Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127973
DUAL SPORT LA-Barstow-to-Vegas By Anne and Tom Van Beveren Photos by Tom Van Beveren LAS VEGAS, NY, NOV. 27-28 ............. re ssin g wa s very impo rtan t th is Th a n ksgi v in g . Dre ssing warmly for the dual sport trek '100....., fro m the outs kirts of Los Angeles to th e gli tt er and g lamou r of Las Vegas, that is, because rain hit hard on the second day of thi s year's legendary LA-Barstow-to-Vega s rid e. And if yo u weren' t dressed for the cond itions, you we re a very cold, wet tu rkey by the time you rea ched the fin ish. Rain w as in th e forecas t wh en th e dual spo rters ga the red for the s tart of the ride on the morning after Than ksgiving, but clear skies and temperatures in the 50s lulled them into a false sense o f secu rity as th ey head ed out from Mountain Motorsports in Ontario. Day one's 196- m il e cours e from Ontario to the overnight stop at Barstow began. w ith a twi sty, " t u r ny" run through the San Bern ardino National Forest. Rid ers who paid attention to the pre-ride instructions and followed their roll-charts carefully were treated to a challenging dir t section with rock y uphills right off the start, bu t less wideawake starters spent their first miles on uninspiring pavement, which was provided as a bail-ou t for the less experienced riders. "We d id n ' t know to ro ll th e char t down to pick u p the mo re challenging part of the course in the begi nning. That was probably in the instructions, but you know motorcyclists; we don' t read the instructions," said John Hutcherson , who wa s tackling his fir st LA-B-to-V a boa rd a 1985 H onda XR350 . "We' re learning as we go but we are absolutely having fu n and the w eather's holding up great. It's actually getting pretty hot and we had to stop to take our gear off." More experienced dual spotters, such as Ho nda XR600 pilot Alan Co hn, had no trouble reading the instructions or the course markings. "I think the roll chart is perfect - it' s almos t as if m y bik e wa s the on e they laid the cou rse out on, and there is plenty of ribbo n. Even a colo r-bli nd guy like me can see it," sa id Cohn . Experienced riders also had the edge when it came to rid ing gear. (Above) Ride rs turn off the pavem ent to foll ow di rt ro ad s over the San Bern ardino Mounta ins. (Left) Acto r Perry King came out to ride the LA B-to- V dual sport ride on a slde hac k, but ' mechanlcal problems cut his rid e short. 'This is my second year, so I'm pre. pa red," said Victo r Panico. "I have my electric ves t, mv Dumbo ears and fresh Pirellis. I've do~e a lot of paddling an d a lot of dabbing, but no falls yet." The cha lle nge of mount ain corners turned to fu n of a di fferent sort w hen the cou rse hit the deser t floor nea r Phelan and the rid ers started a dusty journey out pas t EI Mirage Dry Lake. They took a turn around the Microwave Relay Sta tio n nea r Silver Peak, d ash ed past Red Buttes, navigated the Kra mer Hills a nd th en hea ded p as t Bell Mo un tain bef ore m aking the fina l turn tow ard Barstow . 'The weather was grea t and so was the course, because it was d ifferent from p re vious years - we got to ride something a little different, and it had a really good combination o f mountain road s and d esert roa ds ," said Larrie Trippet. Actor Perry King had noid ea how fun the d eser t section was because he sna p ped the fork s on hi s s id e h ac k before he reached the first gas stop in Phelan an d was forced to truck his rig to a re pai r shop. He didn' t get to see much of the desert on dav two, either, thanks to a broken swingar m . But so me of the s ide hac k r id ers w ho b ounced a nd