Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/125498
~ In Orbit With The Saddelnes Ql 'lO os Q" Photos & Report By John Shedd " '" ..... lf you should leave Long Beach. and travel north on Highway #101. after 190 miles you would find yourself in Santa Maria. Santa Maria is nestled in the Valley of the Gardens and it is the home of the Saddelites M/C. Now if you took this little jaunt on March 19th. you were lucky enough to find yourself in Saata Maria just in time for the SaddeIites' third annual poker run. Q) Q CO) .c: 'os " "~ en ~ ~ :i!: ~ ..::l U ;,., U Sign-in spot for the run was Buena Vista Park, next to the Santa Barbara fair grounds. The riders began signing in at about 9:00 o'clock. but nO one left until after 11 :00 a.m. It was a sunny day under Mother Nature's bright blue canopy and a cool breeze bl ew throughout the run - perfect weather for a bike ride and the scenery was great. I don't think anyone could have picked a more pleasing place for a poker run. The rolling bills in this area could absolutely DOt be described without using the adjective green. I wondered if pelhaps on her joorney from the ocean to the desert. Mother Nature didn't stumble and fall. spilling her entire supply of a thousand different creen hues. The enUre countlYside was beautifully green. Away We Go At 11 :00 a.m •• the first group of riders rode out, and the run was underway. The first leg of the run led the riders north into San Luis Obispo County. The route went north through Nipomo and Berros and then doubled back south, just short of Oceano. From here the riders traveled south through Halcyon. Between Halcyon and Guadalupe the highway paralleled the ocean and from the higher points of the mountain road we could see the Ocean and the white beaches called "The American Riviera." These beautiful white beaches and green valleys are backed by a range of mountains so high and rugged that tbey are the last refuge of the nearly-extinct giant California condor. with its lo-foot wing span. After leaving check point II at the A & W in Guadalupe. the riders traveled on southward past Vandenberg AFB and Lompoc, then turned hack to the north passing through SiSQUOC and Garey before returning to the finish hack at the park In Santa Marla. The run was a 100mile orbit around the town of Santa Maria and through the Valley of the Gardens. Just Follow the Lime The Saddeli tes do not use maps or directions sheets for their riders to find the way. Instead, the route is marked with lime. One mark means straight ahead; two, a right turn; three, a left tum and four is a dleck point. The Saddelites believe it Is safer to follow road markfl"S than to have the ridfl"s reading maps and directions while they are ridinc. The road was _II _ked with lime, and I don't think that liliy one of the over 100 participants bad liliY problem findiDc bis way. Upon arriving back at the park. the riders were greeted with hot dogs, beans. potato salad and liquid refreshment. The chow was passed out and the park was soon filled with riders eating and talking about the ride while they waited for the trophy presentation. In addition to the usual types of trophies given away on poker runs. the Saddelites had a drawing for a TV, an electric carving knife and a camera. to raise money for mentally retarded children. This ci vic-minded club has also recently joined in with a disaster team in the Santa Maria area. The Saddelites believe in having fun as well as helping others. The club has often won trophies for largest club on runs. They won this aWllld on the first annual Ensenada ,poker run sPOnsored by CYCLE NEWS and they have also clllried this trophy home from Death Valley for the past two yelllS. The Saddelites were organized in 1962. and on their first runs they thought that thirty riders comprised a large grOUp for a poker run. Their runs are now drawing over 100 cyclists, and if all the outings are as enjoyable as their last, I am sure the number of riders will continue to grow.