There are some people who become part of the fabric of motorcycle sport without having been the person riding the machine. They are there year after year, meeting after meeting, often standing quietly at the side of a section with a camera in their hands, recording the sport for everyone else.

For more than half a century, Colin Bullock has been one of those people.

Words: Trials Guru

Photos: Colin Bullock; Heath Brindley and Colin Bullock’s personal collection

A familiar face at trials and motorcycle events throughout Britain, Colin has been pointing cameras at riders since the early 1970s. He has photographed generations of riders, covered some of the most important events in the trials calendar and, over the years, has turned his hand to journalism, radio, video production and training films.

He is also a good friend of Trials Guru, and behind the camera is a man with plenty of stories to tell.

There is another side to Colin, too. He is a confessed ‘Silver Surfer’, still playing drums in a band several times a year. But before we get to that, we need to go back to where the story began.

The Honda 50:

Colin’s introduction to motorcycles came during his final year at school.

One day, while walking home, a classmate appeared on a Honda 50cc step-through and offered him a lift. The little Honda was flat out at around 30 mph, but that hardly mattered. Colin had discovered motorcycles. His parents were less enthusiastic.

After several weeks of persistent badgering, a similar machine eventually came up for sale locally. The previous owner had managed to forget to unlock the steering head security lock and, while attempting to turn right, had ended up in somebody’s garden. That experience rather put her off motorcycling.

Colin paid £30 for the Honda.

It may not have been the motorcycle of his dreams, but it was a start. His parents probably assumed that, like many youthful enthusiasms, the fascination would eventually disappear – It didn’t.

From the little Honda 50 he progressed to the first generation of 500cc Honda fours and became increasingly interested in road riding and motorcycle sport. His initial passion, however, was not trials – It was road racing!

Mallory Park and the Road Racing Scene:

Mallory Park was close enough to become a regular destination, and Colin attended virtually every meeting he could. Oulton Park and Cadwell Park were also on the itinerary, with the occasional trip to Brands Hatch.

One particular meeting remains firmly in his memory — the 1971 Race of the Year at Mallory Park, featuring John Cooper and Giacomo Agostini.

And then there was Mike Hailwood.

To have seen ‘Hailwood the Great’ racing during his heyday was, for Colin, something very special indeed.

At this stage, there was still no grand plan to become a photographer. Colin had acquired a small AGFA camera and began taking it along to meetings. He took plenty of photographs, many of which he still has today, although the old-fashioned small prints now require something approaching a magnifying glass to identify the riders!

The camera, however, was about to become considerably more important.

Discovering Off-Road:

Colin’s first experience of off-road sport came at a Grandstand Television International Scramble at Clifton in Derbyshire.

He and a friend had seen the BBC television coverage and decided that watching the real thing might be rather more exciting.

They set off on Colin’s Honda 50. Unfortunately, they had not gone very far before the little Honda decided it had had enough. The spark plug overheated and the pair had to wait around fifteen minutes for everything to cool down before continuing their journey.

Colin soon decided that a small capacity machine was not really sufficient and replaced it with a 450cc twin-cylinder Honda — the famous ‘Black Bomber’.

It was considerably more useful for getting around, and Colin’s weekends became a mixture of football and motorcycles. A typical fortnight might involve a Saturday trip to watch Luton Town and a motorcycle meeting on the Sunday.

His motorcycles all came from Sherwood Garage, owned by Peter Rose, and it was Peter who was to influence Colin’s future in more ways than one.

While wandering around the workshop, Colin spotted a rather strange-looking motorcycle. It turned out to be a BSA C15T being prepared for the forthcoming Aston Auto Trial.

Peter suggested that Colin went along and watched a trial. That simple suggestion changed everything.

A Camera Finds Its Home:

Trials, he quickly discovered, were rather easier to photograph than fast-moving road racers. The riders were moving slowly enough for him to actually fill the frame with a motorcycle and rider.

It was the beginning of a long association with the sport.

Peter Rose also helped Colin take his first steps into journalism. Sherwood Garage regularly advertised in the Birmingham Mail, and somehow Colin found himself persuaded to write one of the advertisements.

Seeing his own words in print gave him a taste for the written side of motorcycle sport.

Around the same time, his photographic equipment improved. The little AGFA was replaced by a fixed-lens rangefinder camera which, although still modest by today’s standards, represented a considerable step forward.

Another chance encounter helped push things further.

Colin had taken a paddock photograph of Barry Sheene and asked the rider to autograph it. To his surprise, Barry’s father, Frank Sheene, asked Colin for a copy of the photograph.

That was enough encouragement to invest in a better camera.

Captain Browning:

One of Colin’s early photographic jobs involved the Birmingham Speedway riders at Perry Barr Stadium. An official told him that he needed a head-and-shoulders photograph of Captain Arthur Browning.

Knowing Browning’s reputation as a fiercely competitive character, Colin was understandably a little apprehensive.

The official’s instructions were simple: “Right, after his next race, in the pits you go.”

Unfortunately, Arthur promptly fell off, became involved in an altercation with the opposing rider and then had to have his photograph taken by Colin. Fortunately, the resulting picture turned out rather well.

These days Colin and Arthur know each other well and there is plenty of friendly banter between them. Colin also has a classic tale about how to get a round of drinks in a crowded Isle of Man bar — but that is perhaps best heard directly from Colin!

From Enthusiast to Professional:

Although Colin continued attending all manner of motorcycle events, he became increasingly involved with the RAC/ACU training scheme for learner riders.

The courses ran for twelve weeks and covered theory, basic maintenance and road riding. Everything was run by volunteers and the schemes, held at venues around the country, were extremely popular.

Colin found the work particularly rewarding. Watching somebody arrive as an inexperienced learner and leave having passed their test as a safer and more competent motorcyclist gave him considerable satisfaction.

By the middle of the 1970s another important friendship had developed.

Alan Wright lived only about half a mile away. ‘Wrighty’ was a very good national trials rider and was also contributing to the now-defunct Motor Cycling Weekly.

He began finding photographic commissions for Colin – The die was cast.

Colin was now properly involved in motorcycle journalism.

When Photographs Had to Travel:

The world of motorcycle photography was very different in those days.

There were no digital cameras, no instant image transfers and certainly no opportunity to take hundreds of photographs and decide later which ones were any good.

Colin would return from a meeting, develop his rolls of film and then sometimes drive down to Oxford to deliver them to Motor Cycling Weekly staff member, Nick Harris.

When Trials and Motocross News introduced colour pages, the process became even more demanding. Colin would head to Jessop’s camera shop early on Monday morning, collect the prints around lunchtime and then take them to the post office for special overnight delivery.

Compared with today’s digital world, it sounds almost impossibly complicated. Yet it was simply the way things were done.

Colin still remembers advice given to him by an old army man who was also a very capable photographer.

“Make every shot count”.

It is advice he has never forgotten, even if, as Colin readily admits, it doesn’t always work out that way!

The Vic Brittain:

In 1979 Alan Wright was freelancing for Trials and Motocross News and Colin was given the job of covering the opening national trial of the season — the Vic Brittain.

It should have been a great opportunity.

Instead, Colin freely admits that he almost completely messed it up.

The negatives were poor and, worst of all, there was no photograph of John Reynolds. If memory serves, Reynolds finished second to Chris Sutton by just a couple of marks.

It was a lesson that stayed with Colin.

Even after all these years, he admits that he still gets nervous at major events in case he misses the shot.

That is perhaps one of the marks of a good photographer. No matter how experienced you become, there is always that feeling that the next moment could be the one that matters.

The People Make Trials:

For Colin, though, photography was never simply about photographs.

What really sold him on trials was the people.

He had photographed plenty of top riders and knew who they were, but he remembers the moment when Malcolm Rathmell first casually said, “Good morning” to him.

It might sound insignificant, but to Colin it meant that he was becoming part of the trials scene.

That remains one of the things he loves most about the sport.

Go to almost any trial today — from a small club event to a British Championship round — and there is a good chance that riders of all ages will stop and talk to him.

In what other sport would that happen?

Behind the Microphone:

During the mid-1980s, Colin became involved in something completely different.

A local Coventry radio station introduced a motorcycle feature into its Tuesday night rock programme, and Colin somehow found himself behind the microphone.

The slot ran for around three years.

It also provided another memorable meeting with Barry Sheene, this time at the NEC Motorcycle Show. Colin had been allocated a twenty-minute interview.

Sheene was so entertaining that it eventually ran for around forty-five minutes. It was, Colin recalls, a superb interview.

The Rider Who Couldn’t Ride:

There is one obvious omission from Colin’s story – He was a trials rider himself.

Well, sort of. His riding career could best be described as “enthusiastic but unsuccessful”.

Alan Wright attempted to teach him. Colin watched training films, listened to advice from Mick Andrews and Dan Thorpe and tried his best.

It made little difference.

His most memorable achievement on a trials bike came at the Frank Jones Pre-65 Trial in the late 1980s, when he managed to break his leg and ankle – Properly.

He was around two miles from the nearest road and eventually had to be transported back in the rear of a Land Rover.

The local farmer had one useful piece of advice.

Swear a bit — apparently it helped with the pain.

From Still Pictures to Moving Pictures:

By the early 1990s Colin had begun making videos, which were proving increasingly popular within the trials world. He went straight in at the deep end with the Weston Beach Race.

The following year he filmed the Scottish Six Days Trial and British World Championship rounds, before producing the first of his trials training films, ‘How to Ride Trials‘, with Mick Andrews.

Further films followed with Steve Saunders and Dan Thorpe. The experience gave Colin a fascinating insight into three very different riders.

Mick Andrews seemed almost to become one with his motorcycle. The machine appeared to be an extension of himself. Steve Saunders was the perfectionist.

“Let’s do that again.” – That was Steve’s approach. And if it wasn’t right, they did it again.

Dan Thorpe was different again. He would quietly analyse everything before deciding what needed to be done.

The contrast between the three was fascinating.

Perfection Is the Standard:

One of the DVDs made with Steve Saunders proved particularly successful. Colin remembers spending two days filming at Joe Baker’s land near Lynton. When they sat down afterwards and looked through the footage, Steve decided that too much of it was not good enough.

So they went out and filmed it again.

It wasn’t a problem. It was simply Steve’s attitude.

Near enough wasn’t good enough – Ten British Championship titles didn’t happen by accident!

Dan Thorpe has also become a regular voice on Colin’s DVDs, and Colin says that one of the great pleasures of producing them has been sitting down with some of the characters of trials and simply listening to them talk.

Wayne Braybrook, Colin Dommett and Martin Crosswaite have all provided hours of entertainment.

Colin reckons ‘Crosser’ should be given a place on the Strictly Come Dancing judging panel. With his enthusiasm, he would apparently knock Bruno Tonioli into touch!

The Archer family have also been close friends over the years, and Colin freely admits that their support, particularly during the Scottish Six Days, has made the job considerably easier.

Scotland:

Ask Colin about his favourite events and three immediately spring to mind. The Scottish Six Days Trial; The Scott Trial; The North Berkshire Super-Trial.

The latter, he says, is a photographer’s dream, with so many interesting and accessible hazards providing opportunities for good action photography.

Scotland first appeared on Colin’s itinerary in 1979. With one exception, he has returned every year since. The exception was 1982, when his daughter Elaine arrived several weeks early in late April. As Elaine grew older, she became interested in trials herself and accompanied her father on many of his journeys around Britain.

Those father-and-daughter trips became particularly special to Colin. Elaine is now married but still keeps an eye on the trials scene.

Colin’s wife Barbara has also shared his passion for the sport, spending many weekends travelling in the back seat to trials throughout the country.

Still Going:

More than fifty years after that first encounter with a Honda 50, Colin Bullock is still involved.

The cameras have changed. The film has disappeared. Photographs can now be transmitted around the world almost instantly and a photographer can return from an event with hundreds — or thousands — of images stored on a memory card.

But the reason Colin still goes to trials has remained remarkably consistent.

It is the people.

It is the characters.

It is the friendships.

And, of course, it is the opportunity to capture that split second when rider, motorcycle, terrain and determination all come together in one frame.

That is something Colin has been doing for more than five decades.

And when the cameras are put away, there is still the music.

Away from trials and photography, Colin plays the drums around a dozen times a year with a ‘Silver Surfers‘ band, performing mainly classic cover versions.

It is another passion which he continues to enjoy.

Perhaps that is the secret of Colin Bullock.

He has never really stopped.

From the Honda 50 to the world’s biggest trials, from Mallory Park to the Scottish Highlands, from film cameras to digital video, from radio microphones to training DVDs — he has simply followed his enthusiasm wherever it has taken him.

And thankfully for the trials world, he has spent much of that journey looking through a camera lens.

Showcase of Colin Bullock’s work:

Colin Bullock – Through the lens of Trials’ is the copyright of Trials Guru.

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