Pyndon's Ryedale Rally Report - Beginner's Luck?

Well after a year of trying, Chris Colling finally talks me into competing in a round of the Big Bike Rally Championship in the UK. It all started a week before the event where the opportunity to ride came about as a result of a rider dropping out. With an offer of an entry, why not! So the night before the event I threw a set of used Michelin deserts on the bike and loaded the giant loop. A 3 hour ride to get there for sign up on the Saturday morning, no spares or van, just rider and bike. Ryedale Rally here we come.

Not knowing what to expect at all, I arrived with an open mind, I really just wanted a steady day of riding and that is exactly what I got, apart from the special tests of course but even then, the key was to stay in the bike.

Saturday started with a lovely sunny morning, sure there were some clouds but the sun persuaded many to ditch their jackets and go with motocross gear. All I had with me was a t-shirt and my Klim Rally suit so I didn't have much of a choice. Sat sweating on the start line I was eager to get moving to get some air through the huge jacket vents and cool things down a little. It was a great morning, a nice steady liaison across country through varied terrain before heading into the forest for some special test action. With the sighting lap out of the way earlier in the morning, I had my lines marked and I was ready.

As I tore away from the line for the first timed special test of the day all I could hear in the back of my mind was Chris telling me "if you want to win your class your going to have to keep it pinned, to the stop wherever you can". Seemed fair enough to me but usually this results in me meeting with something much more sturdy than myself (like a tree) and stacking it. So I rode at 80% to suss things out a little on the sighting lap. In the first of the timed specials , it was all going well until a massive bomb hole. In the sighting lap I chose to go right, avoid the deep water and take the rutted land to the side which worked perfectly. Problem was, all other 150 bikes that went through after me had done the same on the first lap and 90% of the bikes are smaller and narrower than the big 950. So there I was, banging along in second gear, gets on the gas as I picked my rut and it was then I realised that it was way too deep for the 950! Gas was all I could do, I was to the stop but the rut just ate the bike! I was brought to an abrupt stop as the engine bar jammed themselves in the rut. Stuck - good and proper!

The rut had pushed the bike out of gear which is what caused me to stop but worst of all, I could not even find the gear lever, not even to bang it into first. So I started digging as the riders who started on the time slot behind me started to go by, increasing my frustration. As I dug through the mud with my hands to the gear lever I managed to get it into second and have a go at getting out, nothing, it was really stuck. As another rider went past I had to take desperate measures. The only way out was to get the front wheel in the air to lift the widest part of the bike out of the rut and allow the narrower swing arm and wheel to fit through the rut. Pulling the bike back, revving it and dropping the clutch hard I got the front wheel in the air and proceeded the walk down the rut with the 950 between my legs stuck up in the air like a comedy first wheelie! Eventually I was out and the mist was firmly down. I nailed it to the end but I'd lost a lot of time, not a great start to my first UK rally!

I knew I had lost a lot of time and the results show it, but now I had to put it behind me and get the hammer down. I was determined to enjoy the weekend regardless. It was now that the heavens opened and the rain came down, hail, thunder, you name it we had it all. I was the one laughing now though as my Klim Goretex gear kept me nice and dry as I passed other riders cowering and shivering under the trees in their motocross gear.

Next problem was the brake pads, all of them were down to the metal towards the end of the day, my own fault as I had left organic road pads in and not installed a fresh set of sintered pads before the event. I didn't bring any and was too far away from the pits to try and find a set of pads from somebody so I rode the liaison without using the brakes, saving the precious metal backing plates for the last special test of the day. Needless to say, I didn't make the same mistake again with the rut and although the rain had made the bomb holes even deeper, the course had much more grip, which was nice for the big bike. Only problem now was that I had no brake pads. Anyway, it turns out having grabby inefficient brakes actually helped as I was fastest multi-cylinder rally bike on this special and 3rd fastest overall to my surprise. Much better but I would still have work to do on day two to recover the mess I made of the first stage.

Saturday evening I blagged a few pairs of mis-matching brake pads (thanks to ADV Riders DeeGee, Shep and the other guy, sorry forgot your name) and got those fixed. The disks were looking a little ragged though! I then threw the giant loop on and rode an hour to an old friends house for a hot shower and a chin wag.

Pulling my wet boots on early on Sunday morning was made much more pleasant thanks to a pair of Tesco carrier bags, thankfully the weather was blistering and it was set to be a good day.

Day two was faultless, I used the sighting lap as test and really pushed myself to see where I could make the time, I ignored the ruts and pretty much took Chris's advice, pinned it. Stay on the bike, stay the throttle was the order of the day and things went well. Smooth and fast in the first special and I thank the riders in-front of me that kindly moved over and let me through as I honked my horn on approach. As always, I stopped at the end of the stage to thank those that let me through, smiles all around. Funny, you don't get this at enduro's, the rally scene is totally different, people are generally much more friendly and willing to offer help, a really fun and enjoyable event.

For the last special of Sunday, Andrew from Adventure spec allowed me to take his spot on row 2 so that I could finish early for the 3 hour ride home (of course I okayed this with the race officials first - did not want unexpected penalties!). This saw me setting off in the time slot behind Patsy Quick on the 690. As she burned out of sight on the lovely sounding 690, my time came and I got the hammer truly down. Absolutely flat on the fire roads, three figures on the GPS (checked after!) and then into the trees. I had a flawless run and came out of the other side on top, well, of the big twin rally bikes anyway.

As the rain started again it was time to hit the road for me. All in all, it was a 600 mile plus weekend but to finish 6th overall and take the award for Premier Multi-Cylinder bike made it all worth while.

Thanks to Adventure Spec for their support and for talking me into doing the event in the first place, had a great time and met some great people. Also a big thanks to those who helped me out with spares, without you guys it would have been over on Saturday evening. Hope to see you around.

Pyn