Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

VOICES Ltl CLEVELAND NAT'L FOREST X-COUNTRY LIMITATIONS The United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service has a new form letter, subject: cross country travel limitations, that is being used to query various people, agencies and organized groups on their viewpoints relative to restricting all vehicle use on the national forests. The district ranger, Clifford M. Stevens, overseer of the Cleveland National Forest, Trabuco district, recently mailed out these form letters to the various interened people of Orange County, Calif. Following is the text of that letter: "We are concerned about the increasing watershed and esthetic da1714ge that is being caused by off-road vehicle use on the Trabuco District, Cleveland National Forest. Consideration is being given to restricting all vehicle use to existing roads as shown on the attached map. Prior to holding any public meeting, we are requesting suggested alternatives and/or comment to our proposal in order that we may obtain other viewpoin ts and perhaps gain greater sensitivity to public opinion on this matter. In particular, we would like you to identify areas that you believe are suitable for cross country travel by offroad vehicles. If you care to respond by letter your comments will be very much appreciated. Please do not submit any petitions. " The leiter is signed by district ranger, Clifford M. Stevens. Enclosed is a map of the Trabuco District that can be used to identify areas we believe suitable for cross country travel. The Cleveland National Forest, along with many others, is receiving both watershed and esthetic damage from all types of off-road travel. The major cause is simply the forcing of these vehicles into ever smaller areas by the private land use laws enacted by the various counties and cities. With little or no provisions made available to these people, they tum to the only areas left, the public lands. It is nice indeed, to have someone, anyone, ask us our viewpoints and help. For this the United States Department of Agriculture and the forest people are to be commended. Here is your chance, via letter, to express your opinions, feelings and viewpoints on bow you thinl< this land can best be used. Send your reply to: 2350 General Forest Environment Areas, 1440 E. First St., room 408, Santa Ana, CA 9270l. FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH I'm including my viewpoint letter. You may not agree with all I have to say, and certainly you shouldn't copy. Tell it the way you see it in your own words and style. The forest service intends to sift out the good and come up with the best solution possible with your help: "Orange County's incorporated area is 288.60 square miles. Its unincorporated area is 493.40 square miles, giving a total county area of 782.00 census read 1,423,180. The average annual increase works out 4.7% these past 10 years. can w in trophies, you're going to be an "A" rider whether you like it or not. If the logic of this sytem escapes you, you're not alone. Section 20. All entry appl.catzons to the promoting club should insert in the lower left hand corner of the envelope to help the their classification promoting club sort the "A"s from the "S"s on thd drawing. Suppose it's a team entry with itA"s and uB"s in the same envelope? Section 22. Promoting clubs shall list Enduro results in overall finishing position with their classification and trophies awarded. Also at the end of the results the total entries for that event and the name and phone number of the referee of the promoting club. Certainly one of the better rules proposed. Section 23. Route or schedule cards will be identified in the left hand column or margin by a numeral if it is a known check and will be allowed to be up to fifteen minutes early without additional penalties. Secret checkpoints will be identified by letter. This rule is so poorly written that it is just barely decipherable, but it seems like a good ide", Section 24. Two day Enduro events will pay double points to riders that finish both days within the point chart based on total entries for two days. One day entries for the same event that finish will receive single points within the point chart based on total entries for one day. This is a particularly gross rule. It is designed only to make the Greenhorn the most important event on the calendar because, if the Greenhorn filled its entry as it has in most years part, the Greenhorn Sweepstakes winner would have more points than any other contestant has currently earned to date without even entering anything else. II the Greenhorn were an extremely tough event and meticulously run, (such as the Berkshire trials, for instance) this schedule might be rea.onable. But it's not. It's usually rather easy and technically sloppy. Some years they'd get better results pulling the winners out of a hat. But under these rules it would be almost impossible to get No. 1 areas. No provisions have been made by the County of Orange, either in its regional park program, or its consideration of obtaining by lease or other means, facilities to meet this demand. In fact, the opposite view has heen taken severe restrictions have been placed on these vehicles and their use. One 750 acre cycle park and one small minibike park (Anaheim) is all that's available to those people who happen to ch oose 0 ff-road vehicle. for their recreational enjoyment. A great percent of our young, under 25 years of age, now number in excess ·of 50% of the country's population, and quite a few of the "oldsters" have acquired and use the various types of off-road vehicles. For most it's simply where the action is, and for many it's a wholesome family oriented sport. President Kennedy, while in office, sUlo:ested we Ret out and exe,rcise least (Continued from Page I) ENDURO RULES Section 19. The "A" riders will be drawn first on the minute award. The HS "s will be drawn last. Any unclassified rider being made an "A" auto1714tically will be put after the last HS" being drawn. The same system for post entries or at the promoting club s discretion may fill in a minute in case of a cancella tion with the proper class Enduro rider post entering. hA" riders get the early numbers and the points, and you can be an "A" rider just by asking. Is there a reason for being a u8" rider? Well, it might be easier to win trophies, if that's your bag, but if you Because of this tremendous population gain the county of Orange, following suit of adjacent counties and most cities have enacted new land use laws regulating trespass on private land and certain public lands relative to the use of off-road vehicles. These new laws have drastically curtailed the use of off-road vehicles on the open lands of Orange Coun ty. The Federal public lands will therefore suffer increased watershed and esthetic damage due to the steady increase in population, the ever increasing popularity of off-road vehicles, and the pushing of these activities into smaller without doing well In this event. Significantly, two members of the Pasadena M.C. and two former sweepstakes winners are on the rules committee. In addition, the Greenhoro is the enduro that most favors big bikes. In its 25 year history it has been won by a lightweight exactly once. It might be fair to allow 25% additional points for this two-day event, but certainly not double points. This completes the bias toward heavyweights in the points system that I spoke of earlier. It should be enough to make serious lightweight riders squirm. Those are the rules that were changed or added. Now let's take a brief look at what wasn't done. The district 37 enduro situation is sad. Riders from any place in the world can come here and do well in our enduros. Right now, Tom Penton, who stopped here on his way from Ohio to Vietnam and rode about two enduros, is currently ranked 8 th in the District 37 points standings. But our riders have been consistently beat every time they've stepped out of their sandbox. Berkshire, Trask Mountain, Jackpine, the Little Burr. you name it. Our riders can't even win in nonhern California. Perhaps the crowning indictment is that our really top notch riders, our ISDT contestants, for the most part don't even bother to ride the District enduros. What's wrong? First, there aren't enough enduros. How are our riders to become proficient when they have a total of nine events on the -calendar? Mo.t enduros can draw upwards of 500 riders from every club in the district but only a handful of clubs bother to sponsor enduros. It's mostly a question of prestige and being allergic to hard work. Races are easier and more glamorous. The district has the power to change this situation. For instance, when the annual squabble over desirable race dates comes up, why not give priority to those clubs that also ask for an enduro date? If they don't want to be bothered with an enduro, let them throw their European scrambles in the middle of August. Secondly, the classes need to be changed both in the interest of fairness and in the interest of improving our image with the rest of the enduro world. Any place in the country where there are three classes, they are 0-125, 126·250, 251-Qpen. When there are four classes, it's 0·100, 101·200, 201-250,251-500. Open. In our district, the c1asse. are 9-100, 101 to 250 and 250 to Open, regardless of the number of contestants. This means 125cc bik~s and 250cc bikes run together, but there is a vast difference in their capabilities. There is a much greater difference between 125cc and 250cc that there is between 100 and 125. I'm not surprised that this didn't come up, however; I don't think there was one small-bike rider on that commillee. And there weren't many that ever ride outside of California, so the committee probably wasn't even aware that District 37 is out of step. We're even lagging behind the desert racers in this respect; they have a 101 to 175 class next year. Thirdly, there is the matter of quality con trol and this is where the committee most seriously abdicated their responsibility. We are several orders of magnitude behind the rest of the country in the areas of precise timing, distance measurement, and computing results. Riders in most part of the country can get their results the same day they ride. Here it takes weeks. The methods are known; it's a question of putting them into effect. We need controls and standards set up for time and distance measurement and an enforcement policy. What should you do? Well, first of all, don't take everything I've wrilten at face value. I'm a uB" rider with limited experience and no spectacular wins. 1 could easily be mistaken on any of the poin ts that I've discussed. Reread the italicized copy. Those are the rules with no editorial. I would like to see those rules go back to commillee for consideration or reconsideration of the points made in this article. 1 would like to see the committee changed to include some active un" riders and some small-bike riders. I would like to see some people like Dave Ekins and Bob Ewing on it because they have experience outside of District 3 7. And I think the old desert sled riders are overrepresen ted. If you agree that reconsideration is necessary, write or call one of the people listed below. Larry Hailey is the man officially in charge of enduros now. Ed Farrell is on the committee and acting steward. Mike Hinshaw is president of the District and probably the one who should be contacted for the fastest action. If you wan t something done, act now. Once these things are printed, it's like they're engraved in stone. One more thing. The phrasing, the grammar and the spelling in this new set of rules is outlandish. If no one on the committee is able to translate them into English, I hereby offer my services to the District free of charge. President: Mike Hinshaw, 9422 E. Portland Ave., Temple City, Ca. 91780. (213) 285-4900. Referee and L.Wt. Steward: Larry Haley, P.O. Box 813, EI Monte, Ca. 91734. (213) 444-3445. Acting Enduro Steward: Ed Farrell, 5092 Princeton, Westminster, Ca. 92683. (714) 892-4817. we become a nation of fat, lazy people. We Americans, being the type of people we are, need action along with our exercising. Off-road action gets them out, gelS them exercised, and provides the action needed. Cross country travel, wherever applicable on public lands, by off-road vehicles is a part of our lives and should be allowed wherever terrain permits. Too much emphasis now days is place on "save the environmenL n One might pose the question, save it for what? If I can't use it, and you can't use it, then what are we saving it for? For the most part, a couple of generations ahead aren't much concerned with what we do today anyway. They'll rearrange the laws (some .illy-some good) to suit their needs. Most of the thousands of citizens of Orange County that participate in this sport feel that the less regimentation placed on this activity the belter. Those interviewed (and they represent a fair cross section) indicated they will go along with con trol or even closure of areas where damage is sufficient to warran t such action. They expect, however, a fair sense of "play by the administrator/policy maker in his decision. Total legislation against such activities only creates much hard feeling amonR those who already feel oppres.ed by too many laws. And over action makes law breakers out of a good percen t who'll use the land illegally anyway. Most feel that aU existing roads should remain open to public use, except during rue season, and as many of the existing trails as possible. Consideration and exclusion of certain types of off-road vehicles may have to be given in some areas. Certainly four-wheelers should not be allowed on single path trails used by the motorcyclist. Signs may have to be posted designating trail use! Management practices might call for the posting of some roads and trails "one way" to cut down on the potential accident hazard created by traffic. The Trabuco trail from Holy Jim canyon to th e main divide road is a good example. Two people have been killed in dune buggy acciden ts on th is narrow trail that's best suited for motorcycle operation. Consideration should be given, too, to the possibility of opening up new trails and territory as labor, money and time permits. Planned use of these public lands no maller whose jurisdiction they may fall under, the United States Department of Agriculture, the Bureau of Land Management or whatever, is a far better scene to the citizenry and to land use than severe laws or total closure. The Trabuco district, Cleveland National Forest, is an area that's enjoyed by thousands of people during its open season. ~ost of the area is closed to public use during fire hazard season which usually begins June I each year and continues on 'til the fIrst good rains in the fall. This closure allows the area some rest from all aspects of human use. It would be ullerly impossible to adequately patrol and police even the Trabuco district of the forest endeavoring to control off-road vehicles. The cost alone would be tremendous. If money must be spent, it should be channeled toward the opening of land to public use to rdieve pressure - not build it up! To attempt to iden tify areas other than existing roads and trails for cross country travel in a district as vast as tbe Cleveland National Forest would be a difficult task for those not acquainted with the terrain. Slide areas, erosion, new tree plantings, re-seeding, game animals, rare species, and whatever are just some of the aspeclS of the forest with which we have little acquaintance. The district ranger and his staff have a far better understanding of this areas ecological environment. The public lands should. of course, be put to the best use possible. Recognition of many types of activities; backpacking, scout groups, off-road vehicles, hunting, or whatever are all areas to be considered. There is room for all. While some may overlap, causing a degree of confliction, the land whould be open to maximum use where possible withou t total destruction or irrepairable damage." RJCHARD G. AHLEFELD Orange, Calif. " '" '" Q. ,..: do ~ « CJ) i: w z W ..J U > U

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