Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

' 00 Q> '>Il '" c, 00 to .... 0) ...; ''""' ::l; CI) s t.:I :c= t.:I ,.J o ~ o CYCLING THROUGH CENTRAL AMERICA 'g PART -n ? ( ,,) ,y 2 By Jack Maloney ln Guatemala City after ~aking a mail step at the office of an Express Agency, Julian Clinkscales obtained a new ignition key at a BMW cycle shop and also had thtl mutaers re:placed as the original set 'was' beginning to crack and rust. 't.: w Enjoying several days of local tourist attractions, the wandering teacher then lett for EI Salvador, which was a short 160-mile trip on the main highway. However , when Clinkscales crossed the border on a weekdaY,it was between noon and two o' clock and consequently he was charged an extra two dollars, apparently for disturbing the middll.y siesta of the officials. On Sundays, when it was officially " cl os ed," a "tur1sta" could also pass over if he was willing to brlbe the guards. II On the road to San Salvador, the transition from the country again gave 'way to the hustle and bustle of , a throbbing 01 Latin city. Nevertheless, when stopping and ask-' Ing tor directions, theA mericano cyclist was surrounded by natives of the city who were curious about him and his German two-wheeler . Several days later when crossing into Honduras, Julian was s urpr is ed at thel courteous treatment he received froml the soldiers at the bor der . The guards were used to automobiles, trucks and an occasional midget motorcycle, but to them ' Clinkscales king-size BMW was a novelty. In Tegucigalpa, the tormer teacher visited the offices of a newspaper editor who was interested in his sociological impressions of Central American and in publishing his cycle story. Political Upri sinj!; Leisurely touringllonduras and stopping at st. Marcos de Colon for the night, Julian heard the alarming news over the hotel's radio concerning the latest poll tic a 1 uprising and streetshooting in neighboring Nicaragua. In spite of these adverse reports, the intrepid lone r ider conti nued on his way and in turn was assured by the border oftlcials that everything was calm . However , as Cli nks cales neared the capital, Managua, mor e and more moving truckloads of armed s oldiers became conspicuous on the r oads and on guard duty in the villages . Several times Julian was stopped by rifle-waving Nationalist soldiers and se arched tor weapons. His saddlebags were also thoro ughly inspected. Due to the " upr is ing," all so cial ac tivltles in Managua had slo wed to a halt. Afte r listenin g to spo radic gunfire all night, Jul ian left his hote,l ear ly in the morning and was hack agam on the main highway, los ing no ti me wheeling for the next border. Two hours late r he had crossed over Into Cos ta Rica and continued to Puntarenas on the Pacific, wher e he enjoyed a quie t weekend of sun and surt and then headed tor San Jose. After s taying in this mile-high , friendly capital city tor se veral rainy days, ironically in the middle of the dray season, Cli nkscales lett tor the Republic ot Panama. It was just a li til e over 500 miles to the Canal Zone, the last leg of this reputedly dangero us and sometimes impassable s tretch of the Pan-A!" high- . way. Caution: Bad Roads The tirs t twenty-five mUes from San J ose to Cartago was paved; after that , however, the road was dir t and loos e gr avel . The only parts that were pac ked down were the center ti re tracks made by the passing of cars and trucks. From exper ience, Julian knew that when riding on loose gravel he could not use his tront brakes . A!tempting to use his back brake s too quickly wonld cause his ti.res to skid. Most of the time he kept his motorcycle in low gear, continuously using it for braking action on the treacherous road. For the next two hours it was a steady climb up the rugged, winding mountain road, the coldness increasing with the altitude. At its two-mile summit, Clink scales stopped at a small native restaurant for a hot meal as well as enjoying a panoramic view ot the vastness of the next deep valley. For the next two hours, under cloudy skies he slowly descended into the coastal lowlands. By mid-afternoon he was in St. Isidoro del General, a pla ce so very quiet that he decided to try tor the next tovin, Buenos Aires, which was only siXty miles distant . It should be easily reached in.the remaining dayli ght hours. Haltway to Buenos Aires, Julian was caUght in a sudden tropical downpour and torced to stop at a small farmhouse unttl it had ceased. By now the darkness ofnight hadfallen and the road had become muddy and slippery. It was in s uch bad condition that he could not cruise above ten or twenty mil es per hour and several times narrowly avoided falling. To make matters worse it was again raining and Buenos Aires was still an hour's riding time away. Suddenly out of the darkness on the narrow mountain road, a huge trucktrailer crept up behind Clinkscales. In desperation the worried cyclis t flagged it down. Fortunately the truck driver spoke fair English and agreed to drive behind him until they had reached Buenos Aires . LONG BEACH HONDA Bedragged but unhurt, the downed cyclist s lowly picked him s elf up and walked over to his overturned motorcycle, finding the engine was still run ning. Automatically he threw the clutch Into neutral and righted it. A cursory Inspection revealed that the right footrest was bent and the back brakes damaged and not functioning . The cycle, however was still in r iding condition. It was the first fall that the former teacher had had In traveling over 33,000 miles on this particular German twowheeler. At the next fil ling station , Clinkscales stopped for gas and washed !he mud off his cycle and himself. A mechanic, after tinkering with the damaged brakes for about halt-an-hour, got them working again. Julian was even more surprised when the affable Costa Rican refused payment for his much-needed help. That weekend, Clinkscales relaxed in Puerto Golfito, a smal, banana port on the Pacific Coast, near the border of Panama . On Monday morning he visited the At a truck stop , J uiian was grateful Panamanian Consul, obtained a visa and for the shel ter of a small r oom, a chance in turn crossed !he bor der into Panama . to dry his sopping cl othes and a good A number of touring motor is ts informed night' s res t. him that they had had fla t tires resulting The following morning when leaVing fr om r unning over the sharp uncr ushed Buenos Aires it had s topped ralning but r ocks on the main r oad. the r oads wer e still, wet and muddy• From the bor der. for over a hundred Shor Uy thereafter the for mer teacher miles the Pan -Am highway was again was amazed upon being confro nted with paved and In fair condi tion . However, a the added hazard of huge r ocks strewn _ ninety-mile detour over gral and potalong the gravel r oad, so me with menac holed roads once again slowed the lone ing, sharp jagged edges. Shredding or rider to a snall's pace. The natives hlowing out a tire by an encounter with al ong this off-beat road were , bowever, one of the se rocks, falling debris from mostly friendly Negr oes and primitive landslides and slippery red mud made Indians. In Sona, a small fishing village, the going rugged. the weary ex-teacher stayed over for the night . Down .. . But Not Out In Panama, Julian was pleasantly surprised at being able to buy gasoline at Slowing up ' as he was going down a prices comparable to that of the United steep, winding hill and banking around a States. In most of the o!her Central sharp, blind curve, Julian unexpectedly American countries it had cost double came upon an area of deep red mud, or triple for a gallon. spontaneously hit his rear brakes too From Sona it was only a short distance hard and his motorcycle slipped outfrom to Santiago, where the Pan-Am highway under him. He landed on his behind in was smooth and paved. Under sunny skies the muddy road, breaking his fall with and without mishap, the determined outstretched arms and hands . motorcycle aficionado traveled across The erratic cycle continued on for the last lap of this chal lenging and unabout forty feet and toppll!d over as it predictable international highway. careened off a boulder in the middle of Julian Clin kscal es was happy to be in the road; Panama City. He had achieved his goal . IMPACT DRIVER MADE IN USA . GUARANTEED . POPULAR 3/8" DRIVE . MANY T IPS AVAILABLE •• • A MUST ON CASE SCREWS! WRITE 223 W. CAM INO REA L . MONROV IA. CALI F . 91016 MiS WINS #J IN SALES SERVICE AND SPORTS RACING HAVE YOUR MACHINE TUNED BY JOHN RICE #1 in Dis tri ct 37 Scrambl e s HONDA BSA HODAKA 4 convenient locations 5105 AlIantlc Long Beach 423-1433 1760 lang Beach lang Beach 591-1301 11747 Eo Carson lakewood 860,1354 4328 E. 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