Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

~RIDING t.:l ~ By Ron Schneiders t.:l ..:l U The forest Is a logical place for motor- :.. cycle riding. In the East a very large u percentage of the riding Is done on forest land. Even 10 Northern and Central , California the forests are considered to be the prime riding area. Two of the best California Eoduros - the HI Mountain and the Cowbell- are mostly forest runs. But 10 Southern California the forests are virtually unused by motorcyclists. There are many reasons for this, some obvious and some seemingly obvious but actually quite complicated. One big reason for not using the forest Is that there has always been plently of riding room 10 the desert and as long as this was true, DO one wanted to be bothered with tb1ngs like permits and spark arresters. ThIngs are cbangtng rapidly. Desert riding Is no longer unUmited and even 10 those places where the cyclist Is still free to do as he pleases the trails are becoming worn and new riding space Is needed. Some areas of the desert should be given a rest and a chance to rejuvenate. We were given a chance to learn somethings about the forest and Its riding potential last week when we heard about a possible 30 mUe trati 10 the Cuyama National Forest from Russ Sanford of MORE. It happened like this: We heard about the trati and called Ranger Ed Morris In Cnyama to verify. It. Ranger Morris told us that trati was stU! very tentative but there was already a very large area open for r1dlng. He Invited us UP and offered to show us something of the forest. We accepted readily thIok1ng we'd get the scoop on racing 1,0 the forest. In fact we d1do't get answers that were quite as concrete as we would have liked, nor as positive, regarding bikes 10 the forest but we did get quite an education. What follows 10 a summary of wba1 we discussed during an afternoon of r1d1og around in the National Forest. We arrived at the Ranger station at about II am - - about an hour an a half late. ("We" Iocludes myself, Ken Peterson, an enduro rider and ex desert racer, and his son Von, 12, who can almost outride both of us.) Ranger Morris had just about given uP 00 us.lapologlzed and explained that the Cycle News truck had picked that day. to ruPture a blood vessel, causing the delay. One of the first topics of conversation was fire, because that Is the ostensible reason for the prohibition of bikes. It took very little time to discover that Ranger Morris was sufferlog from that malady that affects all government adm101strators who aren't Immediately Iovolved 10 the war Industry: lack of funds and the consequent lack of manpower. His jurisdiction consisted of some 300,000 acres of land and his staff numbers about thirty wbtch 10cIudes everything from flref1gbters to secretaries. Morris ezpla1ned to us that his chief concern was wltb fire because he didn't have the resources to control fires once they broke out. lf there was any way on earth to prevent fires, he was gotog to find It and use It. Consequently, I teit alioost s1llY asktog about spar~ arresters. The answer of course was an unequivocal, "yes, spark arresters wW be used on all bikes on National Forest land." I expressed the doubt shared by many, that bikes without spark arresters coUId actually start fires; Ranger Morris assured me that they not only could, but did. Two IN SOUTHERN fires In his district 10 the past year were attributed to motorcycles. Unfortunately, wbUe spark arresters do cut down the risk of fires, they do not eliminate It. A gasoUoe spill, from either a crash or carelessness can cOuPle with a hot eog1ne or cigarette to produce a fire. Before long we got to the crux of the problem: Why some areas allow motorcyclists virtual freedom wbtle others find It necessary to severely restrict the use of bikes within the_forest. The would chance the destruction of a forest tor an afternoon's fun • With ati of this prob1b1tion there Is still a lot of torest land tIlat Is either open to us or poteut1a1ly open. About the land thai Is DOW open, there Is little to be said. You can go to the Forest Service oft1ce 10 the territory you are Interested In and the ranger wW tell you where you can ride and where you can't. 10 the Cuyuma Forest where we were, there Is large area open to bikes wb1ch are equipped with spark arresters. The a These locks bar the public from the National Forest. answer Is talrly simple. First of all, the climate here Is warmer and drier tor a longer period of time. The fire hazard Is correspondingly greater. During that part of the year thai the torest Is wet, It Is very susceptible to damage trom erosion. Most of us who have only a hazy idea ot what erosion Is don't really comprehend the problems It creates. Erosion first ot all can destroy the watershed, allowing the land to dry and become more susceptible to fire. It can destroy both the cover and the food supply ot the wUdUte 10 the area. It It occurs 10 the vic101ty ot a road or trau, erosion can ruin the work ot many people and cost a tortune to repair • What all this means Is that there are some areas In wbtch we are never going to be able to ride. 10 other areas ot the torest we wW only be able to ride 10 some seasons. 10 all areas we wW have to be careful. Wh1Ie these strictures are DOt likely to bring joy to the beart ot any motorcyclists, any rider wIlo Is the least bit turned on to land wW accept them tor what they are: necessary. Only an Incredibly selfish. Individual t. : : asco sy-ea (shown 1n dotted lines on map) Is suitable tor a tine loo-mile Enduro but would probably not be much good tor ractog. It might be the most perfect spot this side ot Scotland for a Scottish Trials. Spend some time ezplorlng; We rode uP a sandwash that looked like It had never seen motorcycles. 1bdse are rather rare 10 the over used areas between Lancaster and Red Mountain. It we were to sput the torests uP Ioto areas that were open for riding, those that are permanently closed and those that are potential r1d1og areas but for one reason or another are oot now open, the last category would undoubtedly be the largest. With the Bureau ot Land Management closing us out ot large areas ot the desert, It behooves to start HUSQVARNA Distributed by Med-Internatienal 4190 Palm Ave., La Mesa, Calif. 9n03 • - - - - - - - -Cut this out and present at box office· - - - - - . : EVERY : FRIDAYAT . I . 1 DISCOUNT!!! •• For each of two people this saves ... ----------------------------_. • Mike Patrick's : YWHA611Iof -COIOIj llDl E. St, Cor!lna (114) 135-1121 .... .. BEACH CITIES CYCLES SOUTHERN ORANGE -COUNTY MOTO· CROSS HEAOQUA RTERS I : HALF MILE $2100.00: : MOTORCYCLE PURSE :. :RACES 8:00pm : SO'" .: lookl.og at these potential areas with an eye to getting more r1d1ng space. The question Is, How to go about It. We are going to have to deal with the problem ot 19oorance and m1sloformation on the pert ot both adm1n1stratioo and public. Ranger Morris, tor 1nstaoce, knew there was a dltference between the sport motorcycle crowd and the Hell's Angel type but that was about the extent of his dltferenttation. He was not really aware ot any major dltference between the trau rlde,r (step..thru Honda on the back ot a camper variety) and the guog-ho enduro rider .He, Uke many other people, telt that a 30 m1Ie tra1l was one hell ot a long trau. I tried to ezpla10 that In a hare and hound or Enduro, a thlrty-mUe loop would be eaten uP 10 about an hour 'and the riders would be just getting warmed uP. He heard me but I don't think he quite beUeved It. Lots ot education to be done. That sort ot thing wW be easy to handle. It only la\ces a little' time and patience. Some of· the problems though, will not be so easy. Let's tace one tact: 10 any new area that we go Into we are going to cause some trouble, make some extra work for someone, create potential hazards and perhaps Introduce some confUcts between ourselves and other users of the torest. These problems we are going to have to deal with, and deal with effectively. Money 1s ooe method ot dealtog with some ot these problems. We cannot effectively give money to the Forest Service 10 excba.oge tor r1d1ng privileges but we can make Iteaslertortheraugers to Iocrease their yearly budget. Surprlslngly, one ot the best ways to belp get money tor the forest Is to use the areas now available. Rangers who can show that their present taeWties are belug used are 10 an excellent posit1oo to ask tor money tor new tae1l1ties. We can also encourage our lobbyist, Russ Santord, and our representative (ha) body, the AMA, to work for more Forest Service money. Another way we can ottset some otthe d1tf1cultles that we generate Is by dotog things to make the forest a better place to visit. One motorcycle club trom the Ventura area, The R1dge Riders, has constructed a camp In the Cuyuma Forest with tables, tire places, latrines and so forth. Ranger Morris was obviously 1mpressed with their contribution and they certainly didn't do our Image any harm.. I can remember a time when I was on the Mt. WhItney trail (htktog) and a grouP ot Sierra Club members, fltty ot them, each equipped with a burlap sack came along c1ean1ng the trail as they went. Whenever someone mentions the Sierra ClUb, that's what I think ot: F1tty people work1ug so I can have a clean , trati to hike 00. While on the subject, one ot Ranger Morrts' biggest e:xpeose Items Is clean uP. Espec1a1Iy after a big weekend, much ot his sldony staff must devote Itself to tak1ug out the gar!lllge. ThIs Is one area where It would be easy tor cycl1sts to help. The old adage that roes "Take out . SI,S '.S.',.(. Jo•• "".,,~ "He, Mr. Dea'er'" We ::arry all types of insurance coverage - garage liability fire - theft & dealer bonds S.,. I, To 251 JOHN I, MAYNARD INS, 3441 ..... Aft., L.A" Ca, . (2]J)"'&Z1l Husqvarna - Yllllaha - GreeYes Honda ACCESSORIES -SPECIAum 525 N. EI Cami. Real san CI_eate, Calif, 92&12 en4) 412-&141 T•• Ho.se of .j'CO SALES - PARTS - SERVICE III" ani. proc......_ da, rec.lved I.D. S'OITCYCLES 20059 ROle. B1Yd., CallClll PIrk, Ca. 9130& (2]J)a2--- ~ ~

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