Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

TRAIL RIDE By Mark Kariya ond a' s Sco tt Summers is o fte n seen as the cons u mma te professio nal off-roa d motor cycle racer. N ot o n ly is h e fa st e no ug h to e a rn Natio na l Champio ns hi ps (a nnua lly, it seems), but he presents h im self in a m anner th at d oes his many s ponsors ' proud . Part of th is mu st be attributed to lon gt im e m echanic /publ ic-relations gu y Fred Bramblett , who is just as d edica ted to his job - which is see ing that Su mmers gets th e r esults, t h e glo ry and the bonus chec ks. Tho ugh a ph ysically impos in g fig u re hi mself, Bramblett somehow can slide into the backg round an d h el p foc us atte n tion on Summers. It sort of makes you wo nde r just what Bramblett's hiding. What kind of deep, dark secrets does he keep? Does he have some sordid past he's tryi ng to forget? Is there an ugly ske leton in his close t? . A long weekend on t he seve n th annual FBI T rai l Ride pro vid ed the answers to th ose a nd othe r qu es tions. Pr omin ent a mo ng the m is that Brambl ett has a sa domasochis tic si de, o ne that enjoys bo th d olin g out and acceptin g tort ure b eyond th e threshold o f most mortal s. In ad d itio n to th at , 0 1' Fred 's an excellent trail rid er. You see, the FBI Trail Ride has practically nothin g to d o with that government age ncy in Washington , D.C. It' s merely an appellative coincidence. The Fred Bramblett Invitational Trail Ride is all about hav in g a good time on a rid e tha t ta kes its par ticipan ts n early 300 miles fro m Picket State Rust ic Park in Tennessee, n ear th e so u theas te rn en d of Kentu cky , up to th e Ke n tu cky / O h io bord er to th e nort h. O f co u rse, " g o o d times" are often the res u lt of su rviving tr ials and tribula tions along th e way. H WHAT IT IS, WHY IT IS 14 Most people who follow the GNCCs don't realize that Bramb lett likes to ride motor cycles. With the sched ul e he and Summers hav e, however, it's difficult to find eno ug h time to fit in personal ridin g tim e, a paradoxical problem faced by many in the motorcycle industry. Bu t Bramblett has found en ou gh free tim e over the years to take part in events like the N evada Rall y and th e Incas Rally. He has also ridden in Mexico's Copper Canyon . Looking at hi s h istory, yo u get a sen se of Bramb lett's preference - adventure rid es. Rather than just so me casual afternoon rid in g with a few fri ends (a ltho u gh h e does like to d o that, a s well) , h e wants so m e th in g that 'll be memorable for all concerned . "As bad as it is or sounds to the layman, even wi th a job as cool as being in th e mot or cycle-raci ng ind ustry, it can tum in to jus t a job and bu m you ou t," Bramblett points oul. "I started doing the trail ride several years ago jus t because a lot of people had the same opinion. "I sta rted kind of doing the FBI Trail Ride d eal abou t seven yea rs ago aft er the Cincinnati trad e s how, but it was always like a one- day o r two-day trail ride with some buddies - Scott and his (Left) No matte r who you are , at some point on the FBI Trail Ride, you'll need help. Paul Jordan, Mark Hyde, Alan Randt and Fred Bramblett get another bike up one part of a long climb lull of wet leaves atop moss-covered rocks. (Below) Dale Stega ll does his beast-of-burden imitation. A hiker would have to be carefu l negotiating this particular section of trail, due to a rock outcropping jutting Into the slick, rocky, leaf-covered trail· and a long drop for anyone who s lips. father. Th en, four yea rs ago , I d ecided while talking to Paul (Jordan , a long time friend of Bramblett's), 'Yo u kn ow, we ou ght to go back and d o the ride all the wa y across Kentucky, just to see if we can d o it: " The y eventually came up wi th a basic route that roughly follows what's called the Shelt ow ee Tra ce. "'Shelto w ee' means ' b ig turt le, " Bramblett reveals. 'The Blackfoot Indians used to predominantly be natives of Kentucky, and that was their nickn am e for Daniel Boone. They called him 'big turtle' because he was so s lo w goi ng through the woods." SPEED IS RELATIVE If the Indians tho ught Daniel Boone was slow , the y would've howled at the s n a il's pace set b y th e g ro u p o f 17 above-averag e riders and their me chanized steeds. As first-tim er Ton y Megla (a designer at Answer Products and an exce llen t d esert race r) put it, "I didn't think I was in over my head, but it definitel y took ge ttin g used to. Wakin g up to th e 40 -degree (t e m pera tu re), th e pouring rain (on the first morning), and going, 'O kay, this is how we' re going to spend th e next three days?' - that wa s prett y miserable: '

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