Hello everybody!
I am both amazed and thrilled at the response you have given to my story. John ‘GURU’ Moffat has been working flat out, because I was so busy around this time in my life, I didn’t have time to record what I had achieved or where I had achieved it!
I am both amazed and thrilled at the response you have given to my story. John ‘GURU’ Moffat has been working flat out, because I was so busy around this time in my life, I didn’t have time to record what I had achieved or where I had achieved it!
John has been super-busy wading through old magazines, programmes and his knowledge, to match the number on my bike to a particular event. For example in 1970, I was number 124 in the Scottish Six Days etc etc.
Well done John and thank you very much! And now I see it’s in Spanish, thanks to co-operation between John Moffat and his friend Horacio San Martin of Todotrial.
Well done John and thank you very much! And now I see it’s in Spanish, thanks to co-operation between John Moffat and his friend Horacio San Martin of Todotrial.
Now on with my story…
I teamed up with Jordi Permanyer in Los Angelese at the Montesa distribution depot. It was here I met Javier Burgos who ran this department and whose idea it was to make this trip. He took us to look at our transport for the next few weeks. It was a Dodge van with aircraft seats auto-transmission, air-con and so on and so on.
The next day we set off north. Our 1972 trip was finally under way. Everywhere was so different to home. It was warm and pleasant, my life had changed direction in a way I could never have imagined or dreamed of. Our route was pre-planned and at each destination, the people were so pleased to see us. It was a real pleasure to work with them.
I teamed up with Jordi Permanyer in Los Angelese at the Montesa distribution depot. It was here I met Javier Burgos who ran this department and whose idea it was to make this trip. He took us to look at our transport for the next few weeks. It was a Dodge van with aircraft seats auto-transmission, air-con and so on and so on.
The next day we set off north. Our 1972 trip was finally under way. Everywhere was so different to home. It was warm and pleasant, my life had changed direction in a way I could never have imagined or dreamed of. Our route was pre-planned and at each destination, the people were so pleased to see us. It was a real pleasure to work with them.
On arrival the first thing they wanted to know was “Have you been beaten yet at one of the schools in the Salt Lake City area?”. I said: “no not yet”, “well you will here” they said.
We were in an old sand quarry that looked like a great place for a school. All the time, I was bombarded with people telling me how good Donny is. Most of the moveable sand had gone, leaving an apple core shaped column with a telegraph pole in the centre. “See that? Rob Donny can go up there!”. This is the sort of thing you dread.
We were in an old sand quarry that looked like a great place for a school. All the time, I was bombarded with people telling me how good Donny is. Most of the moveable sand had gone, leaving an apple core shaped column with a telegraph pole in the centre. “See that? Rob Donny can go up there!”. This is the sort of thing you dread.
It was possible but the apple core shape meant if you didn’t get onto the top there was a good chance of the bike falling onto you and causing serious damage. I wasn’t so much worried about that, as if things went wrong the rest of our trip would have to be cancelled. I got onto my bike hoping to get it warmed up and then go for it. I decided “right go for it”.
Big steps were never my speciality. I hit it as hard as I could in second and I got up it. I don’t know who was more surprised, me or the crowd! I inched the bike around the telegraph pole, getting down was trickier than I had thought. It was too high to jump off so I eased the front wheel over the edge but when the sump banged on the edge it kicked the back wheel up. By now I was decending fast and for one moment I thought I was going into a forward roll. I managed to land safely and suddenly I was everybody’s hero. Jordi looked relieved.
The next thing to happen was Donny arrived. We will never know what went wrong but he did exactly what I was desperate to avoid his front wheel kicked back. Donny landed first, closely followed by his bike and the end result was a broken leg. Oh well, that was that then! – Rob
The next thing to happen was Donny arrived. We will never know what went wrong but he did exactly what I was desperate to avoid his front wheel kicked back. Donny landed first, closely followed by his bike and the end result was a broken leg. Oh well, that was that then! – Rob
Trials Guru: Rob was by 1970 a true ambassador for the Montesa brand. He was traveling the USA and getting a great reception from the trials riders, who had read about Rob in motorcycle newspapers and magazines. Remember, this was in the period before the rise of Lane Leavitt, Martin Belair and of course Bernie Schreiber. But there was raw trials talent in the USA, that was to be proven later.
Read the full ‘Rob Edwards Story’ … click Here
© – Rob Edwards & Trials Guru/Moffat Racing, John Moffat – 2014 (All Rights reserved)
TRIALS GURU 