Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

! Boonie Bounders Gambler Enduro "" '" .,; .. ~ ~ By Ron Schneiders (Continued from front page) :;: and "Waterproof!" Normally a Las Vegas, Nevada event can't expect to draw many Angelenos, Z but apparently the combination of W "tough" advertising and the promise of ..J U > CERA points was enough to tempt U quite a few, among them Dave Ekins and his Filtron bunch and Bud Houseman. Even Eddie Dayshowed up. The event got off to an unauspicious beginning when key time was set six minutes ahead of real time. Key time is occasionally set behind real time for good reason (Like if it's not light yet when the first man is due to leave), but never behind. However, the Boonie Bounders did. Actually, it didn't hurt anything. If you got up to the line right on time, you were informed that you were 6 minutes late, but the first few miles were easy, so you could make up the time without problem. We rode along irrigation dikes, across levees, and through some thickets that looked like they'd been tunneled for rabbits. Duck your head and suck in your breath when a branch slapped you smartly across the face or chest. Not long after we got the first inkling of the "tough" part: Mud, thick, gooey, wet·cement type mud. I got initiated the hard way. Flying along about 35 in third, I hit the mud and my Sachs stopped. Immediately. It didn't fall or anything, just stopped. I did too, about 35 feet farther on. After working my bike out of its plaster cast, I continued, a bit late. The rest of the morning section wasn't bad, terrain-wise, but almost everyone had trouble with the marking. A lot of guys got lost and managed to short-circuit the course by about 6 miles, hitting the second check 'way early. I found the course, but it took me almost 20 minutes. Gambler's choice, either way you lose. Somebody had apparently been pulling down the markers, although the marked turns were none too plain. Lots of ribbon was used, bu t this was the club's first run ~ w When I got to the next check the checker asked, " ow's the bridge holding*lp?" "'t's down," I told him. "Outasight'" he said happily. and they just aren't very expert. Turns weren't marked far enough ahead, so each one was an oversh oot·and-g<>-back proposition. In the afternoon, tbings got a bit more lively. First came a couple of bad hills, and then a fairly 'deep water crossing. If you were still running you got to go under a highway underpass that was about high enough for a full.grown rattlesnake. Next came a down-hill that was really a lulu. It wasn't all that steep or long, but right in the middle was a shelf about 6 feet straight down. 1 tried to do a Sammy Miller number, promptly fell PACIFIC ·COAST HONDA WHERE THE ACTION 1&- 9 '. MONTHLY ROAD RIDES PLACES TO GO • MONTHLY MOVIES • BLUE CHECK SERVICE CARDS • SALES HONDA TRAIL MAPS $4.00 PER SET down and slid to the bottom. Then I went back up and dragged my bike down on its side. (Sure glad that Sachs doesn't break easy.) Some guys watched me and figured there must be an easier way, and they were right, but it wasn't the way the trail was marked. Gambler's choice, winner goes around. By this time there weren't too many people left in the run because even in-between the really tough spots ['00 relating, it wasn't very easy. Lots of rock and no rest. The hill that really did it was nex t. The big bikes could get up half way. the little ones about one third of the way. I went up one third of the way and figured by the time J pushed over the top I'd be disqualified, so I looked for a way around. And found it. Along with about half of the survivors. We each got an HA" next to our tjme at the check, but it wasn't an "AU for excellence. The club isn't operating under any fixed rules, so no one knows ~hat's going to happen to the "A" riders. In most runs if you get to a check, that's sufficient and legal, but the Boonie Bounders feel there's a moral point involved, so we'll probably get a points penalty or perhaps even be disqualifed. Gambler's choice, winner goes up. Once past the bill we bad a series of ultra-tight sandwasbes with occasional3-foot steps to drop off. And when we were really tired, they ran us uphill in . the same sort of wash. Getting a bike up some of those steps was a real problem, especially since by this time you couldn't even lift your arms. let alone the bike. Marking wasn't such a problem in the afternoon because most of the time there was only one path a bike could take· and that one was usually pretty marginal! But less than a mile from the finish the marking petered out again. We came to a large cleared area wi th a bulldozer in the middle. The arrow pointed into the middle, but nothing YAMAHA • SERVICE :~ fOtlTANA course. Bud Houseman C.E.R.A. ace on a Snortin' Norton is the best bet for .sweepstakes winner. ••.•.•••.••................•.•......• · · · · · • · Yamaha-Sach's- 9008 Sierra Ave Hodaka-Maico- Fontana Calif.. Pa~~ _ Se~:il:: - (714) 822·2252 • PARTS • ACCESSORIES DUNSTALL Norton-T riumph-BSA-Honda Wholesale - retail - also moil order • OPEN 7 DAYS SUZUKI CITY 728 So. uBreo Inglewood, (213) 674-1431 C~lif. 90301 Rough Riders Accessories PACIFIC COAST HONDA 2073 PACIFIC COAST HWY LOMITA (213)326-3810 came out. I met Greg Ekins on his Harley Baja and we went around in circles for 15 minutes. Riders were going everywhere but straight up. One of the things that impressed everybody was the tremendous variety of terrain that was used. Although predominantly desert, there were diked farm lands (rice paddies, th ey looked like but it was off-season and nothing was growing.. No damage was done) water and mud crossing, and some great mountain type ground. One slope that we rode on was a bright greenish-yellow. I've never seen anything like it before. A lot of differen t types of vegetation lined (or obstructed) the trails, too. When we asked about it, the club members admitted that finding that much variety wasn't easy and a look at the map of the course was convincing. Drawn on a map, the course looked like the work of a berserk seimograph. To get in all the variety and make such an interesting ride, the course had to double back on itself endlessly. Las Vegas desert is not essentially different from Southern California desert, so maybe there is a lesson to be learned from this new club. A lot of our enduros get pretty ..monotonous. In spite 0 f the difficulties most riders, including me, thought it was one bell of a good run. Dave Ekins compared it to a section of the Six Days Trial and said he'd never have made it without his Filtron. Bob Steffan said he hadn't ridden anything as tough in this part of the country. "Even last year's Rams enduro?" I asked. "This was a lot tougher, 1 thought," said he. Statistics seem to bear him out: only about 30 riders completed the course and many of them will be disqualified for one reason or another. , So maybe if the Bonnie Bounders learn a few of the tecbnical skills, we'll have another great one to ride each year. [ hope so cause I sure liked the ("""o.<\,,, • Make us your last stop on the way to the desert and Elsinore or Perris. Plugs 8st 1426 W. 6th St. Corona Ca. next to Corona BowJ · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · CONLEY 250/360 Down Pipes - $49.95 Unbreakable front fender with bracket $19.95 Folding foot pegs $25.95 TIS MOTORS 1049 W. Mission, Pomona, Cal. 91766 714-629·8642 · ·.................................... · . · Dealer Inquiries Invited

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