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/126072
, _._._._._._._._._._.-._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._. ,. .·1 • - ..l....- J" . . 'I " . a ) Western·hotline .. -. . -- ~.. you're in the middle Autom C?biles . Buse s. Trucks. Stoplights. Pot holes. and RaIn. And you 're in the middle. Prepared? You wiD be. Onc e YOu get in the middle of the B.eglnning Rider Course . The complete learn ing ex peri enc e . Potholes and all. For novice rider s of every age . The SAC train s you not only to nde a motor c ycle. but to. look for and avoid hazards at every variety . :v-ou w Ill meet Itlem in trattic. Why not meet th em firs t In the pages of the BegInn ing Rider Course ? For a free ref lec torized deca l of the MSF logo (meets all state laws), cneck bo x bek)w . • SfZ .. I I I I I I I o inl ormation about the Bef}infllng Rider Course o reuectcrued decal I name I address . l~ ~t~ _ _ ~lD _ J _ Dick Miller is alive Former Baja winner Dick Miller narrowly escaped disaster and his story has a lesson for all of us. 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OR TELEPHONE (213) 762·20 45, y" .::. 24 HOURS A DAY. ~~ marzocchl COM PETITIO N FORKS & ' , 18 ~ SHOCKS • FROM YOUR HI-POINT DEALER The men. who run Baja, that long, lonely sprint through nature's Brillo pad, are brave men. Men who would risk a day and ni ght on a motorcycle exp osed to the elements, risks, and twists of fate for a slim hope of glory or a purse that might retrieve their expe nses. .Wit h .swearin g an d swe rving go ing on in two languages, the truck swerved directl y -back into Miller's path, striking the Iightweight Honda solidly and flipping it up, over and into a d it ch 40 feet from the point of impact. Dick was in shock , the collision had stunned h im, and it was only after he remembered where he was that he gave an y thought to how he was. A throbbing hand a nd a quick glance told him that his thumb had b een jammed. Immediate - swelling indicated th at the hand would be all but u seless in th e co m ing hours. It was after 4 p.m . Then _Dic k cam e upon t he major injury. His right leg had been st ru ck head-on by th e body b y Fishe r and four in ch es above his kn ee was a compound fract u re of his t h igh . Dick co u ld see eig ht inches of b o n e jutting through a tear in his leathers . The three Mexican s stood over his cru mpled body. Th ey spoke no Eng lish, b ut were scared by wh at t hey saw ..Dick spoke littl e Sp ani sh, b u t pleaded for hel p. " I ask ed t he Mexican s to help m e, but t hey ju st loo ke d at me , got bac k in . t he ir truck and le ft." Amazingly en oug h t hey left . not to fi d help, but o ut of n frigh t or lack of respon sibility to the gringo who lay injured by th eir hands. Dick Miller is such a man. Dick is de termined, brave and willing to risk what he has to conquer not the rugged landscape of the Baja peninsula, but the fears and insecurites that bind the average man to home and bed. Pre-running the Baja cours e is an essential ingredient in survival. The riders traverse t he 1,000 Km . . layout trying to com mit the b u mps a nd ripples to the sub-consciou s, while open ly logging the twists a nd turns on an cognitive brain. Pre-runnin g is n ot a race, but rather a fun trail ride in the ' cou n try with fri~nds. Pre-ru nn ing is th e ideal situation o f mix ing bu sin ess with pl easure and not n oticing t he bu sin ess. For Dick Miller, Al Baker, J ohn Ha teley and C ary Dreen th e we ather turned foul on the we ekend th at they had gat hered in Ensenada for the assigned pre-runjplay-run, It was a For 30 minute s Dick lay e xp osed to winter storm of the kind that brews in the rain and wind, unable to make a from out at sea. A co ld rain was falling . tourniquet to stop the' b lee din g, or to as each rider selected his pace and even move. Trailing behind on the proceeded to make th e best of t he rid e pre-run was Cary Dreen. The first thing in the pouring rain. he saw was th e battered Honda laying Hateley and Baker, more exub era nt acro ss froni the now weakening and natures, took the point an d soon equally battered Dick Miller. For Dreen disappeared around the bend. Dick it was the shock of his life and it was his Miller selected an enjoyable pace and quick action that saved Miller from proceeded to give half-hearted chase. losing his. Dreen made Dick as Dick has been at this game a long time comfortable 'as possible considering the and experience has taught him caution. meager supplies he had on his Caution was of little avail in the ordeal motorcycle and mounted back up and that he was about to become the center headed WFO for Ensenada, stopping of. once on the way to flag down a Baja Mexican truck and bus drivers have a bug to tell them to go to the aid of the reputation around the world that ranks cold and bleeding rider. second only to WWlI Kamikaze pilots, The four-wheelers arrived at the ·scene and a s Dick rounded a sweeper in the and immediately unloaded everything pouring rain, three Mexican kamikaze they had in their bug; sleeping bags, pilots in a large stake bed truck crested tarps, towels. From this they were able the rise running wide open in Dick's _ to cover Dick to protect him from the lane, bearing down on the little red - cold Baja rainstorm. He had lain , CR125 at a startlingly rapid pace. exposed and bleeding now for over an Options darted from the mind and the hour. bod re onded too late. For Al Baker and John _ Hat eley n othing se em ed as kew for a wh ile as they had a , great time pre-riding th e sandy Baja terrain in th e rain . But it seemed to them th at Dic k should have caug ht up by now. Thinking that he mi ght have bro ken down or thrown a chain, they turned aro u nd an d rode back . At the scene t he Baja bug drivers had don e all they co u ld a nd when Baker and Hateley ar rived th ey went off in searc h of more help. Lil ' John re-m ounted and went for h is van and Al built a fire to warm his frien d . If darkness fell, then help co uld only r eac h th em by land. It w ould be a long b u mpy rid e both ways. To a man wh o h ad alrea dy lain for seve ral hours in a co ld damp d it ch with a leg held on on ly . by muscle tissu e, time was of t he essence . Cary Dreen had mad e it bac k to civilization in the ni ck of t im e. A hel icopter was dispatc hed from San 'Die go w it h Dreen ridi n g a long as guide. The Mexican au thorities at firs t refused to allow the copter p erm ission to cross t he bo rder, fina lly rel e nted, bu t anno unc ed that . it must be off th e gro u nd by 6:"18p.m. Dreen directe d th e co p te r to th e acciden t. Drawn like a moth, the copter circled abo ve th e small fire- and its two men, two-motorcycle en clave. A landing area was sighted a sh o rt distance away , and at fifteen till six, Dreen and his payload of doctors an d orderlies made their way to the now sh ivering and agonized Dick Miller. For Dick the worst was over. Had he been forced to spend the night in the Baja dirt. it probably would have been his last night on earth. If he had to drive to civilization in a borrowed car, the bouncy ride probably would have cost him his leg. As it is now, thanks to the careful and fast work of the doctor in the helicopter. the people at Lindbergh Field, and the staff at Kaiser Hospital, Dick Miller is alive .and well. He is alive today because he rode with friends 'wh o made the ' right de cisions at the right time. And he is alive today because he is a Baja racer and they are a tough bunch. Dick will be convalescing in Kaiser Hosl'ital, Room 5209A. San Diego, CA. (714) 563-3284. • o .