P108
FEATURE I A SEASON WITH A BETA EVO FACTORY 200
different, and running a moto-
helmet might not have been the
best idea. You need to raise your
head up at a higher angle, which
is easier to do in a trials helmet.
A lot of counter-intuitive body
language adds to the mental
challenge of learning to ride tri
-
als, which I came to find out, is
the key to mastering a trials bike.
Competition
And it eventually came—race
day. Only trials competition isn't
exactly a "race," but it's some
-
times easier to say race than
competition. We know what you
mean. Either way, we decided to
sign up for a nearby event, the
Jared Malmquist Tribute Trial
at Chocolate Mountain Ranch.
trials bike with you to the moto
-
cross track. At Fox Raceway in
Southern California, people were
gathering around, asking ques-
tions, pointing, chatting about
what they knew, or thought they
knew about trials riding. One
thing is for sure—every single per-
son who swings a leg over a trials
bike will leave with a smile.
Learning to ride a trials bike
involves a little bit of "unlearning"
how to ride a motocross bike.
Knees out, keep it loose, lean to
the outside of the turn. And keep
your damn feet on the pegs! Of
course there's no seat, footpegs
are about a foot behind where you
feel they should be, and the shifter
is about a mile in front of the
footpeg. Body positioning is very
tighter and tighter, then linking
turns together. Next, it was time
to start practicing wheelies, then
moving on to the famous double-
blip, up and over some boulders.
Before I knew it, we were wheely
-
ing up and over boulders, setting
the front wheel down into the
tight turn and riding it out.
Wow, did I just do that?
We were off to a good start,
and from there, it was a lot of
practice. At times, frustrating
because I felt like I had forgot
-
ten everything the Cullins' had
taught me. But patience, focus
and step-by-step drills always
seemed to bring it back.
Life with a trials bike is a lot of
fun and, by the way, if you ever
want to attract attention, bring a
Competition
time! Round three
of the 2024-25
SCTA MotoTrial
Championship
Series at Chocolate
Mountain Ranch
marked my
first-ever trials
competition.
