Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._a _._._._._._._._..._._._._._._._._._._._._._._ . IAbove) The UEA had enough hills to make thin gs inte rest ing, w hile lbelow) . snow fell on everyth ing. including ancient Husqvarnas, riders ha ppy, If the Prospectors would realize that it 's not a sin to have at least one sec tion to take away a point or two, they would ha ve had one of the bett er District-S? enduros in recent memory . I- I Adams aces UEA Silver Dollar enduro By Mike Klinger RED MOUNTA IN, CA ,JAN . 28 Question : Who has won the last three consecutive Uni ted Enduro Association end u ros? The 1978 Silver Dollar, the 1978 Tuff 'E Nuff and no w th e '79 Silver Doll ar enduro ha ve a ll go ne to Mike Ad ams. Aboa rd his 250 H onda , he outlasted and outscored over 700 othe'r riders to ca ptu re th e over a ll trophy for this yea r's Silver Dollar Family Endu ro. Ad ams ta llied a sco re of on ly 35 seconds lost. whi ch in vol ved th ree tiebreakers on th ree loops , over the 100 .1 mi le Red Mountain co urse. Mike ha s now received a spo nso red rid e by Wheelsmith aboard a new Ma ico Magnum enduro machine , Second ove ra ll went to Bud Lewis who lost 44 seconds riding a Yamaha in the A-O pen class. Third in th e standings went to CRG's 1978 number one enduro rid er Harry Kea st who also lost 44 seconds. Harry rides a Wheelsmith Ma ico in th e A-Senior ca tegory . T eam Honda rider Jay Tullis gat hered in t he fou rt h position , losing only 47 seconds ridi ng t he A ·200 class , T he pits wl.'te located 10 miles north on Tron a Road and one mile east on a goo d di rt ro a d. The pits could no t have been a ny more convenient . The sign up a rea was first class. UEA spent hours sett ing up a ce ntra lly located sign -up a re a which inclu ded a 30 foot fifth wheel trailer donated by Pennzoil for a ll rid er accomodations. UEA received ample support from various members of the Training Wheels M .C . The first rider left a 8:0 1 in the 30 · degree, sno w-strewn weather. It had sno wed most of the night, b ut just en ou gh to produce . perfect traction and to keep the dust to nil. The firs t loop had a specia l section designed by th e women of UEA . The course immed iately sa unt ered through the flat lan ds and across Trona Road. A couple of times under the railroad tracks and you found you rself,in an _~ 1 J J .- 4l....J :. ( ~ •" J -I .. . " .. . J { \ .... interesting sect ion . This section of th e end uro was th e "Colossus" of th e desert. I t was a down -right roll er coaster tra ck for motorcycles. What a bl ast! Out of th e coaste r secti on , it was through th e hills and onto Ch arl ie's Place for a I 3·mi nute break. At Cha rlie's Place th e hot item was not to grab a beer but to warm your hands on the engi ne cases of you r bik e. After gra bbi ng some heat , everyo ne was on th e ga s again. Besides ha ving a special six-m ile "women' s sect ion " whi ch weav ed through Volkswagen sized boulders, UEA had incorporated som e unusual course markers. W ould anyon e beli eve signs that read : " Ne xt service 2815 miles ," or " Pet rocks for sal e ," and even "Ya doesn't ha ve to call m e Johnson ." One ro ck was completely wrapped with gift paper and bows with a sign stating, " You may purchase this 40 ton rock , UPS included." Pretty clever. Across the va lley and th e trail dropped int o a tren ch paralleling th e railroad tracks . The last unknown check was at th e end of the trench . J.J. Adams cha lked up the victory for the one loopers . He lost on ly seven seconds aboard his Yamaha mini. Robert Kano, son of Crash Kano , scored a second place by dropping 11 seconds. He also rides the C-Mini class on a Honda. Rounding out th e top three went to Ellen Nichols riding a Yamaha in the B-200 Women's class. Aft er a 21·minute break , the second loop got started on the west sid e of Trona Road. The pace was quick , but not difficult. Under the railroad tracks l!:i.~ ,~p~ ,igto, \h_~•.hil!~: .-P~rt~~ns, of Doug Heil jumps off his bike during DeAnza 126cc Pro competition, the second loop were la id out by the teenagers of UEA. It was very interesting with a lot of uphill , downhill action . The real clincher was a tie-breaking check that was at the base of a downhill that was smothered with rocks the size of softballs. Everyone cou ld see the check from th e crest of the hill, but everyone's downhill progress was hampered by the loose obstacles, O n ce everyone made it down the "decider ," the trail played around in the shallow Red Mountain foothills and then immediately shot back to the pit area for the last check, The - flawless riding of S teve n Nichols enabled him to score the top honors in the two loop category on a Yamaha riding in the C-O pe n class. Nichols lost only eight seconds as did Steve Blocker who won the C -250 class . onaKTM. Loo p three started north of the pits about a m ile and jett ed into the Spangler Hills. The riders were subjected to full fledged ridge-running and down home canyon cli mbing, The course then dumped into a fast 30 mph Teagle W ash , but a check was hidden rig ht at the entrance whic h baffled many contestants. Wendy Pravd a , who drove all the way from Las Lunas, New Mexico, burnt the check by one second on her three loop encounter. Up and down Summit Range at 24 mph with various off camber hills and it was back to ..c.a~mp .. ~ ~ I .. J. • ~ Jo All _in a ll the weekend was marvelous. W hen everyone sits down and again remembers the interesting weather we encountered , the nine hour wait at Cajon Pass , the im p ressive 100 mile ride and the expert handling of the enduro by UEA, it all was worth it. Results 3 LOOPERS OVERAU WINNER: 1. Mik. Adams A-250, 35. (HooI 2. Bud Lewio A-Opon.44. lVam!: 3_Harry KtlllSl : A-S<. 44. IMal : 4. Jay TullisA-2OO, 47. (Hon); 5. Randy l Liebig A-250. 56. (KTMI: 6. Ken Lewio Jr. A-Opon. . 1.09. (OMGI: 7. Game< PalensI<. A-Opon . 1.47. IDMGI; 8. Grant Palenslul A-Opon . 1.47.lVaml: 9. Roy Sheridan A-S<. 1.73. !HUll; 10. Tom Parker B-2S0. l BB. (Mal . l 2 LOOPERS • 1. SI"""" Nichols C-Opon. 8.lVaml; 2. Steve BiocI

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