Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

~ .... « e 0 m m ....... CI) ~ct t: iJ.J .2 =~Q. N Q) E ctl E :S f:;: <:3 CI) ll) E ca ~ Q) o t: ctl .... ::l "0 ~ ~ G() >-.... (\j ~ c (\j - ""' More than 300 riders participat e d in t he L.A.-to-Barstow-to-Vegas dual-sport ride on Thanksgiving weekend . Dual Sport fun from LA-to-B-to-V By Anne and Tom Van Beveren LAS VEGAS, NV, NOV. 24-25 T h anksgivin g means different things to different people. To most Americans it means turkey, stuffing and candied yams, with pumpkin pie for dessert. . To 1200 desert racers, it m eans a n o ther sho t a t the Barstow-to- Vegas H are a n d Hound, th e largest a nd most THEF'RST THE BEST CYCLE NEWS : CHRIS mehicketf GmRGE Number 1 2508 District 17 says THANKS to: Douglas Motorcycle E ngineering Gleson Motorsports Engles Kawasaki for their help andsupportin 1989. 54 prestigio us event of th e dese rt rac ing year. And to 350 du al spo rt rid ers, it means two days of the most fun you can have on a motorcycle. The event is known as th e Los Ange les-to-Barstow- to -Las Vegas and that is exac tly wha t it is - a two day , cro ss-cou ntry trek th at starts o n th e no rthern edge of Los Angeles, stops overnig h t in the desert town of Ba rstow , Ca lifornia, a nd wi nds up a lmos t 450 du sty mi les la ter am id th e g litz a nd gli tter of the Las Vegas str ip in Neva da . . It is o n ly in its sixth year , but th e ride is a lready beco m in g a T ha nksgiving tradition. Veteran s of pas t rides keep com ing back for more a nd they brin g new recruits with th em . The ride entices racers away from th e Bvto- V Ha re a nd H ound a nd draws street riders o ff the h ighway for th eir first taste o f dirt roads. T he nu m bers grow every year a nd so does th e en th us ias m. "T he idea behind th is a nd th e ot he r du al spo rt. even ts we put o n is to get a bunch of people toge ther to have fun ," said J im Pilon, th e driving force beh ind AMA/District 37's ' dual sport p rogram. " We are trying to promote good, fun ri ding, . non-competition trail riding - something that people can go o u t and do at their own pace. There's no pressu re here. People can go o u t with a bunch of their friends a nd just loll y-gag." The lolly-gagging started early for this year's participants. Sig n- u p opened a t 6 a.m . th e da y after Thanksgi ving and with a lmos t 200 miles to cover before th e da y's end in Barstow, nobod y wanted to be late. The streets were craw ling with mot orcycles by 5.30 a: m. a nd th e Sign-u p area a t Foothill Yamaha/ Kaw asak i in Su n la nd , Ca li fornia, look ed lik e the parking lot a t Da ytona Cycle Week, excep t every bike had kn obby tir es. XL Hondas were o u t in force, in all sizes and states o f repair. The bright gr een stripes of KLRs were easy to pick out in th e pre-dawn gloom and GS BMWs g le a m ed in sho w roo m -n ew conditio n. There were one -of-a- kind mounts too - a 1958 Ari el:"a 1985 XL500 with a sideca r attach ed ; even a new two stro ke KTM wi th a temporary operat ing permit taped to th e rear fender . in a n a ttempt to ward off passing CH P off icers. And just wh en you thought you had seen it a ll, so mebo dy pointed o ut th at th e 250cc Ni nja in th e parkin g lot was sport ing dua l purpose tires. The riders were as varied as th ei r mounts. They ranged in age from 69year-o ld Wayne Walburn a ll th e wa y do wn to four-year- old Gary Harkins, who practiced for a year to ride copilot o n th e ba ck of an XL600. Ov erseas entries came from West Germany a nd j apan. Iand American riders travell ed from as far a way as Kan sas and Iow a to take part in th e event. The morning was coo l a nd misty asthe first riders head ed out just after 7. a.m.. bu t a little moisture in the a ir ,:,asn:t. ab out to dampen anybody s spmts, The roll-charted route turned stra ig h t into th e Angeles National Forest and it was dirt roads a ll the wayfor the fir st 20 mi les. Dry weather before th e event left dust hanging in the still morning air, but it was a vast improvement over the rain that pl agued th e first da y . o f last year's ride. The first five hours were spe n t weavin g in and o u t of the Angeles National Forest, crossing from winding. fi re ro ads to the Angeles Crest Highway a nd back a~a i n, and as the ride went up, the views got more a nd mor e impressive. So did th e riding. " T he tr ail s were per fect, " sa id Patrick H ein, wh o rod e two -up with Ren e Willis on a TT350. " We went up through a ll the hard sectio ns and some of th em go t really challengi ng. When yo u have two people and the trails are on ly a foot wide and you 're twisting a nd winding up through trees and rocks it gets pretty d ifficult a nd th at mad e it a lot o f fun . " We were reall y moving through some of the secti ons, too - keeping right up with everybo dy else and cha llenging them a nd I think the o ther riders enjoyed us being there. They would look back and see two people keepin g up with them a nd th ey'd try to go faster. We put the pressure on a bit. " The roll cha rt showed a lunch stop in th e mountain cit y of Wrightwood, but many of the riders were having too much fun to sto p and eat. Others, who had problems a long the way and were forced to stop for repairs at the service truck provided by American Honda, didn't have time to stop and were pushing to make up tim e as the ride left th e mountains and head ed o u t acro ss the desert for Barsto w. T a il-end rid er s wer e battlin g darkness as th ey came in off the 175mil e trail a nd checked in a t Barnes Honda/Yamaha in Barstow, and th e lig hts went o u t early as th e tired ri ders prepared for a no the r early start o n da y two. Dawn brought 50 degree temperatures, a welcome change from last year's ice on the sea ts, and another 257 miles of fast-p aced riding. The ride began wit h a warm-up o n desert roads and th en pitched th e riders' headlong into a tri cky four-mil e wash that is usually reserved for racer s in Di strict 37' s infamou s Ch eck Chase Hare & Hound. " Doing th at sand was h with ' two peop le · o n the bik e was incredible, I don't know how we m ade it through there," Patrick H ein said. " We were sinking in th e sand and we had to use our feet to keep going. About 25 people were . parked with th eir helm ets off after that section, just taking a breather a nd waiting for their buddies that were stuck in the sand." The ride co n tin ued through the East Mojav e Scenic Area, ran through the world' s lar gest Joshua tree forest and then headed into Goth, California, for lunch and a pl easant surprise at the local gas station.

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