Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

(Left) Each day included timed special test sections . (Above right) Navigat ion was a big part of the rally, where riders co mpeted aboard st reet-legal motorcycles, (Below right) Ken Kugel (left) was the top B rider, and Damo n Powell (right) was the overall and A class winner. Hond a XR600. Ne va da 's Jesse Goldber g, on ano the r Honda XR600, led the A 50+ class . Jesse, at 69, was the oldest rider but often p ut th e yo u ng guys to shame. It see me d as thou gh only a few hou rs later we we re back in the sadd le. Come to think of it - we were. With only a 455mile rou te on day tw o's age nda, the first ride r was sent off in full dayligh t at 7:00 a.m. I was a little les s anx io us and pe rh aps mor e ex cited about s ta rting the seco nd day. With the hardest day now behi nd us, I kn ew I cou ld conquer anythi ng that stoo d in my way for the res t of the event. I had a ve ry positive attitude an d th is is w he n I rea ll y began having fun . Fro m th is poi nt on, all I had to worry abo ut was riding, eating and sleeping. The "easy" second d ay began with a 6O-mph special test down an old stagecoach rou te . The ride continued so ut h across th e high pl ains of New Mexico into Roswell for gas, and wi th it, a brief but w elco me d brea k . An unexpe cted loc ke d ga te o n th e aft e rnoo n ro u te required a 60-mile highway detour but allowed the riders to fall back onto the rou te for a final 24-mile spe cial test up into the Lincoln National Forest w ith a che ckou t and fini sh for th e d ay at th e o u t s kirts o f Clo u dcroft. Two nights wou ld be spen t in the small ski resort town at The Lodge, a beau tiful, tum-ofthe-century hot el. Little tim e howeve r wo uld be spen t enjoying the picturesque co m m u ni ty o r th e co m fo r t of Th e Lodge . Whatev er s pa re time w e h ad was pret ty much devoted to bike maintenance. Fortunately, my almost stock, little Honda XR25OL, while a little slowe r than m o st o f th e bi g b ik e s in th e eve n t, hadn't m is sed a b e a t a nd ' required little upkeep. The only change I made to my bike go ing into the eve nt w as installing a larger-than-stock IMS fuel tank, allowing a range of we ll ove r 150 miles . Po well s till led after day tw o . He held a comman d in g lead ove r Howell, who w as involved in a dogfig ht with Hond a XR600-mounted Gary Jackson of Texas. Kugel s till had con trol of the B class, whil e Honda rid er Terry Nich ols moved into the 50+ class lead . Dale and I, mea nwhil e, ma naged to stay on time so rt of. Three riders joined the hou redou t club on this day. Day three d aw ned co ld an d chilly, bu t that was to be expected at the 8500altitude. Th e frosty temperature was a ble ss in g , as t he ' m o rn in g sec tio n requir ed a brisk pace on the wi nding dirt roa ds thro ugh the Lincoln National Fo rest. By n oon, th e day 's 338-mile rou te wo und out of the mountains and down an endless desert valley through Cornucop ia Drew, Crow Flats and Big Dog Canyon. A U-t urn brought riders up onto the Forest Rim Road, the high pl a te au overlooki ng th e valley run . Enjoyi ng the spectacu lar view was risky bus in ess on th e loose gravel road . A qu ick pee k ca used me to overs hoot a comer and plant my patient little Honda into a pile of-rocks . A broken headlight bulb, .gouged fender and assorted b ru ises was a chea p lesson to keep my eyes o n th e r o a d . One mil e u p th e route Ma rt y H owell, g la n ci n g d ow n at h is cockp it array of odome ters and pacer s was not so lucky. He ove rsho t a com er, managed to man eu ver th rough a rock pil e bu t was snagged by a half buried juniper. H is rid in g companions w er e immed iat el y o n h and to pull off hi s bik e, provid e shade and send for help at th e ne xt check- b u t cou ld on ly s pli n t what turned out to be spiral fractures of both of his lower left leg bones. Ma rty is on e tou gh guy and end ured the pain of an hour and a half wait for the am bulance and th e long bumpy rid e ou t to the ne arest hospital w it h a grin . Only Dale 's jokes as we wa ite d fo r h el p seemed to make him groan . After the ambu lance pu lled off, the remai ning pool of riders and tw o sweep riders set a more se da te p ace for th e rema ind er of the marble hi gh w ay. By now, th o s e of us w ho h ad co me to Ma r ty's assis ta nce h ad lon g s ince houred ou t, so we all chose a pavem ent rou te to reach Clou dcroft befor e dark. The option provid ed a g rea t w ind ing valley road ride bordered by the fores t splashed with fall colo rs. Once again, the eve ning was dedicated to bike ma inte nance. Than k good ness fo r th e Big Red Honda sup po rt tr uck tha t a ttended the ra lly. Boxes of part s were available at no charge to any rider who needed them, regardl ess of the bike brand they were riding. O ne hu ndred percent of any "donation" a rider chose to make was placed in the pot for the Ride For Kids fund . The sa me name was fou nd atop the leaderboar d after the thi rd day of competition - Dam on Powell. On ce again, the 50+ class saw a leader change, as Califo rnian Bob Stou ffer moved into the number-on e position , while Kugel kep t control of the B class chase. Final day and 379 miles to go. After a full n ight's slee p, we head ed off into a spec ta cu la r su nrise an d into the for est via an overgro wn tw o-track special test section. Those who chose to she d their jackets afte r th e m orn in g w arm -u p qu ick ly regretted th eir d eci si on. The cou rse dro pped o u t onto a h igh w ay, a n d a co ol freeway p a ce ca r rie d u s through Mescaler o, an Apache reservatio n, and d own into Capitan, th e birth and bu ria l site o f Smokey The Bear. Seriou s fu n began again as th e ro u te v e ered b a ck o n to dirt, a ro ck y a n d pri mitive two-track road . Thi s was one of the few tim es I a ctually rode w it h Dale as we we nt head to head int o the rocks. Dale is a sly fox who, in sp ite his adva nced years at 56 and "woe is me" ta les, h as a d ecid ed ly hea vy h and on the th rottle and left me in the dust. As a fu rthe r bit of fun, A class rid ers wer e tu rne d onto a three and a ha lf mile d iabolical bou lder nigh tm are of a trail. The only A to survive witho u t houring ou t or losi ng the trail was Powell. A clear d ivis ion of points an d worn out riders en de d th e officia l ri de at th e n o on check , A welcomed 20- mi le, n arrow h igh w a y ro ute across grass p lain s broug h t riders to the final special eve nt. Tu rn ing back onto d ir t and ca refu lly follo wi ng the roll chart's notes of wi ndmills, ga tes and ra nches, the 'ro u te led all of u s on to [eanene a n d Jim Bo b Best's 100-square-mile sheep ran ch for a scrum ptious lunch, where we also visited with a very special family struggling to survive in an environmentally correct society bent on destroying stewards of the lan d . The final run of the day cove red the 25 m ile s to t he ne a rest paved ro ad , no rtheast across the land tha t was once roamed by Billy the Kid to Fort Sumner and quick paved dash back in to Clovis. I had mixed emotions when all was said and don e. As I rolled across the finish line, I was overwhelmed by extreme sa t is fa cti o n , kn o wi n g that I acco m plished w h a t I se t ou t to do . On the o ther h and , I w a s a lmos t depressed becau se it was all over; I wanted to keep going. But best of all, Bob d onated the $1700 to th e Rid e Fo r Kid s fou n da tio n, and th at w a sn 't a ll. A not he r $1 800 wa s raised 'at the evening banquet, as rid ers du g in th ei r p ockets and co n tri b u te d other pledges. The only prob lem now, is that I have to w ait a n other 12 m onths to rid e it again . Mayb e next time I'll be able to beat Dale throu gh the rocks. I~ ~ 0\ 0\ "'""" ('t') N I-< ClJ ,.0 E ClJ > o z 31

• Cover