News - Paul’s Column - December 2011
Welcome once again, race fans, to Blood, Sweat & Gears!
The festive season may well be upon us, traditionally a quieter time for the off-road crowd, but things have certainly remained pretty hectic from our end. Earlier in the month we ran a stand at the International Dirt Bike Show at Stoneleigh, Warwickshire. It was great to meet so many of you in person over the four days. We were lucky enough to be have some genuine retro BMX bikes on display, which generated considerable interest, as well as a healthy dose of misty-eyed nostalgia. It looks like many of you got your first taste of off-road thrills on these!
Also popular was our long-term test bike, the Suzuki 450, prouldy dressed up in the Hooper Suzuki colours. You may have noticed it was sporting a pair of hand-cut Maxxis tyres. We were invited to watch these put through their paces as new team member, Luke Hawkins, put some hot laps in with his teammate, Lewis Gregory. I think this team will be one of the ones to beat next year. Both riders looked very impressive, and the tyres handled magnificently.
We also spent time at the Motorcycle Live show at the Birmingham NEC, looking around and catching up with friends old and new. The Freestyle Motocross show this year was awesome, although I still found that the off-road section was a bit hidden away. But it was still good to see the major manufacturer's stands all had at least a smattering of off-road machines around. It was also encouraging to note that both off-road tryouts were fully booked by mid-morning, so hopefully that's a few potential new bums on seats.
Hopefully by now you've noticed that the show is back on the air. On Saturday 10th December, we head to Northern Ireland for Supercross action. (Please note that this is part of a look back at the last 12 months of off-road action in the UK, and not the most recent Belfast event). The following Saturday, December 17th, we stay with the Supercross, this time heading over to London's O2 arena.
The Christmas Eve show has four times the fun – as we join the British Quad Championships for their opening round at Silverstone, as well as highlights from the GBXC opener from the Sweet Lamb Valley Centre.
On New Year's Eve, the grass track crowd provide the thrills with the opening round of the Worcestershire Clubs Buildbase Series. This will feature all the solo classes, including the 500CCs, and those crazy 1,000CC sidecars.
The 7th January show contains the final Supercross installment, from Liverpool, and on Saturday 14th January we'll have more British Masters action from Whitby. Other highlights to look forward to in the new year include our extreme trail riding voyage to Spain, and highlights from the British Enduro championship.
All that remains for me to do is wish you all a fantastic Christmas, and a happy new year.
Until next month, ride safe.
Blood Sweat & Gears is currently airing on the Extreme Sports Channel (in the UK on Sky 419 / Virgin 527) every Saturday at 10.00am, 2.00pm, 8.00pm and midnight.
Unless otherwise stated, all photos contained on this page © Muddy Chick Photography
