{"id":2602,"date":"2025-06-15T16:15:49","date_gmt":"2025-06-15T14:15:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gernot-menke.de\/?page_id=2602"},"modified":"2026-01-12T22:21:24","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T21:21:24","slug":"bad-nauheim-es-wird-ueberregional","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.gernot-menke.de\/en\/bad-nauheim-es-wird-ueberregional\/","title":{"rendered":"Bad Nauheim \u2013It Goes Beyond the Region"},"content":{"rendered":"

8th Bike trial on 2 July 1977 \u2013 riders from Oelbronn take part<\/strong><\/p>\n

Three riders from outside the area, from a club involved in motorcycle trials \u2013 and also in cycling \u2013 took part in the 8th bike trial for the first time. They were from RMSC Oelbronn, which stands for \u201cRad- und Motorsport Club Oelbronn\u201d (Oelbronn Cycling and Motor Sports Club), a club founded in 1955. I knew it from motorcycle trials and had ridden my 50cc Z\u00fcndapp trials bike in a TSG (Trialsport-Gemeinschaft) Southwest competition in Oelbronn two weeks earlier, on June 19, 1977.<\/p>\n

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At the TSG round in Oelbronn on June 19, 1977 (photo: Fritz Schneider)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In Oelbronn, I naturally inquired about the cycling department's trials activities, but they referred to other disciplines, such as cycle ball, etc., and not bike trials. I told them about my event two weeks later in Bad Nauheim, and when the people from the club in Oelbronn were not averse to the idea, I promised to send them a sketch that would help them find their way to the start of the signposting. And sure enough, the Oelbronn team came! The three boys from Oelbronn competed in the under-12 age group, which one of them, Uwe Lilge, won hands down \u2013 he probably has a trophy with \u201cSJR Bad Nauheim\u201d written on it somewhere. It was the first time that riders from outside the area had competed in the bicycle trial in Bad Nauheim. And it was the beginning of bicycle trials in Oelbronn, which was now established and produced several well-known riders such as Nina Reichenbach and Jonas Friedrich over the next thirty years.<\/p>\n

Thomas Barczikowski's victory in the over-12s category (his younger brother Dirk won the under-12s category two years later at the 11th bike trial) didn't really catch anyone's attention at the time. However, it is worth mentioning because three years later, at the age of seventeen, Thomas Barczikowski began a professional career as an ice hockey forward in Bad Nauheim and became one of the celebrated stars (\u201cBarczi\u201d) in Bad Nauheim's star forward line.<\/p>\n

Four times seven sections (see bottom of the results list shown) were hard work, and on this hot day, the regional riders had already completed the journey on their bikes to the not-so-nearby terrain in the forests of the Winterstein area near Ober M\u00f6rlen, which was not to be underestimated. Perhaps this was why \u201cold stars\u201d such as Holger Gmyrek and Gunther Erbe, who had shone at previous events, gave up after a few laps with penalty point scores that meant they were unlikely to win. They certainly hadn't reckoned with Thomas Barczikowski, who was competing for the first time, learning with every lap and impressively demonstrating his athletic abilities. Only Rolf Benthaus was able to keep up with him to some extent \u2013 as the eternal runner-up, I would like to highlight Rolf Benthaus from Nieder M\u00f6rlen here as a consistently good rider who lived up to the motto: \u201cAlways good is very good!\u201d<\/p>\n

Helmut R\u00fchl, the artistic cyclist from the Germania Cycling Club in Rockenberg (near Bad Nauheim), was also there again. I found it very appealing that someone who was normally used to doing gymnastics on a bike in the hall was practicing his skills on a bike in a completely different way here and broadening his horizons. He also brought riders to the trials from time to time.<\/p>\n

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Results list for the 8th bike trial on July 2, 1977<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Report on the 8th bike trial on July 2, 1977, in TRIALSPORT No. 18 (August) 1977, p. 10<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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9th Bike trial on April 22, 1978 \u2013 the F\u00fcrstenhageners participate for the first time<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Announcement in the WETTERAUER ZEITUNG<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I was, of course, in contact with G\u00fcnter Schlieper, who had launched the Velo Trial Cup in F\u00fcrstenhagen the year before. It was agreed that the F\u00fcrstenhageners would come to my bike trial in Bad Nauheim \u2013 the accompanying advance notice in the WETTERAUER ZEITUNG makes it clear that the F\u00fcrstenhageners were expected in Bad Nauheim.<\/p>\n

Since the Kirchner Hut cannot be reached by car, the start and finish were closer to the Eichberg Hut this time, which is not far from where section 5 was located during the first bike trial (see the map on the page \u201cBad Nauheim \u2013 Trial on May 25, 1974\u201d). Here, too, a former quarry had left numerous hollows in the forest, which \u2013 in combination with trees that had grown there later and their roots \u2013 provided numerous opportunities for sections. This was the first time that this terrain had been used more intensively for trials. From the report below in TRIALSPORT, I conclude that a few of the seven sections may also have been located on the grounds of the nearby Kirchner H\u00fctte, because \u2013 to be honest \u2013 I can no longer remember the details of the sections here. But knowing myself \u2013 and this is also evident from the report at the time \u2013 I certainly did not forego a certain amaount of course distance.<\/p>\n

The reports published below show that participation in this trial was disappointing. Perhaps I should not have mentioned the out-of-town riders in the advance notice, as this may have deterred the locals. The \u201cexperts\u201d from outside raised the level and brought a breath of fresh air \u2013 but in doing so, they stole the show from the local riders, who had previously been the center of attention, and reduced them to marginal figures. This conflict exists everywhere, even within clubs. Years later, in San Feliu de Codines in Catalonia, it led to the creation of today's Legends Trial, which aims to bring back the former riding enjoyment of former local riders and all others who cannot or do not want to keep up with the ever-increasing level of riding, in sections that are challenging but still feasible \u2013 in SFDC with the bikes of yesteryear.<\/p>\n

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The Eichberg Hut in the Frauenwald forest in September 2014<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Report in the WETTERAUER ZEITUNG about the 9th Bike trial on April 22, 1978<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Report on the 9th bike trial on April 22, 1978, in TRIALSPORT 28 (June) 1978, p. 32<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

10th Bike trial on November 11, 1978<\/strong><\/p>\n

Although no riders from outside the area took part in the 10th bike trial at the Frauenwaldschule, I would still like to present the event here because of some beautiful photos\u2014most of them in black and white, as neither the regional WETTERAUER ZEITUNG nor TRIALSPORT magazine could use color photos.<\/p>\n

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Driver briefing. The white items on the VW bus are paper rolls that were stuck on and served as a lap board. At the top of the forest, you can see the white VW bus belonging to Johanniter medical service.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Start and finish during the trial. Compare the location with the second photo on the page \u201cBad Nauheim \u2013 further trials\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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A bonanza bike in the section at the start and finish (photo: Luthard Menke)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The section at the waterworks<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Report in TRIALSPORT 34 (December) 1978, pp. 13\u201314<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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11th Bike trial on September 29, 1979 \u2013 second visit by the F\u00fcrstenhageners to Bad Nauheim<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was the second time that the bike trials riders from F\u00fcrstenhagen came to Bad Nauheim and the last time that Bad Nauheim was not part of the Velo Trial Cup. In terms of organization, the trial was a great success with around 50 participants and four laps with seven sections, and I had made a special effort in view of the appearance of the F\u00fcrstenhagen riders, who had announced their participation. This time, the course was extensive and also included the forest slope. After section 2 at the waterworks, there was a steep climb to the top, where a forest path on the slope led to section 3, which was located along the path. From there, a beautiful intermediate section led diagonally down the slope again. Halfway up this slope passage, in a small hollow covered with fir trees, was the fourth section, which consisted mainly of roots, before heading back down to the familiar terrain with the remaining three sections. This time there were a few uphill sections that rewarded riders who used their heads to take advantage of opportunities to build momentum or find favorable lines. This also applied to the local riders with their stock bikes, who found it easier everywhere. When setting up the sections, I always made sure that all sections were feasible with a stock bike in the normal classes.<\/p>\n

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The F\u00fcrstenhageners arrived with an NSU TT with trailer and a VW bus (at the back on the right-hand side of the picture) and brought eleven drivers with them! For orientation: the Usa Bridge and the Frauenwald School are on the left in this picture, the start and finish are in the background, and the forest with the seven sections is on the right. Incidentally, the black NSU TT from F\u00fcrstenhagen can also be seen briefly at the end of Desmond Lee's video \u2018Leaps & Bounds\u2019 at 1:50:50 \u2013 the link to the video can be found on the \u2018Felix Krahnst\u00f6ver and Pere Pi\u2019 page in note 2.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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This time there was even a parc ferm\u00e9. In the background, the golf course, start and finish on the right.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The F\u00fcrstenhagen riders got things started and waited to enter the first section. Although the visiting experts started in their own class with their special bikes, they naturally stole the show a little from the local riders. You can almost see it in the photo! Klaus Schmerse is in the center of the picture with the stripes on his overalls. I don't know the name of the F\u00fcrstenhagen rider to his right, but to the right of him in the background with the trial-style pointed cap is Dietrich Siemon, known as Fido.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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A Bonanza Special trials bike from F\u00fcrstenhagen. After the ascent, a right-hand turn.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Klaus Schmerse from F\u00fcrstenhagen tackles the waterworks.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Perhaps the most beautiful part of the trial \u2013 the sloping ascent at the waterworks in section 2. Fido (Dietrich Siemon) does everything right here.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The same spot. With its mudguard, the special bike is almost a motorcycle, but it still fails to achieve success. A \u201cthree points\u201d was almost always possible with a bike\u2014at that time, the motorcycle penalty system was still used. One of the F\u00fcrstenhagen riders.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The start of Section 3 at the hillside path.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The same passage in section 3<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The continuation of Section 3 \u2013 and already the foot is down. Here is a 24-inch bike in Easy Rider style with high handlebars and a backrest \u2013 a document of its time. In the background are the fir trees in the hollow on the slope where Section 4 was located (see text at the beginning). The bright area outside the forest at the bottom is the golf course.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The exit from section 4 in the hollow on the slope. The rider is following the easy track of the section.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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That was also a beautiful climb\u2014down near the golf course. Here is a participant with a racing bike\u2014but more important than the bike was that the line, speed, and rhythm were right. His feet are still up, but looking at this picture, I'm not sure if they stayed that way.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Results list, part 1. Dirk Barczikowski is the brother of ice hockey player Thomas Barczikowski, who won the 8th bike trial two years earlier.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Results list, part 2. Shortly thereafter, Rolf Pfeilsticker and Thomas Deichfu\u00df were among the first riders og Joachim Will's Melsungen club.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Results list, part 3<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Report on the 11th bike trial in TRIALSPORT 44 (December) 1979, p. 25<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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12th Bike trial on 28 September 1980 \u2013 for the first time, the bike trial in Bad Nauheim counts towards the Velo Trials Cup<\/strong><\/p>\n

For the first time, the bike trial in Bad Nauheim counted as a round of the Velo Trials Cup. That's why the Emmendingen riders Hansj\u00f6rg Rey and Andreas Zipf, had also signed up this time, meaning they would be facing the F\u00fcrstenhagen riders for the first time. Accordingly, I had made a special effort this time and found observers for eight sections, which had to be completed four times.<\/p>\n

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The observatory on Johannisberg, the lower part of which was once a church tower. The caf\u00e9 is on the left, and straight ahead is the Weber H\u00fctte.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In terms of the scenery, it was perhaps the most beautiful of the Bad Nauheim bike trials. The terrain high above the town is spectacular in itself \u2013 from the caf\u00e9 very close to the site, you can look out over Bad Nauheim to the Vogelsberg mountains. Added to this is the atmosphere of old buildings from every conceivable era. The 13th-century church tower, which was raised to a viewing tower in 1866, is now used as an observatory. 100 metres away are the foundations of a Roman signal tower. At the Weber H\u00fctte, one of the romantic shelters from around 1900, there is also the Wolfsgraben, which probably dates back to Celtic times and served to defend what is now Johannisberg. The Celts may have forgiven the fact that there were two beautiful sections on their defensive wall or in the trench, and the rocks found during excavations around 1900 in the Celtic wall, which were then placed in front of the Weber H\u00fctte as rustic decorative stones, also made a great rock section. Unfortunately, these stones are now so overgrown that they can no longer be recognised \u2013 in 1980 they were exposed and everything was well maintained. I am attaching a photo.<\/p>\n

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An older photo of the Weber Hut, when everything was still well maintained and not so overgrown, with the rocks of the rock section in the foreground. The rock that Hansj\u00f6rg Rey is riding over in the following picture is just half visible on the left edge of the picture above. The route went back up over the sloping slab at the right-hand tree. To the right of the right-hand tree, there is a fifth rock that marks the end of this section, which was reserved for the expert class.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Hansj\u00f6rg Rey, then 14 years old, from Emmendingen in the rock section in front of the Weber Hut. The photo is from the WETTERAUER ZEITUNG report on this bike trial in Bad Nauheim. Unfortunately, contrary to expectations, I was hardly able to take any photos myself \u2013 for reasons that can be read in the text!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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This is what the Weber Hut will look like in 2025! It is almost the same image as the two photos above, except that the photographer stood a little further to the right in the older photo above. In the \u2018overgrown\u2019 image, the tree on the right in the centre of the image, which is slightly more in the shade, can be seen on the left edge of the older image of the Weber Hut above. If you look closely, you can even find the Weber Hut between the two closely spaced trees in the centre of the picture! You can see it better in the following photo. Hansj\u00f6rg Rey can be seen between these two trees in the photo from the WETTERAUER ZEITUNG.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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It is not the Weber Hut that has become overgrown, but rather the rocks in front of it, dating from around 1900, which formed a magnificent section.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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This image is a nice addition to the previous photos. It was taken by Paul Guse and is taken from the report in TRIALSPORT about this VTP round (see below). However, the caption is incorrect, as the rider pictured here is Andreas Zipf.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There was one downside, however. Time passed and the start time of 2 p.m. approached without the F\u00fcrstenhageners arriving! So this first VTP run in Bad Nauheim took place without the participation of the F\u00fcrstenhageners! Mobile phones did not yet exist, so no one knew whether they had broken down or even had an accident. As it turned out later, the F\u00fcrstenhagen team had simply forgotten the date! G\u00fcnter Schlieper later told me on the phone, \u2018You should have just called again beforehand!\u2019 \u2013 but I had not expected the F\u00fcrstenhagen team to forget a VTP round. Of course, the Emmendingers were particularly sad, as they weren't there for VTP points, but had actually come to finally compete with the trial \u2018stars\u2019 from F\u00fcrstenhagen. I think you can see my disappointment at the drivers' meeting \u2013 at that point, no one knew exactly what was going on. Nevertheless, there were over fifty starters \u2013 with the F\u00fcrstenhagen riders, there would certainly have been 60.<\/p>\n

Then I did something I rarely did in my own competitions: I took part myself so that the two Emmendingers weren't completely alone in the expert class. It was the only time I beat Hansj\u00f6rg Rey, who was still on his way up at the time. And it was also my sections that I liked and had chosen myself. The downside was that I was only able to take a few photos this way. It was a great coincidence that the photographer from the WETTERAUER ZEITUNG was there this time and took some beautiful pictures. Paul Guse, who, incidentally, still had competed in the Trial Lamborelle in Belgium, promised to contribute his photos \u2013 he sent his prints directly to TRIALSPORT in Celle, where Felix mistakenly labelled the above photo with Andreas Zipf. Today, Paul would have simply sent me his photos by email, but in 1980 no one knew about that yet.<\/p>\n

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Driver briefing. Here, you can see more clearly the background posters of the SJR Bad Nauheim, onto which the A4 posters for the respective event were stuck, as well as a simple lap board from the pre-digital age, stuck onto a Ford Transit.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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There was another section next to the Weber Hut.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Kai Guse on a beautiful uphill section on a sloping ascent.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Hansj\u00f6rg Rey and Andreas Zipf in Bad Nauheim in 1980. The \u2018Lay Trialsport\u2019 stickers come from the motorcycle trials accessories and clothing business that Michael Lay ran at the time. The bikes are Bonanza Stingray bikes that have been converted for trials riding and were popular before the BMX wave. The BMX trial bikes from LTS (Lay Trialsport) only came along afterwards. Photo and information: Hansj\u00f6rg Rey<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The newspaper photographer took some beautiful photos and the size of the article in the WETTERAUER ZEITUNG was great! In the photo on the right, you can see the tower of the observatory on the Johannisberg at the right edge of the picture. I never made a big deal of myself in my reports for the WETTERAUER ZEITUNG. But the headline was always made the newspaper, and if they saw a reason to do so in the results, they really enjoyed putting me in the headline. It was the same after I came second in the British round for the first Eurocup in 1982.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Report in TRIALSPORT 56 (November) 1980, pp. 26\u201327. The column \u2018Gernot's Bike Corner\u2019 appeared in TRIALSPORT from issue 55 (October) 1980 onwards. From April 1983 (TRIALSPORT issue 85), Hansj\u00f6rg Rey took over the \u2018\u201cBike Corner\u201d' together with several others until 1988.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The other Bad Nauheim bike trials<\/strong><\/p>\n

The other Bad Nauheim bike trials \u2013 with the exception of the last two \u2013 also attracted participants from outside the town and were part of the efforts, spearheaded primarily by G\u00fcnter Schlieper, to establish a German bike trial championship. The 13th bike trial on 20 September 1981 was a round of the Velo Trial Cup, the 14th bike trial on 26 September 1982 was a regional round of the German championship for the north, and the 15th bike trial on 11 November 1984 was an anniversary and test trial 1<\/a><\/sup> on the grounds of the first bike trial in 1974 at the Kirchner H\u00fctte, and the 16th bike trial on 28 September 1985 was a run for the North German Bike Trials Championship. However, these things are better suited to point 6 on the page \u2018The expansion of the Velo Trials Cup to the German Championship\u2019 and are therefore presented there, where relevant.<\/p>\n

The last two bike trials in Bad Nauheim, the 17th in 1986 and the 18th and last in 1988 \u2013 the break in 1987 is significant \u2013 with just ten participants, already signalled the decline of the Bad Nauheim bike trials, which had lost touch with developments in bike trials and ultimately had only a few participants left. The reason for this was that, for various reasons, a club was unfortunately never founded in Bad Nauheim. As I learned much later, the father of a regular local participant had even been a locksmith \u2013 surely something could have been done. I found it touching that many years later, sometime in the nineties, a former participant rang my parents' doorbell and asked if the bike trials were no longer being held.<\/p>\n

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  1. It was an attempt to \"force drivers to drive more again with the help of a maximum section time, without stifling the modern-day jumping. The whole thing was supposed to be a kind of compromise. Experience has shown that a time limit is not suitable for reviving the almost extinct practice of riding in sections. Hopping has become so perfect that it is hardly any slower than conventional riding. Despite the time limit, hopping continued and, in case of doubt, the risk of exceeding the time limit was accepted.\" In this trial, the experts had to cross the rock block for the first time, which is marked as \u2018rock\u2019 on the map in section 3 under point 5 on the page \u2018Bad Nauheim \u2013 Bicycle Trial on 25 May 1974\u2019. The results of the expert class at the anniversary trial in November 1984: 1. H.J. Rey 16, 2. A. Kromer 22, 3. O. Scheffler 23, 4. P. Marques 28, 5. H. Meyfarth 48, 6. B. Binz 51, 7. G. Merkel 61, 8. F. Oberle 64, 9. J. Will 80; in: TRIALSPORT 105 (December) 1984, p. 22. ↩<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    8. Fahrrad-Trial am 2. Juli 1977\u00a0 – es kommen Fahrer aus Oelbronn Beim 8. Fahrrad-Trial erschienen erstmals drei ausw\u00e4rtige Fahrer von einem Club aus der Welt des Motorrad-Trialsports – und zugleich auch aus der Welt des Radsports! Sie waren vom RMSC Oelbronn, was f\u00fcr „Rad- und Motorsport Club Oelbronn“ steht, ein 1955 gegr\u00fcndeter Verein. Ich…<\/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-2602","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gernot-menke.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2602","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=2602"}],"version-history":[{"count":268,"href":"https:\/\/www.gernot-menke.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2602\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3388,"href":"https:\/\/www.gernot-menke.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2602\/revisions\/3388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gernot-menke.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}