It is time to mark the calendars and get in to see the boss to tell him that you won’t be at work for the first week of February 2015 because you are going to be sunning it up in Kaikoura and riding Part 2 of the Kaikoura Six Day Trial. You need to go and see him, or her, now and confirm the dates as the time is ticking.
The event is being run in the week of Waitangi weekend meaning that you will only require four days off work as the Friday is a public holiday. The trial will start on Monday the 1st February and will finish on Saturday 7th February. The format will be very similar to that of Part 1 except that this one will be a full six day trial run on the same properties at Claverley and will not have the last three days run in conjunction with the annual three day trial. For those who don’t know where Claverley is it is about ¾ of an hours drive south of Kaikoura and on the coast. This is trials riders paradise with all types of terrain from manuka hill sides to rocky creeks, to natural flowing streams, to rock strewn beaches.
We have decided to run this event as a separate event to the three day so as it could be run at a more civilised time of the year with warmer and longer days to allow for easy trail times, and in the unlikely event of striking a rainy day that we wouldn’t get to much in the way of flooded rivers rendering most of the course unrideable. I managed to get the weather gods in line for six days last time and will endeavour to do the same again but this time I won’t guarantee it. The other reason was to incorporate a long weekend to cut down on time off.
The show will begin on the Sunday evening with sign on and briefing before we start on Monday as there is a lot to get through and it isn’t practical to do it Monday morning. At this stage we are still in the process of confirming a venue for this and evening meals to take place. The plan at this stage is to have the prize giving on site at the conclusion of Saturdays riding. This is still in the planning stage but if all goes to plan it will be well worth hanging around for.
The trial itself will consist of six different loops, one for each day, varying in length from about 18kms to 25kms. Each loop will be ridden twice and will have approximately 25 sections meaning 50 sections will be ridden each day over 36 to 50kms. Don’t worry it isn’t as daunting as what it sounds but it will be very rewarding at the end of the day. We will reuse the same three loops as Part 1 and we are currently putting together the other three loops and 75 more new virgin sections. The problem we have at the moment is that there has been and will probably be a lot more rain to come which in some respects is good as it creates new sections but can also make joining trail together a bit of a task. Last month saw about half a meter of rain in the Kaikoura area so you can imagine what has been happening.
The event will again be run as a non stop event as it seemed to work OK last time and it also makes the sections a bit easier to peg, and will be pegged to the same degree of difficulty, bear in mind that the last three days won’t be as soft as last time and the chances are it will be a bit warmer. The biggest difference this time around is that it will be an MNZ run event. Don’t worry this won’t change anything for the riders. The decision to do this wasn’t made lightly but the main reasoning for it was that I don’t mind doing the time putting in a trial but I don’t want to do the time trying to defend myself if something did happen to go wrong, and let’s face it the potential is there at this event. Riders who have an MNZ licence will do the same old thing and riders who don’t have a licence will be required to purchase a one event licence and come out and have a great time.
Classes for this event are still being finalised but at this stage look like being Expert, Intermediate, President, Clubman, Twinshock, and hopefully a Ladies class. There is still to be some discussion but the Twinshock and Ladies class may be held with the Vertical Class System in place as there is a huge gap in ability and it would mean that these riders could compete where they normally would and have a great week riding to their own ability. There may even be room for an air cooled mono class, who knows? Watch this space.
As far as rider ability is concerned I would say that 95% of all present trials riders wouldn’t have a problem with the course. The main trails are run on four wheel drive tracks, sheep tracks, river beds and paddocks. As long as a rider is able to pick up, if required, their bike and start it unassisted I am sure that they will be fine. I don’t want to say that it isn’t suitable for juniors or geriatrics as there are riders in both grades who regularly kick my butt, however they would be the 5% who may have a problem. If you are a bit unsure then just ask I am not trying to put anyone off just making you aware.
Once you have told the boss that you won’t be at work the next phone call needs to be to arrange accommodation. We are also working on a few things here and will post up a few options shortly.
We would like to think that we can make this a bit of a family event and make it family friendly by means of getting people around the course for spectating and photos and what not. For the keen walkers who like a bit of a view we are going to even mark some walking trails but these are just another few jobs on the list so we will keep you posted.
From now on in we will try and have some regular updates on the Pioneer website but if you need to know anything you can give me a call on 0274 325 738 or email chris_paul30@hotmail.com. Entry forms will be out shortly.
Cheers
Paul Jackson