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/141061
Entrepreneu r Scott Breith aup t conducts the Saturday services . Riders meet ing was the nosiest part o f the show, ex cept fo r cheers fro m t he mudhole spectato rs. s ... '" .TIIE Cl BIXBY HILL B--X N N . > :::;: en ;: w / Z w oJ U >- Spills were infreque nt. embarassing. Few tires boasted any tread patt e rn. b y Chuc k Clayton LONG BEACH , CAL. , An y Saturday Around th e co rne r fro m where I live when I' m home is a huge , h illy lot , owned by Lewellyn Bixby , wh ich is d estin ed no do ub t fo r so me tickytack fut ure . Meanwhile, t he local kid s use it b ig, unsupervised playground . A like Long Bea ch Pol ice helic opter used to fly aro und o nce a week, broad cast ing city ordinan c e s t o the Bixb y Hill motorb ikers, and I would alwa ys call th e sta tio n house to report a noisy heli copter in the vicinity. Something mu st hav e worked . They ar en't h overing ove r th e kid s t here as m uch as they did . Maybe o ne o f the reasons is that th e a ... '" " U Bixby Hill gang is now int o wh at they call " Bicyc le-Cross (B-X)" o r " Sti ng Ray Racing" , which is so new that it sen ds th e ce nturio ns back to th e sta tu te books, scra tchi ng th eir head s. B-e ro ss is so new that the re are no laws against it! And it is neat , too . What it is is moto cro ss o n b icy cles. Every Saturday a j unior high school prom oter named Scott and his frie nds sign up ab out 8 0 pedal pu shers. For his 25 cents or 50 cents entry fe e th e Bixby BUMS, as Scotty' calls th em (for Bicycl e Unlim ited Motocross Soci et y ), classes eac h rider . (Younger kid s are "B eginners" or " Novic es" and p ay the smaller fee. Tee nagers are " Experts" and get to ru n for priz e money .) The rider is provided with a pie plate numb er and mat ch ed with his pee rs in a seri es o f heat race s around a ba nn er-d. 100 -yard course fea turi ng seve ral jumps, a serious down h ill and a bathtu b-size mu d hole watered by BUMS carrying five-gallon can s, Winning is worth money or trophies and hon or ribbons. In short , it is moto cro ss wit h out m ot ors, without ambulances and with out any grownup help o f any kind . Watc hing th e spo rt, I was te lep orted ba ck to th e ' 19 50' s, to Ru sty Nails, Gearb o x Fl ats, Co yo te Hills - places not far fro m Bixby Hill - when Scrambles b egan iri Am eri ca . Th ere was th e sa me ' " ride it t here , race it , ride it hom e" easiness as this bicy cle thin g, in th e beginning. The machines are pr ed om inantly stripped Stingray bicycles , wh ich co st $50 o r $60 new . Knobb y tir es are abo ut $4 .95 , and a 2-speed hu b is abo ut $20 used, if you ca n find one . A large number of th e bicycles ar e fitt ed with real MX handleb ars, at so me $ 10 a thr ow . These innocent da ys a re number ed , na tu rally . On e clever dad told me h e is buildi ng his so n a su per trick B-Xer "w it h an allo y cran k, Sen ator fra me and a Sturrney -Arc her 3-speed hub : ' Uniform ,of th e ' d ay was Adidas sho es, Levis and T-sh irt s. Helm ets are not nee ded and are never worn . No girl riders we re present t he day I was there. The rid ers line up by class on a distant starting line and ยท pedal like mad to the fir st jump, droppi ng onto a long , steep down hill, follow ed by a smooth uphill left sweeper, a jump over (or into) the mud h ole and a bumphy uphill left , right , left and down th e big hill again . "Watch Gold smith," a young familia r adv ised me , ind icating a lanky pre-teenager pedalling tow ard th e downhill jump . The lad d id a beautiful "Brad Lacke y" side ways cro ss in midair a nd h it the ground sp inning his feet like fu ry. I enjoyed spectating , and wh en a youth o ffered to let me try his bicycle , I had to give it a rid e. Th e th ing seemed to weigh ab out nothing . My kn ees smacke d th e handlebar s as I pedalled , and my seat was lo ca ted abo ut a yard behind the bicycl e' s. It felt not at all like a mo t or cycl e. I wish th e BUMS had be en a ro und about 25 years ago, when I was King of th e Whitti er Dump on my Hawth orne!