Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

Playing Checkers-A Close-Up Look At The Green-Horn Photos hy Jay D. storer We opened our envelope, which was marked "Check K, Keytime 12:46, Open Check 12:00, Close Check 4:00." The directions read: "NATURAL BOWL CHECK: Headed North on HwY. 395 out c4 Four Corners (Kramer Junction), go 14.6 mlles to USAF Cuddeback Gunnery Range sign on East side of bighway •After turning thru gate, take gradual Righttork and follow USAF road as described: 4.2 miles from gate, fork LEFT; .6 miles farther pass thru gate; 1.5 miles farther, crest mountain; 6.0 miles farther, turn RIGHT, c4f USAF road onto GladdIng McBean mine road; 7.3 miles farther (at GladdIng McBean ruIns) turn RIGHT and follow road over thr I canyon to Check (on course from thL poInt); 3.0 miles from GladdIng McBe you will come to Check: it will be around a corner In a canyon, kInd c4 a.natural bowl. See 8 rlbbon clusters (orange) on bush at right, and a circle c4 lime at base c4 brush. Also an old rectangular gas tank is across road." My friend, Frances Cunningham, and I bad decided to be checkers on the 23rd Annual Greenhorn 500- Mile National Championsbip Enduro. Now we were at the Pasadena M.C. clubhouse, receivIng directions, instructions, clipboards, scorIng sheets and a calibrated aircraft clock. Until this evening, bowever, we bad no idea c4 the amount c4 bebind- thescenes effort Involved In makIng such a run successful. And, after readIng over our directions, we began to wonder if we could even FIND our check, much less handle the task c4 accuratelY timing hundreds c4 riders through it. Ours was a secret check, designated "K," and riders were to be scored on the followIng basis: Each minute late- 1point less' first minute early - 2 point loss; sec~nd minute early - 5 poInt loss, and 5 poInts lost for every minute early thereafter. Riders could be up to 15 minutes early or UP to an hour late before being disqualltled, but it was not the checkers' responsibility to disqualify anybody; if we goofed on times or rider numbers, the whole check would be thrown out. We were cautioned to take our time, write legibly ...and not get rattled. Unsung heroes c4 the biggest and oldest enduro in the U.S. are the four Course Captains. Each man, usually with just one helPer, must get 125 miles of the course laid out - marked with ribbons, arrows and lime - and posltion the checkpoInts. Tbls means that two people are doing the job ordinarily handled by a whole club, and it is fitting testimony to their devotion under almost impossible odds that the Greenhorn is always marked better than most runs. Saturday morning's Course Captain was Dick Smith, Pasadena police Lieutenant. Bob Greene, Pasadena M.C. President and Editorial Director c4 Petersen Publlsblng Co.'s Book Division, took care c4 tile SaturdaY afternoon partlon c4 the nm. Bob Vall, an engineer at Pabst, laid out SundaY mornlng' s course, and tile afternoon route was the burden c4 Dave Holeman, Cycle Guide magazine'S Managing Editor. Although mostly cross country, the terrain included a water crossIng •some bills, and a longest between-gas stretch c4 58-1/2 miles. But there were no bottlenecks to keep the novice rider from t1n1sh1Dg, tbough only about a third c4 the starters managed to complete the 2-day grind which began and ended at Pearblossom, with an lM!rnightstop atRIdgecrest. We arrived In Pearblossom early FridaY even1ng, where hundreds c4 riders bad already congregated, then continued 011 to Red Mountain (the next day's lunch and gas stop). There we met Bob Greene, bis son Sieve, and Pat Brollier, longtime Petersen Publisblng Co. statt photographer. They bad been In tile area since Wednesday, marking and liming tile Saturday afternoon porti6n c4 the course on a 600cc Matcbiess, 500cc Triumph and 100Cc Hodaka respectively. After partaidng c4 a couple of brews and a little cowboy music at the Silver Dollar Cafe, Fran and I barbecued some burgers - then bedded down in the back c4 her VW wagon for a few hours' sleep. Early Saturday morning the clear desert air snapped us lnto awareness that it was RACE DAY, and we grinned in anticipation ot the adventure that awaited us. Had we forgotten anything? Looking Into the car, it didn't seem possible. We were loaded down with water, food, straw hats, shades, heat pills, suntan lotion, .. .. By Carol Slms about the Indianapolis race before he rode away. Soon it was keytime plus one minute and nobody bad made it through 011 time. Then we heard them coming! At exactly 12: 48 the first group of riders roared around the turn and slithered to a stop thoroughiy surprlsed. We became so engrossed in our work that for tile next couple of hours there was only time to keep track of everybody, with occasional pauses to comment on the friendllness and good humor exuded by the riders. "How'd you ever fInd your way clear out here?" they'd ask. Or, with a grin, "Boy, you're really sneaky, aren' tyou?" Frances even rated an "I love you" from an extra-thirsty Yamaha rider to whom she'd given a drink of water. Some c4 the competitors were so startled by our check that tIley ran ott the course, bounded over bushes, climbed tile canyon walls and performed all sorts of entertaining maneuvers as they approached. Others, veterans of countless desert runs (like the 6-man Harley team of Ekins, Krlzman, et al.), showed up right on the dot, checked their clocks and coolly motored on. As many as 14 riders arriVed in one minute and trattlc became pretty heavy at times. Still, there was no contusion. It a rider had lost bis number plate wbile basblng through the boonies he'd yell out "47B" (or whatever); quite a few had thelr numbers taped to their helmets just in case they did lose their plates. And we'd make sure we'd accounted tor everyone before noddIng or waving them on. In all, 260 riders passed through check" K" - two c4 them women. Around 3:00 p.m. the stream bad nar- ,. .. . '. -' ..... -. " rt...,. F.r Iiscuss pl•• aft......1 U.d Ilt.lUhllla Is #2 T_ ... tII (HDlIIYalOa). I"Ge. OK· by Fr.ee. CaIluln. . . .d Carol 51... folding chairs and tables, a first aid kit, our checkiDg parapbenaua, and tile protectlve company c4 Gussie, Fran'S pit bull dog. NOW to tlnd our checllpolnt. SurPrisingly, we bad noproblems. The road Into the desert was so well marked, and the directions so clear, !bat we arrived In the Gladding McBean mine area with pleot;y c4 time to spare for sigbtseeing and rockhuntlng before cootlnuing on to our check. Snakes, jackrabbits, toriolses, sheeP, lizards and all manner c4 desert inhabitants were in tile vicinity, but we didn't bother them and they didn't bother us. Finally it was time to set up tile check. After bouncing along the course for about 3 miles we found it...and it was really a sneaky one. Oncoming riders would round a turn Into a little bowl-like canyon and - surPriseI - there we'd be. We set up our equipment by the beribboned bush and the sign that read: "Check K, Mileage 30.4, Keytime 12:46." I was to keep track of the time, calling out each minute and each rider's number as Fran wrote them down in running order. Later we would transpose the figures to our master scorlng sheets. Riders bad left Pearblossom, six every minute, beginning at 6:01 a.m. Sa, theorretically, the first ones through should be #lA, #lB, #lC, 1110, #lE and #IF. . Long before the first rider was due, however, Course Captain Greene and son Steve rolled UP, carrying blIgs of lime and making a tl.na1 run of the route to ensure ttlat all markincs were intact and checkpoints In order. (Good thing, too, because only 5 miles from the first day's finish' a landowner bad carefully removed all ribbons and arrows from a 2-m11e sectioo 01. tile course. Fortunately, Bob spotted tile signs bidden under a bush, and he and Sieve hastily replaced them, raced Into Ridgecrest to set the clock at tile flnish, then Bob hurried back and waited on the trail for about 40 minutes to make sure the markers weren't taken down agaIn. "It was our onlyclose call," said Greene, whO's been aP.M.C. member for 31 years and actively Involved In the run since its inception.) Then we were joined by Jay Storer, a fellow Petersen Publisblng Co. staffer who bad completed bis early mornIng check and driven UP to give us a hand it the trattlc got too heavy. We settle down in the ever-warming st1llness to await the telltale sound that would signal an approaching rider. Sudden1Y, 20 minutes ahead of time, the first man appeared _ Yamaha-mounted Larry Salo from San Jose. "I've never riddeh the desert before," he explaIned, Nbut it's sure a bail." We chatted briefly rowed to a trickle, so we began the job c4 transposing our runninC notes to tile master score sheets, flnishlng just as the Chuckwalla Jeep Club follow-up crew came through. They bad rescued a stranded rider and would transpQri 1Ilm, along with any others they mjgbt tlnd, back to civilization. It was time for us to return to civilizatioo, too. We gathered uP our hekJacings, loBded the wagoo and took c4t for Ridgecrest. Riders were st11l being checked into the first-daY flnisb when we got tIlere, while pit crews, familles and earlier arrivals set up camp for tile night. (Incidentally, the camping area was left In lmmaculate condition the following mornIng - an example which could well be a deciding factor in presentation c4 future desert events.) Since a small portion of public bighway was Involved near the finish, Ridgecrest Sheriffs and California Highway Pairolmen had been notified, and were on hand to direct the now c4 traffic and facllltate road crossings. Their attitude was most cooperative aild helpful, a fact that we can personally verity. Soon after turning in our score sheets and clock, we were asked by a couple of thirsty riders if we could spare some water. I handed them our thermos and (Contin ued on page 27) t a.. '" :it la:l O!: ~ U )., U

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