Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

CD SLED RIDERS' HARE SCRAMBLES Adelanto... calif. July 9, 1:>72 BY Alice Rhea OVERALL George Walker Jim Fishback Steve Holladay Larry Bergquist Jack Knebel "It was hell," groaned Phil Harvey (Hod) as he pulled in first Trail Novice. It probably was for the Trail N ovices as they had to ride both loops today. It, was hot and choppy the second time around. John Jenkins (Baja) was second Trail Novice, and obviously rather pleased with his accomplishment. "That's the best I've ever done," grinned Dave Semple (DKW) as he came in third Trail Novice. Course cu tting was almost nil as Sled Riders warned about the many mine shafts lurking in the area. One foot off course and you don't need to worry about getting disqualified. "Y ou couldn't get lost on that course if you tried," said one expert. But get lost they did. Coming across the road about two miles from the finish, one rider made a wrong tum and most of the pack followed him, coming into the home check area about a half-mile behind the pits. As one Novice put it, HI was following the dust instead of the lime. Us Professional Novices ought to know better." ~~r[f~,~~r Whitey Martino Rick Shirey Wes Andersqn. Jr. Jim sovie AMATEURS Kaw CZ Vam Bul - CZ CD Hus Puc Hus > :; .., Vam CZ Ul ~ Kaw W Z Hus Todd Cornish Jeff Kirk Dave Waldbaum Joe Jones Mike Davenport A.J. Kirker Dan Thomlins Bul Hus Hus Ric Mitch Mayes Larry R oseler Baja Baja Baja TRAIL EX Wayne Cook w Mon oJ U >U CZ Cordis Brooks Hod Joel semple 5'teve Stevens Baja Baja Phil Harvey John Jenkins Hod Sharon Rosenauer Joy Malis Chris Fields-First Am 17S SUz Ric TRAIL AM TRAIL NOV Dave semple GIRLS NOV OVERALL Chris Gerner John Dykstra Rubin Garcia Rollin Kolbuss Matt ArclUs Baja DKW Bul Bul Bul Suz Hus CRC Hare S c r a m b l e s - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Some t~-dragging MX style through the puckerbrush. PONDEROSA HARE S C R A M B L E S - - - - - - - - - - - By John Huetter LANCASTER, CAL., July 1-2, 1972 Lynn Fortner finally managed to not get lost and stay on the course to push his 400 Husky to his first overall win (and top Open rider) on the B and B-busting Ponderosa course. Doug Winchell did the trick in the Open class on Sunday. Even though turnouts were relatively ligh t, the fact that this w.as an open weekend for D-37 desert riders meant that the field was studded with plen ty of sand and sagebrush talent. Wes Anderson, Jr. for example, was second in the Open class both days on his 250 CZ. The starting line of the all-class desert bash was about two-third Amateur and Expert plates on Saturday. Monte iee; who has won overall on his 125 Yamaha, wasn't able to repeat this month but came in a fairly easy first lighweight on Saturday and took second on Sunday's rerun. Winner of the McHaI full coverage for best two day performance by a Novice was Danny Pagdilao who took third and second in the Trailbike class on a 100 Yamaha. Lee Caldwell was another strong two-day performer with a second and first in the small bore division. For those of you who haven't ridden BLM HIRES RANGER FIRST DESERT Steve Smith, 27, of Bakersfield is the Bureau of Land Management's first Desert Ranger. The BLM will hire up to 10 rangers during the fiscal year beginning July 1. Their beat wiII be the 12 million acres of southern California desert administered by the Interior Department b!1reau. J. R. Penny, California BLM State Director, said Smith's qualifications are indicative of the approach the bureau is planning in its program to protect de~rt resources and the people who use them. "The rangers are natural resource specialists first and people managers second. Our rangers wiII try to- achieve as much of their jobs as possible by education and persuasion." The rangers wiII not have enforcement authority at the outset. However, the Administration's proposed National Resource Lands Management Act, also called the "BLM Organic Act," pending before Congress, would provide authority for the. rangers to enforce bureau rules and regulations. "The Ranger Force is part of our critical management program for the California desert," Penny. said. "Many desert resources - historical, natural, archaeological - are being damaged by heavy recreational use and deliberate vandalism. Also, there literally are thousands of hazards to the users, including uncounted abandoned mine shafts. "Our efforst to deal with these problems admittedly are meager, but at least a start has been made," he con tinued. "We will need the full cooperation of desert IUCn to help the rangers do their job." the Ponderosa yet, everything above 125 is Open class for the three nine (or ten) mile loops which run every first Sunday of the month, and the preceding Saturday (even if it falls in a different month). It's not unusual to see a 250 take the overall win and, as mentioned, Lee had done it on a 125. By Christopher Ostlind ADELANTO, CAL., June 25, 1972 It's said the desert has many mysteries. Two mysterious events took place today as the CRC hosted a Hare ScramblesJor over 400 riders. The first strange occurence was that Ed Holman of Hooker Headers presen ted CRC President Jerry McNeal with a free exhaust pipe for the top Novice and Beginner riders. Winners of the pipes were Gary Best (Hus), a Novice who was overall winner by a wide margin, and Beginner Gary Foltz, also on a Husky. The other stunning bappening was the appearance of the elusive "Desert Duck". That's right, Wally Weatherwax was in attendance today, possibly to dispel any ideas that he may have flown the coop. The duck turned in a very creditable second place finish behind winner Best. The course was well marked and was laid out with the Beginner and Novice rider in mind. Only a few complain ts were registered and I suspect that they came from those that didn't do too well. Other top finishers were: John Grafton, 400 Novice: D. Prangler, 360 Novice: Gary Charters, 125 Novice: Duane Ridgeman, 100 Novice. The CRC really put it all together today. 'Round the Call1pfire By Alice Rhea Several weeks ago Rescue 3 was elected to make a search for a young lady who had ridden off looking for her boyfriend and got herself lost. If the boyfriend had not made it in and reported to Rescue 3 that she was missing...well, she wasn't carrying any water... Righ t off hand I can think of two dozen good well known desert clubs. Most clubs have openings for new members. If you do not belong to one, join. Good clubs have a .regular pit crew consistingof one pit boss who isa reliable, conscientious, resourceful man, and umpteen helpers, usually the wives of racers and racers who broke down before the start. Part of the job of the pit boss .is to see that all riders are in before any club members leave the area. All racers must sign in with the pit crew if they wan t gas during the race, and they must sign out when they finish the race. After the last dog has dragged himself across the finish line the pit boss assigns the least fatigued, or most able, riders in the club to go out on the course and bring in the strays. Anybody who has ever had his bike quit halfway around the second loop will tell you that it is well worth the price of dues to a club, just to know that somebody is on their way with a tow-rope and a drink of water, and that his wife is not back in camp worrying herself sick about what sh.e should do. However, in the meantime, before you fInd the right club for yourself, here is what to tell your wife to do in case you fail to show up at the fmish line: A member of Rescue 3 leaves righ t after the last Novice and rides the course. He takes the name, number and make of bike for all broken-down riders 'he comes across. (Stay on course if you break down.) This list is posted on the back of tb.e Rescue 3 van, that great big . air-conditioned job that is always parked near sign-up. Your wife should go to Rescue 3 and see if your name or number is on the list. Then she should go to any club and ask if they are going out after riders. If they are, most of them will be glad to help you out. Just tell them what to look for. At least they will bting your guy in. You may have to go out and get the bike later, but not alone. Keep in mind that the people who race in the desert are some of the .greatest people in the world. That is our little neighborhood out there and we all do everything we can to help each other. Never hesitate to ask for help; we all need it sometimes. . Logically, you would assume that the sponsoring club is the place to tum for help. Fifty-one weekends out of the year that club has members who would ride out looking for your guy. But not this weekend. They each have several jobs and long after you have found your lost sheep, dragged the wreckage of his motorcycle ou t of the desert and are home drinking beer and watching FBI and Bonanza, the members of the sponsoring club are pulling down ribbon and signs, picking up trash and sorting through results. Many members will still be there on Monday, cleaning up after themselves and the slobs who didn't take their trash home. In some clubs, members will miss the race next weekend to go out and take down their ribbon .. However, there are still a great many clubs who aren't working that particular day, and you need only ask to receive their assistance. Never, never, never go out on the course alone. Ninety-nine percent of the time the racer will have sense enough not to expect you to come and get him: he will flag down the sweeper crew from some club ansi bum a ride in. If he is lucky, he may even get a tow for his wreck. Do give your man credit for a little common sense. Give him a chance to make it in on his own before you panic. At the last race (Rim Runner's), Rescue 3 reported 18 injuries. With over 550 racers, you can see that the chances your rider is hurt are pretty slim...Iike about 3 in 100. If your rider does not appear when you think he should, you can expect one of the following stories when he does show up: The chain broke three times and he ran out of master links. The transmission seized. He hit a rock and knocked a hole in his case. The engin~. seized. The shifter broke of~. He lost h,s brakes. He ran out of gas. Mostly, if you are manning the pits alone, don't panic. I held the fort alone for several months, pitting my husband and various friends, and never once had to go looking for him. I won't say I never worried, but a couple of times I was about to go to Rescue 3 for help when he showed up, and once members of Desert M.e. had a5SUTed me they would go look for him but he arrived under his own power with baling wire holding his handlebars in place . What kept me under 'control was I knowing that my rider is a pretty smar guy and he would find his own wa' home unless he was injured. And, if he was injured, Rescue 3 would have the pieces over in that nice air-conditioned van and maybe they would even let me come in and get cool. Need I mention how highly I think of the men and women who volunteer their time' to render first aid and comfort at our desert races? I shudder to think of a race without them. This started ou t to be an essay on the joys of belonging to a club and how to choose yours, but I got carried away with lost people. Next week I'll get back to clubs. Many things are happening regarding off-road registration, but at press time I must keep the most exciting under my hat. I though I was a voice crying in the wilderness abou t my SI5 going down the drain, but am shocked to learn that the overwhelming majority of people who have off-road vehicles feel the same. ·One group I did not even know existed until recently consists of people who are paralyzed. They have specially built jeeps or dune buggies and use a sort of grappling hook to pick up rocks to examine. Now what on earth would those people wan t with a park where they can race? A group of Long Beach rock-hounds tossed that one at a representative from BLM and report that he was left flat-footed and sag-jawed. He did not realize the problem existed. Mind you, I hal(e nothing against rock-hounds. I was thinking of getting a book on how to identify the good rocks myself: however, 1 hope the rock-bounds know to stay off the course duting the races...could be amite dangerous. Anyway, . rock-hounds use dune buggies and jeeps_ Some of them are street legal and some are not. Motorcycles are used to search for rocks and surprisingly, to seek ou t good fIshing spots which are inacessible. by car_ In combing the underbrush for support, I have come across one penon who has already bought a sticker and two more who think it is a good idea, and several hundred who think it is one of the wont ideas since somebody started income taxes. Tune in next week and see if Alice goes to jailor buys a sticker. Will the black-bearted villian tie her to the railroad track or will the Lone Ranger arrive in time to save her?

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