andrew Berry and Alison Daniels (Wasp outfit) and Jon Rob (DRZ400). Had a cup of tea, a sandwich and a warm-up, then followed the trial route to Haynes Museum. I was tempted to ask for a go on Steps Lane OT1, but thought better of it (slippy road surface, 500 lb bike, 100 bhp, road tyres, me riding; a poor combination

).
On to Crealy Park for another social, more to eat and a warm-up. Continued an enjoyable ride to Ilsington Village Hall in spite of the rain and grabbed a half hour snooze before going on duty in the car park. Luckily, Nick had more of an idea on organising the positioning of the cars than me, allocating spaces such that, in theory, first in would be first out. Unfortunately, that theory was based on the criteria that crews would spend the allocated time at Ilsington. Consequently, if a crew over-stayed the time, a car parked behind theirs could be blocked in

. All seemed to work well, however, with only the one period of minor congestion.
I certainly got an appreciation for what the marshals have to experience. I reckon I started about 10:00 hr and finished about 16:00 hr. Nick and me were on our feet the whole time with just a quick dash for the toilets or to grab a cup of tea; had to eat on the hoof. If it weren’t for Pilates my back would ‘ve been crippling me!

Another pleasant ride to the Palace Hotel; now without rain. What a brilliant venue; clean, bright room, pleasant staff and good food. It made the Trecarn look like a halfway house for the homeless.
Then the announcement that a competitor had been killed and his companion injured. Your thoughts go out to their families and friends. Devastating. Trials is a low speed sport; you anticipate injury, but not this.