Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

WRITIN AROUND Neighbon; , Nature Welcome at Dixie Cycle Park By CHARLES CLAYTON Maysv1l1e, Georgia- - Whoever thinks that motorcycle rIding reserves have to be noIsy, WIecolcig1cal or lack1ng In commWIlty support should have been here last week for the openlng of D1x1e Cycle Park.. "Bulldozer,spare that treel" was the watchword by whlch D1x1e Cycle Park was created and the construct1oo of a pond, grassy slopes and a fine, rough motocross course added to, rather than disrupted the forest In North Georgia where the new cycle park sIts. Whereas a nearby motocross park was shut down after lts f1rst event due to protesting neIghbors (who cla1med they could hear the wIde-open exhaust noise a m1le and a half away), D1x1e Park bas the full support of the neIghboring communities of Maysville,Commerce and Homer. Mayors of the three towns attended the openlng event, watched the races, listened to them and wished the park management every success. The dUference 15 that Dixie requires sllencers on all the motorcycles; the other parks did not. Even Georgia's U.S. Congressman W11l1am Stuckey, who made a brief appearance, was emboldened to admit that he bas long enjoyed the services of a 350 Honda. It's that Idnd of a motorcycle park..,Jdnda makes you feel proqd to be a b1k1e. Maysv1lIe happened to be having a UtUe shlndig they call theIr" Fall Leaf Festival" on the weekend that Dixle Cycle Park opened and the 800 or so motorcycle fans who came to town helped to make It the bluest success ever. The Chamber of Commerce was gratefUL A few local residents bad vo1ce4 compla1nts wh1Ie the park was a- bu1ldlng that they feared 1t would bring too many changes to the town. They thought of Hells Angels, dust, noIse, hippIes. I didn't hear any such talk afterwards. The town's porches were bIzz1ng with bench racing. "Dtdja see that 01' boy go rumpover breakfast when he made that jump?" Yeah but what about them fellers stuck In the mudboles l1ke bulls In a waller!.. The open1ng of Dlxle Cycle Park bad a few h1nts of tb1ngs to come in tb1s garden spot of motorcycl1ng: European Gordon Bowden flung his Sprite to some incredible lengths In the motocross. Modern facIl1ties nestled among the plne, b1ckory and dogwood trees. Shade, a good sound system and ample refreshments made the occasIon a plesant one for all. As one of the dlrectors of D1x1e Cycle Park, I am quite grat1f1ed by all this. It is someth1ng I have been trYing to convince motorcycle track owners to do for some Meen years with no success. They all say that they'd like to spruce up their faclUties and tone down the annoyances, but can't afford the cost. Actually, DCP was brought lnto being for very little money In a: little over a year's time. It only attracted a small number of people for its maiden event, but it paid a $1,500 purse to the professional racers, awarded some very nlce trophles to the amateurs and purchased about a mUUon dollars worth of good will toward motorcycling. By that time the grass we've planted on the motocross course should have taken root well enough to bold another lig race. And the ducks should be well accustomed to the pond. Unl1Ite their' fellow feathered friends at Ascot Park In CalUorn1a, they'll never be deaf ducks. D1x1e Cycle Park 15 out to prove that natUre and motorcycles don't have to be in contl1ct with each other. "NO MarORCYCLES'''1 These signs stW run the length of New Jersey on the Garden state Parkway. The Four Owners Assoc1at1on has launched an attempt to "open the Garden State'" by entering their Test Four No 2--a Honda 750 Four ridden by "Ambassador", Ben Harroll. Thls parkway 15 the last Umited-access throughway prohllited to all motorcycles and Four Owner Assoc1at1on plans lnclude telling the story to the eeneral publIc via eastern TV, petitions and promised pressure on the federal levelln Wash1ngton. A major talk show broadcast has already been arranged; thousands of names acquired on petitions; and promises of action h1nted at when congress 15 aga1n In sessIon. NO DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY for Four AsSOC1at1on "Ambassador" Ben Harrell on New Jersey's Garden State Parkway. GenUe Ben challenged the New Jersey Highway Authority's "NO Motorcycles Allowed" rule with the Honda Four. He was accomodated by New Jersey troopers The Internat1ona1 Four Owners Assn. has launched a campaign to "open the Garden state". This attack 1ncludes pet1t1oDs, telling the eeneral pubUc the motorcycllst slde by way of pubUc1ty gam bit~~ by ron schneiders A few weeks ago I wrote a column which unfortunately appeared without the stock column head, and was thus assumed to be a news story by many readers. The subject of the column was District 37 and democracy. It received a great deal of attention. Some of the replies were favorable but most were critical. The critical replies ranged from fairly reasoned letters and conversations voicing legitimate objections to an emotional diabribe delivered on the floor of a District meeting by a guy who was a racer before my time. Some of the praise that I received for that article is no more warranted than some of the criticism. All in all. it is a bit embarrassing, but J feel that with all the interest I've stirred up, I am owing some response to those who were sufficiently motivated to write, phone, or seek me out. When a writer has to say "That is not what I meant," he may take himself off the hook for whatever his critics thought he was saying, but he hands himself upon a higher one because his profession is communication and he- has just admitted that he either does not know his audience or that he cannot write clearly - either of which is far more damaging to the writer's soul than any criticism of his thesis! Nevertheless, I must say just that. Readers assumed that my column was meant as a criticism of District 37, the Sports Committee, Larry Haley, Mike Hinshaw and possibly democracy. Whatever, they saw it as criticism of what went on during those two weeks. It was not. Or at least it was not intended to be_ When I went to that fateful Sports Committee meeting, I had no assignment, and no intention in this world of reporting anything that happened to anyone except my fellow club members. I took no notes. The only thing my club was going to be interested in was whether or not they were going to be able to hold a club run, and I could remember the answer to that one! It was pretty cut and dried: they weren't. Later, at tho coffee shop, listening to Mike Hinshaw and some of the other officers, I began to get the idea that maybe it wasn't quite so cut and dried after all. I was struck by how similar the situation in our District was to the workings of democracy on the State and Federal levels. I was also somewhat fascinated. If you read the newspapers about some problem being handled by Congress and try to figure out what's happening. you can become thoroughly baffled. One day a bill seems certain to become law; the next day it's killed, dead as a doornail. And who knows whv or how it happened. But here was simpler, but very similar, system, and I could watch the whole thing happen. I though t the readers might be interested in watching a practical democracy at work, particularly since it was working on an issue that obviously interested almost everyone. Two weeks later I called Larry Haley to see if what I had expected to happen, actually came to pass. If it hadn't, I was just overly-imaginative and I had no story. But it did happen, just about like I expected, and I was quite excited. I sat down and wrote the story right then. The similarities between our State and National laws, the excessive penalties, the workings of committees, the uncon trollable Congress, and the District's workings were so great I didn't think it was necessary to bludgeon it to death with prose. I blundered badly. I had not reckoned on the passion with which various people viewed the subject of my civics model. The people who called and wrote weren't interested in democracy, or whether it paralleled anything, or wheth.er it was good for the District, or any other such airy concerns. They read you feel like you shoule! be six foot under. Who can ever forget the sickening slow motion film of Eve!'s Vegas crash when you see that peg come off, bis leg come loose and then to know that there isn't one damn thing he can do to save himself. Surviving that would put 99% of humanity into the men tal condition of never trying anything else but playing tiddly-winks for the rest of their lives, but not our Evel. One of the best quotes [ heard about him was from BSA's Pete Colman. I was doing a piece on the AMA and had an appointment with Pete to check out some facts. At that time Evel was getting ready for the Grand Canyon jump and Triumph was his sponosr. Naturally, the conversation got around to the bikes being prepared and Pete said, uHe's fantastic. He sat here talking to me about that jump. I know he can't jump that Canyon, but you know what? He's got me believing he can!" Well, the Snake jump is getting nearer. Haven't heard anyone of Eve!'s fellow jumpers saying if he does it, they'll do it too to show it's not that hard, have you? Found a place to go trailing the other day, still open even with the ordinances in effect. on land owned by a very understanding gentleman. He lets the bikes go in and play and the area will remain open as long as no one breaks any laws, like riding a dirt bike over to the local pop shop, mufflers are required and no horsing around. There's even a sign asking for this plus no riding in the parking lot. One young gen tleman on a little bike carrying CMC plates was demonstrating his wheelie techniques for the peasants (there's one in every crowd) but the owner wants the bikers to police themselves so if he hadn't finally stopped it, there was a move under way to grab him by the shirt front and separate him from his bike in a hurry. Nope, not going to tell where it's at, either. The last time off-the-road spots were published they all got so crowded that it wasn't long before the big crackdown came and we were all run out. So if you know of one of these little gems, keep >any<>ne inf'Orm.ed you see riding there to try and behave themselves. If we act nice, so will the landowners. Even ran into Frank Morgan there. He hasn't got a bike now. Can you imagine one of the Morgans without a bike? And brother Jack, who was trail bike N umero Uno in the desert for more years than his competition cares to remember, just plays a bit now and again. He was my desert hero, not only did he ride a Hodaka but his riding ability brough t him in over-all ahead of many of the big sLeds. Going back over some of the reports of the Baja race it seems that many of the bikers were scared to death of being caught by ParneJlj, with good reason. Ask John DeSoto, he'lI tell you a tale! One thing I can't understand is why be so scared, he's only human and a nice guy to talk to. On the track that's different, but come on now bike riders, don't be afraid of little old ParneHi, he'd react to a punch in the chops like anyone else. Thc car drivers don't take any guff from each other and if you want to read a very interesting look into the world of what the big boys are like, read Mario Andretti's book "What's It Like Out There?" It comes in pocket form and is fascinating. If I had the chance of being chased down a track by Parnelli or A.J. I think I'd rather be chased by Parnelli, but if the two of them were back there, I'd quit! The European motocross riders aren't above exchanging a couple of rounds pow and again either when someone over steps the bounds of sportsmanlike riding and at one time a certain World Champion had a price on his head of a nice size payable by one rider to anyone who could put said Champion right on his buns. Sorry, can't tell who, that's one of my privileged information stones, but it's true! Busy at work on my traditional Christmas list now, if I can just keepPapa Wealey from inserting items into my column (which is a low down journalistic trick) so maybe you'll be on my Santa's wish list this year.· (Come now, Maureen, we wouldn't do thaL.,"P-apa".) a -.--c-r-.--m-iDn'-.-r-o-u-n-if (Please turn to page 23) o By Maureen Lee Have you noticed lately that people seem to be picking a little bit hot and heavy on Evel Knievel? If your read Letters to the Editor in various publications plus editorial pieces about the merits of the various jumpers, it's getting a bit out of hand so naturally I just couldn't resist throwing in my two-cents. It's a cinch that Evel doesn't need me to defend him on any count, he can take care of himself in any, and I mean any, situation, should the need arise, especially if you've heard the tale of what happened at San Francisco after one of bis jumps there and some of the l%'s started to get a bit hostile. Whee! But another pat on the back never hurt anyone. Some of the newer jumpers and their fans are now saying that they have bettered Eve!'s record. he won't jump against them, he uses safety ramps and they don't. ..and etc., ·etc., etc. But there's more to it than just jumping. Someone has said that Eve!'s jumps could be duplicated by any top Class C Expert in full control of his mount such as Bart Markel and I'm almost inclined to go along with that. But Evel has a lot more going for him than just those fantastic jumps. It's what's known as the star quality. You can be a brilliant technical actor but without that star quality you're not going to make it. With it, you can jump a go-<:art on a Schwinn bicycle and sell it to the crowd, without it you can jump the Golden Gate and the crowd will say, "Nice Jump, that," but won't give you the adulation. Evel is showman par excellence, plus being (to me. anyway) the best in the business. One of the other side even started making remarks about the number of c·rashes Evel has had and that all those broken bones show he's not doing something right. Well, to that gentleman I say, wait 'til you take that first God awful one buddy, and you wiJl. In that profession it's inevitable, and then we'll see if you hang it up or come back with the grace, style and showmansbip' and fire 'still 'i'l'ltac't" when' 0 ~ w ~ ..J ~ U

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