THE WEEKLY FEED: Mitch Mayes a desert racing superstar

A HISTORY LESSON-Mitch Mayes

 

Mitch Mayes Mitch Mayes exploded out of the Antelope Valley and took the California desert racing world like a hurricane from the 1968 to 1976. Like Larry Roeseler and Bruce Ogilvie, Mitch’s notoriety blossomed when he was racing the 100cc Harley Davidson. He joined the Husqvarna powerhouse (Larry Roeseler, AC Bakken, Jack Johnson, Scot Harden) and won 29 times in District 37 Desert Racing, two Baja 100 wins and Baja 500 victory.
This shot is from the 1974 Baja 500 and here are Mitch’s words about the event. “That’s my dad gassing me at the 74’ Baja 500. That year AC (AC Bakken) and I teamed. I started for us and rode way too slow! That pit was about half way through my portion. I had the physical lead but when I stopped for the pit my mom told me that I was 3 minutes down to a San Diego team of Steve Sternes and his partner. I was shocked. From that point I rode like it a motocross race and not an endurance event. Most of the course was down the pacific coast. I pulled into the half way point where AC would take over. We were only 1 minute behind now! AC gassed it to Mike’s Sky Ranch where there was a 1-hour mandatory stop. He had made back the minute and we were tied at that point. AC rode the rest of his half with zero mistakes and crossed the finish still physically ahead. I had a watch and started a countdown waiting for our competition. The time elapsed, I looked at the SCORE officials and they said yes! We had won. Steve Stern finished almost exactly 1-minute behind us. This was the first race after several years of four-wheeled vehicles winning a that motorcycle won overall.”

NEWS

 

God Speed Bruce Brown

This movie was a game changer and in my mind is the single biggest catalyst that shaped the evolution of the dirt bike world. Bruce Brown, a brilliant documentary film maker made On Any Sunday and it changed the lives of every person who rode, or dreamed about riding dirt bikes. Bruce, 80 years old passed but his movie will never be forgotten. Just watch this trailer, it is powerful, funny and why we ride dirt bikes. Thanks Bruce. You took three teenagers from Canoga Park, California and changed their lives. In reading hundreds of FB posts , two of them really hit home came.  Ricky Johnson- “On Any Sunday made me want to race dirt bikes!” And from Mitch Mayes “Everybody probably thinks they lived and raced in a great era but we had the greatest! There were the Europeans coming over, ON ANY SUNDAY, European motorcycles and two strokes, the first Baja 1000 and 500 races, Mint 400, the original Barstow to Vegas. We got see JN Roberts…Mike Patrick…Larry Berquist.. Malcolm Smith..Jack Morgan..Terry Clark…the Brooks brothers. We had Brad Lackey…Bob Hannah..We raced all over the Mojave desert. A great time !

 

 

 

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VIDEO JUTEBOX

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SOCIAL DISTORTION

 GEAR BAG

 ASV Inventions F4 Series Levers

ASV Inventions is forging the future with their new F4 Series Levers. The unbreakable forged 6061 aluminum design offers a premium “dial-adjust” feature that was previously exclusive to the ASV C6 Levers. Now riders can personalize their riding experience by adjusting the reach of their levers on the fly without any tools. The F4 Series Levers include a sealed pivot bearing and a serviceable 4 year guarantee from ASV. These levers are available for most makes and models and are offered in red, black, blue, and orange. Optional dust covers, rotator clamps, and pro perch models are sold separately.  $80.00

 www.asvinventions.com

 

 

LEATT GPX 1.5 GLOVE

Leatt introduces the ‘barely there’ GPX 1.5 glove. Engineered to provide an effective barrier of palm-protection without compromising ‘feel’, this glove offers super strength and enhanced comfort. It’s sells for $24.99

www.leatt.com.

 

AND SADLY…

We lost one of the good guys of our sport with the passing of Paul Eddy. He was a friend, an incredible rider and in the top echelon of trail bosses on the planet. He was a mainstay of the infamous Los Ancianos motorcycle club which is responsible for the Tecate Enduro. Godspeed Pablo.

 

 

WOLF: BACK IN THE DAY

In 1983 Honda introduced the CR480, a 5-speed motocross machine that rates in the top five of machines that I’ve had the luck to ride. Not only was it a brilliant motocross machine, I took it and fit up a Suzuki PE odometer and raced District 37 enduros with decent success. The bike was light, fast, throttled down nicely and adapted well to tough and tight desert terrain. I do remember one of the main reasons I took to this machine was the fact that Husky had dropped the 430 in favor of a full 500 and the bike was a vibrating belcher. The CR480 had a light feel, a quick hit, superb suspension (that I never valved or resprung to be more versatile) and was durable. What a scoot!
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