The Return of Supersam
THE RETURN OF SUPERSAM
Saddleback Park is Revisited by the Master of Master Trialing.
MIKE GRIFFIN
IN THIS, his second visit to our shores, Sammy Miller, the shy Northern Irishman, in conjunction with CYCLE WORLD and the Southern California Trials Association, conducted another chapter in his fabulous trials school. Unlike last year, however, the school and competition were open only to Expert and Master trialers of the Southern California Trials Association. As a result, the overall competition was much tougher and instruction much more specialized. It is the purpose of the SCTA to relay to trials enthusiasts the knowledge and experience gleaned from this stimulating Second Annual Sammy Miller Trials School.
Twenty-seven entries rode each of the 12 sections six times, with each trap offering a particular challenge, e.g., sand troughs, rock gardens, steep ascents and descents and loose shale.
And how does Sammy lay out a section? Well, he scouts the area for a singularly treacherous characteristic, puts up his marker flags, and then rolls boulders in the path to add challenge. Then, after he rides the section again, in will go more boulders. Nothing to it.
The competitors generally agreed that the fourth section was the most difficult. This involved a sharp right-hander through loose dirt, followed by an off-camber turn across one of those ubiquitous boulders. Next was a twisting, rocky gully ending in an acute uphill bank. Sammy dispatched it with relative ease, the only rider to “clean” it.
But because of licensing and sanctioning considerations, Sammy rode strictly for exhibition. In the final tally, he lost only 28 points compared to the next best performance of Victor Boocock, a trials ace in his own right, with 39 points.
Boocock, a serious young man from England who now lives in northern California, has already distinguished himself as a motocross and enduro rider, besides competing successfully in the Scottish Six-Day Trials. During Sammy’s first visit here, Boocock thrilled enthusiasts with a loss of only 14 points compared to Miller’s 10! Boocock was disqualified, however, as he had earlier broken a shift lever on his machine and so borrowed Sammy’s spare Bultaco to finish the course. Regardless, such performance is the exclusive realm of championship riders.
SCTA President Bob Grove was next, losing 99 points. The great point gap between Boocock and Grove illustrates how skillful the former is. Grove is well respected as a trials rider and last year beat Boocock by 17 points, which is no small feat, but now it seems that Boocock will dominate western trialing for some time to come.
A relative newcomer to the trialing, but an excellent desert racer and motocrosser, Malcolm Smith showed a remarkable proficiency. He wasn’t entered, but he tried a few sections at the end of the trial, and displayed uncanny balance and smoothness on a borrowed machine.
When Sammy Miller glides through a section, it’s a surprise that his tires leave any tracks on the ground. Under the guidance of Miller’s very large, gnarly hands, the Sherpa moves effortlessly.
With the engine purring comfortably within its torque range Sammy ap proaches the section quietly and con fidently, never lifting his eyes from the surface before him. Then he literally swoops through the turns and obstacles with barely a change in engine note. And this is not a special machine.
Sammy's only modification is the sub stitution of footpegs 1.0 in. closer to the ground. Enigmatically, the sight of Sammy Miller riding a section is unspec tacular, yet amazing. To even the ac complished trials rider, the section seems almost impassable, but Sammy makes it look so easy.
