Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

BlM news release Public invited to Desert Awareness III RIVERSIDE, CA, APR. 21 "Desert Awareness III." the biggest environmental education event of the season is scheduled for an area known as Johnson Valley, near Barstow, Saturday and Sunday, April 26-27. Co·sponsored by the Associated Blazers of California, Bill Carey, coordinator, and the Bureau of Land Management. the program is designed foroff-roaders, conservationists, students, hobbyists, and all users of the desert. All members of the public are invited, and Carey reminds that the event occurs two weeks prior to the end of the public comment period on the forthcoming Desart Plan. The Desert Plan will determine the management procedures for the California Desert. According to Carey, the event is set up in a rally format with 10 scattered check points. Each will emphasize important resources, values and 'problems in the desert. Check.points will feature a 60minute demonstration, lecture or discuss\on: survival. archaeology, geology, insects, animals, plants and flowers, land management and a surprise program. There will also be a check point for children ages one to twelve. Saturday's activities are from 8· a.m. to 5 p.m. The site is reached by traveling east out of lucerne Valley on Old Woman Springs Road for 12.5 miles where a series of red and white signs will direct drivers north on a dirt road to the assembly area north of Soggy Dry Lake. From there on, four-wheel drive is recommended. Rides will be provided for those who do not have four-wheal drive transportation. A special campfire program is scheduled Saturday night for those who camp out et the site. leading the activities at various check points will be authorities from the academic community and BlM specialists. Major participating groups signed in to date are: International Scouts of los Angeles, Toyota Land Cruisers of Los Angeles and Ventura Counties, Tree People of Hollywood Hills, Camping and Wilderness Clubs of TRW, Camp Club of National Cash Register and International Rock Hounds Association. For additional informetion, contact Bill Carey, 213/358-8041, mornings. Team Yamaha's Donnie Cantaloupi will be the subject of a segment of Westinghouse Broadcasting's PM Magazine to be televised in the Sacramento/Stockton 8I8a on Thursday, May 1 over KXTV, Channel 10. PM's Diana Damron and Cary Nosier headed up a 12-person, twocamera crew that interviewed Cantaloupi and trainer, Dean Miller, before and during the Hangtown National on Mar. 23. The program airs at 7:30 p.m. Eleven persons, including Assemblyman Robert C, Cline of Northridge, have been named by State Parks and Recreation Director Russell Cahill to a Citizens Off-Highway Vehicle Advisory Committee to assist the Department in ad- • ministration of its OHV programs, Members of the committee include: Everett F. Blizzard and Wayne Spratt of Sacramento; Richard M. Brown of Visalia; Patricia Clark of Wofford Heights; Terry Davis of Hesperia; Lewis Jauregui of Rancho Santa Fe; Ken Knull of Orinda; Dave Swager and Assemblymen Cline of Northridge; Art Vasconcellos of Watsonville; and Jim Livermore of Pomona. Major areas of concern for the committee will be recreational needs of OHV enthusiasts; acquisition, development and operation of State VehicUlar Recreation Areas, and recommendations for allocation of OHV funds to federal and local agencies for provision of OHV facilities in California. The committee, expect to meet four times a year in . various ueas of the state, will hear comm~nts from the public regarding recreational use of off-highway vehicles. Recommendations will be made by the committee on how the department, through its OHV recreational program, can best meet the OHV user needs. There is no financial compen· sation for committee members; how· ever, travel expenses will be reimbursed, Vic Wilson, ownerloperator of Saddieback Park, has been retained by the State Department of Parks and Recreation as a consultant. to assist in implementation of the depart· ment's OHV programs. In last week's issue, we captioned a photo of A.J. Whiting leading the pack at Indian Dunes as being from an AME race. Wrong. The action was captured at a CRC event. Papa had the erring cap writer type this up while hanging by his toes. The Riverside chapter of the Building Industry Council will hold a charitY benefit showing of the new film On Any Sunday" Friday night. May 23. TIckets are $60 per person, and the proceeds go to help two worthy charities, Children's Village, and the Very Special Art Festival. For mora info, contact Jim Wells at 7141663-3825. Bureau of Land Management representatives will be at Riverside City College on Monday evening, April 28 with a slide and cassette show and a Q.&.A session to help explain the 1980 Desert Draft Plan. Ron Pardee, who teaches a course in motorcycle technology at RCC, said the meeting is open to the public and begins at 7 p.m. Riverside City College is located at 4800 Magnolia in Riverside. Call Pardee at 714/684·11240, ext. 4112, if you need more information. Bob Popiel will assume the position of national service manager for Husqvarna effective May 1. The position of eastern service representative in the Columbus, Ohio, Husky office will be taken over by Terry Cunningham. Popiel is currently in the process of making his move to Husqvarna's San Diego. California office. • The opening big track/big bike go-fast race of the season on dirt at Sacramento proved several things. There are a lo.t of guys going fast and running equal to each other. The winner of the race, Hank Scott, bad such a finely-tuned engi ne that the builder, Sal Acosta, did not even make the race but opted for several reasons to stay home in southern California. It's too bad because Sal has been trying for several years to build a mile track winner. Maybe he will be around for the May 4 San Jose event. Scott had the ponies. In both his heat and the final he was off to his usual first lap slow starts and was anything but a contender after the first one or two miles. But Hank has always been somewhat of a nervous sort before a race and in the early laps. . He had horsepower to race and close in on the leading gro.up without the benefit of other riders to draft more than once. He still caught and passed everyone to win his futh mile and move into the number two spot, behind Jay Springsteen, in the active rider mile track victors' column. (Broth. er Gary has three wins.) Mike Kidd rode hard enough and fast enough to win just about any other mile - but not Sacramento. Two other guys that rode their best were Bobby Sanders and Scott"Pearson. They looked very good in both the heat and semis but both were edged out in the final yards for the transfer spots. With so many former mile winners and potential mile winners entered at San Jose it is again going to be tough on the rookies. All the good ones were at Sacramento but none came close to going to the final, which was seemingly reserved for I!I former National winners and two veteran Experts. Only one rider, Wayne Rainey, was riding in his first mile National. The San Jose race has a first time sponsor. D.LO. Chain Co. has tagged the event and is going first class. They have rented a cafe on the grounds for hasting the press and their distributors. Cold sandwiches? Not this time. Would you believe steak dinners? Believe ill They are also posting extra money to every rider who qualifies for the 16 rider final and is using D.l.O. chain, plus backing one or two of the Juniors rated as pre-race favorites in the yellow plate invitational. Welcome aboard D.LD. and thanks for doing it right the first time out. Steve Eklund won the event last year for his first and only mile win. He failed to qualify for the final in the September San Jose event. Now he returns to San Jose with zero points. Did anybody ever think that Jay Springsteen and Steve Eklund would be heading into the fifth National of the year with a total of only II points between them? The finish 'a year ago was picture perfect. Eklund caught and passed Ricky Graham for the win at the line. Gary Scott was inches back and edged Steve Morehead by - inches. A typical San Jose Mile finish. The results show that in the 15 previous San Jose Miles well over half of them have been decided on either, (1) the last lap (2) the last turn (ll) at the finish line. It will be no different onMay4. To add extra flavor to both the San Jose Mile and the Ascot Half Mile, on May 10, former English road racer Cliff Carr has turned indoor short track promoter. Carr will promote an indoor race at the Cow Palace in San Francisco April !lO, in front of the San Jose race and has inked Kenny Roberts as an official entry along with Eklund, to name a few. The same cast will head south for the Wednesday night before Ascot (May 7) and do the same on the concrete at the Long Beach indoor arena. Cliff was with me in the booth at Sacramento, watching his first mile race ever. He was more excited than most of the fans. Before the night was over we had firmed up a plan for Cliff to go back to England this year and sign up at least two mile tracks for 1981 dirt track racin·g. Who says the sun has set on the British Empire? There was a lot of excitement at Sacramento when we made the official announcement about the American Honda 500cc Invitational slated for Ascot on National night. (BSA Gold Stars have suddenly gone up another $500 in price.) The Sacramento race set another new record of sorts. The Winston people are offering iron-on decals. The decal is the same as the official patch worn by the riders this year. They are free with a pack of Winstons. The decals were all gone by intermission up there but will also be available at San Jose and Ascot. Prpbably the best buy at any concession stand at any sporting event this year. Won't try and pick the San Jose Expert winner but will give the nod to Danny Perkins or Rich Arnaiz in the Junior Invitational. Roxy Rockwood 7

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