over the back mudguard I was doing it! And added
to that, as Taddy reminded me, by using that old
nugget of looking up, to the end of the section –
not down at the detail – I was projecting my path
more positively.
And here’s the thing, at the outset I thought
the best line would be the one where you hit the
sidewalls of the tyres, avoiding the holes. That’s not
the case, as Taddy explained. Sure that can help as
you enter the tyre pit, but to do that the whole way
is impossible, you have to accept that you will be
riding over the chasms, but by keeping that throttle
on and by keeping your weight back and head up
you do float over. On the next two runs I managed
exactly that. If I was younger, and braver I might
have continued until I had the technique completely
mastered. Instead, with age and a lack of fitness to
bear in mind, and only so much courage to call upon
(I’m a natural born chicken), I took my two successes
as a win and retired ‘on top’. I try not to tickle fate.
A ROCK IS A HARD PLACE
Next came the rock step on the hill climb. It
was a real stopper and clearly an obstacle of
worth as Jonny and Taddy took it in turns to
hop up it, making little flourishes as they flew
above it, the step needing real skills on account
of the landing area being just a bike length
long. With an obvious chicken run to one side
there was no way I was going to do it – leave
it to the ex-world trials rider, I reasoned.
Only the guys weren’t having that. Frank, the
German, had four-times more pluck then he had
skills, and given Jonny and Taddy had offered
to stand either side of the step as catchers he
was happy to give it a go. Typical Frank he ran
at the slope at some speed and when he got to
the step – the crest of which is above your head
height as you approach – he gave his KTM full
gas. He didn’t just clear the step, he cleared the
heads of Jonny and Taddy and incredibly his KTM
ended up wedged in the branches of the tree
a clear three feet off the ground. With the bike
gone skyward Jonny and Taddy grabbed Frank
instead, stopping him falling back off the step.
It took all three to get the KTM back do wn.
After that display I surely did not want to try it for
myself. But of course the group will was against me
and there comes a time when having accepted an
KNOW THY ENEMY
T
TADDY BLAZUSIAK
addy is the familiar of Tadeusz, by the way.
Now 34, Taddy retired at the end of 2016
after a near 20-year career in trials and
enduro. A highly decorated rider, he won
the Erzberg Rodeo five times, the AMA
EnduroCross Championship five times and
the FIM Indoor Enduro World Cup six times. After
a successful career in trials, including winning the
European championship,