Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127219
That the Desire and th e Ride we re not a mat ch , until Friends became a spi rited part. Prepping my bike, I wo rked .late again; it seems that I always do. And when f inally I slep t, sleep was too . short. T he serial howl of nightriders, way too clear and persis tent . It was like camping out at th e zoo u nd er a fu ll devil moon. And brewed with that wild reality w ere Dream Forces that would not go awa y, not even w ith a m orning's show er and coffee. I instead carried them w ith me on m y motorcycle solo. Took them into th e hills, up th at lon g snaking road aimed at the su m m it. Past ice-fi lled ditches now - th e baseline warmth had made m e f or g et this w as N ov emb er , Thank sgiving 's eve already! And th e range, its w hole f ierce nature, everyt hing about it, loo ked so much larger and m ore formidable this-time. Th e mountains we re imm ense and conten tious . I had to w atch m y every move. Sure, th ere was wind and powdery dust up ther e, and th ose w heel-dancing rocks that had tu mbled down in th e night . But so me thing added, too , of a deeper an d m ore m yst erious bear ing. I couldn' t quite put m y f inger on it. It was yeah, like some phantom warning from slig htly beyond earshot. Tha t vague, that odd. So I just rode, doin g m y damnedest to ride m y best. But it was n't good enough! I felt suscep ti ble, di cin g with brain fade. Th e motorcycle in my grip w anted to leap up arid fo llow its own head. I was riding a beast, a motordriven an imal, clinging to fur. And f or m iles I saw not another rider, nor car, nothing. Th ere was only th e road, this untamed handfu l, and m e. A t last, at the top, I cam e u pon friends - riders I kn ow and have ridd en with befo re. We sat bench racing, adm iring each other's bikes, th en got up and rode as One. I found a new spirit no w. I, no t Mounta in or Machine, was in charge of m y riding again. Later at th e clubhouse - that invu lnerable den of fast fellowship - th e aft ernoon sun burned hot and cam al, and seemed m eant ju st for us . A kind of award, maybe. And on e rider, eyes restless and greerl as an emerald sea, was alread y prepping her bik e 'again. Spot less and perfect and primed. For ou r next enco un ter with th e stuff that coun ts. O"l 00 O"l ....... WIND: Papa tells all of the latest gossip and race results '.' .2 OFF ROAD: Hunnicutt, laPorte & Roeseler 6 team up to tame Baja 1000 HARE SCRAMBLES : Plessinger w ins ti t le. 10 on Johnson's day in Wrentham ROAD RACING : Polen takes 14 Japanese titles by storm Aussies dom inate in home ~ 18 World Superbike round STOCKING STUFFERS: More holiday gift ideas for the motorcyclist 16 SPEEDWAY: Curry melts com pet ition 20 on Sacramento ice LOCAL RACING : Hancock takes Ascot ยท Long Track Speedway ti tle 22 CALENDAR: Know what events are coming up ; 32 35 RESULTS: The top f ive WANT ADS : Stuff for sale 35 O N THE FRO NT PAGE : Dan ny laPorte sprints 'across the Baja d es ert on his way t o helping .t ea rnrna te s Ted Hun nic utt" a nd Larry Ro ese le r w in t he Baja 1 0 0 0. See page 6 t o r the complete story . Phot o by Kinney Jones. William Edgar r-----------------------------------------------------------------, SUBSCRIPTION ORDER FORM N a m e _-=~~=:::-:~:7.":::--------------------(P L EAS E PRIN T CLE A R LY ) Ad dr e s s ....,.... C it y Order Date: _ State' "7"""_ -L i p Z _ _ OK, please start my subscription to Cycle News and send me the newspaper o every we ek fo r one year (50 is s ue s ) fo r $35 .00 o e very week for two yea rs (J OO is s ues) for $65 .00 o s ix months se co nd c lass (2 5 is s ue s) for $18.00 On e year (5 0 issues) , 2 nd c lass Canad a or Mexico and all other f ore ign co unt ries &75.00 (U. S . f unds). o Thi s is a re newa l o Ple a se bill me o Enclosed is c he ck or m oney o rde r C ha rge my 0 Vis a 0 Mastercard .~ S ignature _ MC /V isa # _ Exp iratio n Date _ First class a nd ai rmai l rates avai la ble u pon request. ~ ~ Send ~ : CYCLE NEWS, Inc., P.O . Bo x 4 9 8 . Long Beac h . CA 90801 -0498 / (213) 4 2 7-74 3 3 to ~3