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/125806
... g' ... N .... en u o ~ w Z W ...J U > U it ain't the Paradise Ballroom but you can get a cool one when it's hot and a hot one when it's cool. RED·MTN. ENDURO You WelL. Or. Zorknut. this completes our study of planet X4-Y. They're all insane here. .. .. t .. &. • • • ........ 1o t by Paul Boudreau and Marla Tarbet Photos by Dale Coates The sun was hot. The trail was rough and dusty. So far we had covered 45 miles and were all a bit' tired. The Mojave is not a friendly place - not even on a clear, crisp, October Sunday. "Champagne, Monsieur?" Huh? "Du uin, peut-etre?" What? ·'How's about a beer?" Sure! Gimme two! There, smack in the middle of the hottest, driest, grubbiest piece of real estate this side of Stovepipe Wells, was a BAR tended by a tuxedoed bon vivant flan ked by two immaculately coiffed cuties in party dresses. In the shade of a huge Joshua tree nearby, say a hundred or so riders who had stopped to suck up the offerings. A mirage; Too much sun? Naw. Just Check number three of another family type fun enduro put on by the SRA. Thjs one, held at the popular Wagon Wheel outside Red Mountain, was our third and most interesting. . The family enduro is a unique breed in the specialized world of motorcycle racing. It's like Times Square on New Year's Eve. A Saturday afternoon's stroll through the pits revealed a strange salm agundy of macrnnery. Some of the bikes were nothing more than a lump of duct tape, bungie cords and hose clamps. Others were the finest money could buy. We saw a few new KTM 175s and a Honda Dream with knobbies; a Husky 400 Six Days and a 450 Honda complete with saddle bags and wind screen; a brace of Monarks and lot of old 120 Suzukjs; a surprising number of Triumphs,. the usual smattering of Maicos and CZs, a J awa Six Days and (sigh) a G80 Matchless. The course itself was neat, to say the least, The 30-mile first loop was f~t 3I!d wouldn't believe some of the foxy equipment that shovvs up at these things. easy - just right for riders who spent the last few weekends riiling their TVs. We rode two up on a 125 Suzook and had no trouble staying on time, although parts of the 24 mph sections came on like a Hare 'n Hound. Any time lost in the hard sections could be made up berming dOWll the speedy fire roads that snaked through the area. Although the course was well marked, vandals changed some of the arrows just before the end of the first loop. Trns routed the returning riders on the same trail as the riders going ou t, which resulted in some interesting situations, not to men tion colorful iliscussions as to righ t-of-way. SRA mentor Ron, Vincellette got the situation in hand, and th~ second loop got off on schedule for most riders. There's no sense telling yo'u any more Check three. You had to he there to dig it. Maybe you'll come next time. The last 15 miles of the run were incredible. The trail wound through foothills that offered some breathtaking views. Some of the downhill trails were breathtakjng in a different sense. We saw more than one Novice back-packing down the steeper sections. Tlie remainder of the run was like motocross with cne straight paved section, done flat out on the tank for those of us who were late. We finished with a broken frame, which may be some indication of the fun we had (then again, the up-front member of the two-up team goes through frames like they were spark plugs). ' Ron Vincellette reports 90% finishers and 9 riders coming up wi th zero scores. No serious injuries were reported and nobody got lost for long. These kinds of resul ts add up to fun in the ilirt, and that's what we're t.a1kin' about" .., ~.