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/125504
THE C IC slory and Pbotos by Sandi Taylor Fun in the desert sand and sun was extremely rough, uphill trail. Going down the reason we loaded the bikes on the did not prove to be any easier but all trailer that Friday evening and headed agreed that it was well worth it. The out to Calico Ghost Town. There were desert scenery was great and since the six of us and four bikes. "we all had hills are honeycombed with abandoned mines it gave us plenty 01 reason to Yamahas 80, 100 and l25cc displacestop and explore along the way. ment. The loner was riding a new Honda A trip to the town of Calico proved to 160 that he had bought the week before. be quite a chance to rest. We found out We assured him that when he got home the bike would be broken in properly. that the state bought the town from Mr. It seemed to take no time at all before Knotts of Knotts Berry Farm and is now we were turning off at the ghost town in the process of building a state camP road and looking for Mule Canyon. Findground. It will be a nice one for weekend ing a camp place proved to be no probmotorcycle campers who prefer modern lem and we setUed down for the night. conveniences such as water and rest rooms, which by the way are not availFirst on the agenda for Saturday able at Mule Canyon. At the town, info~ morning was a ride through Devon Canmation about the surrounding area is yon. This proved to be a trip worth available for rock enthusiasts. remembering. The trail was a real chalTo finish out the morning, a run On lenge. The canyon walls were close together and the road was impassable to the dry lake was in order. One rider was any motor vehicle except a bike or jeep. lucky enough to flush a jackrabbit and Rocks blocked tbe road and the rains the cbase was on. They went over hill and wind had made it more of an obstacle and dale, as the saying goes. Finally course than a trail. The bikes performed after a merry and long chase the riders tired and let the rabbit go. Last sight ,nicely and no one had trouble on the .... .... Left, Real Estate brok. on a holiday, Roy Taylor walts for the &Iris to catch up. RlIC..t trailInc spill convinced Roy of the wi sdom of wearinc hellll8t, even willie out for fun. gave us reason to believe the rabbit was pooped too. Back at camp, after lunch, the guys decided to go rabbit hunting, but being of the weaker sex we voted for a nap. Would you believe they left me and one of my female supporters to do just that. Off they went, happy, I think to be alone on the bikes. As tbe sun set, our tried but happy campanions returned home. Greeted by a blazing camp fire and hot dinner, they admitted they were glad we stayed bebind. Sunday morning, loaded down with flashlights and cameras, we set out to find some deep mines. After looking tbe area over we decided that the best ones were to be found back in Devon Canyon. So back we went. This time we were prepared for that trail. Much to the delight of the men, we found a mine that seemed to go away back in the mountains. Again the weaker sex protested. Na black closed-in walls for us. Claustrophobia will not tolerate such an en- vironment, so again, some of us fraidy cats stayed behind to explore tbe rocks. We had great luck and found rocks with turquoise formations in them. Back at the mine, the party progressed deeper into its bowels. Many tunnels branched of and drafts of fresh air showed that air shafts were above. The tunnels na~ rowed down in places and made crawling necessary. Tbe boys figured they went about a mile back into the mountain, following a vein and could have gone fartber. Later back at camp the men discussed the rough, desolate area and one made the comment that back in the hills it seemed like being on the moon. There are miles of open area with no living creature in sight. There were many trails and places where bikes could go and we were only sorry that our time had come to an end. So we loaded up and back we came to Smogville, but all agreed that we would go back again. ELSINORE NIGHT LIFE **** ******* by Don Wallen NEWS FROM NEVADA Report by Gene Drew After doing my famous don't rain, blow, freeze dance, Dame Fortune and the ~eatherman teamed up for a great day for racers and spectators alike on April 23. The site: Sunrise Raceway. Las Vegas, Nevada. The sponors: the Silver City Scrambl ers. Tom Jones made a dean sweep of the We were literally invaded by Califo~ nla and Arizona compsters, with such luminaries as John Rice, Monte Darling and Keith Mashburn on hand. The Gripsters M.e. really came in with a rush. A 38-passenger chartered Greyhound bus disgorged riders, wives and ofrspring into the pits. Sure nice to relax after a hard day's riding and leave the driving to them. Petersen of the Dirt Diggers stirred up his club and many of the redcheckered jerseys dotted the starting line. We don't like to blow our own horn but the visitors' praise of our little plant drives us to make plans for more. Don't take our word - just ask John Rice. The hot one of the day saw local Bob Tooley and Steve Stricklin butting heads through all three mota heats, with Tooley the eventual winner. Local shoe Chuck Hatcher rode to a consistent third in the first two heats, and had second place going for him when a wheeltangling episode caused a spectacular enda in the sweeper. Exit one unhurt but badly bruised ego. Fast proving his ability and improvinC every race, local Harley sprint rider 250cc Novice field. In the big bore bash the Dirt Diggers and the Gripsters dominated the field. That John Rice makes a Honda do things it hadn't oughta. Plans for more of these little get togethers are planned for the future so watch ye aIde CYCLE NEWS for word. (Results on page 16) OREGON CYCLE RIDERS DIVIDE OPENING RACE LAURELS Local riders had to share the laurels with a contingent from Nortbern Califo~ nla at the season-opening scrambles held at Coos Bay, Oregon, APril 23, 1967. While the two-wheelers from the south took ten out of twenty-three places awarded overall, Curly Baker of North Bend, and Jake Jones of Winchester Bay, upheld local prestige with victories in the • A· main 175 and 100cc classes. Barker al~o was the sweepstakes winner, Also, Rex Pittullo, Myrtle Point, the Coos County Racing Association high point winner last year, took the 250cc class -B- main. (Results on page 16) Elsinore hosted some very interesting racing last Saturday night. With all the scrambling going on in the Southland on Sunday, it is apparent that some of the riders use Elsinore as a shake-down run for other events the following day. The scene at Elsinore has to be seen to be believed, with all the campers 'sitting in the pits and the barbecue fires going on the hill and down around the tires. Where else indeed, can you have your own barbecue fire as the race progresses, or practice lor an hour, ride trails all day on the same property before the races, and where else do you receive your trophies on the same night you won them? Open Novices From the preliminary heats the outlook was that J. Maynard on a Maico and P. Shepherd on a BSA were two to keep an eye on, in that both had good speed and showed consistent riding. The Main will be long remembered as the finish was a classic in any form of racing. The start was good and the race quickly settled down to Maynard leading, Shepherd on bis BSA in second, and T. Simpson, on a good-sounding Triumph, in third. The surprise came on the final lap when Maynard's bike blew about 100 yards from the finish. Well, Maynard just got off and ran along side his bike, until about 30 yards from the finish line, he promptly jumped back on and rode across smiling, in a near photo finish with P. Shepherd. 250 Amateur-Expert Hassle For the low number of entries in this class, the show was good as usual. The first mota was all Gordon Musselman's on a Montesa. He got off to a good start although Chuck Hatcher, on a new Bultaco, was in hot pursuit all the way 'down to the wire. The second mota was all Hatcher's, with a late arrival, Paul Coberly on a Bultaco pUshing hard in second place. Paul rode three races with no brake s. In the third mota, Hatcher and Paul were having a terrific wheel to wheel battle when they tangled and fell, letting Musselman go on to win the heat. The Final went to Hatcher with Musselman second, Coberly third. A special match race between Hatcher and Musselman proved qulte interesting in that Musselman showed that he has the ability to pass when he has room but he didn't quite make it this time. Special mention should go to L. Murphy (H.D.), who rode hard in this class, but didn't get sorted out soon enough to really dig some dirt. Big Bike Bash In the Open Expert event, W. Harper on a BSA won all rot the Main. which was taken by west. The SOOcc Novice division produced a good battle between L. Davis on a BSA and F. Spaulding on a Honda. Tbe Main was won by Spaulding. with L. Davis in second and R. Grauer in for a well-deserved third. In the 500 Expert class, the man to beat was BSA-mounted D. Lenar who put on Quite a few good rides before winning the Main wi th Novice L. Davis on a BSA, getting second. Lenar also won the Sweepstakes after a good battle with Spaulding, who came off just after the sweeper turn. All in all it was a good night of racing. But Elsinore could always accommodate more riders. (Results OIl pace 16) ..