CN
III ARCHIVES
BY SCOTT ROUSSEAU
F
ormer Six Days hero Carl
Cranke says he can't recall
ever riding an AMA National
Enduro.
"When I started out, I started
riding short track," Cranke said.
"I liked to go fast. Enduros, hav-
ing to keep time, just didn't do it
for me, whereas in Six Days you
could just ride your pace and
always be on time or early. You
never had to look at the clock. I
wasn't a timekeeper. Truthfully, I
never even had a wristwatch!"
Cranke started riding amateur
flat track in Northern California
when he was 16 years old.
"My first race was at a little
place called Three Star Raceway
near Sacramento, and I loved
it," Cranke said. "I loved short
track. I lived in Orangevale, and
Dan Haaby lived there. Some of
the top Northern California guys
were like Bugs [Dick Mann] and
Mert [Lawwill]. That was my time.
I rode short track and scrambles,
and then when I turned 18, I
P104
CARLE
CRANKE:
THE
PURIST
that and didn't have the interest
in pursuing it. So, I bought a little
73cc Hercules and started riding
desert races, and anything and
everything."
That included motocross,
which was developing into a big
sport in America in 1972.
"I rode CZs mostly," Cranke
said. "I raced against Brad
Lackey. Brad had a brother
named Randy, who was fast,
and there was another guy, Bob
Grossi. Northern California was
very competitive."
An opportunity to ride a two-
day trial then changed his life
forever.
started riding Class C stuff."
If Cranke had stayed with flat
track, then his might be another
name made legendary in Bruce
Brown's iconic film, On Any
Sunday. Instead, Cranke chose
a different path, ultimately one
that was more single tracked of
purpose.
"I was high-point novice short
tracker in the nation in 1968, but
what happened was that in 1969 I
had to make a decision, because
to move up we had to switch from
[two-stroke] 250cc to 500cc
[four-stroke] bikes," Cranke says.
"I was doing all my own engines
at the time, and I couldn't afford
During the
1970s, Carl
Cranke
collected
seven ISDE
gold medals.
