Round Up
ROUND UP
JOE PARKHURST
CYCLE WORLD and Western Airlines have really started something. We’ve worked an arrangement with the famous airlines of the west to co-sponsor several air tours during the next few months. The first two leave for Hawaii, one on November 22, the other on January 24, 1970. Each seven-day tour includes guides to the leading island attractions, such as Pearl Harbor and Waikiki. On the fifth day, the tour heads for Kauai, the oldest of the islands in the chain, called the “Garden Isle.” The return flight, via the starting point of Honolulu on the island of Oahu, is on the eighth day. The part I like best is that you may make special arrangements to rent a bike on Oahu at a reduced rate.
I lived in Honolulu for several years, and I can’t imagine a nicer place for motorcycling. Warm weather, glorious clean air, soft breezes—just too much. It rains a little at times, but rarely does it bother the riding. Islanders will tell you you haven’t seen the island until you’ve seen it from the seat of a bike. Of course that’s true of just about any place in the world to any good touring motorcyclist. The bike tour is an option, but I recommend it.
The two scheduled hotels are unique and different from each other. The Holiday Isle on Waikiki is in the center of things, shopping, restaurants, etc. On Kauai, the Poipu Hotel is in a quiet, tranquil and secluded section of the balmy south side of the island. Both tours leave Los Angeles International Airport. The advertisement on page 12 of this issue gives full details and prices. Aloha.
MICHIGAN CYCLE CONSERVATION CLUB
I have a nice story to tell. It seems a lot of motorcycle riders in the state of Michigan were having fun exploring trails in State Forests and Game Area Reserves around Lansing. Often they ran from state land onto private, but since it was not always marked, they did not always know. On occasion, they were not too well received, so they made maps of their areas, and planned to get other Michigan riders to do the same and to exchange maps.
But bureaucracy intervened before the cyclists could put their plan into action. Michigan’s Department of Conservation announced a new ban on riding in State Game Reserve areas, almost the only open land left for off-road motorcyclists. The thought occurred that this trend could continue throughout the state and in the National Forests as well, so the riders created a statewide organization.
The Cycle Conservation Club of Michigan was born. Started from scratch, it began by furnishing a charter to interested riders, urging them to enlist new riders. Progress reports have been issued monthly. The Federal Bureau of Outdoor Recreation’s handbook, “Trails for America,” which shows 495 miles of proposed trails for Michigan, was their guide.
The Forest Supervisor granted them permission to scout and leave temporary markers on a trail through the Manistee National Forest. CCC members visited all Federal and State authorities, trying to convince them of the logic of using prescribed trails. Some trails follow established snowmobile routes. Two hundred miles of trails were established during the summer of 1968.
Final permission was long is coming, but in the interim, the group conducted a school in basic motorcycle training with the Greater Lansing Safety Council. With bikes borrowed from dealers, they established themselves as community minded citizens. Their connection with the Safety Council and their freely donated efforts in behalf of safety were the best possible passports to a receptive audience with state officials. To date they have trained over 95 students and plan another course for next year.
By October 1968, 156 signatures were gained. The CCC drafted a constitution and by-laws, elected a Board of Governors, and set to work. Now there are 200 members, and membership continues to grow. While impatiently waiting for response to their proposals, they pushed the issue of a riding space into the state public forum. They drafted a bill establishing the statewide network of riding trails, and offered it to Representative Loren Anderson. Anderson is the co-chairman of the Sub-Committee of Motorcycle and Snowmobile legislation. He agreed to introduce the bill, and the CCC launched a campaign to produce letters to the state supporting the bill. They prodded members, friends and motorcycle dealers to write.
Their efforts created quite a stir. The Committee held an open meeting to which the CCC was invited to express their feelings. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources gave the bill a negative report, and it was doomed to die in committee. The Committee, however, was invited to introduce a resolution to the State Legislature declaring approval of the legislators for the DNR to develop dual purpose trails. Anderson agreed to introduce the resolution. In the meantime, the CCC requested that the Governor declare a Michigan Motorcycle Safety Week, to coincide with the first session of the 1969 rider education course. The proclamation was read at the dedication of the Pere Marquette Cycle Trail.
Late in April 1969, they received permission to establish 120 miles of permanent trails, not the amount they had requested, but more than they had before. They have held three events on the trail this year. In May, the group held a Trail Clean-Up Scavenger Hunt, during which they removed more than a ton of litter from the trail. They have held a Summer Safari, a two-day trail ride with a campout, and are working on a Fall Color tour weekend. A VIP ride is in the planning stages.
The organization’s present goal is to add 200 miles to the Pere Marquette Cycle Trail each year, eventually having a horseshoe across the state and down the eastern side of the peninsula with an 800-mile total length. It is to be fully marked and cared for. End of my story.
Continued on page 91
Not a fairy tale, just a beautiful example of cooperation, work, sincere mature effort, thought, intelligence, re straint, and love of a sport paying off for those who will take the time to try. I'm get a bit tired of hearing and reading the sobbing self-pity so often voiced by motorcyclists when their rights are threatened. We should all heartily salute the Michigan Cycle Conservation Club, and study their actions carefully. I'm indebted to CCC President Melvin H. Lifi for the story of their heroic fight... that ain't over yet.
TWO NEW PROTAR MODELS
CYCLE WORLD Models total 11 now, with the addition of the new 125-cc Suzuki and 250-cc East German MZ road racers. Delivery is imminent, and both will be priced at $6.95.
The 125 Suzuki is one of the finest in detail yet. The original twa-cylinder, water-cooled machine was ridden by World Champion Hugh Anderson, Frank Perris, Ernst Degner and the fiery Mitsuo Itoh. It had nine speeds, was rated at over 30 bhp, would top out at over 140 mph, and made an unbeliev able noise (if you are interested, we can sell you that, too)! The other new Protar kit from the Provini firm in Bologna, Italy, though a replica of a far less illustrious machine, contributes considerably to motorcycle history. East German genius Walter Kaden, father of the modern racing rotary valve engine, designed the twocylinder, water-cooled, two-stroke. Top speed was in the area of 145 mph, and it had a six-speed gearbox. East German Ernst Degner rode it, as did Heinz Rosner. Degner defected from behind the Iron Curtain with most of MZ's secrets.
