On The Pegs May 2020 - Volume 5 - Issue 5 | Page 52

On The Pegs 1 2 52 First Amateur class win I started trials in the fall of 1976 on a RL250 Suzuki. Back then, in So. Cal., there were 4 classes ā€“ Beginner, Novice, Amateur and Expert. You could self-promote out of begin- ner but after that you had to earn transfer points to move up. I rode 3 events in Beginner class, winning two, before moving up to Novice. At the time I was not taking the sport too seriously and it seemed like it took forever to earn my transfer points out of Novice. In reality it was only about a year but I never won a Novice event before moving up to Amateur. I rode a couple of Ama- teur events finishing mid pack. Then at Reche Canyon in Jan of 78, my third Amateur event, something just clicked (Iā€™m sure moving to a 1978 Bultaco helped) and I won. It was a total shock and I suddenly realized that if I ap- plied myself, I might get pretty good. It was a key win that set me on a path of focus and dedication. I won every Amateur event before transferring to Expert. Sweeping the 1981 So Cal Weekend Triple Header - Stadium Trial, Schrieber Cup, El Trial de Espana I had a high school buddy who raced motocross and we would compare weekend results on Monday mornings at school. I had steadily worked my way up to where I was get- ting 3rds behind Marland and Bernie. My buddy was get- ting some wins in local moto so he thought that gave him bragging rights. I would argue, to no avail, that because I was third behind a 5-time National Champ and a World Champ that I should have the bragging rights. I like to joke that by the end of 1980 I could finally get an Expert win be- cause Marland had quit and Bernie was staying in Europe most of the time. In 1980 I won the So Cal ATA Expert title and finished second to Marland in the US National series. That made me the guy to beat going into 1981 season. I was riding a Bultaco but I had signed a deal with Italjet and was waiting to get a bike. In January of ā€™81 the ATA sponsored a triple header