Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

• •••••••••••••••••••••• ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• c Ceal..a1 Pipeliae Tragedy mars SRAC Enduro Hallmark hammers TCCRAwin By Raymond Frank By Garland Jeter Photo by Pam Starnes LIMON. CO . APR . 23 The second event of the Sports Riders Association of Coloradosanctioned enduro circuit was held Sunday just west of Limon , I Colorado, on Mock Ranch . J oe Abendschan and the members of High Plains Enduros, Inc. . deserve credit for offering a well-marked. enjoya ble ride to the 420 competitors who started th e 100-mile event. Promoted as a "fa m ily" end u ro. the second annual Colorado Cactus Run supplemented the normal A and B classes with a C class for youngsters under 15 and less-aggressive lady rid ers. The C loop cons isted of the first 50 m iles of the even t. end ing at t he mid run gas stop . T he 18. 24 , and 30 mph speed averages were effective in adding challenge to the gentle terrain of eastern Co lorado. As th e event was held in rolling. grass-covered pastures laced with cou n tless arroyos and deep sandwashes. th e big bore bikes had less trouble than their lesser -displacement cou nt erparts. The de ep sand and fre q uent three-foo t dropaways too k their toll on t he smaller bikes tha t tried to attain th e necessary speeds. Those lacking- the horsepower to lift the front end whe n th e ground fell away wer e faced with fork taxing and front wheel-first landings on more than one occasion. Deep grass·lined arroyos, however, were a joy to ride. Looking like a natural skateboard course or a horizontal bobsled run, the roundbottomed arroyos offered th e ultimate in bermed turns as they switched ba ck and forth for miles. Another delight for Rocky Mountain enduro enthusiasts, accustomed to bo ulderstrewn trails and foot -deep pe a 'gravel , was the p henom en al tractio n affor ded by the combination of grass an d rea l dirt . John Aragon , 27, from Colorado Springs, CO was riding slightly off the course when he was thrown from his bik e. J oh n collapsed next to h is machine and was disc overed some time later by two other riders . Emergency assistance was contacted quickly but experienced difficulty reaching th e accid ent scene. John Aragon , a caring unselfish individual whose only voiced concern was for the time being lost by a fellow rider . died of internal bleeding in the ambulance on his way to the Limon Medical Center. The Limon enduro was as well organized and well run an event as any held in th e sta te and certainly not deserving of anything b ut posit ive comment. This year's competitors were all enthusiastic over t he prospect of returning nex t year for another enjoyable ride through the grass and cactus of Colorado's ro lling eastern plains. Results A OVERALLWINNER: M. Mollahan 2. A OPEN: 1. C. Pepper: 2. C. Bec ker; 3. R. J arboe. A 250: 1. C. lmel; 2. S. Cross; 3. A. Hjelm. A 175: 1. J . Adson ; 2. S. Coyle; 3. S. Brickner. A 125: 1. J. Brickner; 2. C. SChueller; 3. R. McNary. B OVERALL WINNER: J. Rehlerg 3. B OPEN: 1. M. Stokes; 2. J . Walt; 3. M. Hall. B 250: I . T. Thompson ; 2. R. Flores; 3. T. Geo

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