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/125684
Coming into "Motorcycle Country," a ~ew land use' develoPment in northern Georgla, you'll probably take Interstate 85. Turn west at Route 98 (60 mUes north of • Atlanta), go a few.mUes into Marysville, Georglaand turn at-the interestion. There's only one. Whistle a mUe or two, turn right at picturesque Mintz's Store and coast past the Baptist Church, turning left between two huge oaks into Motorcycle Country's parking lot. Park your car if you're drlving- It's two>vheels or two feet from here. on. The Idea, we decided (pariner John Wyckoff and your col\lmnlst), Is to develop the land for motorcycle riding without disturbing the natural beauty of the wUds, or sacrificing any of the ecological benefits, either. We would allow the bulldozers and the cars as far as the parking lot, no further. Even the car park i,s screened by trees, and clusters of trees remain in the parking area for shade and beauty. Every buUding, marker and facility installed Is rustic in design, made of native logs and brick to blend with the surroWldings. We first constructed a large papiermache rellef map accurate to the finest detaU. On th1s we traced our tra1ls and located models of the structures as the plan developed. On a knoll by the central valley we situated the W.C. Fields Mem.orial Meeting Hall, big enough to seat 300 comfortably, with its large fireplace, kitchen and veranda. The International and the "bunny" motocross courses wind through the trees in the valley, In perfect view from the observation landing on the knoll. Videotape cameras, activated by electric eyes, scan the more spectacular places on the traUs. Twice a day you can see yoursel! rebroadcast on the three tv screens in the W.C. Fields Hall. ' Beside the usual ameneties of flush Crappers and bot showers, there Is a wash rack for motorcycles and permanent pits, with machine shop facilities, air compressors, etc. _ Near the entrance Is the Colonel Store, wbere parts, accessories, food and camping gear are sold. The store Is in a rebuilt log cabin said to be over 100 years old. A fac1llty llke Motorcycle COWltry cannot, of course, accommodate all the motorcycle enthuslasts wbo wish to use it, particularly on holldays and weekends. So we set it uP as a private club, except for certain days wben it is open to the pubUc. Members pay annual dues for the prlvllege of using the COWltry on a reservation basis, for tra1l riding, camping, boating and fishing on the 10-acre lake, and practicing on the racing courses. Local motorcycle clUbS and promoters may also rent the fac1llties for events, and the Motorcycle Country Club occasionally sponsors large pubUc events on Its property, much.in the same manner as the Open Golf Tournaments at conventional country clubs. People wbo visit for one day, just to get In a llttle riding or see what Motorcycle Country Is all about; are allowed to buy one-day guest cards, on a first-come, first served basis. The tra1ls of Motorcycle COWltry can only accommodate about 300 motorcycles comfortably at one time, and the campsites are llmlted to fifty. We hope to prove two Important things with Motorcycle COWltry, beyond providing a neat place to ride and race: First, that motorcycles and ecology go together like bees and trees. We call this concept "cyclecology." Motorcycle COWltry Is not only a motorcycle playgroWld, but a wUdUfe preserye rich with beaver, deer and possum, as well as a bird sanctuary. We invited the birds with feeders and nesting boxes and they in turn keep the insect population under control for us. The second thing we want to prove Is that private mo19rcycle playgroWlds can make a buck. This is no non-profit venture; close to a million dollars will have to be spent creating the facilities the hard way, without heavy equipment, and operating the COWltry with a big enough staff. We belleve that the combination of three sources of Income, membership, stock Investors and admissions, will provide the money, and we suspect that motorcycle enthusiasts will apprectate it. I! the, Idea pans out, we shall make the knowledge and techniques derived ava1lable to others who want to make Motorcycle COWltry type playgroWlds aroWld the COWltry. ~etteu Jack (6) O'Leary and Wynan (97) Priddy tac.kle a Texas hill. O'leary-And Priddy Battle Story and Photo by John Blanton AUSTIN, TEXAS, July 26, 1970- Some of the best racing talent in the state turned out for the 1970 edition of the Austin Aqua Fest1val Motocross, a yearly event sponsored by the Capitol City as part of Its summer tourism promotion. At first It appeared that fans would not see the long-awaited confrontation between Austin's Jack O'Leary and Wyman Priddy of Fort Worth, for O'Leary was entered In the 200cc class and Priddy in the 500. . However, the 250cc Yamaha of O'Leary soon met with an accident in the first heat, and the Austin rider quickly changed his entry to a 360 Yamaha, and for the first time ever the two racing favorites faced each other in competition. After taking tbefirstheatfrom Priddy, O'Leary blew 'his cool in the next two, throwing the Yamaha alloverthec'Ourse, trying to run down the ever steady Bultaco from Fort Worth. O'Leary could not close the gap, and Priddy finished the remaining two heats in the lead to take the class. Bob Howard on a Husqvarna was thlrd. Disaster struck the other member of the local Team Yamaha in the 125cc Sr. class, too. O'Leary's team mate, Gary Bigley, got spectacularly airborne in the second heat and came, aground nose down, putting him- out for the day • Gayle Bra~ey" !ormerly of 360Cc CZ 1'UJM ~f444,Cycle News t'4IUIeIt fame, was 125cc ::>enlor winner, beating Bigley in the first heat and taking the rema1ning two in Bigley'S absence. Secand behind Bradley'S Sachs was the Kawasaki of Eric Lloyd, wbo even led Bradley briefly, and thlrd was George Majewsld (Yam). In the void left bY O'Leary in the 250cc Sr. class Bennie Campbell (as expected) came charging uP to take first overall, but It was not all that easy. After f1n1shing first in heats one and two, Bennie had to ride in the dust of notonly second overall John Loughlin (Hus) but of thlrd overall finisher Ramon Dasch (CZ). Formerly on a Montesa, Campbell now rides' a 250Cc Yamaha. Junior classes were also run in the 125c'c and 250cc categories for trophies only, and first overal1in the 125cc classwas Jim Walker (Hod), wbo seemed to be doing a llttle cherry picking. Jimmy Doran and Tim Wagstaff were second and third on Yamahas. In the 250cc class, overall winner was Thomas Arnold (Yam), followed 'by Bill Slavik (Yam) and Frank Smith (Yam). The next motorcycle event in the Aqua 'Festival schedule ts the third annual Aqua Festival Road Race, to be run on the city streets near the business dis~lct on Aug. 9. (Re~ults on page 26) i * SACHS PENTON shocks do wonders. In both the 2nd and 3rd races I got off in the dust on a hUl wbUe battUng for the lead, so I finished way back in those two. I made 7th for the day. Last Sunday I had a race at Perler, also in France. A very unusual course. Laid out In a field with mostly man-made obstacles. They had one downh1ll which was 40 ft. high and STRAIGHT downl Then you went out about 20 ft., made a left and right back uP the faCe of another sheer cUff. No exaggeration, it looked Impossible. Standing on toP, looking over, you could not belleve you could go down, let alone UP. It was unreal. * * Walt Axttlelm's Tri umph-Suzuki Motors 1049 West 5th St., Pomona, Calif. "Her Ir. Dea'er" - 34198 Coast Highway Dana Point. Calif. 92629 (714) 496-1001 • Soufh Orange County Trilllljlh Headquarters SUZUKI Cll4) 629-8642 CZ OSSA MAICO Jo'n Ma,nard 'Is.ralce sa,s JOHN W. MAYNARD INS. a441 Motor Ave., LA., Ca. (213) 83&-~211 '- San Ga"'iel Valley Service Specialist ANY BIKE. ANY MODEL Hall's C,cle Seryice 2620 L•• Av•. South EI Mont., eallf. 91733 (213) 442-2292 r-pUMFREY~ , - _ Motorcycles West.ilster ·S,ort C,de Guy R. Louis Rickman IIetlss. . (114) 893-1051 7574 W.stmlnst.r Av... W.stmlnster, Ca. This Is thick, durabl., nylon IIn.d GENUINE cowhide. NPG LUBRICANTS P.O. Box 2031 Mission Vie"o Ca. 21819 Shennan Way, Canoga Park BULTACO_ .. ..... Hodaka Mantesa Gr.... s 2 colors with padding - $60 Mall ord.rs accepted Hrs. 10-10 Mon.-Sat. L.- would Immediately loop the bike. Many could not make It up. In the 2nd race I made another good start and took over the lead on the 4th lap. I won that one going a way • In the last race I came from behind to pass Montesen, Petterson, Sllslund and Dubzik for the lead. ~ was running away with that one also, but two laps before the end I had one eye shut completely by mud. Montsen passed me as I had to slow way down, I f1n1shed 2nd in that leg and 2nd for the day behind Montesen. Patterson was ilrd, then came Roeloft from Holland and Vic Vaughn from England. - RUSS DARNELL Black with no padding - $40 Dunlop 2 Ply Trials Tires 2:15 X 21 and 4:00 x 18 Hard to find/lil!lited quantity (21a) 881-1696 .. Motocross Leathers: SALES - SERVICE - PARTS Expert Spe.d Tuning Now in stock We carryall types of insurance coverage - garage liabilityfire - theft & dealer bonds Sa.. Up To 251 CYCU C'TY ~ The day of the race we awoke to a driving rain. It rained and rained. The course was suPer sUck and if you thought a sheer cliff Is fun to go down in the dry, you ought to try It in a downpour I Your appreached the downhill, dropped the front wheel over, and plummeted down to the bottom to land on the front wbeel. Scary. After landing you went out, made a 360 degree turn left and approached the uph1ll part. I twas not Impossible after all. You 'had to get a hard run, preferably In 2nd gear, then shut off at the bottom and coast uP the face of the cUff. No other approach was possible. Just a Uttle throttle on the h1ll itsel! ~ -.. • I 2499 ~erritos Ave. Long Beach, 0alifornia 90606 U.S.A. QUEBERON, FRANCE, July 22, 1970 - I am getting on good from now. Two weeks ago I went to Louvlgnee-du- Desert here in France. The course was all steep uP and down hills. We camped in the pits on a high h1ll overlooking the valley. The start gate was a rubber band and they ran three races of 30 minutes each. In the first leg I got a fair start and fought the real bad dust and worked my way to 3rd. On the way I passed Montesen (the Danish champ), Regnault, Gordon Adsett, Cristoph Specht from Germany and Chris Horsefleld. I came through the p~ck quite easlly as the course was suPer rough and scary but my Curnutt .. AMOR SALES 3143 West Broadway Vancouv.r, British Columbia (604) 732-9322 . AMERICAN EAGLE - GREEVES - MAICO all 400's In stock - Parts & S.rvlce