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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/125583
4th Annual Indio T Draws 2254
our
I
By Rob Robbins
Photos by George Hays
INDIO, Cal., October ~ & 6 - Indio city
officials estimated 6000 cyclists spent
the weekend in their city, enjoying the
4th Annual Indi o Gypsy Tour. Cancella tion of the World-famous Death Vall ey
Tour contributed to the large turn-out.
Indio will go Into the record books as
the " Grand Daddy" of the 1968 tours .
As In past years, AMA Tour Awards
were given al l entrants. These Tour
Awards , changed from patches to pins
this year, are pres ent ed at one tour
yearly in each AMA district.
October weather In the desert seems
to be perfect for motorcycle tour ing.
When the Indio Tour was held in Novem ber, a few years back, there was rain
RIGHT: Gypsy Whe els M.C. r epre sentati ve
accepts the magni ficen t trophy donated by
Doc W ght for most out standing clu b of the
ri
year. This Is to be a perpetual award.
Most eye-appealing competition of the 4th annual Tour was the beauty contest to select Miss
In dio. Judges had a tough time deciding which of the lovelies would wear the crown, but fina lly
sel ected Miss D. Stanton ( second from ri ght) as the winner.
Elsinore Night Life
an d crowds were small. Next year's
tour Is set for Oct. 4th and 5th.
Th e trophies, 125 in all, were set
where they could be seen by r iders
arr iving at the ga tes of the Date Festival
Fair grounds . Entry to the grounds was
for official entrants onl y. The com ple te
tour was handled quite effi ciently by 'the
Coasters Tour Commi ttee.
Activities began a t 1 p .rn , Saturday
with a parade through the s treets of
Indio by 1200 rider s . Most of the rest of
the entries lined the streets to snap
pic tures .
The parade was led by Miss Indio and
r eprese ntative s from the Indio Cham be r
of Comm erce, followed by the three Dr ill
Teams that were to perform im medi a tely after the parade.
And perfor m they did. Vic tor Mc
Laughlin s tarted things off , followed bY
the Ace of Clubs with thei r high - speed
prec ision r iding. The cr owd had thi nned
out somewhat by the time the Huntington
Park Elks Drill Team s tarted the ir r ide.
But those who s tayed were well r ewarded .
Bike judges saw some of the fi nes t
machines on the West Coas t, fr om Ed
" Big Daddy" Roth 's Harley 3- whe eler,
to the oldest mac hine - a Harley of ' 29
Vintage . Unifor m judging saw the Rai nbows take fir s t plac e, followed by the
SlIver Eag les .
The evening meal was in keeping with
the best; the Coa s ter s always feed very
well.
Thos e of you who atte nded last year's
tour may r em embe r Doc Wright being
presented with the bike by his cycli ng
fr ie nds . ThIs year it was Doc who did
the givi ng. He donated a trophy for the
most outs tanding club of the year .
F irst winners were the Gypsy Wheels
from Ridg ec r es t, Trona , an d Mojave,
one of the large st and most a ctive cl ubs
around . The Pacific Coasters save a lot
of ti me by handing out a wards for bik e,
unifor m judging and fi eld events as they
are earned.
Danc ing began with a Western Roc k
band as r iders vi ed fo r more trophies
in the danc e contes ts, eve rything from
the Twist to the Waltz.
A good night 's sleep r eadied the contes tants for the fi eld events and games
of fun Sunday morning. The last of the
trophies were awarded for the Slow Race,
Ring Toss , Water Ra ce, Balloon Ra ce,
and a Bubble Gum Conte s t.
Many r ider s left Indio early enough to
atte~? the Tr~lUt Fry at WhItewater .
(ResUlts on pag e 16)
SP ECTATO R LI ABILI TY A PARTI·
ND
CIPANT INSURANCE FOR TRACK
OWNERS, PROMOTERS AND CLU BS BU SI NESS PACJ