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SHAMROCKS STATE CHAMPIONSHIP H & H
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Ry Larry Haley
At a quarter to ten the Shamrocks held their riders meeting, giving us
tbe necessary information about the course, what to expect and etc .. ,as eve.rybody knows by now who bas read the Cycle News report wntten by DICk
Wrigbt there was a bad start. Tbis was the first and only bad desert star.t of
tbe year to date. and mucb to my disappointment it bad to happen to ~ swmging club like the Shamrocks M.C. and also to a State. ChampIOnshIp run. I
would like to bring in to the pIcture a nder's ViewpoInt of what happened
out there.
,
I myself was sitting in line amongst the Jo~hua trees. and I couldn t see
the banner very well, so I decided at the last mlllute to move to the nght, up
to a high knoll along with some fifteen oth~rs up there. The hanner was
visible from this point very clearly, altbough It looked like a postage stamp
from the distance it was a way from us. I did see the banner raised higb and
everything was real quiet and I, along with three hundred other riders could
expect a drop at any second, naturally most riders are very tense at this
moment waiting for the drop, and needless to say under these condItions the
least flutter can start it, it seemed to me at that point that the banner got a
big bow in it like would occur if tbe banner was in motion being dropped. but
what actually happened was the poles that support the banner came close
together giving it this bow.
.
Now at this very split second bikes began to fue and I heard later on
from riders that there was somebody standing hehind the line with a walkie
talkie in his hand obviously talking to the man at the other end at the banner
truck saying ·drop it, drop it!" Know if anything in this world is going to set
anybody in motion at this point, that will d? it. I was mighty confused. I
could hear the bikes firing up. I could see nders In motion and the banner
was still up. Just about then the banner was pulled back down into the truck
by the more than likely disgusted banner holders seeing this lousy start take
off. Although tbe banner was still erect it dropped down in height and at that
distance it looked to me like a drop and I wasn't waiting any longer for anymore guys to run over me from behind.
Tbis old Jawa of mine started on the first kick and with all that new
suspension came out smelling like a rose at the smoke bomb, running about
12th overall. Although my bike rides like a Cadillac it has a lot to be desired
for horse power, and try as I would I just couldn't keep ahead of those big
guns.
Now to go back to the Cycle News story by Dick Wright. He said, quote,
·The Shamrocks signed the remaining 250 riders' cards for a restart". I think
the man is a bit confused, there were more like 250 riders that started on the
bad start. Anyway. the course was fast, to check one it was a blast - beautiful. After check one the course went up a narrow road (which by the way was
about the only part of loop one that you could really pass on) but it was a
real fun section because you could really fly fourth gear. After a few miles
the road sort of petered out and we wound up on a tight trail through the
shrubs that was still fourth gear, and it kinda went downhill to the bottom of
this canyon where there was a flagman slowing people down for a bad ditch
and up a steep hill into check two. Still boon docking across the high desert
and it's still fourth gear country, came sliding into check three, a quick right
and down through this little choppy canyon and finally out onto this flat mesa
that was really fast.
At tbis point (much to my amazement) Bob Belt passed me and about ten
seconds later here comes Gary Conrad by me flying low at about shoulder
height and I thought to myself at this time, ·old dad, you really got yourself
a start on this one!" We're hitting it along in fourth gear in this section and
the terraln begins to look real familiar and I realized we were coming into
the pits, And all of a sudden the trail makes a quick right and I overshot it
and I'm grabbing for all kinds of binders and wishing that I had a two hundred
pound anchor to slow me down quicker. I made a quick U turn while three
other riders dove under me making it down the trail the right way, and I
thought to myself ·wake up stupid. You ain't going to get nowhere riding with
your head in you-know-where."
I came flying into our pits my pit crew gassed me, gave me a drink of
water, wiped my goggles and they said you are running in the twenties, and
I made it on down about a hundred yards to the pit check, and much to my
amazement instead of giving me a check, Dick Fletcher ripped my tank card
off, and I said ·what in the hell are you doing?" and he said "it's a bad
start. Go up on the hill and start over again," so I went back up the hill andI
sat on the line by myself for about five minutes, then I decided I better go
back down the hill and find out what's going on for sure. I went back to my
pits and got another drink of water and took my gear off and sat around for
about ten minutes. About then I decided I better go back down to the Shamrocks pit check to find out for sure what's going to be done about this restart.
So I put all my gear on and went back down there and asked them • when are
you going to have the restart?" One of them sald ·heck man, it started thirty
minutes ago if you want to ride this course legally you better just take off
again on the first loop,"
So with my new tank card I promptly departed the scene to ride the first
loop over again. When I came into check one for the second time they told me
I was still running about 38th overall. Now I know I couldn't have passed
200 riders who had a half an hour lead over me in ten miles (to disprove the
statement of 250 riders on the legal restart).
The second time around loop one was even better than the first. There
was nobody in front of me and no dust. Just a few trail bikes scattered here
and there and I had a ball running that loop agaj.n. Coming into the pits for
the second time ...gas, water and goggles wiped again, Got my pit check and
somebody said ·they went thataway'" So off I went on loop two (or really
loop three for me and other bad starters) and it seemed to me like they just
picked a spot in the desert and headed for it for about 15 miles. No twist. no
turns, no nothing. All you had to do was sit back and roll it on full bore and
watch for the danger marks. At check five we turned right and went eastbound
under the highway. crossed the highway and into a sandwash that was out of
sight.
Well would you believe at about this time that my Jawa, which never
fouls a plug (hardly) decided to foul a plug? And would you also believe that
the spare plug Which all Jawa's carry in the head for just this purpose
wouldn't fire either? So only one thing left to do: change plugs. Besides I
needed the rest anyway. So out comes the plug wrench and I started to take
the plug out and I promptly busted the handle off of it at; this point. 0#$".£0#&
So I waited for 20 minutes for the next rider to come through. Finally
after a while through some act of determination and the help of some fellow
bike rider I got the lousy plug out and the new one in and promptly made it
again into check six. A Shamrock gave me a piece of wire to fix my clutch
handle (the pivot bolt had fallen out) and I proceeded on down the trail. About
this time we started down into the Red Rock Canyons. There were hog backs,
rough rocky roads. one steep down hill that took me by surprise and scared
me half to death causing me to go on my gourd, sandwashes and a tight little
trail section for about a mile through some rocks and so forth, Under the
highway and back up the reverse course of the Antelope Ramblers run the
previous week and finally into a sand wash that led into the high desert again.
Once on top of the high desert it was fourth gear into check eight where Ben
Bok was checking and only five miles to the pits from there. Was I glad to
see them pits! Tired, thirsty and just wore out, but I would like to say that I
personally thought that the course was a beautiful piece of work, well limed.
well danger-marked and I had a lot of fun riding it.
•
