I nominated Gary Sampsel to the district 6 Trials Hall of Fame. I would like to give a little background to the new trials riders that may have not had the opportunity to meet Gary.
Gary started riding trials in late 1976. He was a pretty hard-core trail rider prior to that. He was inspired by Jerry Young to give trials a try, so he bought a trials bike and became a PTR member in 1977. I bought a trials bike shortly there- after. Jerry introduced me to Gary because we both lived in the lock Haven area. At that time most of the trials events were held in the Harrisburg and York area. We decided that forming an additional club in North Central Pennsylvania would cut down on some of our driving and increase the trials riding in this area so we formed a new club called the Durty Dabbers in 1979 with 10 members. We put on our first trials along interstate 80 in 1978. We also had an agreement that we would not sell any of our used trials bikes to anybody that would not join us riding in this area. That helped the club grow to where it is today. Gary’s personal riding progressed to where he became a two time number One District 6 Expert rider. Gary also rode the national championship series and was ranked number one in the nation in the senior classes. Gary retired from riding trials competitively a few years back due to worn out knees but he still has a trials bike. He primarily rides 4 wheelers now. I nominated Gary for the Hall of Fame not only because he was a very fierce competitor, but he was one of the biggest promoters of trials of that era and in our area.
Nils
