Words: Michael Ernst

If you want to go overseas to ride a Classic Trial, it is always nice to have two in one week. This is so you can spent a few days to relax, visit friends etc. A good week is always the last in July. This year it was 23rd/24th and 30st/31st of July. The first weekend was a round for the German classic-trial championship for pre‘65 and twin-shock in Hergenroth.
Hergenroth is located in the ‘Westerwald’ close to Montabauer and less the one hundred kilometers from Cologne (Koln).This is not a bad area to ride with your classic trials bike.
The Hergenroth weekend is very sociable with always a big entery of foriegn competitors. Every year, one-hundred and fifty or more riders compete here. The village is very small and mostly everyone is involved in the trial and the local firebrigade as well. The course is about five kilometers with ten sections and three or four laps every day, this depends on the weather.

Start on the Saturday is always at 13.00 hours and Sunday at 10.00 hours and it is a very laid back type of organisation.
You can turn up on the day and sign on then. You do not need any licence. However it is adviseable to have personal insurance to repatriate you back home. The ground has a bit of everything, nice climbs, nice wood sections, rocky sections in a quarry and some stream sections.
Every Day is a seperate trial. There are five routes, so that everybody can find the right one for himself or the machine. There is a clubhouse and a barbeque where you can get good food and drinks for the weekend.

A weekend later there is always the ‘Bilstain Two-day Classic Trial’ in Bilstain/Belgium what is a good drive of one hundred and sixty kilometers from Hergenroth. Bilstain is a round of the Classictrial Eurocup.The Trial is held on the ex-world championship ground from the 1970s and 1980s. It is a Off-roadpark with all his facilities such as: bar, resturant, showers, jet-wash, chalets (for 6 people) and basic rooms. The paddock is on the tarmac of the Supermoto track. As in Hergenroth, the entry can go up to two-hndred riders.
As in Germany, it is all laid back, no licence, sign on the day. Within the entry which is about 30-40 Euros for both days, mostly a drink, a snack, a Tee-Shirt or umbrella is included. The ground is in a valley with a stream and woods on the left and right side. So a bit of everything.
This year the sections were very old-fashioned. Classes are pre’65; pre‘78 and Twin-shock with four routes. Every day there are three laps about five kilometers long with ten to twelve sections and a time limit between five and six hours.
Both days count together.

If you like to ride in one (or both) of these events, here are a few links with information, details and pictures as well.
Website for Info’s for the Trial in Hergenroth

This is the website of Michael Ernst, who can help you with the regulations or any other questions. You can email Michael in english no problem:
Michael Ernst link
This is the website from the Classictrial in Bilstain (Regulations, pictures, video’s and results) – Bilstain

Website of the Offroad park when you want to book accomodation: RDMC-Bilstain
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