Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

-~ FOOTBALL'S GOODWILL OTORCYCLE AMBASSADOR By Jim SCott Photos courtesy of Ben Davidson "Do you have a .22?" pressed Ben. uYes, I do." Gaklaad Ralde.. protuslClllallootball star Ben (Th' Tre.) DavldsCIII tackl.s rival Curtis "cCllntDn durlel pm. at Kanas Clty,"o. If President Johnson would like to Improve AmerJca's Latin American relationships, he should buY up the 0IIkland Raider contract of Ben ('Ibe Tree) Davidson. DavidBon gets around like Lemuel Gulliver and especially south of the border, where the jolly 6-8, 280-pound end looms as large as SwIft's hero among the UWputtans.. Ben's size, plus his fierce red upturned mustache, makes him perhaps the most feared In pro football but, off the field, he outdoes the Jolly Green Giant when It comes to making friends. LATIN RAPPORT Ben has an abiding Interest In other people - particularly Mexicans. "The pace of living In Mexico appeals to me," said Davidson. "Things are more sensible down there; people worry about their beWes, not about keeping up with the Joneses. "When I was 16," conllnued Davidson, who grew up in the Mexican section of Los Angeles, "my brother and I bought a tandem bike and rode all the way to MexicaJi and hack during our Christmas vacation. I've been back a dozen times slncea" He enjoys traveling as much as playIng football - and the latter certainly provided considerable of the tormer • Each year wilen he went East to join another National Football League & Club, Ben could lake a different route. He has visited every state In the unlon as well as Canada. Probably no one else brings home so much of the country with him. Ben not only takes color pictures wherever he goes but he also uses a tape recorder In which he describes on the spot his Impressions ot the land. An outgoing tellow given to practical jokes, Davidson particularly enjoys riding buses through Mexico. After listenIng to the women gossip about his size in SPanish, Ben suddenly starts agreeing with them In their tongue. "I had to speak Spanish to get along in East Los Angeles," he explained. "I also took SPanlsh at the University of Washington (where he took part In the Huskies' Rose Bowl victories of 196061)." Eager to get closer to the land and people of Mexico, Davidson rode his motorcycle on a30-day, 3400-mUeodYssey down to LaPaz, at the tip of Lower California. From there, he crossed the gulf and returned via the mainland of Mexico. ("I've had this thing about Mexico since I was 15, and I can't get it out of my mind.") Not even the peace Corps travels more economically, for Ben spent only $1 on lodging. "There are no motels," said Ben. "Rather, lodging Is In the homes of the farmers. And this was the main reason for my trip. I wanted to get to know them better. Also I was afraid tIley'll build a big highway through there some day, and I wanted to see the country before It happened." He carried K rations, sleeping bag, a spare gallon of gas, a can of 011, plus a 22 automatic and a box ot shells. The weapon was tor mountain lions that might come prowling around him when he was roughing It. Wasn't It hard to make contact with the Isolated settlers, this writer asked. "Oh, no," replied Ben, "they could always hear me coming. And, since so much of the country is hilly, they often could see me. I had to let my beard grow for protection against the wind and the sun. And 1 was pretty smelly, too. All this Impressed the Mexicans. They also were tasclnated by my motorcycle. They'd never seen anything like It. In the little towns, everybody came out to admire It. They'd ask It they could ride It. They'd also ask me what I did. When 1 told them I waS a football player, they didn't understand It, since I said no, It wasn't soccer. Finally, I just told them I was a 'deportlsta' (sportsman) and they dug that. "The farms were few and mUes apart. The men grewgralnandvegetables. They had little money. But they really didn't need It."' At ODe point he rode two and ooehalf days before meetIDg a car going the other way. And, on this desolate stretch, DavidBon realized he was runn1Dg out of gas. At a small ranch, he asked the owner It he had any. He didn't. DavldsCIII read)' to take off Oft bls Triumph tor a 3400-..11. trip tD La Paz, ....Ico and back. Tbr. brancll.s 01 -The Tre.·. dau&bt_s Jannl., Vicki. and Dalla, near tMIr Hayward, talll. holM. ca lor a rid. wltb daddy "Well, I'll give you a box of shells for some gas." Thereupon the rancher sJphoned some gas out of the Unk of his truck. "I found so many scenic places that J could only have reached by motorcycle. 1"11 never forget a spot called El Reque60n," he said, "and 1 want to go back and explore It. It's a little Island In a small bay on the east coast of Baja. The water Is warm and full of fish; the sand Is white, and, wile!! the tide goes out, there are little clams lett on the mango trees which line the shore. Next time !' m going to lake a kayak along so that I can see the wbole bay." Davidson encountered several miniature lakes wIIere the unpaved road had been washed out. "I would never have made It In a car," he said. "But It was easy on the motorcycle. I'd merely circle back over the farm land and rocky hills lJll 1 caught up with the road again." At La Paz, Davidson looked up Arturo Grosso, who has written so much about Baja CallfornJa, and he also visited other authorities on the land. "I had no change of clothing," admitted Ben, "SO I was pretty grimy and smelly when I reached La Paz. On the entire trJp I managed only two showers, although I did balm twice In roadsJde lakes. On the ferryboat to the malnland, some tourists invited me to shower in their stateroom. "My second shower was at santa Tomas, where I paid SOl! to sleep, I always tried to help my hosts In their work. Here the next mornlng I noticed the men planting palm trees. '!bey _re having trouble raising them. So I pitched In. 1 soon was doing the work of three men. And 1 stayed with It for eigbt hours. I kidded the landowner by tel1Jng him !' d get $4 an hour for this sort of work In the U.S. He wanted to know what he could do for me. I told him I'd like a shower. So that accounted for my secood sbower of the trip. LOVABLE GIANT "At HermasUlo, 1 fell In with some other motorcyclists. One of them looked like Dean Marlin. I told him so. 'Who's Dean Marlin?' he asked. "They called me ' Kallman.' I told them I wasn't German. But they just laughed. 'We know what you are,' they kidded. Later I learned that Kallman was a friendly giant who appears In Mutcan comic strips, radio and TV. Wberever I would go, the kids would yell: 'Kallman, Kallman.' "With these cyclists, I even attended a wedding party." Wherever Ben stopPed on the mainland for gas, the attendant was entranced by his new motorcycle. At Caborco, a station helper asked to ride It. "I let him," said Ben. "And he came back with tears flowing toward his sideburns. I'll bet he really opened It UP." At Caborca, Davidson was welcomed Into the home of a factory worker, and he stayed for a few days. He visited the cotton gin where his bost worked, helped him with his potato chip business In the backyard. "The tellow was short of sacks," related Ben. "I promised to mall him some. So I did send down several hundred. But they were returned to me. 1 don't understand It, tor I had copied down the address carefully." To satisfy his wanderlust, DavidBon plans to open a travel agency when his football career Is over. Naturally, he'll speclallze on Mexico. "I want to make a lot of money," admitted Ben. "Not that 1'm hungry for It but rather It will take a lot ot It to retire to Mexico. You can't get a job there as an American citizen. And you have to show that you're sound flnanclally." He and his wife even tried to effect the birth of their third child in njuana so that they could buy land In her name. But their timing was faulty. Only the native-born can own land In Mexico within 50 kilometers of the ocean and border. "It really doesn't matter," Insists Ben. "We can always rent land for as long as we like around La Paz. I just can't walt to return there. I guess what I like best about M.exlco Is that there's none of the rush, rush, rush there." Ironically, that's what it'll lake from this ferocious linem-. fierce rush of passers-for Ben Davidson to assure himself a happy retirement In Mexico.

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