Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Larkin Wight has no problems th ro w ing a ro und the BMWF-650. Of c o u r se , most r ider s h ad th e sen se not t o t ac k le the ride o n a hefty BMW Rl 100 GS. " It' s been an ad venture," said J ohn Saguto, who ro de his GS from Sono ma t o jo in th e d ua l - sp orter s and broke his bra ke ped al and a fo otpeg off wh en he ran into a ro c k be fo re th e lunch stop. "I had to rest m y foot on th e cy li n de r a n d , b el i ev e m e , it' s tou gh eno ug h to wr estl e a 600-pound bik e in th e sand wit hout having o ne foot up on the cylinde r. The rid e was har der th an I ex pec t ed. I am ho p in g to go aro und th e world , and I wanted to ge t so me o rie ntation t o see wh at th e sand wo uld be like in the Sah ara. I guess I fo und out." Rig ht beh ind the BM W beh em oth was Wall y Shea rer's WR2 50 . " It' s not reall y a 250; it' s got a 290 thumper k it in it , and th at m ean s I' m rid ing with a little m ore po we r th an I had last ti me I ca me here," said the Wash in gton sta te r id er. " T h at wa s 1999. Th en I was o n an XR250, and t h ey put us d o wn one o f th e sand washes. It was li k e endlessly deep pea g rave l. This year is a little better. " Th e long tra il meant an after-dark fi nish for many o f the rid ers , but the re were smiles on all the dusty faces. The 225 -mile first -da y distanc e w a s ju st a bo u t Ti g h t for fir st -t im e L.A.-B -t o -V ' er Clark F arr e ll fr om south Orange County, who tac kl ed th e rid e o n a KTM 450 EXC. " It's pretty good," said Farrell. " It's not too easy, but it's not somethin g I c an't handle , either. I'm lo oking forward t o th e hard ways tomorrow ." It also suited Eri c Gauth ier , who ha d nev er ridden L.A. -B t o -V before bu t had ta ckl ed th e in fam ous Dak ar Rally three t ime s. " It ' s awesome , and I've be en having a ton o f fun , " said the 950c c KTM-mounted Frenchma n , who now resides in San Francisco . "A bsolut ely no problems - no falls or anything . I rid e like an idiot and I get away with it. " Even Cliff Thomas , who overailed the B -to -V Hare & Hound on a 250cc Yamaha back in 1986, found fun in the nonra ce event . " I sa w a lot of the o ld trails we rode way back when, " said Thomas . "It' s pretty c ool to slow d own and see e ve ry thing - be able to really look at the scenery ." Day two saw more of the same fun. Chi lly temper atures greeted th e rid ers as th ey headed o ut in th e ea rly morning hours. Dust hung low , and th e easygoing sect ions of wide- open trail co nt raste d with the c hallenging terra in o f th e hard-way opti ons . " I lov e A fton W ash - that' s a real fun , hig h-speed wash about 10 miles north of Barstow," said Frank Wh ite, owne r and CEO of A TK motorcycles, who was trying out a brand -new bike bu il t from parts the compan y acquired when it purchased Cannon dal e. "You can end up going 70 or 80 in there, depending on how good you ar e. This is a great ride - very well organized , fun riding, plus you ge t to see the historic b adlan ds . The o n l y th ing that was a b u m m er was the slo w riding in the tortoise are as." As always, riders had to deal with some dust. More and more big Beemers are showing up for the B-2-V ride. by Matt Sw eeney, with m onkeys Lucinda Straub and J eff Pepiot, was n am ed M o st U n us ua l M ot or cycle . Not-so- goo d-news awa rds went to Gil Bu sa ck , wh o ea rne d th e B en ga y Award aft er he fractured his pel vis in Manix W ash - th e firs t wash o f day tw o ' s rid e - a nd h ad t o b e helic o pt ere d t o Loma Linda Univ ersity Medi ca l C ent e r. The Hard Luck Award went to art unnamed rider who was hit b y a car and broke both ankles when he was running across the street in Barstow early Saturday morning on his way from one hotel to another. Four Specia l Service Awards were a lso handed out. On e w en t t o the Sandy Valley PTA and Volunteer Fi re Department for providing lunch fo r the riders on da y two . Mike and Deann Johansing got their awa rd fo r work ing signup and both l unch c heck s, and Fr ed and Elea nor Sy rett got thei rs for working two c he ck points , plus in tercepting a rider who had left his motel in Barstow and rid den all the way to Baker with keys to th e family tru c k in his pocket. T he Syretts shuttled th e k eys back to the rid er' s stranded wife. Award number four went to CORVA/District 37 diehard Ed Wal dheim , who was recently a p po i n ted as a Cali fo r nia St ate O HMVR (g reen st icker) co m mission er, for his years of land-use advocacy. Yo ung o r o ld , awa rd wi nne r or no t, the dua l -spo tters were a happ y bu nch when they lo ok ed back on the m iles beh ind them - ev en St ev e Pete rson , w ho ro de a few m ile s at th e start of d ay one and then went str a ight to the hospit al. " I hav e a budd y wh o kn ows the area and, off the st art, we took a diff er en t ro ute u p in th e m o untains . I we nt d o wn in so me nasty stuff bu t th at wasn 't what did it. It was th e fa ct th at I go t m y foot st uck und er th e bike , and it twisted m y kn ee as it sli d down the slope . It was a dr ag ," sai d Pet erson , w ho w as d iag nose d with torn lig am ent s. " But yo u kn ow wh at? I had a g reat t im e. Th i s w as really fun . Sure, I'd do it again! " eN The ride fin ished with the traditional end -of-event party , and a host of prizes fo r lucky - and not so luckyriders. T he Oldest Motorcycle Award went t o T erry Pratt, who pil oted a 19 5 4 BSA Go ld Star o n the day -two trip from Ba rstow to Las Vegas, while th e O lde st Participant Award went to 73y ear -old Ed Crowell. Th e Sma ll est Bike Award was split between Buddy M inuto and Josh Butte, who piloted XR50s . Wa lter Keev er from Lafayett e, N ew J ers ey , g ot th e Lon g -D istan c e USA nod , and Masat eru Kameoka of Tok yo , Japan , earned th e intern ati on al honors . The A TK sid eh ack ridden .. '" A grou p of dual-sporters head ou t on day two. • to ." eye I e n e vv S • JANUARY 7 ,2004 73

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