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to " 1 N .... '" :: >- ... '5 ~ w Z W ...J U > U _ ~ ......... ,.,._. __ ._r Fun and Frolic with the Sun-up SRA By Lou Whitney Photos by Dale Coats VICTORVILLE, CAL., July 2, 1972 Fun and frolic at the beach and mountains may be the historic way to spend the historic holidays, but enough wild men on their flying machines followed AI Hull's Yamaha through 41 miles of desert to make you wonder if times aren't indeed changin·g. The action was so hot and heavy that we couldn't even get the numbers of more than the top few at the fmish line as Novices and Beginners again had their day in the sandbox. AI and Husky·mounted John Grafton had stayed within spitting distance (If their mouths weren't dry) for nearly the en tire race and fmished abou t three seconds apart. , The course was one of those fun things that come up every once in a while, mostly run on trails that the recen t rains had slicked up and smoothed over. It wound through washes and foothills, then more washes and foothills and came down a long sloping five mile section of virgin territory to the pits. This kind of course is tougher than most to ride since you have to work hard to go fast. The more experienced riders really seemed to dig it since blinding speed did not detennine the victor. The less experienced (at least some of them) looked a bit worn. The w,/lole thing was aptly summed up at the finish line by a smiling woman with "Sweet Duck" on her shirt, She crossed the line nearly last with a smile as big as a beacon, stopped her scoot and said it was the "most beautiful course and race ever.". Of course, she had never finished one before, but that is what SRA is a11·about. At one point on the course, you could look up a wash and see the course coming back at you just as you turned ou t. The area seemed to be well marked and manned by flagmen to make sure there was no problem, but one early runner managed to go through all the 'Round the Call1pfire No Brealcs for Knebel By Alice Rhea Good news...Jack Knebel didn't break his sboulder after all, just got a little out of joint. This happened before, just prior to the Barstow-to-Vegas race last year. Jack taped it up and rode anyway. Jack couldn't use the shoulder at last report, but it is back in place and just a tad stiff and sore. We expect to see him riding Sled Riders' Hare Scrambles July 9th. Glad to hear it wasn't as bad as I reported earlier,Jack. Here's one that could have been a lot worse than it was. A young man went dashing across Soggy Dry Lake on his brand new Montesa and whammo! The first time lie got the front end up, it fell off. Yup, The whole front wheel and fork slides. It seems he changed the oil in the front forks and didn't get the bolt back through the little hole in the lower end of the fork tubes. Luckily he only needed nine or ten stitches to glue his upper lip back in place...it could have broken his neck. I also have to cheer Rescue Three again. They were just getting to the race • area and 'stopped and rendered first aid. Sure glad we have those guys around. At any rate, if your bik., has that kind of front end on it, be sure you don't check it ou t the hard way after you change the fork oil. You meet the nicest people in the desert. The man who ran the Lucerne Valley Chevron station, after the Rim Runners race was so friendly and pleasant I could hardly believe it. We saw George Walker motoring around the desert on a tricked-up Cow. GOl a super-light new frame and tank. Geo.rge says he has a few bugs to work out, like where to put his side reflectors, but watch out when he, gets it all shaped. He may even get a first overall on it; provided he can stay awake on the line. Followers of the Battle for Ix plate must be wondering where our hero, Larry Pfutzenreuter, has 'been the last few weeks. Well, here is the hot scoop. Larry has been honored by his company with the job of writing a training manual. He's gone back to New York or one of those God-awful places where there are no desert races, and will be there for about three weeks. Then he is going to be visiting his parents in South Dakota for another couple or three weeks. Larry should be back mid-July or thereabouts. Speaking of lx, it looked for a while there as if it was going to be a race strictly between Larry Supemame and Jim Fishback, but I notice Tom Poteet (17x) creeping up on them. Keep an eye on Tom he is getting ready to swoop a couple if his luck holds. Tim Okamoto' (16x) is also getting in position to do battle. So many people have commented on our "shower" that I have to pass it along. OK, here is the hot set-up for ~ keeping cool in the desert. Get a five gallon jug. Ours used tq have shampoo concentrate in it and the beauty shop was glad to get rid oLit...! guess a five gallon jerry jug -(gas can) would work as well, but that costs SSS's sO look around for a freebie. Next you need about 6' of 3/8" plastic hose. Fill the jug with water, sling it up on top of your van or camper, jam one end of the hose into the jug, suck on the other end of the hose and presto, instant shower. It is amazing how quickly warm water will give you goose-bumps when the temp is hovering around 105 degre<:s. This set-up will also remove some of the excess dirt and grime from your bod, in case you are interested in that sort of thing. Matter of fact, you could probably get downrigh t clean if you used a Ii ttle soap. There must be a really competent doctor (M.D.) who races desert. I would like to hear his comments on water and sal t tablets. Do sal t tablets help? Can we do anything short of lying in the shade panting through the heat of 'the day? Bet C.N. would print it if you were to write an article about that sort of thing. I would even settle for a letter to the editor. I assume eve.rybody who goes out to the desert is as curious about this as I am. And what about regular salt tablets versus the buffered kind. Does the buffering help preven t nausea? How about it, all you docs? Do you have any secrets to share with the laymen? I do hope everybody is continuing to boycott the little green stickers. Also hope you all call a friend or dozen and tell them not to buy the stickers, too. I talked to a friend in San Francisco who is essentially a Moto-X rider, but he though t it would be nice to buy a sticker so Uncle Ronnie would build him a nice little park to ride in. I cheerfully offered to bum his motorcycle for him, and explained that we really don't want to ride in parks and ,I. guess l.finally cqnvinced him to, save: his money. You gotta hurtY if you're gonna win. streamers, ignore the flags, and wound up running the same section twice. In follow·the·leader fasbion, several more chasers did the same thing until the gap was bridged by man from the nearby check. There ought to be a moral in that, but I really can't think of a good one. contrary to popular opinion and belief, the sponsoring clubs at desert events are not responsible for removing all the broken bikes in the desert. Many riders and pit crews who have other means of getting their scooters out seem to be getting a bit'lazy at recent SRA events. They don't realize that it takes a lot of time to sweep the course and get everyone out, or that some who really have no other means than a worried wife and a Schwinn ten speed may have to wait all day for a lift with their bikes. Such today was Dennis Helm who was in the unpushable sand for about three hours in the warming rays of our lovely desert sunshine. Dennis tells of a cow-trailer who came up and offered a drink from his canteen, then found out that he hadn't filled it today. Probably carried used matches too! Meanwhile, back at the finish line, the first 250 slot (In fact, the first four) fl:U to ·Yamalia. This one piloted by Glenn Brown with Joe Polujancewitz right on his tail. First 125 and eighth overall looked like it belonged to the Rickman of Dan Kraft, but with a quick glance at his tank card I couldn't count all the checks. Will have t r , wait for the official results. MEXICAN 1000 DA; i=S NORRA's 1972 Mexican 1000 will begin October 31 in Ensenada and end in La Paz November 3. Registration and tech inspection will be on Tuesday, October 31, the race will start the morning of Wednesday, November I, and the awards presentation will be on the evening of Friday, November 3. As of this time nothing definite has been decided about changing the course from what it has been in the past but changes, perhaps major, are possible if the paving and grading. now in progress at the upper end of the course continue at their present rate. Any changes that will be made will be to eliminate as much pavement as p'ossible from this part of the course. The pavement at the lower end, which has been used since the race began, is a welcome sigh t to most of the racers by the time they get to it at'Jd, therefore, we do not forsee an y ch an ges in this area. -. .