Firstly I really have to add 6 photographs I found recently and share, not of the ISDT, but from the same era, they are too good to be let slide by un-noticed. They fill me with the spirit of hope and optimism that surrounded the British Motorcycle scene in the early to mid 20th Century when motorbikes and motorcycle sport were part of the nations psyche and to be a motorcyclist made you fairly mainstream rather then an extrovert alien on the fringes of civilisation. Motorcyclists went to war and died saving this country and the nation was grateful to those who served its needs.

Bill Martin, Flat Cap, Goggles and Barbour International Jacket blazing the trail in the Welsh Two Day Trial 1954

If there was ever a picture would be the caption for my joy for riding a motorbike, this is it, taken at the Welsh 2 Day back in 1954. Featuring the young Bill Martin, who was a great rider of the South West Centre, and here he is a a young man on the same bike he is later seen riding the Scottish Six Day Trial on, doing what is needed. No matter what else is said, this is the image that draws the line for me when I face the often crass uninformed prejudice of self appointed busybodies, nobodies and over zealous council clerks who feel obliged to classify off road motor sport as being an anti social activity and aim to wipe it off the hills and valleys of mid Wales along with the people that are associated with it. Continue reading →