Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

~ THE SAGA OF PANOCHE HILLS V) ~ ~ foJ ..:l U G By Russ SaIltord Last week, I promised an article- 00 tile "Paooche H111s story". Geograph1_ c:aIly, Paooche H111s is located 40 mUes southwest of Madera and 50 mUes due east of Saltnas. I need not describe it further to the thousands of riders wbo, untn AprU of this year, frequented the b111s each weekend. F or the rest of you, its location is uolmportant. But, let it serve as an object lesson _ because Paooche Hllls could very well be your own favored area. In the surround area. And then In March c4 1969 it happened - tile BLM posted Panache H111s aDd locked the gate. 'Ibe reasons were numerous: b1cb fire poteot1a1; Utter; soll erosioo; complaJots from other users; nesttng season for Cbukars - you name itl lbe Never Ending SIga of Panoche Hills Paooche H111s is pUbne land•• .adm1oistered for the good of the total pubUc by the BLM (Bureau of Land Management). Twenty-five years ago, a young lad named John Gale, Jr., rode througb these h11ls on an old Indiao Scout. Occaslooally, Jolm would be accompanied by a friend or two and they would ride througb the endless expanse of this 33,000 acres 'tn their tanks' ran dry'. Then John and his friends decIded to bold a meet and the area was 'discovered' by riders from the Sao Francisco BayArea.Astimepassed, more and more rIders appeared In •JoIm's backyard', but tIlere was plenty of room for everyone. There were sheep 011 the land, but what the beck! •..oobodY bothered sheep. Eventually, 'John'S back yard' got a lltt1e crowded; the bIkes got bigger; the graz10g areas began to show s1gns of permanent lIamage; and people started ,protesttng. Untn this time, nobodycared Russ sanford John aDd bls frIends had been evIcted from 'their own back yard'. They felt that they had lost a friend. Wh11e the former guests from over 011 the other sIde of the b11l sat and moaned and blamed the BLM, John and his local friends (who are also known as the Central Callfornla Tran Riders) met m~~r~e~ about wbo owned the laod_.1t was just land._there for the rld1og. But the protestations on the part of those wbo were pay10g for the graz10g r1gbts SOOII brought the BLM Into the picture 00 a more formal basts. At first, the BLM tended to look the other way but pressures from tile organ1zed grOuPs soon demanded attention. The protestors offered convtnc1ng evidence of general mis-use c4 the land In terms of Utter, soU erosion, Uvestock Uterally run to death, destroyed fences, and personal barras- meat. Now, John aDd bls local motorcycUng friends grew quite concerned about the poor manners of their weekend 'guests' and the effect that lb1s mJgbt have uPon the future of their favored r1dtn& area. They were constantlY placating their neIghbors because, you see, Jolm aDd b1s motorcyc11ng budd1es had long since grown to manhood aDd become ranchers ::::. Gleews Motorcycles W.st.'.ster Sp.rt e,d. Guy R.Louis ~t~::' Cl14) 193-1051 ca. 7574 Westmln.er Aft., Westllln • •, J•••••, •• r~ s.,s '.s.r••e. "He, Mr. Dealer" We carryall types of insurance coverage - garage liability fire - theft & dealer bonds S.,. Up T. 251 JOHN I. MAYNARD INS. 1441 Motor AYe., L.A., Ca. . (n3} 836-5211 numerous promises but an tbey ever got was more riders• 3. 'Ib1s is not a fairy tale or a wII1tewash of tile BLM. It is a true story. Related and the C.C.T.R. discouraged. Nol They by motorcycUsisl eoUsted the aid of KeoCrutcher(aootber And now, In spite of an this, guess motorcycUst) aDd equlpped bls cropwhat? Delmar van and the BLM have dustlng plane with a loud speaker. They 1nd1cated to me that they w111 give seriflew over the area and tried to persuade ODS consideration to re-opeotng Panocbe the errant riders to stay 1os1de the Hllls to the motorcycUsts. Much of the boundary markers. Can you guess what former exuberance is gooe and their happened? A new game emerged•••called repUes are t10ged with reluctance aDd "hide-aDd-seek with the airplane" • And doubt. If you, the former users of Panthen on March 29th, a 3o-year old gaoache Hllls, really want the area reopeoed, physicist onabraodoewb1kejustcOUIdo't it can be done. But you are golngto have cootatn hlmself aoylonger.Sobesoeaked to do it. You won't get much belp from off the tran and made a f1Y1ng trip uP an those wbo have already been burnt a adjotntng knoll ooIytoftndhlmse1ftotally cOuPle of times. airborne for a distance of no less than There are three possJb1e methods: 200 feet. It took several Sherlffs Deputies 1. Through exerc1slng a cooperative and a beUcopter to extricate bls broken agreement. This would mean formlng an body from the area. Delmar van, the organization and assumtng full respooJ;3LM man, wbo had workedband-In-band s1b1Uty for saottationfacWties,eoforcewith John and the C.C.T.R., threw bls ment of regulations, med1ca1asslstaoce, bands In the air and declared 'he'd had commuolcatioos sys~ms, fences, and WI other related service. The area would I have known Del for over a year aDd be open to the entire pubUc and no fee I know bIm to be a patient aDd under_could be charged for entrance. staod1og man. Del had shared John's 2. Through exerc1slng a lease. Tb1salso enthusiasm for this project. They both would mean formlng anon-profltorgan1knew beforehand that the bIke rIders zatloo with slmllar responsIbWties, would understand that this was a pUot however, entrance fees could be charged; project by wb1ch they could prOYe, once and UsbWty Insurlnce would be maodaaDd for all, that the motorcycUsts were tory. really good guys, Who, if given a break, 3. Obtatnlog f1nancial suPport for the would show their true colors and reBLM to manage the area. The BLM is spood admirablY. Del's enthusiasm was presently author1zed the equIvalent of evIdenced by his continued presence at two men for one mooth or one man for the sIte: a presence sponsored atbls own two months each year for all services expense and 00 his own time. related to Panache H111s. And wbat did tIley see? Youguesseditl... Utter; people r1dtn& outofbouods, riders playtng touch tac witll sbeep; fences be10g destroyed...and you name 1tI Was Jolm 'rom me 0811101 with the BLM and worked oUt a plan. Delmar van, the BLM's DIstrict SuperIntendent, and the C.C.T.R. marked off 13,000 acres of area wII1ch would be used exclusIvelY by motorcycles. The bouodar1es were marked eYery 60-80 feet by oraoge-patnted 2x2' s exteod1og 30 tncbes above the ground. Each. was posted with a s1gn dePict10g a motorcycle with a slash througb it. In addItioo to the 13,000 acres, an e1gbteen mne loop tran was la1d out and boundary markers estabUsbed 00 both sides of the tran. Tbe tran coos1sted equally of dirt roads, trans, and a sectlOll following a ridged area. John aDd the C.C.T.R. removed all existtng Utter and the area Uterally sparkled. The grand (re-)opeolng came aDd so did ·the riders. John and the C.C.T.R. met them at the gate, extended welcomes, banded out coples of the rules, and stood back to admire the fruits of their labors. Mike Patrick's On March 30th, Del once aga10 put uP the signs and padlocked the gate. The weekend guests 00 Joacer come to Panocbe Hllls. Jolm and b1s fr1eods OIIce aga10 haTe time to rlde_.but 00 their own ranches. And wbere doelI this leave as? Paooche Hllls is close! Our p110t project is down the dratnl And our detractors have ooe more sb1n1og example to potnt tol What have we learned from all of this? Doyou SuPpose the ten-percenters are eYeo aware of the Injustice that they have caused the respectable and respectful motorcycUsts? For the sake of the record: 1. 'Ibe ten-percenters were not members of a gaD&. 'Ibey were people Uke youand I who figured that a 01' 1ofractioo of the rules here and there would go unnot1ced. 2. John Gale aDd the C.C.T.R. Uterally begged for be1p from the organ1zed groupa ustng the area. They recelved * • 1101 E. 6th St. - Corona C1l4)U.-nn Mi'eo 1',I'aeo NPG LUBRICANTS P.O. Bax2UJ Missi.. Vie', Ca. "e .,.elallII il .1, Balliet 12411. OruP......., BIela Part (14) &221189 I Of Inglewood se U 901 N. La Brla (near ceatlnela) 611-1&89 or 611-1600 Spor's'ers " MOTORCYCLE TRAILERS Full bodr pan for compl.te protection Perfecl balance far eu, towlna Capable of ca",lna s_moblle Slandard 14 Inch wlI.. ls Non·skld walk wa,s A lI·st_1 un It bod, THREE-Z·LOAO, INC. P.O. Box 422 Harbor City, Calif. 90710 SACHS PENTON * Walt Axthelm's Tri umph-Suzuki Motors 1M Wesl 5111 St., PomClla, Calif. YWHA of COIOIA ~'HARLEV-DAVIDSON Altbougb the BLM is empowered to collect fees, such revenues must be placed In a special fund aDd cannot be used by the BLM to matntatn the area from wb1cb the fees were derived. Therefore, any addtt1ooa1 SUPPOrt must come directly from Wasb1ogtoo(D.C.) speciallY earmarked for the operatioo of Panache Hllls. There is only one way to get . that sUPPort and that is througb our elected rePresentatives In Wasb1ogtoo. It would require a massive letter-writtng program and Intense persuasion. So there you arel What do you former Paoocbe H111s riders want to do? I w111 volunteer to act as a c1earlng-bouse for your comments. If you want to regatn this rid10g area, drop me a letter• Please tnd1cate your preference of the three forego1og alternatives. Send your comments to Russ SaIltord, c/o M.O.R.E., P.O. Box 26062, Sacramento, Ca. 951126. Cl14) 629-8642 CZ OSSA MAICO Penton - Hodaka Yamaha - BSA Husqvarna Norton 1223 Av•• I Laneasl.. 1'051 '42"'24 t: : asco • • • • • • • • • -Cut this out and present at box office· • • • • •• : EVERY .: FRIDAYAT • : HALF MILE $2100.00: : MOTORCYCLE PURSE : :RACES 8:00pm : •_............................•.: . SO¢ DISCOUNT!!! For each of two people this saves .. . ..

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