Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

!GENE'S DAY IN THE DESERT --CANNADY & SMITH a> -' .. ~ .., " ~ w Z W ..J () > () ByRon Schneiders Photos by Ron Schneiders & Jim Perkins HART'S PLACE, CAL., May 23, 1971 - What kind of a desert race is it that puls Rich Thorwaldson down in 21st place and J.N. Roberts so far down that nobody cared to count that long? That sees a mere 265 riders out of an estimated 650 starters finish th~ race? That sees super-cop Gene Cannady on a Yamaha 360 in first overall? It's an Antelope Ramblers Hare and Hound and it was really something different! The first hint of things to come was the Life magazine helicopter which was flitting all over the sky photographing the starting line. Next, the smoke bomb, which had been burning since about 8 o'clock, went out about 20 minutes before the race was scheduled to start. The word filtered back that some dumb-dumbs from the Inyo County Fire Department had put out the smoke bomb and State Highway Patrol, ever ready to disturb the peace in the name of the law, had threatened to arrest anyone who restarted it! Desert races have been started with a smoke bomb every Sunday for 20 years but suddenly the fires department thought a smoke bomb was a source of pollution even though it was 30 miles in any direction to any town. It's interesting to note that the fire department has never seen fit to do anything about that stinking, sky-blackening mess about three miles south of Mojave that's been polluting the atmosphere for-as long as I've been coming to the desert (and it's usually visible for 20 miles,) but they feel compelled to exercise their expertise against a sport group's smoke bomb that's barely visible from the starting line four miles away. Anyway, the Life helicopter came to the rescue and hovered over the A bit like salmon making it up stream. extinguished-smoke bomb. The run to the (wet) smoke bomb was flat but covered with small brush that made fast riding off the trail very difficult. The Experts and Amateurs were started at about 10:15 and the Novices about 10:35. The delay was due to the lack of smoke. After the bomb, the trail was fairly fast with a mix ture of fireroad and sandwash. It went north first, paralleling Highway 14, then swung out in an westerly loop, came back and crossed the Inyokern road. N ow going east and south mostly on rocky road, the trail worked its way over to a railroad and crossed under the trestle. That's where the second check was. Half-a-mile later the trail swung back under the trestle and headed for the Spring is Sprung! WIN $1000.00 IN ~RIZE5 Join the Harley-Davidson Los Angeles Baja Racing Team. We have 15 additional openings on the Baja Team. We offer a special price on the Baja 100cc, a racing discount on parts and club tee shirts. $1000.00 in gift certificates to winners. See or call Rick Talbot, racing manager. Harley-Davidson Los Angeles 2531 So. Main St. at Adams 'ltone (213) 749-6235 . THE QUIET WINNER Out of 30 noisy cycles running the senior 250 class at Indian Dunes, THE QUIET ONE WON! Jim Cooke. did it riding a 250 CZ, prepared by the Bike Shop, Anaheim. California. Jim used a Bassani Exhaust Silencer, proving you don't have to make noise to win. Bassani silencers fit all bikes •.... Retail $ 12. 00 SEND 50¢ FOR BROCHURE. (714) 630 -1821 BQSSQof .. Manutactunng 1164 C FOUNTAIN WAYeN ANAHEIM CALIF. 92806 high spot of the loop, a quick succession of two really tough hills. The first hill was quite steep and littered with riders but there was a clearly marked alternate route that was quite easy. Then came a not"bad rocky downhill and the second climb. There was no way around this one. You either went over it or packed it in. When I got there, there were easily 200 riders in one stage or another of disaster. When the club laid out the run, the hill was difficult, but a long ways from impossible. Several of the girl riders in the Antelope Ramblers had I(one up it without much probLem. But after 50 or 75 riders went up, the hil1 changed. A useful sLope of shale had broken away and beneath it was sand with no bottom. After the first few riders, no one got up without pushing, even those with 400 Huskies and Triumph sleds, but it could be done by those in good physical shape with· decently geared bikes. Two girLs got over and went on to finish. BUl for a good half of the entry, that hill was the end of the race. After the hill, it was a fairly straight run down the rock-strewn slope to the pits. The mileage was ju!lt short of 40. First in was an unknown number riding a big Yamaha. Everyone figured it was some novice who cut the course and missed a couple checks. Wrong! It was Gene Cannady who had traded his familiar DKW (that's Polish for Sachs) for a big Yammie. Just about the time that sank in, spectators received another shock. In fourth spot was Terry Clark on his little Baja! if there was ever a course that favored big bikes, this was it. Maybe Terry doesn't know he's on a little bitty bike? Best quote of the day, in retrospect, was from Novice Ben Egbert who said. "If this had been a hare scrambles instead of a Hare and Hound, I'd never I r.. Blackstone was have gone out on the second loop. I just wouldn't want to go up that hill a second time." But the joker in the deck was that the second loop was generally conceded to be worse than the first! There weren't any impossible hills, but there were many that were so deep in Att,de Motocro~' Sod Busters M.C. Dehesa. Calif. May 9.1971 I I &~.. I . ~ I 125 EXPERT ,,-~ 1st - Eric Crippa DKW 125 2nd - Murray Hoffman DKW ,.25 Q Sf.JOt _ fOR I ~.o"v

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