Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

2,200 MILES ON 2 'HEEL~ IN TWO WEEKS t3 • CIINYON CREST TRllllS Pboto & Story by Ricb Eaton Members of the Southern California Trials Assn. gathered Sunday, August 6, at the Canyon Crest area near Riverside for an English Trials highlIghted by a dry heat that sapped the strength of the riders. PARTlY by Robert O. Fee After passing Melones (named for the melon-shaped gold nuggets found here), the road descends into the p'1cturesque gorge of Stanislaus River, with spectaculllrviews of the river on the way down. On the other side the road quickly climbs the precipitous slopes of the gorge and within 10 minutes we. were passing through Carson Hill. It was here in November of 1854 that the biggest nugget found in the U.s. was unearthed. Weighing outat195 pounds it was valued at $43,534. A .. Real" Angel Another three miles and we stopped at Angels Camp for breakfast. George Angel discovered gold here which accounts for the name. Mark Twain. hoW'" ever, made the town famous and a statue honoring him is located in the town park. Well fed and coffee'd up, we left Angels Camp and passed through a falrly level secfion of country devoted to cattle and sheep ranching through san Andreas, the county seat of Calaveras County. Six miles north, we wound our way through some very sceuic gulches and densely forested canyons near the town of Chili Gulch: Crossing a ridge at Mokelumne Hill which once boasted a population of 12,000, we dropped down the narrow winding road into the gorge of the Mokelumne River, crossed the stream and gradually ascended into the town of Jackson. I turned the Harley west on State Route 88 to Pineville and then north a mile or two into the town of Volcano, named for the resemblance of the deep crater-like depression in which the town rests. In the early days, Volcano had a population of over 5000 and was qnite famous for its dance halls and saloons. The town now might harbor 20 people. The old Sibley'S Brewery, erected in 1857, is the only one left of the three that supplied the miners with their hooze. The St. George Hotel built in 1863 is still in use. In the center of town, the Old Abe Cannon still stands. Forged in Boston in 1837, it was ,shipped around the horn to San Francisco and brought to Volcano by wagon. It's the earliest dated sixpounder in the U.S. and settled the Ci vii War for Volcano's partisan residents wi thout firing a shot. This sleepy hamlet is crammed with historical landmarks and Fay and I spent the better part of an hour moseying around and having a cup of tea at the restaurant. We followed Sutter Creek hack to the town of sutter Creek and headed north again, Amador City and Drytown fell behind and we passed through Plymouth in the proverbial blink of an eye. This village at one time had an unfortunate incident with motorcycle outlaws and has since retalliated with a city ordinance forbidding more than three motorcycles in or riding through the town at once. The truth is the hamlet wouldn't hold many more than three. Placerville, established in 1848 was our lunch stop. We ate at the Blue Bell Cafe, just up Main street from the old hanging tree that is now ooilt into one of the buildings. This old time town is located along the Transcontinental Route 50. It was a stopping place for the overland mail and the Pony Express. The overland telegraph also passed through here. Many famous men started ou t in Placerville; John Studebaker manufactured wheelbarrows for the miners long before he started on automobiles. Mark Hopkins of railroad fame operated a grocery and Philip D. Armour started in Placerville as a ootcher. After replacing some broken saddlebag bolts, we rode north and followed a high ridge overlooking the beautiful gorge of the American River into Coloma. Orchards were on every side of us. the maln crop being pears. Where It All Started Coloma was established at the site of Sutter's sawmill where on January 24, 1848,James Marshal discovered the gold that started the great migration to California and altered the course of history of the entire Pacific Coast. We parked the Harley and walked along the bank of the river where the sawmill once stood. All that is left now is a stone pillar about 20 feet offshore. Marshal's cabin nearby has been restored and is open to the puhlic. Back on the road, we proceeded, twisting and turning through a very prosperous ranching area and then dropped via several sharp switchbacks Into the gotge of the Arne dean River across the river, through Auoorn and Into Grass Valley. This community was named in 1849 for the rich green valley in 'which it lies, We paused for a couple of hours and had tea, then rode on toward Nevada City. Mist had been spitting on us off and on all day, oot I was starting to get concerned over the black menacing clouds to the east over Truckee way. Spying a Highway Patrol Station on the outskirts of GlaSS Valley, we pulled in and sought information on the weather ahead. The desk sergeant told us that it was not only raining up there, oot that high water covered several roads and a couple of bridges were out. Not wanting to sleep in the rain, we decided to take a room at the next town. Relics of the Past Nevada City is truly a story-book town of quaint and picturesque old relics depicting its interesting and historic past. John Marshall was the first white man to pan gold here on Deer Creek in 1848. By 1850, there were more than 10,000 miners working within a 3 mile radius of where Marshall made his discovery. It was not uncommon for them to take out a quart of dust a day worth about $6,000. The assay office is said to have assayed over 27 million dollars in gold. It is well over a hundred years old and is sUll in use as an assay office. The city is built in Deer Creek Canyon with many houses clinging to the steep slopes. The main street from the National Hotel to the old Firehouse 11 retains most of the atmosphere of the early gold rush days including a very steep incline. Our trusty Harley, overloaded as it was, never faltered or missed on this or any other grade it encountered. 1til Day Tnulla y 232 miles We took our leave of the Mother Lode route when we turned west on State Route 20 toward Truckee. After breakfast near Soda Springs. I picked up Highway 40 and pulled off at the Donner Memorial State Park. This park commenorates what must be the goriest event of pioneer days. when the Donner Party became stranded without food in the winter of 1846 and had to resort to cannabalism. Looking at the beautiful surroundinga,. it is hard to realize that during the winter, the snow gets so deep here that even our modem day equipment can't keep it cleared. We got a quick look at the memorial statue before a shower persuaded us that the museum would be more interesting and much drier. It was wet but quick and we were soon on our way. At Truckee we turned north on State Route 89 to Sierraville. From the twolane road we could see many dead trees remaining from the tremendous fires of 1960 and '61. Thousands of acres of fine pine timber were destroyed in the illfamous "Truckee Burn," Sierraville, a general store, post office and cafe, lies in a beautiful green valley where cattle and hog raising predominate. The pastoral silence is shattered every 3 to 5 minutes by giant lumber trucks as they blast their way to the Truckee saw mills carrying one Or two monstrous logs. The tmps were spread about in the hills and gullies giving the contestants a chance to stir up a little breeze while cowtrailing between sections. Unfortunately, the springs in the area are nearly dried up at this time of year, the only relief from the heat being found in the shade of the sycamore groves that dot the area. In spite of the heat most of the riders considered this a fine Trials because of the challenging traps. Both amateur and veteran found the sections demanded a great amount of skill. A tmp wpich is more diffithan the usual causes the rider to return to it each time with a desire , to try to find the perfect line through it, or the precise combination of throttle, brake, clutch and body lean that produces a clean ride. house-sized, granite boulders cropping out of the sandy ground. Riders found themselves climbing these seemingly impossible obstacles turning about on them and descend~ ing from them. Variety Of Terrain On another portion of the courSE: an excellent trap was set up in a sycamore grove. It began with a sanely downhill, worked into a series of switchbacks through the foliage, then hopped a fallen tree trunk and went through a particularly tricky patch of spongy leaf mulch that caught many riders searching for wheel grip. True to form, young Jim Wilson, 200cc Triumph Cub, turned in an amazing performance by dropping only 3 points. Glossary of Trials - Clean: A term used to describe the act riding an entire section without losing any points. (See Results on page 16) They Wanted MDre Even after the event. many riders tried over and over to find that perfect combination. This kind of practice on an act oal Trials course is the most beneficial way for a rider to increase his skill. In future Trials he will encounter similar traps and will be able to analyze the trap before he rides through it, thus shaving points from his score. The sections of this meet consisted of a variety of different surfaces. The area featured rounded, CANOGA PARK ~ 7233 CANOGA AVE. 346-3 7 00 Rough Going Just north of sattley we encountered extremely rough going in some road construction. Chuckholes a foot in diameter were not uncommon and a few looked capable of swallowing the Harley and us too. Covering all this was an abundance of old gumbo mud, sometimes three inches deep, as slick and sloppy as a hog wallow. I down-shifted to low and held our speed between 8 and 10 miles an hour. Below 5 mph our ungainly luggage box utterly destroyed all of the stability built in the big twin. The re was no pioblem on the level and going uphill, but it was a weird feeling coming down the grades faster than the wheels were turning. SOmething like a slow motion toboggan. Workmen along the edge of the road stared as we passed, probably expecting us to take a sprawling beauty treatment at any moment. Five miles in low gear and the slop hadn't gotten above the foot boards. Fifty, feet away from solid road and we were home free - or so I thought - until a great big Olds came barreling toward us. When he hit the mud, all we could see was a solid waH of goop which wound up all over us and the Harley. v.e cleaned up at the next service station, but it took 3 weeks to get it all off the machine. Our lunch in Quincy consisted of swiss cheese and salami. It was still drizzling when we pulled out and aimed for Lassen National Park. North of Quincy. the road twisted through the Grizzly Mountains and often paralleled the railroad tracks. At one point we had a very good but fleeting look at a ·Y" junction of the rails ooilt on alDO-foot high trestle. (Coatlnued Next Week) HO AKA JUST THE WINNINGEST AlIA ROll d Race. Carlsbad. Clllf. Sunuy, AUIo 19, 1967 100cc Class lit RON PIERCE De.ert ChaUenll" Euro.....n Scrambler. Ca II I.. AUIo 19, 1967 lOOcc Trail Class 1st JACK MORGAN HODAKA HODAM Sport...n II.C. Scrambles Perri •• Canl. ~ulo 19, 1967 Powder Puff Clas. lit KELLY STRUBLE HDDAKA SCTA EncUsb Trial. c.n,. Cre.t, Calif. Aq.6,1967 Amteur unra Liptwetillt 1st LEE ROIIBEAU HODAM TroJanTT Soutll Gate, Calif. AU1017, 1967 100= Trapby DlIIll lit ERIC JENSEN HODAKA 51.111... CaUt. Ana R.,reHltltlwe B.A. eRELSe IIELSOII , ..... (213) 2001111 Ga• •le, caUt. e I ~.~ III. Call f. Dl stri IIItIr LEA'IITT POWER TOOL co, INe. 2265 S_.. Blvd. ItMdto ConID"~ Calif. Deli_ ......... By'ABATCD ""'(9161.~~70

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