Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

"VNS E ET ""E dited by Scott Rousseau (Left) The 200 riders at the Honda Dual Sport Ride for Kids were treated to challenging and scenic trails thro ugh the San Bernardino mountains. The ride raised $22,000 for the fight against pediatric brain t umors. (Above) Rick Humphreys rode his Husqvarna to victory In the 250cc Expert class and second overall in the 250cc Masters class during the Vintage Iron Evolut ion of Motocross round at Swan MX. ,,:. VintageIron E volutiono M f otocross: Round 2 Honda D Sport R forK ual ide ids Dual purpose By Tom Van Be ve ren SANBERNARDINO, CA, MAR. 17 u a l sporters got th e 1996 fight against childhood brain tumors off toa flying start with a 100-m ile, $22 ,000 th rou gh the San Bernard in o Mountains. Just over 200 riders turned ou t for the Honda Dual Sport Ride for Kids, which marked the beginning of this year's 15round series of st reet and dua l sport rides a im e d at rai s ing m o n ey fo r research int o pediatric brain tumors the most deadly form of childhood cancer . Sinc e it was founded in 1984, th e tw o-wheel ed s e ri es, now backed by Am e r ican H ond a, has contribut e d almost $3 mill ion to the research effort. The dual sp orters ga the red a t Glen Helen Raceway aro u nd 8 a.m . to enjoy a free pa nc ake a n d sa usa ge b re akfast hosted bv the Gi rl Scou ts and to meet celebr ities like Smokev Bear w ho h ad turned out to do th ei r"bit for th e kids. Rid e fo r Kid s fo u n d er M ike Tr ayn or introduced some of the ch ildren w ho ben efit from the donations and thanked the rid er s for their fund-raising efforts, w hich almost doubled what th e ride brought in last year. "Those of us who rod e in it last year ch allenged each other to double th e amount of m oney that w e raised last year, which was approximatel y $13,000, and we were qu ite successful," said Don Amador, a commissioner with th e OHMVR, who was ri di ng an XR650L borrowed from American Honda. "The D \0 0\ 0\ ,....... e-; ..... - ",..., l-< 0.. < 32 H onda ' s Paul Slavik decla re d the eve nt a roarin g success. "We raised $10,000 more than we d id last year, we had mor e ride rs and I think th e b all's rolling on thi s th ing being a reall y major charity even t for the offroad communi ty in South ern Cali forn ia ," sa id Sl avi k . "An d every bo d y I talked to said they liked it. It was a great da y." (~ challen ge is to double it agai ns t n ext year. If we do th at every year we'll have a significant impact on beating this disease ." . . The biggest dona tion of the da y came from Lar ry Langley, who handed over $2,640. "I can 't really say I did it. The Orange Co unty Du alies did it," sai d Langley . "We had a garage sale yesterday over at Fin eline Suspension. We got a lo t of industry sup po rt and we sol d a whole lot of stu ff. I got some individual contributions too, but that was the bulk of it." When the speeches were over, it was tim e to ride. The cou rse, la id ou t by H onda' s OHV Resource Coordi n at or Paul Slavik, ea rned raves from experienced rid ers who h ad been exp ectin g the mild terrain that Ride for Kids dual sport events have become known for. Dual spo rt tr ails took the riders ou t throu gh the Ca jon Pass, through the mountain s and then d own challengi ng si ngle-file, roll er-coaster tra ils to the h igh dese rt near Hes peria. The ride was a voyage of d iscovery all the wa y. "I found trails within two m iles of m v house that I d id n ' t know a bo u t tod ay - really good, hard , challenging se ct ion s," said Larrv " Ro b o ta n k " Wo odru ff, who lives ne ar the Cajon Pass. Some of the less ad venturou s riders, and those on more street -orie nte d bikes, took optional sect ions th at ran th em aro u nd the trickiest terrain . "I d idn't go on the hard mid dl e loop. I was in in tensi ve care thr ee weeks ago a n d I'm n ot a ll th a t str on g a t th e moment," said Jim Bollingmo, w hose agility in the tigh t spots was hampered by a 1995 BMW R10OGS. "A lot of people say they feel sorry for guys rid ing these big bikes but, for me, it' s a gas to ride a big bike - it' s pow erful, it' s strong and it' s a challenge. I just had a wonderful time." When the mountains were over, it w as time to head back to Glen Helen via a n e xciting r u n d ow n the C legho rn Trail. "Comin g down the hills in that loose, rocky sha le stuff wasn 't fun," said fourtime N ati onal Motocross Champion Gary Jone s. "Especially two -up, because you have to rely so much on y ou r front wheel, an d it came a t the end when everybody was tired. Some of the rid ers m ight h a v e h ad troubl e with that. " Jones set an impressive p ace on a Suzuki with wife Renee perched in front of him. "We support th is because it 's a grea t cause, but it's al so fun - real fun . We wen t on all th e hard ways a n d w e missed the cou rse a couple of tim es, so we went so me p laces th at nob ody else d id." Susan Lang ley saw the cou rse fro m the back of husband Larry's bike. "I d idn't really have very much of a seat, but they rigged up a Travelcad e gel seat pad and that worked p retty we ll. I d on 't even feel sore," she reported. "I didn't realize how m u ch I mi ssed d ual sport riding. It's been two years sin ce I did one of these." Mark Truitt com p leted a suc cess ful ride on his Yamaha ITW200 an d claimed victory in the Smallest Bike categ ory. "This is ab out th e fourth dual sp ort ride I've been on, and it's the first time I haven' t got lost," said Truitt. "I liked the way they let you chicken out in some of the hard parts, too." When the riders reache d the finish, the fun still wasn't ov er. Each of them .go t to pick a ticket that won them everything fr om a T-shirt to a brand-new AGVhelmet. Perfection evolves at Swan MX By Hel en Whe ales Ph oto s by Cynt hia Cla rk mER, TX MAR. 23 , he second sto p on the Vintage Iron Evolution of Motocross tour was th e Swan Motocro ss complex where no fewer than five riders earned perfect 1-1 scores for th e day and a bountiful harv est of series points. The racing in ro und tw o proved to be every bit as int ense as the seaso n-o pener in Flo r id a. Texas th rottl e tw isters enjoy ed a d istin ct advantage how ever as their vintage eve nts ha ve lon g included" Evoluti on-style machinery. So it was no s u rprise t o th o s e o n h a nd th at Rick Humphreys, Mike Ttlo tta an d Law ren ce Lucia led the cha rge to tum one. Tilotta, ab o a rd a 78 Hu sk y 250, establishe d h imself as th e ea rly pacesetter while Hum phreys w as doing a fine job of double duty on his 74 Husk y, riding it in bo th the Evolution and Vintage classes with cons iderable success. The relatively m ild contours o f th e track design did no t favor the longer-travel bikes, so the racing remained a test of the rid ers right wri st more than the machine itself. Consequently the competition w as an ything but boring. While the Masters group began to pull away from the Sportsman pack, Cris Barton and his '80 Honda CR250 were having things their own way over T

• Cover