RT Keedwell Group
Billy Green – latest update OCT 2019
Billy update October 2019 I know it hasn’t been long since my last update, however on the 12th of October I had my last big event of the year. This was the ‘Scott’ trial which is a massive event of typically 200 riders of all abilities in north Yorkshire. The idea is you complete 76 sections over an 80 mile loop off-road, you are scored on your time and observation and the person with the lowest combined score at the end of the day is the winner. Over the trial there are 6 petrol stops where you get to stop and refuel the bike before you get going again, everyone is going as fast as they can over the 80 mile loop as the fastest man sets the ‘standard time’. For every minute you are over this time you get awarded a penalty point, this is how the time element works. Leading up to the event I had lots of people giving me tips, advice and stories from previous years. This just fired me up for it even more and got me excited for the day of the event, I had trained hard and felt I was ready for the event. I started the event relatively steady as I didn’t want to crash or get lost having never seen the course before, after a few sections I passed a few people and had a good rhythm going. Until I got a puncture! However, I quickly managed to fix it and was on my way again, this time going a little slower and taking a few less risks than I had been doing. Over the day I felt fit and good on the bike, most of the sections rode well and I was making good time, however about an hour from the end I hit the wall. Starting to feel tired and struggling to concentrate as I had been riding the bike for almost 5 hours non-stop! The end was a welcome sight and came at the right time. Once I had stopped, had a drink and something to eat I felt better and much better than what people had been describing how I’d feel. After all the scores had been worked out I eventually finished 14th position and won the best newcomer award which I was very happy with, in such a prestigious event where experience counts for a lot. It was a very tough event but I enjoyed my 5 hours 40 minutes and 2 seconds of riding around and north Yorkshire moors and will definitely be back for another bash next year! At this point I would like to say a massive thank you to all my sponsors who back me especially all at R.T.Keedwell for their continued support as without them it wouldn’t be happening. That’s it for this year, see you soon. Billy
Billy Green Trials Update June to September 2019 It has been a few weeks since my last update. It is now the last weekend of the college summer holidays. Having had six weeks off college you’d think I’d have had loads of free time, but it’s been crazy as usual! When I last wrote, I had just got back from Japan. That was an amazing experience I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to travel to these lovely places. We returned from Japan on the Monday night and it was straight back to college for that week. Bit of a contrast to the jet setting of the previous week! That weekend was the next round of the ACU Keedwell British Championship. Fortunately it was at Kelly Farm on Dartmoor only 30 minutes’ drive for us, so I could have a lie in for this one! I went up on the Saturday to have a look at the sections ready for Sunday, but it was lovely to go home to my own bed for a good night’s sleep the night before the event! The day of the event I felt a little nervous. Maybe because it was close to home, maybe because I knew there were a lot of people I knew there, but I just couldn’t get onto it for the first lap and I dropped 32 marks. I knew this wasn’t good so I had to really focus for the 2nd and 3rd lap. There are some massive granite rocks at this venue and is a popular venue. We are really lucky to have this sort of ground to ride, but the big stuff can be really intimidating especially in front of so many familiar faces! But I got my head in to it and I dropped 18 on the second lap and just 9 on the third lap. The improvement was great but I really need more consistency. I finished 5th. If I had had 3 laps like my 1st I would have been on the podium! Anyway I’m always learning and fighting for that improvement. 3 days later we left for Holland and Round 3 of the FIM World Trials Championship. A new venue to me. Dad wasn’t coming to this one so Mum drove and Luke was minding again. The weather forecast gave hot weather so we had our fingers crossed it wouldn’t get too warm, but we didn’t have them crossed enough! On competition day it was 35 degrees! The venue was all man made stuff, concrete pipes, concrete blocks, concrete slabs, and a few more concrete pipes! It was a compact venue which is great if you are watching as there’s not far to walk but as a rider it was not good, queues build up at each section and I spent ages sitting on my bike in the baking sun waiting to ride. This doesn’t help concentration and in that heat it was just awful. By the end of the first lap I was really struggling, I had cramp in my hands and I just felt exhausted in the heat. We have a 20 minute break, as long as you finish the first lap on time, so after lap 1 I sat in the team tent, with a cold towel over my head, trying to drink and mum force feeding me energy bars! The weather was getting hotter so I knew the second lap was going to be tough. We found an umbrella, took a cold wet towel and set off for lap 2. In the queues for the sections, which were only worse on lap 2, mum provided the wet towel for my head and my minder Luke, doubled as brolly dolly, giving me shade from the sun! I can’t explain how hot it was and I am just not used to the heat. Funny thing was, after we got the wet towels and brollies out for the second lap, we noticed several other riders asking their friends/ helpers for brollies and wet towels, everyone seemed to be doing the same! Unfortunately although all this effort got me around the event and I finished, it turned out to be the worst finish of the year for me, ending up in 16th place. 1 mark outside the points. I was late finishing so had extra penalty marks and this pushed me 1 mark from 15th and 4 marks from 12th. The Trial 2 class is so tight I can’t afford so many mistakes. It was so disappointing after all that work. It was a long drive home! We had 3 days at home after Holland and then back to Belgium for round 4 of the World Champs.
