Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

.EVEN TS The start- line speeches and the free pancake brea kfast wrapped up at 9:30 a.m., and the riders hit the trail. There was a short section of pavem ent , then it was off int o the d irt, w here the mass start caused. elbow-to-elbow rid ing for the first few miles. Dust in the lower reaches of the course soon gave way to we t ground as the course ga ined e leva tion . Rain ru ts and was ho u ts made the Ride for Kids ' tradition ally mil d course more cha lleng ing than the organizers had int ended. Numerous land slides, includ ing one that had scattered loose dirt and rocks all, the way across the trail just a few miles from the start, caused a bottleneck that brou gh t back a lot of memories for the ex-desert racers in the pack. "My wife got off and walked over the first land slid e. It mad e us both a bit nervous, but I mad e it through. That really amazed me," said Russ Madsen, wh o wa s dual sporting two-up with his wife Jane on a Honda Transalp tha t was loaded d own w ith overnight bags. "We wen t out into the dirt and pr acticed riding togeth er just to make sure we could do this." The trail wound high into the San Bernardi no mountains but low clouds hugged the mountains all day and there was no chance to catch a glimpse of the spectacular alpin e views. But the views were hardly missed because the trail had plenty to hold the riders' attention. There was oncoming traffic as the trail wound through an area that's popular wit h local shooters, two water crossings that were over-the-b oot dee p if y ou made a mistake, and even the odd patch of mud, which prov ided a rare opp ortun ity for California dua l spo rters to splatter their buddies. "Dual sport isn't p retty," said Reid Libby, a newcomer to the dirt who was tackling his second d ual sport course on a bo rrowed Honda 6OOR. Libby was wet from the waist down after the wat er crossings. "I th ink I'm imp roving. I had a lot more fun today than 1 d id on my first ride because I didn't fall d own five times." Libby described the course as "fairly relaxing." "There were a few spo ts that were a litt le rocky. They were questionable but stimu lating. " he told Cycle New s. "Ov erall it wa s a pr ett y mello w expe rience and d efinitely worth it for anybody who is 50 inclined. You can ha ve fun without being overly challenged ." Libby's riding partner, eight-year du al-sport veteran Bill Funk, ad mitted he'd seen more challenging terrain but was happy with the layout of the event. "I'm out of shape. l have n' t been on a bike really seriously for a few months, so I thought it . was wond erful," sai d Fu nk . "T he rou te quit about the same time as my fanny did ." The easy ter rain, coupled with a quick bre ak for granola bars and dr inks rath er than the ride 's traditiona l hot d ogs, mad e for an early finis h and man y of the riders were back at the ride 's Colton headq uart ers before 2 p.m. . " It was a little sho rt for me - a few more miles wou ld 've been nice, but it was great," said Don Frauenberger. " It had some really good rhythm . sections coming back down the mountain ." "I don't mind fmishing ear ly. It means I'll get home in time to wash my bike," said Peter Fassnach t, who had ridden his Suzuki 05350 from Fountain Valley for the event. "I ride it to work every day. Beats the heck out of using a car." The rid e end ed with a prize drawing that netted lucky riders a variety of do na ted prizes that included a Bell Moto-6 helmet, IRC tires, Dunlop tires and Cambel baks. r----------------------------------------~------, Attach Label Here _I~? ,.. By Paul Michels CADIZ, KY, MAR 1 9 Honda's Scott Summers, aboard his Fred Bram- For FASTEST service attach mailing label. Please allow 3 weeks for change to take effect. If label is not available print yo ur name and old address in this box. l1") 0\ 0\ Print yo ur NEW address here. ..n NAM E rl ....... ... . I-< 0..

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