Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/125668
~IRiders ~ Story by Ron Schneiders . ~ Photos by Ron and Ellen Schneiders Tackle New Land In CERA Run I >.. fomia Enduro Rider's Association staged A large camper that made the attempt stopped all progress Saturday until twenty-odd riders pushed It through a sand wash. The campsite itself was a large, dusty, flat, barren spot, somewhat reminiscent of recent moonscape photos. enduros this Sunday about twenty mUes east of Indio, CaUfornla. About 490 riders and thelr families showed uP to find that the flrst test of the enduro was getting the vehicle into the campsite. The narrow, one-lane dlrt' road in featured deep sand and hills, a comblnation that persuaded many of those with traUers to camp near the highway outside. The enduro was to consist of three loops, 52.8 mUes, 51.0 mUes, and 10.5 mUes long, respectively. But the third short loop had to be cancelled when a thoughtless jeep club tore down all the markers on one section of the loop. The flrst loop started off in a cloud of dust UP a narrow traU out of the valley. The riders headed l1:enerallyeast towards :<: ~ -l <:..J INDIO, CAL. AprU 19, 1970- Th,. Call- <:..J the second of a series of four proposed Sarocco Summit and men scum wwara Salton Sea. On this loop there were no real challenges to either man or machine, but schedules were oftn fast enough to provide a racing-type challenge. It was a nice but unspectacular ride and lived uP to the C.E.R.A. promise for its second graded enduroslightly tougher than the first. The second loop started in a generally westerly dlrection and, at 6.5 mUes, provided one of the h1gh11ghts of the day: a trip through a house, complete with steps uP to the front doorl Naturally, after traversing a living room and two . . bedrooms at 24 mUes per hour, there Riders walt out the clock at Sunday's C.E.R.A. Enduro. east of Indio. Calif. The event was advertised as In ·all new territory', and that It was. Sonew, In fact, that there were no emergency units or portable restrooms. !lever.the.less, parts of the course were beautiful and very enjoYable to ride. Make your l00cc Into a I2Occ. We supply all parts (piston. rings. pln. gaskets. & bore-job or exchange.) Headquarters 525 N. EI Camino Real San Clemente. Californ ia m4L~2·6141 INVADER~ ' . Action f;ycle 712 " 'orklown A.... Huntlnllon Beach (714) 536-3223 Rusqvarna WIN... ride an XC-100 . SALES - SERVICE - PARTS BEACH CITIES CYCLES ALOHA CYCLE, 582lJ E. Imperial Hwy., South Gate. Cal. 90820 Phone: (213) 869-8111 . MAICO - MOTa-GUZZI DUCA TI - SACHS UWASAr, i20cc MOTo-IETA: $24.95 was a check • From that point on it was rocks, all sizes and varieties, over every foot of the path. There were tight rocky sandwashes, rocky uPhills, rocky downhUls, and rocky ridgetralls. Although at no point was there anything particularly d1ff1cult, the machine punishment was tremendous. A common cause of faUure was " bus ted crankcase." Due to a number of bottlenecks, few riders were able to keep schedule on the second looP. The most typical comment on the loop was, "This just isn't any fun." Since the third loop had to be cancelled, the run was declared finished at . the end of the second loop. There were 220 finishers. On the plus side, the run was very well marked and the distances were measured extremely accurately. My speedometer was only .2 mUes off at the end of the run with no adjustmentsl On the minus side, there were: 1. No outhouses. In a spot where ·lt is planned to camp fifteen hundred people for a weekend, this Is - or should bea crime. Certainly it wU1 contrlbute to the charges of misuse of pubUc land which are threatening to close the desert to us. . 2. No emergency services. Fortunately no one, reportedly, was hurt in any of the more remote areas of the course. If anyone had been, we would probably be reporting a disaster. 3. No lunch wagons or catering trucks. Wlth a gross " take" in excess of $2500 and virtually no vislble outlay (even the course markings were donated by Torco OU riders have the rlght to ), expect these ltems to be taken care of. Two weeks ago the Shamrocks were IIble to provide all these services and still donate some $700 to charity with almost identical clrcumstances. it would seem that the organization which has as its expressed purpose the promotion of enduro riding in Southern CaUfornia could hardly afford to do less. The C.E .R.A. is a new organization. Its working membership is obviously dedicated, enthusiastic, and very hard working. Its leader, Ed Wight, looked to be on the verge of collapse after the run, and his wife was not far behind. They _succeeded in putting on a run in new territory and avoided many of the pitfalls of new organizations such as inadequate traU marking and poor timing. 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