VOLUME 57 ISSUE 45 NOVEMBER 10, 2020 P89
W
hen was the last time you did
something for the first time?
For me, it was last weekend
experiencing all things trials at the
Motoventures facility in Anza, Califor-
nia. GasGas Race Team Manager and
trials extraordinaire Geoff Aaron invited
us out for the SoCal Trials Club event
at Gary LaPlante's property, located
directly across the street from Cahuilla
Creek MX, a place I usually spend my
weekends. Gary is a hardcore trials
rider at heart and hosts riding schools
for all ability levels on his Anza property.
I've always thought of trials as a
unique part of our sport but was pleas-
antly surprised to see how many riders
came out for this event—the amount of
on-site RV's rivaling a local motocross
race. A host of smiles from riders in
open-faced helmets was a relief as they
welcomed this foreigner into their two-
wheel scene.
Let me back things up for a moment.
I'm a die-hard fan of anything on two
wheels, but my trials knowledge is not
exactly up to par. I guess I've been
sheltered a bit, not following much
other than the occasional viral video
that pops up on my Instagram explore
page. Obviously, I have huge respect
for these riders, as they easily scale
We send our resident motocrosser to a
SoCal Trials Club event at the Motoventures
Motorcycle Rider Training facility in Anza,
California, and introduced him to the
fascinating world of dabs and bunny hops
THE WORLD OF
WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY RYAN NITZEN
Exploring
TRIALS
GasGas Factory Pro
trials rider Daniel
Blanc-Gonnet
demonstrates some
of the fun things
you can do on a
trials bike.
