Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Oatman doesn't claim to be a bustling metropolis. California J.OOO Tour J.Oth Anniversary Run 1100 try 'Tour of Tours' By Mike and Carol Hayes YUCCA VALLEY. CA. MAY 15-16 The California 1000 road tour celebrated its 10t4 birthday as the classic event drew over 1100 people who wanted to try their hand at riding the "tour of tours." Riders streamed in from all over California and other western states, while one intrepid soul rode all the way from Connecticut just to ride 18 this tour. Entrants converged on the small parking lot of Hutchins Motor Sports on Highway 62 in Yucca Valley, with the result being one jammed lot and a quarter-mile long string of bikes parked on both sides of the highway. Despite the traf£ic problems, nobody was particularly worried, since the fun was just beginning. Sign-up began at 7 p .m . Friday evening, only hours before the scheduled " lift-o ff" time of midnight, with veterans, non-finishers Crom past Cal 1000 tours, as well as newcomers all lined up and ready to go . For your $10 entry fee ($12 for sign ups after midnight), you got a tour patch and starter's pin. Successful finishers at the end of the tour would get a finisher 's pin to com plete the set. As an indicator of the nature of the Cal 1000, there were several individuals walking around with only the starter's pin on their jacket: This time would be their year ! After the sign-up process, many riders spent the time looking at bikes (their own, others' or machines Cor sale on Dick Hutchins' showroom Iloor), talking or drinking cups of coffee in preparation Cor the long ride ahead of them. Touring rigs ranged from traditional Culldress HarIeys to Honda Gold Wings, BMWs and other big-bore road burners. Offbeat machines included a couple of dual purpose Yamahas and Suzukis, an ancient Vincent HRD and even a trio of Harley Hummers, all of which finished the tour intact. "Patron saint" and creator of the California 1000, Dick Hutchins was on hand to converse with entrants and wish everybody well. Hutchins, who created other classic tours such as the Death Valley Run, began running the Cal 1000 when his shop was loca ted in downtown Los Angeles in 1972. and even then several hundred riders showed up Cor the Iirst run. By holding the tour the last couple years out in Yucca Valley, all the headaches of logistics and traffic have been reduced, but the fun has remained. As the clock edged towards midnight, entrants quieted down and formed a line up to the start check. Tourers had the option of leaving as late as 8 a.m. when the start closed, , but the majority DC the crowd left when the clock struck 12. At the start you got your entry envelope marked orr and the map for the first of six legs of the tour. Riders then headed off down the highway into the night in wave after wave to the first check. The first leg was about 155.5 miles from the start to the first check in Brawley. Riders cruised Irorn Hutchins' shop to National Monument Drive in 29 Palms where they turned to pass through Josh ua Tree National Monument. Right off, this turned ou t to be the most challenging part of th e first da y's ride and one of th e more interesting parts of the whole tour. The road was narrow and curvey, with dips where parts of the pavement became washed over with sand and dirt, creating skittish moments Cor almost everybody. Once out of the monument, more narrow road took the tour to Mecca. From Mecca. everybody headed down Highway III to Brawley, a welcome relief from the previous 60 mile stretch of road since III gave you the opportunity to open 'er up to the throttle stops. A few miles outside of Calipatria, the first secret check was waiting Cor the eagle-eyed, since missing any check can disqualify you. After hitting the secret check. it was a quick jaunt down the highway to Brawley and the first check. In Brawley, entrants got checked off and another map, this time showing the location of the second check to be in Earp, CA, just across the river from Parker, AZ. Highway 78 led us from Brawley up through the Glamis sand dunes where the scenery took on an otherworldly vista just before dawn - at 4:30 -in the morning! On to Blythe. While the approach to Blythe is more or less direct on 78, the tour route made a Cew choice turns to separate the road racers from the navigators and skirt the city proper. This confused more than a Cew participants, but once everybody got their bearings straight, it was no problem to move on to Parker, where it was just a hop across a bridge to the second check in Earp. The course map handed out revealed that the third leg was a biggie - over 200 miles to Las Vegaswith a road warning thrown in Cor one section to top things off. This would be just enough to give anybody a Cull day's ridingl We followed the Colorado River from Earp, crossing back into Arizona at ,Parker where we picked up Highway 95, going through Lake Havasau City, then down Interstate 40 to Topock and onto 95 again. About 15 miles later, we left 95 for a third grade road Cor Oatman. Oatman, as we found, was a ghost town/ tourist attraction;dirt road, clapboard buildings and honky-tonk bar included. While Oatman didn't have the same attraction to it that would normally grace a big city, it gave everybody a chance to stretch their legs, have a beer and claim that they were in the wild west Cor a while. Leaving Oatman was something elsel This was what the road warning was all about, since the asphalt was either deteriorated, broken up or pock marked, meaning that a mistake would mean a rough trip into the weeds and rocks. A better stretch of pavement was encountered. taking us into Kingman. The ride from Kingman to Las Vegas was a long, straight wide-open throttle run on Highway 93, highlighted with a dramatic view of Hoover Dam towards the end of the day. Once over the dam, navigation to successfully make it into town became critical since 'he vital roads we wanted weren't marked very well. . A lot of lost tiine ensued, running here and there, the risk of a secret check to knock us out always on our minds. Finally, we were able to get things right and Cound our way into Vegas where the fourth check waited at AI's Cycles on Lake Mead Boulevard. Besides getting another map for the next leg , hot and tired riders could also get a chilled cup of lemonade in return Cor a small donation. Smart riders stayed overnight in Las Vegas , or at least camped out, before making an assa it It on the second da y of the tour. For early birds. the ISO-odd miles to the Cifthcheck at Shoshone, CA, turned out to be a lovely Sunday morning desert tour. Late risers would have to ride their tails off. since the Shoshone check closed at 11 a.m. - and there were those who didn 't make it ! We made tracks out of Vegas on Highway 95, and soon turned onto Route 157 which took us Cor a breathtaking ride up through the Toiyabe National Forest. Another secret check (the last one, in factl) waited by 157 before the ascent into the forest covered mountains. The ride through the forest was brisk and beautiful, but ended all too soon as we had to take Route 156 back down to the desert £loor. We 'continued northwest bound on 95 to Lathrop Wells, then turned south onto Route 160 to Pahrump. The ride to Pahrump was fast, and Route 160 was . Cor the most part, straight. From Pahrump, everybody took Route 372, where we crossed Daylight Pass into California, After rid- ing some very exciting road through the Tonopah Mountains, we rounded a wide curve to dicover the fourth check by the side of the road. _ Shoshone gave the tour a chance Cor gas and some cool drinks before passing through Death Valley, since that's not the ideal place to have anything go wrong. The three to four hundred bikes and riders that were lined up Cor the gas pumps and cash registers at the town's only store must have given the locals so mething to talk about Cor months to come. Cruising through Death Valley is an experience in itself. Everything that you see is hot, baked and bone dry. Knowing that you can make it through made this part of the tour an awesome study of desolation. Stops were made at Furnace Creek and Stovepipe Wells Cor food, drinks and gas before saying bye-bye to one of the hottest places on earth. Things got cooler as the tour continued up through the Panamint Mountains, away CromDeath Valley . People didn't know which was better - to be out of the valley or to breathe the cool mountain air! Route 190 joined up with Route 136. which left us a mile south of Lone Pine. the last major R8cR stop before hitting the fifth check at Randsburg. Participants were getting excited. since Yucca Valley happened to be "only" about 200 miles away! Randsburg was waiting for us at the end of a 97 mile jaunt down Highway 395. Like the run from Kingman to Las Vegas, riding down 395 to Randsburg was a run-as-fastas-you-can affair, but watch out Cor the CHPI Pulling into the small town was a big relief. since that meant that there was only one more check left, Kramer Junction on 395 was another 27 miles down from Randsburg and was the last gas up Cor many riders. From there, we headed east on Route 58 into downtown Barstow where we were greeted with the sight of a two-car auto accident, a reminder to many that those Cour-wheelthings can be awfully dangerous. Route 247 delivered us out of Barstow, and by that time it was almost dark Cor at least a third of the riders still on the road. At Lucerne Valley, 247 turned left, and we followed it all the way down to Highway 62. By that time, it was very dark and co ld , not to mention very tiringl Reaching 62 was the best thing that happened on the whole tour when we got there, but there were still a couple miles left to go. Riding down 62 back to Dick Hutchins' place almost became an act of courage in itself as the fatigue level was quickly rising. When we got there, the tour had taken us approximately 46 hours. 32 minutes out of a maximum time oC 48 hours. At the finish, checking out was brief and simple, with each rider (and passenger) getting the coveted Cal 1000 finisher's pin. There was no party or hoopla. just a Cew quiet gatherings here and there in the parking lot as finishers traded ~lories. . As the tour was drawing to a close, there were still some riders out on the road who were definitely not going to make it. Well, there's always next yearl . The CaliCornia 1000 calls itself the "tour of a lifetime," and "tour of tours." Is it? After covering some 1067.3 odd miles in two days, over some of the most breathtakingly varied scenery in the country, and after meeting some of the best people in the world, going through the cold and heat, mountains, desert and so many other things, all that can be said is that the Cal 1000 is everything • it promises to be, and morel

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