Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

0') CN I-< Q,) ..0 8 Q,) > o Z • Overall winner Mike Hannon plunges along an icy stream. Hannon top stag ar the Buckhorn . National Enduro . By Bob Tornai . Photos by Dave Sc hoonmaker and To rna i OAK RUN , CA, NOV . 12 AA rider Mike H annonjYam) edged Honda's DOl} Sanford (who edged. South City Cycles' H usky rider George H endrix) at the Buckhorn National Enduro which became simultaneously the last enduro of the season f wi .. .h b . . an d. t e . egtnmng 0 winter In California . All three riders finished un - 6 der a blanket (of snow) with 13 points after 112 miles of riding through trails and woods that became increasingly treacherous as the season's /first snow storm covered loose rocks and left a layer of ice on branches and logs along the trail. Just as the win. place and show positions were 'decided at the tie breaker check, fourth place rider Rob Sutliff (14 points) was seconds ahead of Dave 'Benram (14 points) there as well. The Redding Dirt Rid ers put together this event , which is fast becoming known for its inclement weather. (Last year it rained heavily .) The little town of Oak Run pla ys a big pan in t~is race, with part of t.he profits gomg to the Volunteer Fire Dept.. a cheerful group of people who ran the concession stand at this event. Last year they were able to bu y a reces 'sita tor and some truck tires to upgrade their equipment aft er the enduro. The pancake a.nd egg ~reakfast they put out was high quahty and an endless supply of hot coffee and cocoa kept many a pit- person above the freezing mark. FiTSt row riders Jim Strenfel, John Hearn and Ga ry Ho l~es star.ted the event unde~ . threatening skl~ but dusty conditions. A few miles of pavement near the start made one wish he would have invested in som e insu lated gloves or gauntlets. . The course started a ~hm b tha t would eventually take the rid ers up to 5,000 feet and although Enduro Steward Jim Schon laid out a loop At the finish was a properly-chilled. second-overall Don ,Sanf ord. without bottlenecks, there were 'some tricky downhills and a rocky uphill that one rider said was "righ t out of the Scottish Six Days." As the temperatures and snow flakes were dropping, the . "A" riders started to filter into the gas pits , many of them on time. The Honda Team was intact , with the exception of Don Sanford who lost his rea r tire pressure and rode most of the first loop with a flat l A quick wheel change was performed by a professional looking Honda pit crew that included Bill Bell and Bob Nickelson. Sanford went on his way . George Hendrix was in and out of his pit before I could change a roll of film and Rick Munyon took off into the stan of the tight woodsy second loo p not knowing that a d ing in his fork tubes would soon bind up his front end and put him out of the hunt . . A calm, cool and collected Mike Hannon set off towa rd che ck five, a 21 mph section that would cost even the fastest rider five po ints . One rider said that this section could have been negotiated better if his bike was hinged in the m iddle. It would be pointed out that the later it got , th e slicker it got and the " B" riders and especially the "C" riders were really having to work . Only the most tenacious of their numbers would finish this event. Another note is that the club used spe edometer re -sets to make this one of the more realistic enduros in the District. They, like the riders though, stayed tough to the end with even the fast riders scratching to keep from dropping handfulls of points between • checks seven and eight. Dave Bertram mentioned the good course markings , which were day-glow orange, that ' really stuck out in the woods. They pointed _his way to winning the 250cc "A" class ahead of Maico's Mike Godfrey (19 pts .) , who got the nod over Honda's Mike Adams (19) at the tie-breaker. (AI1 results are unofficial until confirmed by th e club). David Lee , a 200 "A " rider, broke his front brake lever before the long downhill and said it was interesting. J im Jenkins was running strong but had to ride the last half without a footpeg . (T ha t makes my legs hun just thinking about ir.) ~ Hannon finished as strong as he started and if he was hurting as much as most , it d idn't show . The bonfire was one of the most welcome siglUs Or the day and when fingers thawed out enough to clutch the nice finisher pins it was time to head for the second "endu ro" of the da y, the snows and icy road ou t. Redding's Mer cy Medical Cente~ supplied a Life Support Unit with two emergency medical technicians and one regist ered nurse and though tHey weren't kept bus y, they were right out in it with the rest of the die hards. £d., The land on which th is ride t ':)(~ place is owned by Kimberly Cla n Corp. K·C has given this club 85 ,000 acres to use with the only stipulatiorts being basic clean-up and water bar repair. This kind of rapport with our sport is enough to get me, to use the. r products. brr Club President Joe Cosca want~d 'to thank al1 present who made it possibll; and mention that the dub is throWlng a cross country marathon on Dec! 3 i t the Municipal A irport Recreation Area . If they put the same gusto into that event that they did this one, it ought to be good . •

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