Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

QO 0') eN $-0 QJ .',.Q o .... C.J o Thousands attend Aspencade Motorcyclist Convention By John Wyckoff RUIDOSO, NM, OCT. 1-!! The Aspencade is to the fall of the year what Daytona is to the spring. Bill France has brought us Daytona Speed Week for more than a decade, which heralds the beginning of the riding season. The Aspencade signals the close of riding weather for most of the U_S_ The event, named. after the Aspen trees 12 which tum from green to bright gold in late Septemher, hal been the result of the efforu of one man, Til Thompson, a locaLbusinessman who ia dedicated to motorcycling. Unlike Daytona, or any other event in the world, the Aspencade ia not race or brand oriented. It is concerned with the riden, their families and their ideu. The average age of the "delegates," u Til likes to call them, is probably close to 40, and their income level must be above average, judging by their quality motorcycles. The four-day event takes place in Ruidolo, a litde town of about 7,000 people,. which ia located high in .the ~tamI of southeastern New MeJtl.co, Just on the edge of an Aapche Indian reRrvation. In yean put, the weather hal been ideal, with wann sunny days and cool clear nighu. This year, mother nature played her tricb on the participanu. The rains managed to arrive al~ with most of the delegates, but that didn't seem to dampen their spiriu. This ia a hearty touring crowd, which comes equipped for any and all conditions, so they just donned their rain suiu, prayed for a break in the weather and continued with their activities. The ride to and from Ruidoso, is at leut half the fun for most of the delegates. The breathtaking scenery of New Mexico and the friendliness of the shopkeepers and natives makes for a very easy-going event. Some participanu came from u far away as Europe and Australia, just to attend this most prestigious ~ in .moton:yde touring. It was uuIy amazing to see thcwands of fully dreued touring bikes some with side can, othen with trailen, most decked out with the penonal touch of the owner, parked in the large lot in front of the Chaparral Hotel (The Aspencade headquanen). The amazing pan wu that just u soon u the rains ended, those in attendance had their rigs c1eaned and shining. The best concession in town had to be the coin operated car wuh. It seems that dedicated touring riden are driven by some strange compunction to keep their bikes clean and polished no matter what the weather conditions. There were enough brew in the rain to hold the bike judging evenu. This consisted of more than 20 conteIU in which the winning delegates were awiuded trophies. EventS included everything from the best Moto-Guzzi 1000, to the best dressed couple. Rod Rider Magazine 'POlllOred an economy nan and Harley-Davidson put on a poker run, the proceeds of which went to H-D's favorite charity, the Muscular Dystrophy Association. There were about 60 companies .howing their wares at the Convention Center which overlfowed into a tent. Yamaha wu the only bike manufacturer missing due to the conflict of their showing the new 1982 Yamahu in California on the same weekend. Honda, who had just finished their dealer show, had the new water-cooled 750 V-41 on display along with their new llOOcc super-equipped Gold Wing, called the Aspencacle Tourer. Except for a few minutes late each evening, it wu almost impossible to get close enough to the Honda display to set a good look at the bikes due to the crowds. Honda wu the hit of the show. Emibiton confesled that they got more COIIIttUetive input and ideal from Aspencade rally paniclpanu than from any other method of gathering information. A new event _ made a pan of this year's convention. The "Superbike" Grand Prix. The entry fee was $5 and the "Superbikes" were supplied. The "Superbikes" were miniature motorcycles and the race coune consisted of running twice around the hotel. Again, the proceeds went towards the fight against Muscular Dystrophy. Every major motorcycle event has iu "guru," and the Aspencade ia no different. Since it ia a road riding event, it's only natural that the "guru" wu Roger Hull, publisher of Road Rider Magazine. Roger and his entire staff were on hand. Some were drafted as judges, and the rest, I am sure, carried out their RlR usignmenu enjoying the event u much u the rest of us. It's an eerie spectacle to see a thousand motoreycles leave a motel parking lot and be aware that their combined noise ia less than that of two tractor trucks. Such is the nature of the ~ cade, an ordrrly group of very considerate people. I'm unaware of anyone being hassled by the police, or being drunk in public, or of being inconsiderate_ Last year, I criticized the Chaparral Hotel because of bad housekeeping. This year they are to be complimented on keeping things quite neat and clean, considering the size of the crowd and the weather conditions. All in all, I consider the Aspencade to be one of the most pleasant evenu in all of motorcycling. This wu my sixth "ear and I plan to attend again in '82. •

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