MOTORCYCLING: A bit of trial tribulation

ANENDRA SINGH
Todd Alexander's bike story is almost good enough for a short film script.
On the night of August 29, last year, the Taikura Rudolf Steiner pupil was surfing the net at his Taradale home, admiring the go-karts, speedway machines and V8 beasts on display.
But then his father, Hamish, looked over his shoulder. "Dad started showing me what his favourite bikes were on TradeMe," the 18-year-old told SportToday last night just before the three-day 2007 New Zealand Motorcycle Trials Championship prizegiving ceremony at Havelock North.
Accidentally (and that's his story and he's steadfastly sticking by it), after his father had left the room, Alexander pushed the "buy now" button of a $3000 Montesa trial bike for sale in Nelson.
"About an hour later when Dad got on and was checking his email he yelled out: 'Todd, did you buy this bike?' Luckily Dad paid for it," Alexander said.
Hamish, the owner of Alexander's Transport, in Napier, kept his temper but from then on his son had his work cut out. For his school project, the seventh-former had to do a project on trial bikes.
"I had to do a 6000-word essay and present a 30-minute speech on the topic for my class 12 project. If I had failed it then I would have failed the whole year and not been able to go up to seventh form," Alexander said.
But there were more problems on the horizon. There was the not-so-simple matter of who was going to bring the machine from Nelson to Hawke's Bay.
Fortunately fellow Hawke's Bay Trail Club member Luke March was heading south for the national championship last year and on his way back he offered to bring it back for Alexander.
But all that stress and strain seemed to have paid dividends after Alexander yesterday finished overall runner-up in the social grade to champion Mike Gundry, of Tauranga. Alexander made Gundry "eat dust" yesterday after he had finished runner-up to the visiting rider in Saturday's round at Wairangi and on Sunday at Kahuranaki.
Finding the trial biking quite challenging, Alexander also finds the camaraderie with fellow Bay riders such as March, and Waipukurau's Nick Hamilton enjoyable.
"They all help out so it's good," said Alexander, whose dream is to one day to race in go-kart, speedway and V8 Supercar meetings.
"It has also taught me to slow down and stop to think a little bit more. I'm the kind of guy who just doesn't care and gets into things."
After finishing school this year, Alexander hopes to attend Camp America between May and October next year but to return home in time to compete in the next nationals to be staged at Alexandra, in the South Island.
In the expert grade, Wellington teenager Jake Whitaker yesterday beat Warren Laugesen, of Levin, for the overall title. Bay's March finished fifth overall after a fifth place yesterday.
In the expert A grade, Nick Oliver, of Nelson, stole the thunder from Rory Mead, of Wellington.
Kevin Gundry emulated his father, Mike, in the social grade for the intermediate crown.
Havelock North's Mark Ferguson had to settle for eighth place yesterday to finish eighth overall. Waipukurau's Hamilton did not finish.
In the clubman grade, Robert McEwen, 18, of Taranaki, stole line honours as Darren Stockman, of Auckland, kept him honest all the way. Clarke Curtis, of Napier, did not finish yesterday but still managed 14th place overall.
Waikato's Jim Pattie was the junior grade champion, and president's honours went to Paul McLeod, of Tauranga. March said before the Alexandra nationals, the North Island rounds would be staged from March.