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/126249
... Mass biker "roundups" 'iri Southern CalHornia: . Landowners and police harass landless dirt riders' By lane Campbell Item: The .weekend of January 16 a party of three, including an engineer and his son , rode up a heavily-beaten trail out of Elsinore, California. They rode for several minutes and c arneupon a fou r- wheel vehi cle in the trail whose driver fla ed g~ " the~ do wn . Thmkmg . nothing of It, they sto ppe d to talk and 12 learned to their surpri se that they were under arrest. While waiting for a sheriff to come write a forma l citation. they watched ra nch guards like the ones who had detained them round up . harass, and abuse several other bi kers. Ther. were tol d t heY,~ere going to be ~ade an exa mple of. T he ir a rres t were so crude that t hey have retaine d a la wyer to p lan defense. T he j udge who h e a r d t heir prel imina ry p romised a full investigation of the situation leading to their arrest, according to attorney Nick Ba rt lett, who is working on the case. It em : The weekend of January 30, a posse of up to 24 San Bern a rdi no County Sheriffs -and reserves began a two-day ro undup of bikers in the Reche Canyon area. using horses . jeeps and a helicopter. This "news happening" mot iva t ed a feature article in the San Bernardino SunTelegram after the first day's "crackdown " netted 12 citations . Four motorcyclists had resisted arrest. One expert rider led the posse a 12-mile chase before capture. and others registered their displeasure either vocally or physically. The Sheriffs spokesmen expressed (to the Sun-Telegram reporters) some sympathy for the bikers. who have no legal place to ride in the region; yet they were compelled to enforce the law in response to property owner complaints. Item: Aro und Hi Vista . east of Lancaster in the Mojave desert. the situation has ease d since the " hot and heavy" days which climaxed wit h a shooti ng in cident last year. Still, the "cold wa r" between roa mi ng riders a nd a hand ful of local property owners contin ues . T he Los Angeles Sheriffs department plays the "heavy" role. patro lling wit h a helicopter a nd offroad ve h icl es . citing riders fo r " tresp assing" in the area nearly every weekend. Ca ught in the crossfire are the new owners of the Hi Vista Store, whose v living depends a lmost en tirely on the visiting dirt riders. The tiny commun ity between the Tehachapi Mo untains and the San Gabriels . is a virtual ghost town. The few bu ildings surrou nding the little general store/restaurant/bar are run -down , vandalized , mostly empty. On the morning Cycle News 'visited the spot , the only things moving were a handful of dirt riders and a pair of Chicanos ratracing a battered Camaro alongthe barren checkerboard of dirt - roads nearby. Only one family group is in a booth inside the store. The lady at the bar says usually there would be dozens of patrons.at this hour on Sunday. She is unwilling to talk against her bikehating neighbors. "We have to live here, too. Bu t without the riders, we might as well close up ." Riders report that one of the more ra b id ly anti -bi ke la n dh old e r s is posting property ot her than his own as bei ng closed. 'Sure enough. th e lands eas t of th e sto re a long Avenue J have sprouted a forest of " No T respassing, No Bikes. No Buggies, No Ca mping" signs . T he Sheriffs Office advises th a the m a n is withi n his rights. He ha gone to the County Assessor's office. looked up the other landholders _ names and addresses. and writte them for permission to do the posting So . the busts continue. t he wise