Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

co " '" '" 0.. N '" '" ~ "" 0. " til til 3: w z W -J U > U - SHOULD WOMEN RACE /;!, ? ./'; MOTQCR • :;u' <$.i~ ~ " ". Cherry Stockton is the only female member of the Starters by K. C. Brintnall Most people would agree that the sport evaluated by Swedish physiologists as the second most ph ysically demanding sport in practice today is hardly the ideal sport for a woman. Yet there are many women who feel that this particular sport is perfect for them. These are the women who race motocross. Although women have been racing desert and scrambles even ts for several yeats, it has only been within the last three years that they have competed in motocross events in Southern California. In spite of their relatively recent entry into motocross competition, the women can already boast of a small but steadily growing number of fast, highly competitive riders among them. How does a woman get started riding motocross? Some, like Endoes president Jeanne Allen, start out riding street bikes and gradually evolve through dirt riding to even tually end up racing .(f~~ .'1.\~.~/ -- M.e. in Santa Barbara, Calif. She took up racing without ever riding street or trail and without sac~cing feminity. motocross. Cherry Stockton, sole female member of the Santa Barbara Starters M. C., was afraid to try racing until she was out watching her husband race one day and saw another girl riding around on a motorcycle. It looked like so mucb fun that she decided to try it herself and has been racing ever since. Many women, however, get started racing simply because it's a good way to spend time with their families and friends. Staying home alone every Sunday is a drag, and being a spectator can get to be boring after a while, so why not get ou t there and race? In some cases, the whole family races. Not only do Norene Hendrix and her husband race, bu t their son and two daugh ters are ou t their competing. too. You know the old saying: the family that races together. .. Once they've gotten a taste of motocross, women tend to stick with It. The drop-Out rate is surprisingly low, and those who do quit racing motocross , ! I • To a lot of Powder Puffs, and other racers for that matter, half the fun of competition racing. Or is it really gossip? is bench generally continue to race desert or some other type of dirt racing. Women who race motocross are frequently confronted with a unique set of problems. The workings of a motorcycle· can seem pretty complex to someone who's never taken a class in mechanics, and while husbands and boyfriends are willing to help for a while, the maintenance of a woman's bike even tually becomes her own problem. Rather than spending a lot of time and money sending their bike to the shop for any necessary repairs, most girls prefer to do as much of their own maintenance work as possible so, manual in hand, they tinker away and hope for the best, eventually becoming reasonably proficient. Cherry Stockton revealed that after two years of racing she manages to prepare her own bike except for .the internals of the engine and has become especially competent at taking things apart. Putting things back together is another story, however. Janene Pennington, a very fast young rider who recently was ranked as an Amateur in AMA motocross competition, has found the best solution of all. For the past year she has been sponsored by Steve's Bultaco, and the shop does her bike preparation for her. To justify this helping hand,Janene managed to garner more points than any other Novice in District 37 last year, to give her a a points standing of 16th overall. Not bad for "only a girl." How do the male racers feel about having women invade "their" terrain? Generally, the girls seem to feel that there is little or no prejudice agai\lst them as racers, and that especially off the track the men are very helpful and friendly. While interviewing the women racers I did hear a few "Don't print this, bu c .. " horror stories, bUl for the most part the girls expressed a great deal of respect and admiration for their male counterparts and seemed to feel that it was reciprocal. On the -track, however, it is occasionally a differen t story. J anene Pennington, who frequently rides with the men, feels that some male riders resent being passed by a woman: "It's· an ego thing with them. When I pass them the'll ride way over the,ir heads trying to pass me back and a lot of times it will create a really dangerous situation." Cherry Stockton thinks that it's mostly the younger guys that have trouble' accepting being beaten by a woman, and that most men will make a lot of excuses before they'll admit a woman is. a better rider than they are. Also, she feels men tend to be more tolerant of an inexperienced male rider. on the course than they are of a female. Apparently, woman's reputation as a poor driver has carried over to the race track. On the other hand, visiting racers Crom Europe and Canada are intrigued with the idea of Powder Puff racers. Joel Robert and Roger DeCoster were so impressed to discover that Jeanne Allen was a motocross racer on their visit here two years ago that they issued her a special invitation to attend their motocross school and even led her around the track showing her which gears to use on each turn. Afterwards, Robert even gave her a ride around the track on the back of his CZ, an adventure not for the faint-hearted. There is some speculation that the Europeans may consen t to give a special class for women motocrossers on their return to California this Fall. The ladies made such a hit with the Canadians on their visit here for the Can·Am series that the Canadian racers and promoter insisted that the girls come up to race with them in Vancouver, B.C. According to Norene Hendrix, the Canadian racers were exceptionally cooperative when they raced with the women, letting them pick any position they wanted on the starting line and helping get their bikes started if difficulties set in. All this occurred in spite of the fact that lanene Pennington had managed to smoke them all in practice. Chivalry is not dead. As a result of that encounter, eleven of the top female riders at Indian Dunes will be heading up to Vancouver this week for a weekend of activities culminating on Sunday, September 3, with the first Powder Puff race most Canadians have ever seen. The Canadians are hoping that seeing the girls race will give their own women a few ideas. Although the girls thoroughly enjoy the company of men around the track, the question of whether, or not they want to race with them is something altogether different. When Jeanne Allen and Joyce Soyka surveyed over 40 racers last year they. discoverd that 80% of them preferred to race in Powder Puff events, while only 5% preferred to race with men and .15% enjoyed racing both. In addition 75% of the girls felt their families preferred that they race Powder Puff events only. Perhaps the most compeHing reason the women gave against racing with men was their feat of getting hurt, since they feel men are much more' aggressive riders. This fear is underscbred by the fact that many of the women are· the sole support of their young children. Also, vanity may enter into it a bit. After all, a man with a scar has

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