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-Page 27
October 16, 1973
miles was too tight at 24 MPH to hit
early. Ed White does not set his checks
up to catch you early, he prefers to
catch you late, the later the better.
N ow for the special cross coun try
test. Including the special test was a
good idea. It makes the run more
interesting for the riders. We had about
a. 15 ~i1e run to the pits but didn't get
fIVe mIles when we got lost. The first 60
riders or so got through OK but then
the turn arrows got knocked or taken
down and there were people all ove.r the
desert trying to find their way in. We
ended up on the outgoing second loop
backwards and finally got in. My 64
mile second loop ended up as 69 miles,
but at least I got in OK. CERA reports
that the cross country test will probably
be thrown out. It's a shame, playing
desert racer was a lot of fun while it
lasted.
Loop Three
Only 50 miles to go. You're tired'
now but determined to finish, hoping
that CERA will relax and give you an
easy 50 miles. Ha!! You've never seen so
much sand and rocks in your life. lf you
w~ren't running in deep sand, you were
running over marble rocks, trying to
keep your balance trying to stay on that
rotten 24 MPH average. Somewhere out
there in the Lucerne Valley, the course
turned up a canyon which was a
winding, sandy mutha containing the
deepest bike eating whoop-