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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/125572
.... .... o '"c :0: c.. g 0; '" ~ '«: CI) Ek ~ MIrE STEWAIT moved him, his mother, and sister, KatIQ', to Lee's camp, and it was here, witb1n !be year, tbat M1Ire sat astride his f1rst motorcycle, soloed It 1Dto tile MEMOIIAL ENDUIO woods by b1mseIf. In the years tbatfollowed M1ke 1elIrned many aI !be tra11s that criss-cross the vast, sprawl1Dg 145,000 acre Burn area w!Iile f1re watcb1ng for tile Forestry Story by Bob Schwarz am: Jay Lacey Pbotos by Bob Schwarz Mike Stewart, aI Lee'S Camp In the TIllamook Burn Mountalns aI Oregon, was born January, 1947, In Portland, .the first and only son aI Ruth and B1ll Stewart. At age fourteen Mike's father service and 011 rId1ng excursions with his dad. A Cbarter member aI the famed King Mountaln M.C. and Tillamook Burners, Mike could handle his bike and outride the best al ' em by his senior year In high school wflere be graduated June, 1965, from TWamoot Hlgh. Embark1ng on a new career Mike joined the Navy In r.:J ..J U >.. A much-applld ated pI/rut stop durllll strenuous Enduro. U .... Allen WllIf starts up hlll_ ...Then, oop s! ·Oh , no!" think these riders as they "acIl first secret check. August aI the same year and was being trained as an electronics mate. Then disaste r struck. ShorUy after his 19th birthday, Melenoma cancer, aI which there Is no known cur e, was discovered In th1s young man's body. Now 11 was Just a matter of time. The Navy gave MIke orders of a new permanent dUty station - Lee's Camp, ore., and this Is where he remained, among the picturesque mountains and sUvery fiowing streams he loved so weU, unUI his passing, Aprll 16, 1967. Thus 11 comes to pass that In this year, 1968, we see the lnauguraUon aI what will probably become the most weUknown enduro of the Pac1f1c Northwest, always to be held In the beautiful Tillamook Burn Mountalns In memory aI Mike Stewart. ThIs was your run Mike, th1s was your day. On June 22-23 over 200 riders competed In the first 200- mUe M1ke Stewart Memor1al Enduro. It was Mike's dad, B1ll Stewart, who did much ot the 1n1t1al leg to make th1s one of the biggest AMA enduro runs held In th1s part aI the country. All proceeds from the event went to the American Cancer SocIety. Riders came from as far away as Southern Cal1forn1a and Boise, Idaho. For some the area was new and quite strange. Many were notused to camping out In heavy rain (the f1rst Idght), rld1Dg a hundred miles the next day, partying unW 2 a.m. and t1Da1ly riding a hundred mUes tile next day. For a certaIn few aI the riders th1s turned out to be MORE than just any old 200-m11e enduro. The ent1re event was the result aI a cooperaUve ettort on the part aI four Portland area groups, namely Lobo, H1Utopper, Mt. Scott and KIng MountaIn clu!ls. Each aI these brushrlder clubs took 011 a major share aI the necessary work and did an outstand1ng job. With drlzzl1ng weather on thef1rstday aI the event, the f1rst group aI surIders departed at 9 a.m. sharp on saturday. Through the next five hours compeUtors were required to maintain average speeds rang1ng from 17.7 to 28.1 mph over gravel, tractor and access roads whUe allowing only a IS-minute gas and refreshment stop, (The averages may seem slow to those who have not actually ridden In the T1llamook Burn area, but belleve me, th1s area has so much " up and down" and " In and out" In the topography that it can be extremely tough, but 11 Is fabulously scenic country. One hill pr oved really rough for almost everyone. It was a tractor road on the top end of a tall mountaIn that was steep and thoroughly cased with loose small rock. The approach was rough and twisted on about a 20% grade. I've never seen such a wrlth1ng mass ot motorcycle r iders all fouled up on one slope In all my ille. It was like looking Intoa pan of worms. Those who made it up and over arrived at the gas and refreshment stop on top of the hogback ridge. With 50 mlles still ahead, the course remained mostly on access and allweather gravel roads, and faster riders, trying to make up precious .!,tlJle, ~rE: , really , whiZZing along. Believe me, dur-' Ing the 1n1 t1al day aI th1s two-day event, average speeds over the f1rst 100 miles were set fast enough thatveryfewrlders had much Ume to fool around. For the hotshoes It was a lark, but for the duffers and novices they needed to work aUt. At 8 p.m, about seven skydivers ba1Jed out aI two planes and landed In the middle of one aI the several compslte areas. This signaled the beg1nn1ng aI the evening fesUv1t1es. As the n1ght wore on, the temporary 30' plywood dance floor really got a workout. A large portable generator supplled ample power for the lights, and big SPeakers supplled the music - hot western and you name It. Refreshments flowed like wiDe and everyone seemed to have a good Ume. At 9 a .m, sharP on the last day riders were dispatched four abreast atone minute Intervals. Everything was goIng real weU with DO rain, temperature just right and- away we go; 7.9 mUesat22.4 mph. With the average spssd a llWe slow and riding condl Uons so good most everyone was feeling f1ne•••unW we hit the secret check. What a sobering th1ng to pull on an enduro rider. Off we went for another 1-1/2 miles past the secret check and wbammo - a big sign that says " Speed Change 21.0 mph for 10.6 miles". For many aI tile enduro riders who were not necessarUy ma!bematlca1ly Incl1ned this proved to be a Waterloo. The smart ones who ride enduros without speedometers figured' 'Oh well, what the beU" and went on their merry way. (It'sreal1ysurprlsing bow weU th1s type aI rider does at w1DnIng his share aI the gold.) By the Ume we reached the first scheduled checkpoint, some aI us were thoroughly confused, but th1s Is, I suppose, as it should be In an enduro as big as th1s OI1e. The balance aI the run was quite easy with a couple aI llWe didos here and there and a couple aI creek crossings. After all was said and done It was felt that the run provided a great deal aI Interest, Involvement and purpose for many riders, familles and clubs. Although the amount of money turned over to the American Cancer SocIety th1s year was a llttle less than $600, everyone looks for proceeds at least three Urnes greater next year• Our thanks must go out to all the various busInesses and motorcycle shops for donating trophies and refreshments for the saturday night dance; the General Analln Corp. for the printing aI the many 16x22" two-color posters used to advertise the event; the Oregon State Forestry DePt., without whom this run would have been Impos sible; DIamond Lumber Co. of TIllamook, and weU, we could go on forever . Just many thanks to any and all who helped make this f1rst annual Mike Stewart Memor1al Enduro what It was. Next year should be even better. Plans are In the making to run it one month earller, using more aI the hiUs, tralls, and cl1mbs , and also maybe an AMA Natloual sanction. Time wiU leU. MeanwhUe we certainly hope they will again have that gal In the short shorts doing the checking. Really makes a guy want to get jo, ~~ next check, just knowing she ml$ht,.~~~ere! • t.j • • ..;., . _ •• , tll "'ll 11' _,(Res ul ts appear~ last week)