The ACU judges report on the Scottish  makes interesting reading; I enjoyed the description of a reporters’ woes courtesy of The Motor Cycle’s man in the saddle and hope you do too.

Those Six Days Trials kept getting tougher. In 1914 the action was centred on Sheffield;  only half the starters were finishers. But these events were clearly improving the breed: the first and second placed marques in the team award were mainstays of the Army and RFC respectively and, as the Blue ‘Un remarked, the Western Front would be a far tougher proving ground than the Yorkshire Dales. The report includes a report on the reporter’s mount and a defence of the trial by James Norton.

The 1914 Features section has just been livened up with a brace of ripping yarns concerning a resourceful chap and two plucky gels who found themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Alfred Scott did not invent the two-stroke engine. But the motor cycle which bears his name established the two-stroke as a practicable vehicle equally at home as bargain basement utility runabout and world-class competition mount. In 1914 Scott told The Motor Cycle how it all came about.

As if six days trials and TTs weren’t enough of a challenge, motor cyclists went mountain climbing. Yep, another fun-filled collection of ripping yarns has ascended to the heights of the 1913 Features section.

OK, so the ACU Six Days Trial was tough on machine and rider alike. But a Motor Cycle staffer didn’t mince his words: “A gold medal won in the Scottish Trials is worth a great deal more than one gained in England.” Rocks, mud, precipices, breakdowns, crashes—and  women riders to show the chaps how to do it. It all awaits you in the 1913 Features section.

The 1913 Six Days’ Trial was actually a five days trial followed by a day’s post-mortem. The event was tough enough for competitors to stage a strike meeting and following the trial complaints flew thick and fast. But the presence of a French team (which only survived for two days) justifies calling this the first International Six Day Trial. Read all about it…

Here’s a poignant tale of a motor cyclist at the front and his dream of home.

Three additions to the 1909 Features section today; the glorious Wilkinson TAC as tested by the Blue ‘Un and the Green ‘Un;  a very-far-from-serious peek into the futuristic motor cycling world of 1999; and a collection of TT yarns including an Ixion description of a lap that is truly wonderful. While you’re at it, take a gander at the England Invaded yarn—can motor cyclists defeat the dastardly invaders?

If motor cycling was to flourish it needed practicable machines and enthusiastic riders. Those riders quickly realised that they needed to act in concert to overcome draconian legislation and prejudice. They also needed the right organisations to develop sporting and social activities–it’s fair to say the discussions were intense.