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/125988
(Continued fr om page 19) o rganized in different areas of Southern California. _ Each ch ap ter will be a loosely kni t organization, probably meeting monthly for the ex change of ideas and information. Chapter heads will be able to deal with local issues to some extent. Presenting written and/or oral testimony at hearings having to do with local issues is best done at the local level . A telephone service o n the order of " Dial- Avl' rayer " is also planned for the near future . Interested pe rsons will be able to dial a number and hear a recorded list of meetings in California which should be attended by bikers, as well as a synopsis of bills before the legislature which require letters to assemblymen and senators. To finance this telephone service and help defray expenses incurred by local chapters, a membership drive is underway. Posters and applications are being distributed to as many dealers as possible. When funding is available, additional telephone recorders will be set up to provide toll-free service to as many people as possible. Sound like an ambitious undertaking? It is. It's going to require a tremendous number of man hours to put this concept into operation. Once the chapters are working organizations, bikers will be able to do a lot more toward keeping motorcycling legislation within the bounds of fairness. There are two ways to gather the necessary man hours : Either a whole lot of people can do a little, or a few can do a lot. But, think now. Who do you know personally with the time, talent and energy to cover all the bases which have to be covered if we are to reverse the trend of anti-ORV legislation. If you can devote as little as an hour each month, drop a postcard with your name and address to: M.O.R.E. Information Center, 1523 Fifth Street, San Fernando, California 91340. Or call (21 3) 361-8530, (213) 363 -4 264 or (805)642ยท0276. Time and place of in itial meetings (late Mayor early June) are not available at press tim e. Behind-the-Scenes San Fernando Valley bikers, remember back a fe w weeks ago when a motorcycle park was planned in Sylmar, to be built with Green Stickie funds? At the public hearings, Sylmar city spokesman righteously defended th e rights of patients at a ne ar-by convalescent hospital to pea ce and quiet. Because of these complaints (an d because of problems arising in connection with title to Lopez Basin property) th e park went down the tubes. After the issue was .dead and buried, a young paraplegic from the hospital "despoked" his power wheelchair in front of a San Fernando motorcycle shop. The owner, being (as bikers tend to be in spite of their reputation) a good guy, loaded patient and wheelchair into his van and drove him bac k to the hospital. It's common knowledge that this particular convalescent hosp ital is sti ll condemned due to damage suffered in the 1971 earthquake. So why are patien ts being transferred to a condemned hospital? Said the young paraplegic: "We were told we were being moved to keep a motorcycle gang from squatting in that area." He also added that he thought the park would have provided much-needed diversion for the patients. Th ese patients are still bein g h oused in a buildin g vacan t fo r four years after h avin g been condem ne d be cause o f structural damage. And Sylmar reportedly hopes to put in a golf co urse in the surrounding area, less than four miles from the under-used Hansen Dam golf course. No comment. The Bureau of Land Management will unveil a draft of the final management plan for the Red Rock Canyon and El Paso Peaks Planning Areas in California Ci ty on Saturday, June 7. These two areas include many favorite desert racing areas Cuddeback, Red Mountain, Fremont Valley, Randsburg, and so on. The Desert Plan is being completed in sections - first to emerge was the Yuha area in Imperial County. User groups were not aware of the plans un til too late to wield much influence. And the very best that can be said of the resul t is that the environmentalists were well represented. AIthough no one in the motorcycling co m m unity has been officially notified, en vironmentalists are already planning to pa c k t he June 7 unveiling. Th e BLM is acc epting written comment at the unveiling, so re ad Outdoor Forum next week. and write y o ur comments. If the El Paso Peaks and Red Rock Canyon Planning Areas follow the exam ple of Yuha, I personally plan to p ack my bike and start riding in the Sahara Desert. Come to think of it, that would be closer to the fuel supplies. Coming soon: The BLM - what they're doing and how they're doing it. Leslie Richards TIl e views ex p ressed in th is and other colum ns are solel y th ose of th e auth ors and do- not n ecessarily reflect th e official position of Cycle News West or Cycle News, Inc. Q;lalified readers wishing fr ee and equal rebuttal spaces should co ntact th e Editor. A word regarding the Opinion Section As the title states, this section of the paper is reserved for editorial articles by our regular columnists and those members of the staff. It is also open to anyone who would wish to contribute a guest editorial concerning a specific subject. Such articles should be researched and have facts to support the opinion of the author. 11,e articles may also be humorous, in fact, we hope many will be . All articles must be typed, doubled sp aced and be approximately three to five pages in length. If you have an idea for an ar ticle and wish to discuss it, please call the Senior Editor, Monday through Friday, during business hours.