Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

·OFF.-ROAD . AlIA Suzuki National Trail Ride.series Final round: Los Angeles-to-Barstow-to-Las Vegas Dual Sport Ride providing spectacular views of the valley below and criss-crossing small streams, before it hit pavement again just below the mountain community of Running Springs, where Honda's support truck was waiting to help with flat tires and the results of a wide range of other trail-side mishaps. The Honda truck met the riders at strategic spots along the trail all the way to Las Vegas, working extra hard to fill the gap created when Suzuki's support truck failed to show up for the event, which ironically was the final event of the AMA Suzuki National Trail Ride Series. The trail split for the first time at , Green Valley Lake, sending "easy-way' riders on a tour of picturesque backcountry jeep trails to the lunch stop at Big Bear, while ''hard-way'' riders took (Top left) Las By Anne Van Beveren Vegas was a Photos by Tom Van Beveren LAS VEGAS, NY, aV.24-25 or the 12th year in a row, Thanksgiving was more than just turkey and stuffing for hardy dual sport riders from all over the United States. Riding everything from a 1954 Triumph to the latest in ATK four-strokes, almost 250 on- and off-road enthusiasts gathered to tackle the wilderness between Los Angeles and Las Vegas at this year's Los Angeles-to-Barstow-toLas Vegas dual sport ride - a two-day cross-country trek that has earned a reputation as the premier dual sport event in the country. "I can't remember exactly how we heard about it, but we've just always wanted to ride it. We always heard that if you were going to ride a dual sport event, this was the one you should do," said Ted Heitsche, who drove 2400 miles from Ohio to participate in the event." ine of us came, including my father and a friend who rode with me. We came out here to try it and we had a lot of fun. We'll probably be back." Heitsche's last trip to California was in 1973, when he made the trek from Ohio to ride the predecessor of today's dual sport event, which uses existing roads and trails - the infamous Barstowto-Vegas Hare & Hound off-road race, which fell victim to environmentalist pressure in the late 19805. "I was the youngest rider ever to do the race at that time," said Heitsche, who was 11 years old and rode an XR75 Honda. "1 finished it, but It was after dark by the time I got to the finish." Heitsche completed this year's event well before' dark both days thanks to a Honda XR650L and a shorter-thanusual course, which took the riders 178 miles on Saturday and 203 miles on Sunday. Day one's action began at the crack of dawn on the day after Thanksgiving at Honda's Rider Education Center in Colton, California. Mindful of last year's welcome sight for many sore eyes at this year's Los Angeles-toBarstow-to-Lss Vegas dual sport ride. (Left) Everyone enjoyed this year's unusually warm and dry ride, but the pleasant weather conditions came at a price - dUst, and lots of It. (Below) Lsrkln While wheelles his 900cc BMW on one ot the many long dirt-road sections on day F II') 0'\ 0'\ .-< ~' l-< il) "S Q) u Q) o 12 a challenging run along difficult singletrack trails and went head-to-head with a tricky uphill. '1t was pretty st~p and there were a lot of rocks with a coating of dust on them," said Jeff Landers. "It took me two shots to get up there, and the first time 1 went up it I never even saw the hill, there was so much dust," "Rocks and deep silt - it was a tough section. By the time we got there, there were 20 people lying all over the hill," said Larry Woodruff, who rode sweep in the middle of the pack. "I had to take three bikes up the hill," The trail split again after lunch. The easy-way riders were treated to another meander through picturesque hillside trails with occasional patches of loose rocks and roller-coaster-like up-and- two. long course, most of the riders opted for an early start and the parking lot was a hive of activity by 6 a.m. as riders prepped their bikes, signed in and added their toy to the growing pile of donations for Toys For Tots. By 7 a.m., a steady stream of bikes was heading out of the parking lot and down the pavement towards the first dirt section, which led up a canyon into the Angeles ationaJ Forest. The backand-forth turns coupled with thick dust to ruin Bruce Lessing's second shot at the two-state extravaganza. "1 just fell over on one of the comers, It was a nothing crash but when I went to pick up the bike, 1 found I couldn't," said the Honda XL350 rider, who broke his left collarbone and had to ride out to the nearest highway and then ride another 15 miles to the hospi tal. "1 hadn't been hurt in 15 years, then 1 broke my fOOt last month, and now this. I'm left-handed, so that makes it worse, too." The trail wound through the hills,

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