Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/125793
M ., N Ii' (Surprise!) Cool Fun a veteran enduro rider go all misty-eyed. A collection of dirt roads, sandwash and choppy desert sums up the whole thing. Usually I take my camera along and plan to stop at spectacular spots and trouble spots to take pictures. This time I found myself back at the truck with no pictures. There was just nothing on the course that was giving anyone any trouble, so I had to go back out and pick a spot in a sandwash to shoot some pixs. The important thing of course is that this is just the ideal course for the riders who make up the major portion of the SRA clientele made up of young kids, wives, and girl friends of more experienced riders, old timers for whom 100 miles of back-breaking riding is a drag - beginners who are trying to pile up some experience before tackling something rougher and many, many squirrels. A squirrel is typically about 17-years-old, has three months riding experience, absolutely no fear, an unbreakable body and an infinitely breakable 400cc motocross bike. He tunes his bike all night long and if he doesn't seize it on the pit road, and manages to get up in time for the start in the morning, he'll race you on any smooth surface, blasting you into oblivion with a shower of rocks and "gravel from his new Barum tire. If he would just be gone then, it- would be okay, but he inevitably crashes 50 feet in. fron t of you. Riding over him is poor practice because the sharp edges on his mangled machine will often deflate your tires and cause you to be late at the next check. Squirrels were the only hazard worthy of mention on the SRA course, though, so one can't complain too much. There were four checks, in very predictable spots, visiple from miles away so the scores are generally pretty low. My guess would be that at least ten riders will zero the entire course and that it will take a score of less than ten to make it on the first three pages of the results, putting a rather stiff premium on accurate time keeping. There were a few of the old pros out there. 1 saw Dave evans go Hying by on his Ossa and 1 understand that Bud and Ellie Howesman were riding, though I didn't get a chance to see them. The absence of club colors from the District clubs though was astounding. One tends to think of the District as embracing most of the riders in the area and then suddenly there are 800 riders at one event who are totally oblivious to the District. Like middle-aged America suddenly discovering that half its population is kids. The event was run with quite a considerable amount of precision. The check times were accurate and the distances seemed so to me, though I did hear one or two complaints. The marking was adequate but not exceptional and some riders did get lost. The only serious problem was a lack of adequate rescue facilities. One fellow complained that his buddy layout in the sun with a broken shoulder for over four hours, while another tried to get help for a girl who became too sick to ride and was told that the one available four-wheel-drive vehicle was ou t at the moment and had another assignment as soon as it came back, so the girl would have to wait awhile. This is a problem that deserves some serious attention, not only by the SRA but by all the smaller independen t organizations. With the number of riders, especially inexperienced riders, that they attract, it is only a matter of time until the law of averages becomes enforced in th~form of a fatality. Maybe several smaller organizations could pool their resources and produce several rescue vehicles, or maybe there should be a few less trophies and the money spent to provide rescue facilities. One accident, especially if it involved a youngster, done up in typical LA Times fashion on the front page could set the sport back. quite a ways. The SRA did have an ambulance at the pits, but not much use on the COUTse. A new form of intolerable bureaucratic nonsense reared its ugly head this weekend. Ron Vincelette, who runs th~ SRA events, received a letter from the Bakersfield office of the BLM informing him that he would have to put up a $2,000 cash bond and pay the BLM a flat fee of $1 per rider of 10% of the proceeds of the even t, whichever was greater. No law or bureau regulation was cited. It appears that the BLM may have some notion of creating an empire at the expense of cyclists, a notion that should be quickly discouraged un til, and unless, the BLM comes up with some program that can be shown to _be of some benefit to someone. After all, the Fish and Game Department at least provides trout for the fishermen that it taxes; the BLM has yet to provide even an outhouse for the use of riders. The Forest Service always helps in the planning stages of runs and inevitably has several men on the site on the day of an event to help things go smoothly, and they don't demand any such exorbitant fees. Ron is going to visit the man in charge, and 1 will report on this situation in my next column. Meanwhile, warm up your writing hand. The SRA is providing some nice rides for experienced riders and some challenging rides for the inexperienced. Try one. You'll probably find, as 1 did, that it's nice to be home early without being tired once in awhile. ~ N .... en -' g « ~ w z W ..J U >U PEri r--.:..---------.FOLD HERE FIRSTI~-------------I . I I I I I I I I FIRST CLASS Permit No. 2914 I I lons Beach. Calif. BUSINESS REPLY MAil No postage .'amp _sory il moiled in the Unitwc! Sto... 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