Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

~==A WEEKEND IN REDDING====!!!3ii!!!! Story At 4:30 Friday afternoon May 24 , five members of the Oxnard M.C. rode out of town under clear skies and warm weather and headed north, picking up Hwy. 99 at Castaic Junction, caur. The air was crisp and clean over the Ridge Route. Dropping down the Grapevine onto the valley floor we again found the alr comfortable for riding. We stopped on the other side of Bakersfield for a quick tank of gas, then on up the freeway going through Delano, Fresno and Merced. As we rolled i nto Modesto we began to wonder what was appearing on our windshields, and it wasn't long until we found out. The little beads of moisture we bad been looking at had turned to big drops of rain. As we pulled into Sacramento feeling that Mother Nature bad deait us .a bad hand, we got a room at a motel. The manager was very nice to uS,letting us - park our bikes under the canopy in front of his onice, and assuring us that they would be safe and dry as he would keep his eye on them until we l eft. Cowboys, Rodeos, Horses The next morning at 6:00 a.m, we pulled back onto the freeway under threatening skies and rode on to the town of Red Bluff. Here we stopped for gas and breakfast. By this time the dark clouds were giving way to patches of blue skies. As we rode into the town of Redding we found lots of activity. Every by Ron SchaU year at this time the town has a three day holida~' and It wasliterallyallvewith horses, cowboys , cowgirls and even Indians. Friday and Saturday nights they bad a very good Rodeo wi th all the top cowboys competing for the prize money. After dodging around several horses and some eye-catching cowgirls we found our way to Lake Redding Park where the North Valley Travelers M .C . had th eir si gn-in table set up. I would like to mention that this is a fairly new club and this was the fir st time that any of them had ever attempted to present a weekend tour. They bad put a lot of thought into this tour and did a very fine job in planning and setting up seven different scenic trips complete with guide, mileage and length of time r equlred for each trip• After we had signed up at the park we made a quick check in at our motel and went back to take advantage of one of the trips. We took the longest one they had on the list•••125 miles. It seems that 570 miles wasn' t enough for us, :lUt then we came to enjoy ourselves and see the country. Guided Tour We l eft the park with our guide in front and headed out of town on a two-lane road tha t wound through tall trees and up into the mountains . Our first stop was the site of the old town of Shasta . In 1850 to 1888 it was called .. Queen City of the North" and boasted a population of 3,5 00 to 6,000, depending on the weather and the curr ent stale of mi ning. We went through the museum com pl ete with jail cells and gallows. From here we went on to Whiskey Town Lake and stopped briefly for picture-taking and a little time to take In all the beauty of the mountains with their tall trees, crystal clear air, deep blue lake and a cloudless sky . Back on our two- wheeled steeds we wound on through the mountains, past French Gulch and along the beautiful Trinity River with a stop at Trinity Lake Dam. By now the sun was high ov er head and we welcomed a stop at a little tavern for a cold beer and a san dwich. We then went on to the little town of Weaverville and went through the .. Joss House," a Chinese Holy Te mple built in 1873 that has been In continuous use ever since. Wi nding on through the trees and hills and past man y gold mines we soon found ourselves back at our starting po int. Thanking our very capable guide we made it ba ck to our motel for a shower and a change of clothes . We then were ready for the me al that the Travelers had prepared fo r all riders; weiners, beans, salad, French bread and punch . As we sat on the bank of the Sacramento river and ate we watched hundreds of salmon jump and head up river to their spawn ing gr ounds . PALO ALTO SPONSORS BENEFIT , The 650 Expe r ts us ually provi de the most excllement at .F r emont , and Sunday's race was no exception. This was one of the wildest Main Events we've seen, and a number of riders held first place during its eight laps. It all started normally enough as Gene Conant jumped i nto the lead with Bud Kneass hot on his trall in second. Those two set the pace for a few laps and might have felt rather confident if it bad not been for Mark Brelsford. Mark, who can do more with a big 650 than any l2o-pounder we've ever seen, had gotten on the line In last place and was quickly working his way through the pack. After taking over third he gained very rapidly on Kneass and Conant, drawing alongsi de the former on the sixth lap. Then Brelsford tried to dive inside Kneass after landing on the jump at abou t 40 mph, but Bud was having none of It. He tri ed to "close the door" on Mark, who had already committed himself, and they both went .down . Neither IT'S HERE CYCLE NEWS Go-Karts, Too Afler dinner we all went out of town a few miles and watched a go- kart race between two of our members (the out- s Loui e Garcia (30), Dol. Gray (3) and Dennis Brennan (126) battl. It out In the 650cc Amateur class at Fremont, Calif. come is still not tlnal) the n two of the Travelers tri ed out th e track. After maki ng a fe w laps myself with the throttle stuck wide open I f elt that my "74" was by far the safest way to travel . We topped on th e evening with a stop at the ol dtime tavern to watch a "new" style danc e and talk over all that we bad seen during the day . Sunday morning found us packed and ready to head back home. We stopped off at th e park for the trophY presentation. Our club received the long distance trophy with a totai of 2850 m~ mile,S. One of our members received the long distance rider trophy, These trophies were very nice, a full 3D-inches tail and very attractive. All too soon the time had come for us to say goodbye to the friends we bad met and head for home. Pulling out onto the highway we aimed our bikes southandby 10:00 p.m , that evening we were home. The five of us bad traveled a totai 'Jf 6, 850 man miles and we are ready to go again. On behalf of the Oxnard M. C., 1 wish to extend our thanks to the North Valley Travelers M.C. for one of the most memor able weekends we have had in a long time. For those of y ou who didn' t make it this time, be sure and put it on your calendar for next year • s was seriously injured, but their machines l ooked as if they'd been dropped off the Empire Stale Building. Conant, who was only about len feet ahead of the crash, must have bad his confidence shaken for Bruce Anderson took over the lead, only to be passed a lap later by Russ Powell and Bob Haynes, who went on to take first and second. Afler the last two weeks , Kneass must be rather discouraged. Lastweekbeheld the lead until the last lap when Jim Rice, who bad come from last place, passed him for the win. This week be was hold~ ing second and had a good shot ai first when Brelsford, who had also come from last place, overtook him. It's too bad that Rice did not put i n an appearance for this race. That would have made things VER Y Inlerestlng. The 500cc Expert r ace was strictly a " laugher" f or Bob Grossi and his 360cc Monlesa. Bob got off first and just kep t stretching his lead to the point where it becam e r idicul ous. He must have f elt that way too, fo r he entertained the crowd with spectacular 60 mph wheelles down the straight. Bob Sousa and Bruce Texeira s taged quite a battle for second place in this class with Sousa, last week's winner, gettlng to the line first. For the second week i n a row, the Suzuki TM 250s of Paul Johnson and Scott Difienbaugh defeated everyone i n the Expert and Amaleur classes. Mark Brelsford seemed delermined to break Johnson's winning streak in the Expert class, but again had shifting problems. He was a v ery cl ose second to Johnson throughout the first part of the Main, but when his bike started to gi v e out he dropped back. Allen Kenyon got by him to take over second, and then Brelsford's Bultaco quit fo r the day. Dlffenbaugh took the Amateur class with a smooth ride1n the I\laln, buthe had troubl e with Randy Love and his Bultaco i n the heat. Scott led for most of that race but Love got by him on the last lap. Dlffenbaugh didn't l ook back afler he took the lead in the M a in, and Love just couldn't catch him again. (Results Next Week) It's what's up FRONT that COUNTSI 1. Frontal Facial Pro tec tion. 2. Sem i - Resilient Sh ock Liner. 3. Resilient Shock and Comfort Liner. 4. Vinyl Edg e Beading. 5. Padde d Ne ck Curtain. 6. Air Coo led 7. Velcro Chin Strap Adjustment. 8. Quick Release Chin Strap Buckle. 9. Nylon Chin Stra p. Every Sierra Safety Helmet is pack ed with Sierra safety features, but with Sierra's Eagle and Falcon models . ir s what's up front that counts. . This entirely new concept in head pro tection gives you greater protection in the frontal and facial areas. 83% of all fatal and critical injuries occur in this area. Sierra Engineering , one of the largest manu factur ers of milita ry prot ectiv e headgear. now offers you a sport ing helmet Safety Engineered and back ed by Sier, a's space age design experience I For complete information send 25c for beautiful color catalog. For the s.cond week In a row, Sco Dlffenll baugh won lh. 250cc Amat.ur class on a Suzuki T10l 250. Siory by Larry Stewart Pho to s by Ilarry Smith The Palo Alto Motorcycle Club sponsored the second race of the year at Fremont (calif.) Raceway on June 2, and 360 District 36 competitors were th er e to do battle. This was a benefit event stag ed to aid the Menlo Park Kiwanis Club's charity fund. So that all proceeds could go to the fund, pillars of the com munity such as the Bank of Call!ornia, Bank of America, Crocker-Citizens, l ocal motorcycl e dealer s and other area businesses donated trophies . =- PROVEN America's finest Racing Lubricant. ADDZIP ADDITIVES 1433 First Street, Escalon, Calif, 95320 ~ I' .. 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