{"id":2359,"date":"2025-05-08T16:37:27","date_gmt":"2025-05-08T14:37:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gernot-menke.de\/?page_id=2359"},"modified":"2026-02-11T20:10:44","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T19:10:44","slug":"bad-nauheim-weitere-fahrrad-trials","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.gernot-menke.de\/en\/bad-nauheim-weitere-fahrrad-trials\/","title":{"rendered":"Bad Nauheim \u2013 Further Bike Trials"},"content":{"rendered":"

This page presents some more of the bicycle trials in Bad Nauheim that stood out for one reason or another \u2013 starting with the 3rd bicycle trial on 24 May 1975. Great pictures from the early days of bicycle trials!<\/p>\n

3rd bike trial on 24 May 1975<\/strong><\/p>\n

This event was one of eight bike trials (see the list on the page \u2018Bad Nauheim \u2013 Bicycle Trial on 25 May 1974\u2019) that took place on the grounds near the Frauenwaldschule in Nieder M\u00f6rlen in the Frauenwald forest. It was not a special location, but it was a very usable forest area with a pleasant atmosphere that offered a wide range of possibilities and was also close to the town. The location indicated on the posters was always the Usabr\u00fccke (bridge over the small Usa river) at the Frauenwaldschule, from where the few hundred metres to the start at the edge of the forest were signposted.<\/p>\n

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The Usa bridge near the Frauenwald school in Nieder M\u00f6rlen (located on the left in the background). The railings were ideal for hanging the large yellow Verg\u00f6lst banners, which immediately created a \u2018racing atmosphere\u2019. Unfortunately, I neglected to take a photo of this at the time. \u2013 From here on, there were signs. (Photo 2014)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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This is the view from the Usa bridge to the start and finish at the top of the forest edge on the left side of the path. The photo was taken in April when the trees did not yet have leaves. At the level of the walker in the blue jacket, 200 metres to the right outside the picture, was my former daring descent (see \u2018Bad Nauheim \u2013 Background\u2019) at the \u00c4ppelwoitreppchen, which is now barely recognisable due to vegetation and other changes. At the left edge of the picture, behind the once small fir hedge, is the long golf course that stretches to the Great Pond in Bad Nauheim's spa gardens, which was laid out in 1903 to cater for wealthy spa guests from Great Britain and the USA. (Photo 2025)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Poster for the 3rd bike trial on 24 May 1975. There were no longer any age restrictions for participants. There was no mention of compulsory helmets. But riding took place in all weathers \u2013 another feature adopted from motorcycle trials!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This third bike trial saw a record number of participants, with over fifty riders taking part. Word had spread about the Stadtjugendring bike trials, and this time I had placed a small advertisement in the WETTERAUER ZEITUNG, which clearly had the desired effect. However, what contributed most to the incredible atmosphere at this bike trial was what Markus Schlosser wrote on the previous page about his \u2018memories\u2019 of the first bike trial on 25 May 1974 (see the relevant page): \u2018The great thing back then was that you didn't have to be a freak with a high-tech bike, you could just go there and achieve a good result with a little skill.\u2019<\/p>\n

Above all, although the participants had little knowledge of trials riding at the time, they were the focus of the event! That was the key point. Failures didn't hurt because everyone was in the same boat. And since everyone was working together to overcome a high riding hurdle for the given level, a strong sense of community, drive and lots of fun came together. I have only experienced such a casual and cheerful atmosphere as at this trial once later. 1<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

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Before the start. On the right-hand side of the picture, you can see the forest road and, in the background, the section tapes for the last section 5.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Typical for beginners was the sometimes completely incorrect assessment of difficulties. For example, in the first section, I had used a small depression and turned it into a \u2018mud pan\u2019 with a water canister. Actually, you could have just driven through here, as the two participants shown below demonstrated.<\/p>\n

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Even an Easy Rider backrest was no obstacle here.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Other participants succumbed to the psychological effect of the mud hole and reacted completely over the top, promptly failing, as did the driver in the two pictures below. They could have easily driven around the mud hole on the hillside (if feasible, I always include options when designing sections!), but no one thought of that. Maybe the \u2018splash\u2019 was just too tempting!<\/p>\n

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Too much respect...<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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... leads to something like this. Just look at the face of the spectator crouching in the background to the left of the tree. His buddy standing next to him isn't laughing \u2013 he's competing himself! You can tell by the yellow Verg\u00f6lst cap he's holding in his hand (I still have a few of them lying around somewhere).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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The traffic jam ...<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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... in front of Section 3<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Didn't think about the rear wheel and drove too far inside. Added to this is the \u2018magnetic\u2019 effect of the slope. (Section 3)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After the shock of the tree trunk, many participants failed to switch to braking in time on the following descent and gained too much speed for the bend before the tree to the Ends-card. Here, one participant who was going too fast jumps off:<\/p>\n

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Don't we know him from some other fall pictures too ...? (Section 3)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Rescue ...<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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... from the nettles. Even in the last bend before the safe finish line, some still had too much momentum (section 3).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The beautiful section 4. Staying at the top of the slope was more difficult than starting from below. Full concentration and momentum for the final ascent to E, which is located outside the right edge of the picture\u2014the driver still has to make a quick left turn! Looks good.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The sections were all designed to be \u2018large\u2019, so that they could be completed with a normal bike with sufficient momentum. Most participants got the hang of it quite quickly and ended up with far fewer points at the end of the trial than they had in the first few rounds. At a low level, riding progress always happens very quickly.<\/p>\n

Finally, some pictures of Section 5 on the forest road:<\/p>\n

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A bonanza bike in front of bewildered passers-by.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Unfortunately, a little too little momentum. The observer is excited and obviously trying to hold back! Very empathetic \u2013 a classmate, he went on to become a doctor.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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That was no longer a clean performance. Same place as before in section 5. \u2013 To the right, it goes down to the Usa bridge.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The atmosphere that had prevailed in the sections continued during the award ceremony. The last photo shows how coveted the prizes were this time: ice hockey tickets from VfL Bad Nauheim! It is important to note that Bad Nauheim played in the first ice hockey Bundesliga for a long time and even came third in 1973\/74. At that time, Bad Nauheim was not only the only Bundesliga team in Hesse, but also the only one that did not come from the Alpine foothills (with its lakes frozen over in winter and a corresponding ice hockey tradition) or from a large city that had an ice rink. Bad Nauheim owed this to the Americans, who not only drove motorboats on the pond in the spa gardens after the war, but also built an ice rink there for their boys (the large pond provided the cooling water for the ice machines). Bad Nauheim soon became \u2013 and still is \u2013 an ice hockey town.<\/p>\n

During the games, the town was deserted \u2013 many spa guests also went to watch ice hockey. The son of my school headmaster, Makatsch, was the goalkeeper \u2013 his sister Heike became an actress. My sister's best friend married a Czech national striker who played for Bad Nauheim \u2013 their son later became an ice hockey goalkeeper. A later Bad Nauheim ice hockey pro, Thomas Barczikowski, won the bike trial in 1977. Back then, instead of football, the children in Bad Nauheim played \u2018ice hockey\u2019 on the street with a tennis ball. The sticks for this were available at the games, where broken sticks were always handed over the boards to the children who rushed over. That's why ice hockey tickets were great prizes at the bike trial! I also saw many, many games (and have a puck that flew out of the rink on my shelf) \u2013 I lived only a ten-minute walk from the ice rink and, although I wasn't a fan, ice hockey was simply part of the cold season for me.<\/p>\n

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Award ceremony \u2013 ice hockey tickets are attractive!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I am adding one last photo because it is unbelievable how overgrown everything is today! The following picture shows the same spot where the award ceremony took place in 1975, only slightly further to the left, in 2014! The people at the award ceremony would be standing behind the slanted fence post on the right-hand side of the picture below. In both photos, the photographer was standing at the edge of the forest on the forest road. Incidentally, the path leads to the \u00c4ppelwoitreppchen.<\/p>\n

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Nicht in Birma, sondern in Nieder M\u00f6rlen! Das ist die Stelle der Siegerehrung beim 3. Fahrrad-Trial im Mai 1975 im Jahr 2014. Praktisch dasselbe Foto wie zuvor, nur gerade einmal 39 Jahre sp\u00e4ter.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The report in the WETTERAUER ZEITUNG a few days after the trial.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n

Bike Trials Cup 1976<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 1976, I organized a bike trial cup competition in Bad Nauheim with three rounds, all of which took place at different locations.<\/p>\n

5th bike trial on May 22, 1976 = 1st round in the Bike Trials Cup<\/p>\n

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Poster for the first round of the 1976 Bike Trials Cup on 22 May 1976<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Announcement of the 1976 Bike Trials Cup in the WETTERAUER ZEITUNG dated May 22, 1976<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The first round for this cup took place on May 22, 1976, on the grounds near the Frauenwald school in Nieder M\u00f6rlen. This time, I chose a relatively long circuit there, which initially led steeply uphill, so that the participants had to push their bikes on this part of the course. The first sections were located there. After a stretch on a hillside path almost on the top of the slope - you can get an idea of the forest slope in the second photo \u2013 the route then went cross-country back down the steep forest slope, but at an angle so that it wasn't too steep. Based on my observations during the third bike trial (in section 3, see above!), I was afraid of bikes possibly going through and didn't want to take any risks.<\/p>\n

This charming, longer cross-country section down the slope led to a hollow in the hillside covered with fir trees, whose numerous protruding roots posed the main difficulty. At the bottom, the riders then returned to familiar terrain with the remaining sections and the start and finish at the edge of the forest.<\/p>\n

All that five times! Some of the younger participants in particular were pretty exhausted afterwards, given the altitude they had covered. You can also see this in the results list below, in the number of dropouts in this class. For the first time, the classes were divided into under and over 12 years of age \u2013 the previous division into with and without gears was abandoned. Incidentally, parents were practically never present at the trial. The participants had all come to the trial on their bikes.<\/p>\n

Worth mentioning on the list in the \u201cbig\u201d class is Helmut R\u00fchl in fifth place. He was a cycle artist with the local cycle art club, whom I happened to strike up a conversation with before the trial. He found trials interesting and took part a few times to see what trials riding felt like. In any case, he was surprised that the trials riders \u2013 unlike his artistic cyclists in the hall! \u2013 were not able to stand still! These words gave me pause for thought even then. Standing still was not yet common in motorcycle trials at that time; in fact, it was frowned upon because it supposedly disrupted the riding rhythm. For this reason, the clutch should also not be used in the sections if possible...<\/p>\n

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Report on the first round of the 1976 Bike Trials Cup in the WETTERAUER ZEITUNG<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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6th Bike trial on August 7, 1976 = 2nd round of the Bike Trials Cup<\/p>\n

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Report on the second round of the Bicycle Trials Cup on August 7, 1976, in the WETTERAUER ZEITUNG<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I am attaching some newspaper clippings from that time about this second round in the 1976 Bike Trials Cup, which was the 6th Bike trial organized by the Bad Nauheim City Youth Council. First, the report in the regional WETTERAUER ZEITUNG, followed by my reports in FAHRERLAGER and TRIALSPORT, which was launched in 1976 by Felix Krahnst\u00f6ver.<\/p>\n

These newspaper clippings provide sufficient information about the second round of the Bike Trials Cup, so I don't need to write anything more about it here. At the same time, they convey an impression of my enthusiasm for bike trials at the time and my efforts to promote bike trials. So here are the historical documents mentioned!<\/p>\n

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FAHRERLAGER 4 (July\/August 1976), p. 12<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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FAHRERLAGER 4 (July\/August 1976), p. 13<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The bicycle trial in Bad Nauheim on the front page of TRIALSPORT together with the motorcycle trials events<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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TRIALSPORT 7 (September) 1976, p. 5<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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TRIALSPORT 7 (September) 1976, p. 6<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

7th bike trial on 25 September 1976 = 3rd round of the Bike Trial Cup<\/p>\n

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This is my father's handwriting. He designed the poster for the final round of the 1976 Bike trials Cup on 25 September 1976. Here you can see what the trophies for the top three in the overall standings looked like.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Final standings of the 1976 Bike Trials Cup in Bad Nauheim<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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    \n
  1. During a motorcycle trial in A\u00dflar in the well-known forest, there was a long uphill stretch for fourth gear that was so slippery that almost \u2013 almost! \u2013 all participants slid back down the slope on their backsides. It was like a carnival atmosphere! ↩<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Auf dieser Seite werden einige weitere der Fahrrad-Trials in Bad Nauheim vorgestellt, die aus irgendwelchen Gr\u00fcnden herausragten – zun\u00e4chst das 3. Fahrrad-Trial am 24. Mai 1975. Tolle Bilder aus der Fr\u00fchzeit des Fahrrad-Trials! 3. Fahrrad-Trial am 24. Mai 1975 Diese Veranstaltung war eines von acht Fahrrad-Trials (siehe die Liste auf der Seite „Bad Nauheim –…<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2359","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gernot-menke.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2359","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gernot-menke.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gernot-menke.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gernot-menke.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gernot-menke.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2359"}],"version-history":[{"count":197,"href":"https:\/\/www.gernot-menke.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2359\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3391,"href":"https:\/\/www.gernot-menke.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2359\/revisions\/3391"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gernot-menke.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2359"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}