The Ute Cup
THE UTE CUP
HEAVY TRIALING IN THE WEST
One Way To Get “High” In Colorado
Tom Strongman
THE UTE INDIANS lived in the mountains around Colorado City, as it was called nearly 100 years ago, and they controlled the pass and its surroundings with an iron-handed savagery that has become legend. Anyone seeking access to the mountains around Pikes Peak did so under the watchful eye of the Utes. Trouble-making plains Indians would occasionally take to the mountains to tackle the Utes, only to return with tattered warriors, defeated. The Ute Cup Trial takes place in the same mountains around Pikes Peak near Colorado Springs. It, too, like the Indian tribe for which it is named, often leaves its challengers devastated.
Now four years old, the Ute Cup, sponsored by the Rocky Mountain Trials Association, has risen from infancy to near-legend. Each year the trial has become better, more difficult, and more popular. It now attracts the best riders in the country ...riders like this year’s star and grand master, Sammy Miller.
“This is the best terrain I have ever seen, world over,” exclaimed Miller after the trial. Looking as unruffled and relaxed as the day before when he started, Sammy said, “there should definitely be an International round here, it’s just fantastic. The only problem is spectators—how to get them here. Some of the sections are pretty remote and I feel it is important to have a lot of spectators if the sport is to grow.”
He admitted, however, that with some changing of the layout, more traps could be near the roads, making them more easily viewed by a crowd.
The two-day Ute Cup has two different loops, one for each day, and each must be covered twice non-stop. The loops are about 20 miles long, and have about 20 traps per loop. Riders are started at one minute intervals and given a specific amount of time to finish their loops. Saturday’s time was six and one half hours, Sunday’s five and one half. Each minute the rider is late counts a loss of one-tenth point. After an hour late, the rider is disqualified.
As last year, the course was basically laid out by Bill Brokaw. This year he had help from Reo Zentz, Harold Williams and Bill Dunham. The additional help gave Bill more time to work out the sections and the trial was better as a result.
Even though not up to his former World Champion form, Sammy Miller dominated the weekend with his presence and riding. Major teams and riders from all over the country were also present, the most conspicuous being the Don’s Cycles Bultaco Team of Sammy Miller, Lane Leavitt and Bob Nickelson. Not only did they win the team prize,> but overwhelmingly. Sam was riding a stock Bultaco Sherpa T 325, to which he had added a Mikuni carb, different handlebars, fork springs, etc. The difference is in fine tuning.
Close behind the Bultaco team were the highly talented Montesa riders Marland Whaley, Martin Belair and Richard Delaney. The amazing Whaley trailed Miller by only four points at the end of the first day, 9 to 5. Bike trouble on Sunday caused him to lose 32 points that day alone, dropping him to 3rd place overall.
Lane Leavitt in 2nd place thought the trial was not especially difficult, and called Sunday’s second loop “dead easy” on his second run through. He finished 32 minutes ahead of time.
On his second day Miller dropped a total of 11 points, five when his bike died in a water trap. The high altitude caused engine overheating, and the rapid cooling effect of the water induced vapor lock. The problems were the same for all, some more severe than others. Bob Nickleson found the solution to one hot trap by tickling the float until it was full, then shutting off the gas and riding the trap. This kept the fuel from boiling in the float bowl. Bob claimed his bike ran crisp and clean that way, providing the traps were not too long. Heating problems also plagued Whaley, accounting for his poorer score on Sunday. He remarked he would have pushed the bike over a cliff if it were not such a long walk back to camp.
Sammy Miller’s riding is the most delightful, for he has the fluidity and balance of poetry. He is always smooth, never out of control, always on the perfect line. His throttle control is the definition of finesse.
The remarkable success of the Ute Cup in four years is a tribute to all those who participate and plan the event. Were it not for the generosity of the Forest Service the land could not be used. Responsible action by the RMTA keeps the area open for the Ute Cup, and an International round on the spot is not unlikely in the future. 0
RESULTS
