This
years Borrego Run was one to remember, for many reasons. To start with, the
weather was perfect, about 80 degrees for the high with very little wind. Many
fine machines started gathering in the small town on Thursday. The weather was
so nice; Tom Hart and I decided we have had enough of the truck and trailer. We
off loaded and rode in from Temecula, with Diane and Jon Hart following. We
battled the wind for several miles, but as we started down Montezuma’s grade.
The wind suddenly stopped, both of us were very pleased and surprised, we could
see all the way to the Salton
Sea!
Just
as we pulled into the resort, our illustrious leader Tim Graber was leading a
small group of faithful out to Mecca. We quickly remounted and headed out with the rest.
This is when my Sport Scout suddenly decided it was not sure weather it wanted
to be a total loss oil system. Or, as I am accustomed to it being a
re-circulating oil system. For the next 100 miles or so, it was touch and go.
As the oil would return and then not return, my Scout was throwing oil like
never before and for those of you that know my Scout – that is really saying
something. Good old Tom Hart saw my troubles and fell in behind me to keep
watch and help if needed. Tom paid for his act of heroism though, as my Scout
gave him, his Chief, his truck, his trailer and anything else he had with him a
heavy coat of oil. My Scout was a sorry sight when we pulled back into the
resort. Oil everywhere! , But it had made it. Thanks to the advice of many much
more knowledgeable folks than myself in the ways of Indian’s, my Scouts
problems were fixed in short order and I enjoyed the rest of the run trouble
free. Dinner was on our own and most ate at the airport, which was very good,
just a bit of a wait. The spirits were flowing at dinner and after, this
brought out the pranksters. Machines positions were shifted, stones put under
tires and finally a whole bunch of toilet paper engulfed two Chief’s. Luckily
the pranks stopped before they got to where the talk was going. Nothing was
harmed and it was all in good fun.
Friday
morning dawned beautiful indeed, and what a showing of machines. The thrilling
sounds of Knuckleheads, Flatheads, F- heads, Square fours, an inline four,
vertical twins, vee twins, opposed twins, boxer
twins, and singles. All could be heard echoing off the valleys and hills from a
distance. All kinds of great machines from the past. Ridden by riders from many
different states. As we approached Julian, we were buzzed by a jet fighter,
flying very low – that scared the heck out of some of us, sorry for my language
Shorty. We actually made it to Julian this year and
we were comfortable in T-shirts! We broke up into many groups for lunch; all
the reports I heard were good. I know our lunch was very good. We then made our
way down a great road Dave Niederhaus had scouted out on one of his trusty
Indians. To the neat little “Hide Out Bar” for a snack or a drink, this road
was a real treat with some pretty scenery and many curves – good job Dave!
We
then headed back for the completion of the days ride. A special treat when we
returned was Chuck Vernon bringing out his awesome 1912 Indian 8 – Valve racer.
Which he actually fired up in the parking lot, 90 years after it was made –
that machine is still very impressive and it looks, sounds and is no doubt,
very fast! The Hart’s did a fine job with the field meet and though attendance
was down, all who took part had a good time. From what I saw, it appeared that
Homer Knapp dominated the competition, way to go Homer! If the weather is nice
again next year, we want to encourage you all to get out there and show your
stuff, in the dirt – have some fun.
Dinner
was again on your own; most went to the airport or the Coyote grill or
something like that. Which is where the group I was with went. We had to wait a
very long time and indeed several of us had lost our appetite when they finally
sit us down. Not that we minded, as we had been quite happy at the bar,
pleasantly inebriated I think was the phrase. Again, the food was excellent
though.
Saturday dawned just as nice as the day
before. More machines arrived, 69 machines was the final count. We headed out
for Ocotillo, with lunch again at Ocotillo wells. Much of the group rode all
the way to Ocotillo and then back for lunch. Unfortunately, most who did –
missed Chuck Vernon’s, bringing out the 8-valve racer for some running. What we
would of gave to see that. Chuck had to cut it short however, because it was
running with the spark to retarded and heated up, it needed a bit more
fine-tuning. The riding was super good though and enjoyed by all. I was
cruising on my Scout at about 50 to 55 mph. When I saw poor Dee Cameron in my
rear view mirror, with his hurting leg, cane sticking out the back of his shirt
and his very sore leg sticking straight out. I only saw him for a second or two
though, cause he sped past me in a blur at something close to 80 mph, with a
big grin on his face. Dee is making a lot of us Velocette fans, I tell you!
Everyone
made it back to the resort, though the rescue trucks were in action. There
seemed to be quite a few brake downs this run, several of a serious nature.
Complete with scary noises and engines locking up, it is enough to unnerve a
fellow. As it turned out, all that toilet paper from the other night would come
in handy, because Saturday evening Grace Mckean’s
Chief would have just about the mother of all wet sumps. Tom Hart would once
again rush off towards the source of trouble, a huge cloud of white smoke. That
we had all began to look at, wondering what was the strange phenomena we were
seeing.
The
Banquet was once again a great success, thanks to Janis Graber and all her
helpers – Patty Gallin, Kim Spear and Melinda, to name a few, Way to go ladies!
Marc Gallin also did great service in helping to set up and get all the visual
aids working smoothly; it was all very impressive and enjoyed by all. We tried
something a little different this year, there was no roast. Instead, we
celebrated each other and had some fun with motorcycle or chapter related
questions. With cash prizes no less, which led to some spirited fun. Awards
were given out to a lucky few, Craig Dillman cleaned up with both the oldest
machine ridden both days and peoples choice awards – way to go Craig! His Power plus was running fine the whole run,
it was great fun riding beside him at about 50 mph. Gill Armis
took home the oldest rider at 85 years of age on his fine running Harley, way
to go Gill!
Sunday
morning it was off for the Salton
Sea once again. A nice ride
and breakfast, was over all too quick and it was time to say our good byes. The
weather still being so nice, Tom Hart and I rode back out to Temecula and
loaded up there. All and all, it was a fantastic run. Special thanks to all who
attended or helped to put it together. Three more points of special interest,
Ralph Krogh’s Ariel Red Hunter seized up on Saturday.
Until then, that had been about the most dependable antique I ever saw. Then
there was Kevin Spear’s J model, fresh from being all but torn in half, on the
last run. It was running close to perfect and boy was Kevin grinning + happy.
Then there is Tom Hart’s Chief, not only did it not use almost any oil, it did
not even want to use much gas! What was up with that Tom? I think it must have
been some of Homer Knapp’s magic J. Till
the next one, Tom.
Borrego
Springs 2002, A Winter Road Run?
By Tom Hart
We were very
fortunate this year to have great weather conditions throughout the event,
unlike last year’s wind, rain and snow. The Borrego Springs Resort did an
excellent job with accommodations and commendations for campers. The Resort
also provided us with an excellent dinner for our banquet, well worth the
money. Janis Graber, with the help of other gals and guys, decorated the hall
for the banquet to their usual excellence. I would name the other gays and
gals, but I did not see all of them. You know who you are, so bask in your
glory, knowing that a lot of the guests spoke very highly of your work. I think
a good description of the banquet, following three days of great riding, can be
summed up into something like “A great intimate dinner, with a hundred or so of
new and old friends”.
And now for some light stuff. I noticed that on this Winter
Road Run several people were plagued with electrical problems. My great chief fell prey to the electrical bandito too. The Awesome Wizard
Homer Knapp came to my rescue with a new, used, six-volt, the
likes of which I have never seen before. He said it was a little something that
he cooked up back at his shop and that no bike, including my Chief, could hurt
it no matter what. Homer said the battery was sealed so that no water would
ever need to be added. I think it was sealed so no mortal could look inside to
view Homer’s magic. The darn thing was a probability empty, except for a few
sparks and weird things floating around, all at Homer’s command. What do I
care, my bike ran with it and to my amazement, the transmission gained a new
smoothness it has never had before. What does a battery have to do with a
transmission? Don’t know and don’t care ‘cause Homers my friend and made my
bike run.
A few fellows
and fellow-etts gave us added entertainment. Chuck
(The Muscleman) Vernon fired up his pristine board
track racer in one of the alcoves of the hotel parking lot, in an effort to
enhance the sales of “The Inner Ear Hearing Aid Center”. I do believe that you
could look into the exhaust and see the valves working. Dee Cameron gave us his
best impression of a sky-hook by wearing his cane down the inside of his jacket
as he putted down the highways. Mike Tomas (AKA, Kiwi) delighted all with his
iron-butt rides between Mexico and Canada while we cruised around San Diego County. Dave Niederhaus added a
spectacular section to Saturday’s ride and showed us what a real little trooper
he is by shooting at anyone who failed to turn off at the section he wanted us
to see. Tom Lovejoy had a slight problem with his bike’s oil return, basically
it wasn’t. But unlike Lady Grace, Tom tried and tried to fix the problem but to
no avail, that is not until he disconnected his super-duper oil filtering
system. By this time I was well saturated in Tom’s droppings, as was my bike. I
guess I followed a bit to close to Tom on our return trip from the Salton Sea. I paid for my mistake with
a good coating of 50w. Later that night I added some class to
our fine dinning experience at the exclusive country club we went to.
I’ve been thrown out of better places before. Once I was actually asked to
leave a bar on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. Can you believe that? Now
that’s something to brag about. In my defense, there is no defense. And of
course least we not forget Timmy. Oh yea, you did it again, this time on
Grace’s bike. For those of you not in the know, Grace manhandled her bike to
the point of breaking her kick-starter, which meant that we needed to push
start her (I mean her bike) after every stop. Following lunch at Ocotillo
Wells, Timmy offered to bump start Grace’s bike. He clearly exceeded his
authority by not only starting Grace’s bike, but by doing a drive by in a
semi-standing position. Grace was not impressed to say the least. I believe she
picked up some rocks and hurled them (and some fine expletives) in Tim’s
general direction as he went by. Earlier, Grace gave us her impression of how
she and her chief summon her warriors with smoke signals. Lady Grace had
forgotten what her Great White taught her in the far a way Andyland
last year, i.e., “If you don’t check my oil return, I’ll make you pay dearly”.
Grace left a smoke screen the Bismarck would have relished as she
traveled through the streets of Borrego on Saturday morning. It was good to see
Pat and Wayne Stevens again and all of the other out of state riders who joined
us.
The trouble
truck, driven by DDD got a good workout this year. It was a good thing I opted
to take my new motorcycle trailer along because all of the breakdowns would not
have fit in the truck bed. The Graber clan won the pooped-out scoot award with
brake troubles on a sidecar and a serious meltdown on a teen model Indian. I
want to thank all that broke down and thoroughly oiled my trailer including Tom
Lovejoy. Tom did not actually breakdown, he and I trailed to Temecula together,
but his bike leaked enough oil to keep me from ever having to worry about rust.
My trailer still drips oil to this day. Tom also opted not to wear his
mini-size jump suit on this ride. I think the razzing he got when he made his
fashion statement on the Las Vegas ride was too much for
him.
Now back to
the banquet. This year we opted for a question/answer quiz instead of the usual
roasting, not that we lacked persons to roast, but just
for a change. We gave away $100.00 and a $50.00 prizes to the first and second
place winners. My son, Jon Hart stood in as the judge for event. Lucky for him
he’s a tough kid. I think Doc Sucher was about to get up and open a can of
whoop-ass on him in disagreement over some of his calls. Dee Cameron, as Bill
Clinton would say, “I feel your pain”. I don’t know how he (Dee) does it, but
when I grow up I want to be like the Iron-man Cameron. No pain, no gain. Or in other words, pain is
our friend. Until next year, ride safe
and ride often.