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Rob Edwards Story – Bits ‘n Bobs – Part One

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Hi Everybody!
Thank you for all your comments and good wishes. I hope you all have A Happy New Year?
My favourite Christmas present was an e mail from Alberto Mallofre, formerly of Montesa Motorcycles.
He is struggling with a few health problems, but he sends his best wishes to all.
Unfortunately ‘Guru John’ wants me to write a few pages telling you some of the things that have happened along the way.
I am happy to do this as I didn’t want to finish on the dismal subject of health!
So here we go with ROB’s ‘ BITS ‘n BOBS’….
Thorpey, Nige, Sid and I were passing through Austria on our way home from a European Trials Championship round.
Mart was at the wheel and as usual we weren’t hanging about – in an effort to catch the ferry to Dover.
Suddenly, an Austrian policeman walked into the road in front of us holding up a lollipop stop sign.
We knew straight away that we must have gone through a speed trap. Leave this to me said our driver and wound down the window. Marts plan was to use the old ‘no comprende’ trick.
As the bobby put his head through the window he was greeted with an ‘all right pal no comprende’.
“Ah” said the bobby, “thank you for being concerned about my well-being, however you have just passed through a speed trap at almost twice the legal limit and you must pay me x number of Austrian schillings“.
How unlucky could we be he spoke perfect English!
Mart changed to ‘Plan B’. “Look pal we haven’t any Austrian money at all“.
“Oh that’s okay” he said. Had we got away with it?
Pointing up the road he said: “do you see that blue sign?“
“Well that is a bank you can change money there and when you give me the right number of schillings I will give you back your ignition keys“.
The time had come to admit defeat!
At the risk of sounding like an agony aunt, Simon Valente asked me if I could suggest any modifications to the 250 or 348 Montesa?
Well, I was constantly doing small mods to tailor the bike to suit me like popping the fork stanchions through the top yoke by 6mm.
I also made up footrests that were 6mm down and others that were 6mm back.
This way, I could test the position without grinding off the footrest mountings.
Talking as we were about modifications, I remember going to Jim Sandiford’s at Bury to pick up my new bike.
Jim came up to me in the yard as I admired my new machine.
He put a fatherly arm around my shoulders and said to me quietly: “Rob please promise me that you will ride it before you modify it?” Fingers crossed I agreed.
In the 1975 Scottish Six Days, I stopped to talk to Bill Wilkinson at the top of the Black Water sections.  When we set off to cross over Black Water moor Bill went first and I followed behind.
I’ve crossed dozens of moors with Bill but he was going slower and slower. Eventually feeling very embarrassed I overtook him. I gave him a wave and shouted “see you later“.
I couldn’t help thinking poor old Bill. Once in front I set too to make up lost time.
The course went close to the reservoir for sometime then turned hard left and we went up a steep hillside.
I was enjoying the scenery. About three quarters of the way up the hill I spotted another rider who I presumed must have a puncture. When I got close I could see the rider was laid in the heather eating a topic bar. It was bloody Bill Wilkinson! From the grin on his face it was obvious that I had been set up. So much for me feeling sorry for him. For years now I have tried to get the story out of him to no avail – one to you Bill!
Bye for Now! – Rob
Rob Edwards on a 348 Montesa - Santigosa Three Day Trial 1977. Photo: Rob Edwards Private Collection
Rob Edwards on a 348 Montesa – Santigosa Three Day Trial 1977. Photo: Rob Edwards Private Collection
Bultaco

BULTACO – The tuners who made them GO!

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 Francisco ‘Bambi’ Valera

 

Francisco Bambi Valera & Cristina Valera Fandos
‘Bambi’ with his daughter Cristina

Francisco Valera who was universally known as ‘Bambi’ was an employee of the Bultaco factory. Not just any employee on the assembly line, he was a factory technician or mechanic, who had input to the development and servicing of the factory bikes for racing, motocross and trial. ‘Bambi’ started working in the racing department at the Bultaco factory in the early 1960’s before a dealership network had been formed. ‘Bambi’ worked for Bultaco until the factory closed in 1984. In 1960 he rode in the 24 Hour race at Montjuich with another rider nicknamed ‘Tiger’ on a Bultaco ‘Tralla 101’ model winning their class and the Endurance Championship of Spain.

24 Hores de Montjuich 1960
‘Bambi’ competing on a Bultaco ‘Tralla’ 101 race machine in the 1960 24 hours race at Montjuich circuit in Spain. His co-rider was another Bultaco employee nicknamed ‘Tiger’.

‘Bambi’ was a well known face at International motocross and enduro evnst over the years and knowing Bultacos inside out, so to speak, he knew all the tricks of how to make them more reliable and faster.

Grenoble, 1965 - Oriol Puig Bulto on a Bultaco Sherpa with 'Bambi' Valera watching. Oriol was a nephew of Snr. Bulto, the Bultaco company founder. Photo: Cristina Valera Fandos Archive.
Grenoble, 1965 – Oriol Puig Bulto on a Bultaco Sherpa with ‘Bambi’ Valera watching. Oriol was a nephew of Snr. Bulto, the Bultaco company founder. Photo: Cristina Valera Fandos Archive.

Setting individual machines up to individual factory riders specifications for not only handling but also carburation and overall performance.

Bambi y Jorge Capapey i Fernando Muñoz
1970 at the ISDT at El Escorial, near Madrid. here we see ‘Bambi’ with Bultaco works riders, Fernando Munoz and Jorge Capapey

Now retired, ‘Bambi’ encourages his Grandson Oriol to ride motorcycles as much as possible and has a very nice Bultaco Chispa for him to ride.

Bambi Valera & Oriol Marse - grandson
‘Bambi’ with his grandson, Oriol Marse Valera and the Bultaco Chispa 49cc
Bambi y Narcis Casas
‘Bambi’ with Narcis Casas, the Bultaco factory rider, who went on to develop the Gas Gas trial and Enduro machines. Seen here with a Bultaco Frontera 360 Enduro machine.
Bambi y Fernando Munoz
‘Bambi’ with former Spanish Motocross Bultaco rider, Domingo Gris

‘Bambi’ also rode Bultaco machinery during his time at the factory.

Bambi Sherpa N
Francisco on an early Bultaco Sherpa, the model N which was the precursor to the Sherpa T. Here ‘Bambi’ is riding in the company trial on the ranch owned by F.X. Bulto called San Antonio.
Bambi & Mercurio tricks
‘Bambi’ indulges in some trick riding on Bultaco Mercurio road bike near the factory at San Adrian De Besos, Barcelona, Spain.
Bambi y Marcel Cama
‘Bambi’ warming up a Bultaco racing TSS with Marcel Cama at the San Adrian De Besos factory.
Bambi & Pursang wheel
‘Bambi’ with a Bultaco Pursang rear wheel at an International motocross around 1972.
Bultaco mod.133 - YV
Photo from the experimental and competition department at the Bultaco factory taken in 1975, with Yrjo Vesterinen’s Bultaco Sherpa model 133, a very rare machine, very few produced. The person nearest the camera is ‘Bambi’ Valera – Photo courtesy of Yrjo Vesterinen, photographer unknown.
Souvenirs - Bambi
Some souvenirs of Bambi’s from the 1970’s (Horst Leitner was Bultaco importer for Germany & Austria)
Bambi Valera - 2015 - CV
Always a Bultaco man, Bambi Valera pictured here in 2015 on a Bultaco, of course! – Photo: Cristina Valera Fandos

With many thanks to Cristina Valera Fandos for her assistance in providing information and photos for this short article on her father and special thanks to former World Trials Champion, Yrjo Vesterinen for his co-operation and assistance in preparing this article.

Text Copyright: Trials Guru/John Moffat – 2015.

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Rob Edwards – Part 16 – Light at the end of the tunnel

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Part Sixteen:
Light at the end of the tunnel.
Rob on his 400cc Triumph in the Pre'65 Scottish in 1993. Photo copyright: Iain Lawrie, Kinlochleven
Rob on his 400cc Triumph in the Pre’65 Scottish on Loch Eild Path in 1993. Photo copyright: Iain Lawrie, Kinlochleven

Hello Readers,
I hope you enjoyed the Festive Season? We are cruising towards a gradual finish now. I mean surely nothing more could happen to me? Well actually yes – just for a change, I had an epileptic fit! I was fitting so badly I had to be put into an induced coma.

I must have been enjoying it because they couldn’t wake me up. The good news is I only had one of these.
However, I did have another stroke which effected my speech, balance and I couldn’t write. Now for the good news all these problems are in the past.
I think its something to do with having a competitive spirit and a lot of luck.
I promise I will not talk of illness ever again! My miracle recovery occurred when I stopped taking the pain killer fentanyl. It took me a year to get it out of my system but it has transformed me.
Don’t expect me to be riding in the SSDT again but I hope to be spectating. From now on this is a stroke-free zone!
To cheer you up the next part of my story is a number of things that I had forgotten about but thanks to doing my story with Trials Guru, I have remembered some. I hope you find them amusing.
Best Wishes To All and Thank You – ROB
Guisborough - Tocketts Mill trial on a borrowed Triumph Cub. Photo Courtesy: Neil Sturgeon, Darlington
Guisborough – Tocketts Mill trial on a borrowed Triumph Cub. Photo Courtesy: Neil Sturgeon, Darlington

Trials Guru comment: We are indebted to Rob Edwards for explaining exactly why he disappeared off the trials scene some years ago. It is now made crystal clear by the man himself exactly how his health issues were considerable and very serious and limited his lifestyle and activities. For many years there was a genuine mistaken belief that Rob had picked up some germ or bug when he was on his South American travels promoting with Montesa, now we know the true story about his Churg-Strauss Syndrome. This is not the end of Rob’s story, he will continue to share excerpts of his life in trials for a little longer. Remember the complete story is available on Trials Guru, just click on the button: Rob Edwards Story

 

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‘A guid ne’er tae ane an aw’ – Have a good one – Trials Guru

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One of the first images we used when Trials Guru was a fledgling facebook page. Jordi Tarres (Beta) at the World Trials Championship round at Glen Nevis, Scotland in 1992. Photo: Iain Lawrie, kinlochleven.
One of the first images we used when Trials Guru was a fledgling facebook page. Jordi Tarres (Beta) at the World Trials Championship round at Glen Nevis, Scotland in 1992. Photo: Iain Lawrie, Kinlochleven.

It’s just over eighteen months since Trials Guru started off as a page on facebook and nine months as a stand alone website.

We are pleased to see so many enthusiasts of the sport of trial taking a keen interest in what we do.

There is more to come in 2015 with perhaps some more southerly photos of our sport from a well-known writer and journalist from the off-road world of motorcycle sport.

In the meantime have a good new year from Trials Guru – ‘Dedicated to the sport of Motorcycle Trials World-wide’.

All written material Copyright: Trials Guru / Moffat Racing, John Moffat

Photo copyright: Iain Lawrie, Kinlochleven.

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Rob Edwards – Part Fifteen – Making Progress?

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1978 - Rob receives his award at the Scottish Six Days. He came second to Martin Lampkin. Photo Copyright: Mike Rapley
1978 – Rob receives his award at the Scottish Six Days. He came second to Martin Lampkin. D.K. Laing and Bob Adamson (centre) look on. Photo Copyright: Mike Rapley

Hello Everybody,

I must apologise for my rather morbid last episode. I think I answered the question as to where I went to some years ago. Unfortunately I am not out of the woods yet but I will return to less miserable times before we bid each other farewell, but not just yet.
Having survived my perforated bowel the next problems were the various things that can occur with this type of operation. First of all the eight inch scar on my stomach wouldn’t heal up. Typical of me I had managed to get MRSA, oh and sepsis as well as a fungal infection in my blood, but apart from this things were going great!
I then had another suspected mini-stroke and had a brain scan just to check. This didn’t show up anything that wasn’t expected apart from an aneurysm at the base of my brain. Knowing the size of my brain I was sure it would only be a small one! 
Back in hospital again it is then. The surgeon told me that if I moved I could be paralysed or it could be fatal, but I still decided to go ahead with the operation.
This involves passing technical gear into an artery in the groin up to the brain. When I was taken to have the operation I began to wonder if I was doing the right thing? The operation was not supposed to take long but it was six hours before I arrived back to the recovery ward. I must admit that I was relieved that the operation was now behind me! I bet you are waiting for something to go wrong? Well you wont have to wait that long. A nurse would check for bleeding every 15 minutes. At 3am I had to press the emergency button because of a very strong pain in my thigh. Two nurses came straight away and checked the sheets for blood but I wasn’t bleeding externally I was bleeding internally. When the equipment was removed after the operation they had nicked an artery in my groin. The blood was filling my thigh to the point where it was twice the diameter of the other before the flow of blood was stopped the swollen side had almost burst open. The pain was horrendous and the blood that was in the wrong place had to come out in its own natural way, bruising. I was black from the tip of my toes up my back and across my shoulders. I now had to have regular blood transfusions. You will like this next bit. Three days later I was visited by my specialist. At first I thought I had not heard him properly. Excuse me I said but did you just say I didn’t have my operation? Yes he said it was not accessible, sorry. In fairness to my surgeons they didn’t risk anything that could have caused me serious damage  so I am very grateful for that.
When I picked up after this latest episode I was glad to get back to my workshop. I now make models out of scraps  of aluminium. I was working away then all of a sudden I had no idea what was happening I didn’t know where I was, totally confused. We rang the doctor and he was here within minutes. After a few basic tests like putting on my coat and shoes I failed hopelessly. He said I had suffered a stroke and rang for an ambulance. On arrival at A&E I was checked over and was told I hadn’t suffered a stroke and the confusion was called by the antibiotics I was taking. I was sent home despite the fact I couldn’t even dress myself properly. I put my jumper and trousers on back to front anybody passing must have thought the circus was in town. After a dreadful night at home walking into door frames and not being able to tell the time we rang for an ambulance first thing. By now I was beginning to wonder who was more confused me or them? A scan revealed I had suffered another stroke. It had also effected my peripheral vision. This usually effects vision in one eye but I had it in both eyes well I would wouldn’t “eye”. Bye for now – Rob
1979 - Scottish Six Days. Rob was 18th on 167 marks. Photo Copyright: Eric Kitchen.
1979 – Scottish Six Days. Rob, seen here on Pipeline, was 18th on 167 marks. Photo Copyright: Eric Kitchen.

Copyright:

Words: Rob Edwards/Trials Guru, John Moffat 2014.

Photos: Eric Kitchen – All Rights Reserves

Mike Rapley – All Rights Reserved

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Barry Robinson – He’s been around a while!

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Barry Robinson captured by John Hulme.
Barry Robinson captured by John Hulme.

Barry Robinson from Ilkely, West Yorkshire has been taking photographs professionally for over 57 years. He started and has never really stopped! A proper enthusiast of our sport his images of trials, scrambles, quad racing and road racing have graced many periodicals and national newspapers. A member of the National Union of Journalists, Barry was a close friend of Eric Rathmell, Malcolm’s father and their wives were very close friends too. He got to know Eric way back in 1953 when he rented a cottage in Otley at that time.

A very private person, Barry told Trials Guru: “Not a lot of people are aware of my long connection with the Rathmell family or that I actually rode trials, as an expert; scrambles, as an idiot, or was a Yorkshire and Lancashire champion grass track sidecar passenger and rode televised scrambles as a solo and sidecar passenger”.

BR Velo1960-1
“This Doug Todd picture was taken in 1960 and the blonde boy in the background is one Malcolm Charles Rathmell, now aged sixty, or more. The other is brother Gerald and Eric is ensuring I tie the Velocette on correctly. The haircut, by the way is courtesy, of a ex Royal Air Force barber who never forgot his basic training. The Velo is a 250 MOV with a spring frame built by Eric Rathmell. The engine kept dropping an exhaust valve, probably due to being over revved”.

Barry has also ridden many of the factory trials prototypes over the years, purely because he accompany and take photos of the Yorkshire based factory riders when practicing. We are proud to be able to show you a small selection of Barry’s photographs with his permission on Trials Guru, some of his images have never been seen in public before. Barry was a photographer with weeklies, Motor Cycling and Motor Cycle News. He still covers events and reports regionally for Trials and Motocross News.

A Barry Robinson photo of Malcolm Rathmell. Barry has had a long standing friendship with the Rathmell family since the early 1950's. Photo Copyright: Barry Robinson, Ilkely.
A Barry Robinson photo of Malcolm Rathmell back in the 1970’s. Barry has had a long standing friendship with the Rathmell family since the early 1950’s. Photo Copyright: Barry Robinson, Ilkely.

Robinson knows most if not all the Yorkshire riders in trials and scrambles back to the days when Arthur Lampkin was racing a Gold Star BSA.

Malcolm Rathmell in the 1975 Jack Leslie Ellis Trial on the prototype 348 Montesa. Photo copyright: Barry Robinson.
Malcolm Rathmell in the 1975 Jack Leslie Ellis Trial on the prototype 348 Montesa. Photo copyright: Barry Robinson.

We hope ‘The Maestro’, will be taking even more photos for years to come.

One of the factory prototypes that Barry has swung his leg over - Malcolm Rathmell's Montesa 349. (Photo Copyright: Barry Robinson)
One of the factory special prototypes that Barry has swung his leg over – Malcolm Rathmell’s Montesa 349. (Photo Copyright: Barry Robinson)

Copyright:

Text: Trials Guru / Moffat Racing, John Moffat 2014.

Photos: By kind permission of Barry Robinson, Ilkely, West Yorkshire. (All Rights Reserved)

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Rob Edwards Story – Part Fourteen

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Part Fourteen
Rob with good friend Martin Lampkin. Photo Copyright: Barry Robinson, Ilkely
Rob with good friend Martin Lampkin. Photo Copyright: Barry Robinson, Ilkely
Hello Everybody, many thanks again for following my story in trials. I hope you all had a Happy Christmas and I would like to thank you all for making my Christmas so special this year. Wishing you all the best.
I hope you all have a Happy and Healthy New Year.
Thank you for the great comments that you have sent me, they are really appreciated. The part of my story that we have reached now is almost beyond belief.
Many people have asked me over the years, why I suddenly stopped riding and disappeared to? What comes next should answer these questions.
After several weeks in hospital following the Subarachnoid haemorrhage, I was allowed home again. I was only home a matter of days when I suddenly got a terrible pain in my left leg. It went from my heel up to my knee. It was a Sunday morning at 4 a.m. but was so bad we had to call the doctor. He wasn’t at all happy and told me I had a pulled muscle. The pain persisted and we eventually called out another doctor and rang straight away for an ambulance. By the time the ambulance arrived, the pain had stopped but that wasn’t the end of it. The pain was the Churg-Strauss doing its’ thing. It had cut off the blood supply in my left leg from the knee downwards destroying everything  leaving only the bones. I could spin my foot round like a propeller. I had no feeling in it whatsoever. I couldn’t walk at all. The strange thing was I had no feeling in the leg but I had a toothache type of pain that was to last for years. During this time it was impossible to sleep and I spent the nights watching the TV. I was put onto a pain-killer called Fentanyl which is a lot stronger than morphine but I still had the pain.
Rob Edwards in 1981 -Photo Copyright: Barry Robinson, Ilkely.
Rob Edwards in 1981 -Photo Copyright: Barry Robinson, Ilkely.
I then developed a different pain this time it was Gallstones. I was back in hospital again to have my gall-bladder removed. I came home from hospital but developed a pain in the small of my back. I went to see my local GP and she wanted to admit me to hospital. I declined the offer as I had had enough of hospitals to last me a lifetime. She did however give me an envelope with instructions that if I needed to go into hospital to give this envelope to the ambulance staff. As usual, it all went wrong! Just after midnight we had to phone for an ambulance. The problem this time was a pulmonary embolism or blood clot on the lung following the gall bladder operation. I caused a bit of panic in the hospital because I couldn’t breath and collapsed on the floor. Instead of using the oxygen mask they pulled it off and pushed the plastic pipe directly into my mouth and turned the supply flat out. I was kept in bed for three weeks and was not allowed out of bed at all.
The next thing that happened was I suffered a mini stroke. I woke up and my arms were moving about on their own but this stopped quickly. I was in hospital just overnight. Panic over but not for long. I got a pain in my stomach. I managed to get to the phone to ring my wife, Bev. She came home post haste and finding me laid on the floor she phoned for an ambulance. I don’t remember much about the reception part of the hospital as I was in so much pain but I can remember the consultant telling me that they did not know what was wrong and they would not know until they opened me up. They said something had pushed my diaphragm up into my chest cavity. I was in the operating theater for seven hours. When I eventually woke up, I was told that at the end of my operation they had tried everything possible to keep me alive however this was to no avail and they were prepared with the possibility that I was not going to make it. Suddenly I fired up again, maybe it was just a drop of water in my carb! The problem was a perforated bowel caused by Diverticulitus which was a condition I didn’t know I had.
I think we have all suffered enough for now and as crazy as this sounds there are still more serious problems to come before I am out of the woods.
Thanks for taking the time to read all this, I know its not about riding sections, but it makes things clearer for those who remember me riding and disappearing from the trials scene. Bye for now! – Rob
Happier times, an eric Kitchen photo of Rob Edwards in the 1979 Scottish on his Montesa Cota 349. (Photo Copyright - Eric Kitchen)
Happier times, a superb photo of Rob Edwards in the 1979 Scottish on his Montesa Cota 349. (Photo Copyright – Eric Kitchen)

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