-o
t
co
a..
ClCl
S._....
n
Sa'
"til
...
Sa . . . ~- file ~ TnJIIIilr lUll...
IIaiD ~ lIIere _
a Jot 116 ..-ce
beIDn file lIIIIDbert.»ridI!r_-.:r.file ftIIisIl UDe. ~-Ume wilmer for
thia area, Jim Rice, !lad eagtDe trouble
ill pnct1ce, so toot ower BnIce ADderSOlI'S bite, ooJ;y to lose tile throttle cable
on the first lap 116 the bat race. R.Powell al80 sat out file race wbeDbe lost
lUI 01111ne and stuck his engine.
IA ES
CALISTOGA
HALF-MILE
Odoll's Lack Cltuges
The only NatIonal Number
at the meet
was Jim Odom. He has bad tough luck
this year. In ten starts prior to this one,
be's lost nine engines in one way or another. It looked Ute Jim's day, and before the eYents were over be proved that
Story and Photos by William Clark
CALISTOGA, caI., July 4 - The earsplitting exhausts of racing cycles shook
the quiet countryside of the health resort
area of Calistoga. The half- mUe event
was held as part of the annual Napa.
County Fair. The holiday mood was
catching and soon leather s were seen
throughout the tatrgrounds. Practice was
interrupted and time tr1als halted to
allow for the opening ceremonies and a
parade which featured three antique
Excelsior cycles , one at them a 1909
model that ran like a sewing macb1ne.
H1ghllgbts of the pre-race activities
were the five sky divers landing on the
racing oval. The control of the men was
exceptional in that each one p1npointed
his ~ right in front of the grand-
.atchlne from the .Idellnes after meltlne a
pl.ton, 1156y FUllk Gillespie thinks, "IIaybe
we sIlouldD't lIave chanced tJuot jet.'
were missed by those of us w1Jo enjoy
watching them ride.
Few Riders, Bat Hot Racing
stand.
In spite at the sweltering beat, the
stands were tl1led to capacity. The track
is one of the most beautilul to be seen
anywbere. The 1ntleld Is part of a we1lkept golf course with sbade trees and
wilbout bu1Jd1ngs or rail fences. It was
truly a pbotcgr2pber's dream track.
Due to the track being quite bard and
dust-free, the bikes did oot slide. As a
result, 110 wild cross-ups were to 00
seen. With botb Bobby Self and JIm Odom
on hand for the day's events, the slides
roy ....k Brelsford _" A1Ut.w lIeat rxa,
Trap"" Dull alld MallI E_t riel e a Trl ......
that .as a twill or JI Oda1D' ..
Back I. lbe wi...... clrde qalD, lIarl n
JI. OdD
......1" hl.Trlampll to Expert ....
E_t Ylctory, allll set two new track recard..
Although the turn-out of Il1kes was
small compared to past ewents (total
purse was $900), a fUll race program
was held and the spectators were given
their money's worth. The first NovIce
heat race was a strong IrytlcaHon of
what was to come. Jay Kanemotojumped
out front and opened a gap of almost a
straightaway between him and Ron
Lanes. Jay set fast time, and 1I'l!IIt on to
win the Tropby I&sb and Main Eftnt in
this class. He most assuredly Is a rider
w1Jo will have to be reckoned with In file
seasons to come. In the Main Barry
DnJn looked good cbaS1ng Jay, and be
was putting forth all the effort In him bat
the Ducati just cooldn't master the
horsepower to get by. In the NovIce
field, DIlve Hansen had carll trorrtJie and
failed to QlII1JfY for either the semi or
Main and sat it out with FraDIt GIDe&Pie,
who had barned a bole in a piston.
In tile Amateur class, Mart Brelsford
had everything his way. Mart and his
Indeed It could be the end to his bard
luck. Only ten Experts made the meet,
but this sbould in no way detract from
the results. Butch Corder was present
and also has been trying to shake bard
luck days. He looked good wilen he won
tile beat race in front at Odom, but took
last In the Trophy Dash. In the Main be
was running a strong second when he hit
one of the ruts in the track; the back end
of the bike came aroWld and he bad to
settle for sixth. HIs dropping back lett
tile way for Lloyd Houchins to run second
without any trouble. Odom set a one-lap
record of 26.70 seconds and the l5-lap
event was also a new track record. So
good luck from here on in JIm, may we
see the Odom do last year bring glory to
that donll1e seven number.
ThIs meet was the second for new
referee Larry (Ray) Vowell and starter
Les Morgan. The meet went oft well and
It would appear that the riders will find
this team t:a1r and with sound decisions.
Baweger, tile De'II' changes have cansed
some Internal problems with other d.ftc1als. Tempers were even hotter than
the weather wilen lUI attempt was made
to cDt the pay of some at the omelals.
DIstrict 36 has bad more than Its sbare
do problems with riders, ottlc1als, and
lack at understandl~ this seuon. Let's
bope tbat this Is all over, and that the
rest at the season will give the riders
an opportunity to put on sbows tbat will be
pleastng to all 1nvolved.
(Results on page 16)
SINGING
WHEELS AT
STALLION
OAKS
Sloryand Photos by Bill Harmer
SAN DIEGO, canr., June 29-30 - The
S1ng1ng Wheels M.C. of San Dlegobosted
an overnigbt run at Stalllon oaks Guest
Ranch, 40 miles east of town, just 2 1/2
mUes oft Interstate 8. Although JudY
Kelley and Carolyn Folkes and their
sign - in crew didn't oftlc1allY start
worltl.Dg until 1 p.m. saturday, the Road
Cruisers M.C. of San Diego made a two
nIcbt, three-day event of it by arriving
with their camping gear on Friday nlgbt.
Saturday was spent with registratiO:lS
and SOCialiZing. The 9O-degree weather
made the swimming pool and the beer
cooler the most popular spots on the
gromds, a few found that their cyclIng
togs were easily adaptable for equestrian activities and hired horses for a
ride through the surrounding countryside. From 5 p.m. to 9 p.m, the ranch
provided a delicious beef barbecue with
all the tr1mm1DgS, which was part of the
regtstration fee. The evening was spent
dancing to the jnke box, s1Ioot1ng pool or
talItI.Dg with old friends over a cool dr1nlt.
Sunday morning, some riders prepared brealaasl over camp fires while
others patronized the fine dI.n1ng room on
the ranch • The ranch layout looks like a
perfect spot for camping as It Is located
in roll1ng hills timered with beautiful
groves of oak trees with an open meadow
here and there where the field events
could be fac1l1tated. When the writer
B
RIDGE T NE
SO
Sales-S
ervice
Barney Tillman'sSPORT CENT ER
6027 WbiUier Blvd., E. Los Angeles
(213)
7~3523
0
OWASAII
Headqaarters
BElCH enss CYCLES
525 N. EI Ca.... Ileal
S- CI_ _.. Call1. .la
OlG4!H1u'
Ibry's ... Le. _
4110 COIlSDClltI.. trDpIIy fIIr lareast .lfonIed clll'-
R.I. 14 _ _ JI. PlrrIIo
er1IID _
... """.., I. IIest . .fled slIIck
lllke. JI '. DUtrlt carries . t .......
award for second but it would surely
have been taken by the Road CruJse10s
M.C.,1fthere bad been. Theblkejurlg1ng
tropl:r1es were d1strtbuted to Ron Camp...
bell for best stock machine, RalpI1 Reeves
for the best custom blkeandJlmP1nterton for the best modifled cycle. Riders
tropbies were awarded to Dean stralil,
first, Jack Jackson, second and Mrs.
Gay Warner, third. Passenger trophies
went to Irene Webster first, Marian
Smith second, and SbirJey Pl1kerd third.
Field eYents trophies were wooby Dong
Christensen first and Tom Wadd1ngton
~-efetI
second. Roger Melanson rece1veda $5.00
merchandise award from Honda of Lemon
Grove for second place custom In bike
judging. Ironically, Roger works for another Honda dealer. Tom Wadd1ngton
riding an old hand-sbift Harley wan a
merchandise order from Lncky Yamaha
com mented on the apparent eJlCellence of
the camping arrangements (we arrtved
Sunday morning) we were corrected by
one very disgruntled rider, who shall
rematn nameless. HIs complaint was
that the first place he was directed to
pilch his tent was in the pasture wIl1ch
looked O.K. from a distance but uPOD
closer Inspection it was Impossible to
find an area large enough for a pup tent,
that wasn't covered with horse manure.
Needless to say, his group relocated.
The tour was not a large one with 83
participants including "meal tickets"
and was almost entirely made up of San
Diego County riders, with a couple do the
congenla.1 Freight Jockeys M.C. members in evidence, and having a ball. John
Bye, assisted by Dune Kelley, EdFoltes
and Ray Melanson got the field events
under way about 10a.m.andcarr1edthem
off in orderly tasb10n with 110 bickering.
Alter some of the hassles that we have
witnessed recently over field events
procedure and systems of point and
trophy awarding, we feel that the Slng1ng
Wheels should be highly congratulated.
The Irophy for the largest club In
uniform was awarded to the Mary's Men
M.C., who had 19 present. There was DO
for his efforts In tile field events.
With the competitive events out of the
way the riderS, left to their own dIYersions, again went swimming, horseback
riding and a few beaded for the bar.
Still others packed their dutrle bags and
started back to the cool sea breezes of
the city at San Diego and home.
The tour showed good planning and
preparation. Memhers of the Singing
Wheels carried out their various assignments beautifully, they were dispatched
without incident, the locat1on was Ideal
for family fun (in spite of the horse
pasture) and everyone In attendance was
enthusiastic about the S1ng1ng Wheels'
Stallion oaks overn1ghter.
