The Scene
THE SCENE
IVAN J. WAGAR
ONE of the biggest headaches an editor suffers is lead time. This is a common term in the magazine biz, and refers to the amount of time necessary to put something into print—and on the newsstand. At this moment I am three hours away from jumping on a jet for London and the Isle of Man, to cover the 1968 TT races. And here comes the silly part of the whole affair: I'm writing this for the August issue, which goes on sale in mid-July, and by the time you read this column the races will be over and done for another year.
Lead time, though, is a thing we must live with in the monthly magazine business. CYCLE WORLD currently is printing a quarter-million copies each month, which means the printer requires considerable time to stick all these slick pages together. Also, the distributor must see that this issue reaches thousands of newsstands throughout the world by the middle of July.
The whole point in explaining all of this nonsense is not to recruit sympathy, but to try to justify the presence of so many photos in this month's column. The pictures are from our man in Italy, Carlo Perelli, who, for one reason or another, manages to have his shutter at the right place at the right time. At the Isle of Man, or any of the Continental grands prix, there will be a great veil of secrecy surrounding these machines. Seldom will anyone see I one of the exotic racers with the fairing removed, and even less frequently will a photographer have an opportunity to approach one of these racing gems with a camera.
Because looking at good pictures of Italian race machinery is about third on my list of most favorite things to do, I have decided to share the pleasure.
THIS most month's beautiful cover motorcycles features one I of have the seen. An outstanding feature of the CYCLE WORLD Show, Frank F. Conley's Excelsior Manxman's appearance in these pages follows close on the heels of Buzz Walneck's restored Rudge (CW, May '68). Space permitting, we plan to revive the Classic Road Test category, and we already have lined up an outstanding Ariel Square Four and a few other exciting vintage machines. This does not mean CYCLE WORLD is to become an "Old Bike Magazine," but an occasional peek at yesterday's motorcycling should prove quite interesting.
NOW have that rediscovered I am too old observed for road trials, racing, or I English trials to most readers. The degree of concentration and satisfaction in trials riding is similar to road racing, but the number of broken bones per season appears to be far fewer. The stable presently consists of last month's test machine, the great little Cotton, and will soon include one of the new Ossa "plunkers."
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Therefore it is not surprising that my enthusiasm over Sammy Miller's trip to this country is running very high. As reported on Page 76 of this issue, Sammy will make several guest appearances throughout the U.S., and will operate trials schools.
Not only is Sammy the greatest trials rider of all time, but he also is a fine gentleman, and a personable, witty character. I hope the thousands of American trials enthusiasts will make this great champion welcome.
AS Joe another Parkhurst part of and the I leave CYCLE for WORLD the TT, crew is leaving for the desert wastelands of Nevada to cover the 7-11 Off Road Championship Race-another in those monumental bashes between 4wd vehicles, dune buggies, and motorcycles. The 7-11 is a run of two laps over a 355-mile so-called course. It's being staged by the National Off Road Racing Association, and is regarded by 4wd pilots, buggy drivers, and motorcyclists as a super/tuneup for the second annual Mexican 1000 Rally, known as the Baja Run, from Tijuana to La Paz, in Baja, California, Mexico.
As of this writing, the 7-11 race has attracted entries which include 11 passenger cars, three light trucks, 62 dune buggies, 31 4wd vehicles and 21 motorcycles. A twowheeler came in 2nd in the initial Mexican 1000; a two-wheeler won another Nevada race, the Mint 400, by a wide margin. That desert route for the 7-11 looks to be a freeway for motorcycles. It's my bet that the bikes will finish 1st, 2nd, and 3rd overall.
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