Ups And Downs

UPS AND DOWNS

ROUNDUP

UP: To TV’s “Hard Copy,” for showing both sides of a thorny issue. The nationally syndicated news-magazine show tends towards the sensational, so when a recent show contained a report on off-road use of the California desert, we expected the worst. But the segment turned out to be the fairest overview of the problem that we’ve seen in the general media, with not only the usual disinformation from a Sierra Club spokesman, but countering viewpoints from journalist/off-roader Rick “Super Hunky” Sieman and some wise words from that oftenoverlooked constituency, the residents of desert communities. Good work, “Hard Copy.” May your Nielson ratings soar.

UP: To the people who have organized the Steve Eklund Relief Fund, for pitching in. Eklund suffered a severe head injury at the recent Albuquerque Mile, and as of this printing, has not regained consciousness. The 1979 Camel Pro Series Champion has been active in professional dirt-track racing since 1976 and still holds the record for most career TT wins, at nine. Eklund’s medical bills are overwhelming, so donations are welcome. Write to the Steve Eklund Relief Fund, Account 031-2509-36, Bank of the West, Pruneyard Branch, 1999 S. Bascom Ave., Campbell, CA 95008.

DOWN: To the California State Finance Department, for creative financing at the expense of motorcyclists. Over the last 10 years, that department has lightened the California off-highway vehicle fund by about $27 million. Through various assembly and senate bills, the funds have been diverted to the state fish and game fund, the general fund, or wherever. Technically, the money is on loan, but the OHV fund gets no interest and no set date of repayment. According to Robert Wick, of Dirt Alert, the most recent threat is Assembly Bill 2787, which, among other things, would transfer another $3 million from the OHV fund to the fish and game fund. Dirt Alert is a group devoted to organizing grass-roots letter-writing campaigns, To learn more, contact Dirt Alert, PO. Box 2549, Santa Clara, CA 95055; 408/296-3300.

UP: To the hospitals in the Fargo-Moorhead. North Dakota, area, for seeing motorcycling a little differently. Instead of regarding motorcycles as negative influences on society, they used our sport to convey a spirit of freedom and independence in a recent ad promoting health-care careers. The ad, which ran in the Fargo Forum, encourages young people to pursue an education in order to get the things they’ve “always wanted in life,” and it pictures a fully suited motorcyclist cruising down an empty highway.

UP: To all of you in the Golden State, for a particularly nice piece of news: According to the California Highway Patrol, intrepid keepers of law and order in one of the nation's most motorcycle-thick states, motorcycle-related injuries in 1989 in California dropped to their lowest point in a decade, with 19,527 injuries, down 9.4 percent from the previous year’s figure. Bad news was that fatalities were up 2.5 percent for '89, so there’s still some work to do. CHP commissioner M.J. Hannigan credited training provided by the California Motorcyclist Safety Program for the decrease in injuries.

UP: To the more than 7000 readers who mailed-in entries to the Cycle World 100 Readers Group. We're now going through the entries, with the tough task of culling them down to 100. To all those who responded and don’t get picked, a hearty thanks. If we could afford the Tshirt bill, we’d change the group’s name to the Cycle World 7000. E3

If you come across a motorcycle-related item that you think should be singled outfor an UP or DOWN, send the information to CW Roundup, 853 IV. 17th St., Costa Mesa, CA 92627.