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Eddie Mulder • By Mark Gowin Photos courtsy of Eddie Mulder archives ucerne, California - home of the Hare and Hound. On a typical weekend, you'might find this desertracing mecca covered with hundreds of racers, various off-road racing club banners waving in the dry breeze, adorning the area in a multitude of colors. It was much the same nearly 40 years ago, long before the booming sound of big four-stroke twins were replaced by the piercing wail of two-strokes. Back then, the 39th annual Big Bear Run was under way. The year was 1960, and a 16-year-old kid on a Royal Enfield shocked the racing world when he roared to the overall win in the extreme, 150mile desert-racing classic that ended in the mountain pines of Big Bear. On a day when just slightly over 200 out of the 760· starters finished this historical desert-racing event, the winning racing career - and ·the legend - of Eddie Mulder was born. The kid started out like so many racing stars, past and present. Mulder practically grew up on a motorcycle in the Southern California desert community of Lancaster. His father owned a Triumph/Matchless dealership, which allowed Mulder the opportunity to ride daily and develop the skills that he would later use to win the District 37 numberone plate, to twice become the National Cross Country (Hare and Hound) Champion, and to become one of the most respected figures in Class C flat-track racing - especially on the IT courses, as he went on to earn the National number 12. When his professional racing career ran its course, Mulder then went on to work in the motion-picture business as a stunt rider, where his riding expertise made him one of the top men in the field. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Today, Mulder enjoys a comfortable lifestyle with his wife, Jodie, in their beautiful Southern California home. He continues to stay very busy, doing stunt work in film and commercials both on motorcycles and in cars while working for Drivers Inc. As if that isn't enough, when Mulder isn't working in front of a movie camera, he is busy promoting dirt track events such as the Sacramento Vintage National mile with his friend and former Triumph teammate Gene Romero. He also promotes an annual vintage half mile event at Willow Springs International Raceway. It doesn't stop there, either. Mulder's love for racing has never faded, and he continues to consistently take class wins in the Vintage 750cc class as well as giving Pro-class riders fits in the heat of competition. Definitely a jack-of-all-trades in motorcycle competition, Mulder had a fantastic 1998 racing season, highlighted by his taking top honors in the Vintage 750cc class at the Pikes Peak hillclirnb. Apd he returried to his "roots," tackling his first desert race in many years - the '97 Baja 1000 - obviously deciding against any attempt at a gradual transition back into the brutal elements of desert racing. Spend any amount of time with him and you'll soon realize that motorcycling is as big a part of Mulder's life as it has ever been. He's a hell of a long way from 16, but the competitive fire still burns brightly, tempered nicely with an analytical (and most appreciative) memory of it all - a phenomenal career spanning over three decades. L 22 A young Eddie Mulder keeps the hammer down on Triumph en route to one of the many desert-racing victories that he scored during his career. This photo is circa 1962 or '63. Mulder began riding as soon as he could throw his leg over a bike, well before the days of the minis. "My dad bought me my first Triumph Cub when I was 8 or 9," Mulder says. "We rode around on those in '57 and '58. Then he turned me loose on the big 650s. I was more into riding than school, but the bikes kept me out of trouble. As long as my mom knew that I was riding, she didn't worry about me." The transition from a Cub to a 650 twin was a quick one, but the transition from also-ran to winner was almost as instant. One of the highlights of Mulder's career came early, as he he took his first .overall District 37 win in the desert at the young age of 15. "I was a member of the Lancaster Trail Blazers MC," Mulder remembers with a grin. "It was my first ride on a 650 Triumph, and I was battling with Bud Ekins. We were going up this rocky uphill, and I yelled as 1 tried to get around him. After 1 yelled, Ekins stalled, and 1 got around him and took the overall." Mulder continued to display his natural riding talent in the desert, showing the racing world that a skinny young kid from Lancaster could really fly on the big twins. His first full sponsorship came shortly thereafter, as he got a deal to ride a Royal Enfield just in time for the Big Bear Hare and Hound. "1 was a prospective member of the Checkers Motorcycle Oub when 1 raced Big Bear on the Royal Enfield," Mulder says. "It was a kind of exciting thing at the time to be asked to be a Checker. I had to wear this question-mark vest that all prospective members wear before they. become full-fledged members. After I won Big Bear, I lost the vest and became a Checker." Mulder went on to ride Ma tchlesses and then went back to Triumphs, racing against such off-road greats as Bud Ekins and Don Surplice. In 1961, at the age of 17, Mulder won the AMA District 37 number-one plate. Continuing to be sponsored by Triumph, he consistently won in the desert. More success followed, as he captured AMA cross-country wins at Adelanto, California, in 1962 and Ridgecrest,