Midwinter Rally & Gold Hunt

MIDWINTER RALLY & GOLD HUNT

Larry Wise

FOR the first time in recent years, the Midwinter Rally and Gold Hunt had good luck, weather-wise.

Bright sunshine and mild temperatures brought more riders out than ever for this popular event, held annually at Atsion, New Jersey. Sponsored by MAMDA (Middle Atlantic Motorcycle Dealer’s Association), which seeks to encourage year-round use of motorcycles, the Rally drew over 300 motorcyclists.

Starting off the weekend’s festivities was a dance Saturday night at the Pic-A-Lil Inn in Atsion. First competition events on Sunday were the observed trials.

A course, incorporating many sharp turns and grades, was laid out over a rough hillside by use of marker strings. Riders were permitted to negotiate the course at their own rate of speed. Every time their foot touched the ground, they lost 1 point, every time they went off course they lost 5 points, and every time they stalled their motor they lost 10 points.

There was a class for woods-type machines and one for road-type machines. Additionally, women were permitted to enter; in fact, Betty Morrison won 3rd place in her class for the second consecutive year. Ted Develet, television producer and star of “The Jan Murray Show”, participated in the trials, coming in 2nd in his class.

High point winner was Ed Varnes (Zundapp) with a loss of only 42 points.

The scrambles races proved quite exciting, as most of the top riders in the area were present. In a tight duel with James Varnes, S. Longhbaugh on his Triumph proved the winner of the Lightweight class. Zubritsky on his BSA took 1st place in the Heavyweight division.

Following this, a contest was held for best-dressed rider and best-dressed couple and machine, with winners receiving large trophies.

A gigantic police-escorted procession of over 300 machines then rode 14 miles, deep into the cranberry bog country of New Jersey, to the area where the Gold Hunt was to take place. Almost 100 motorcycle parts were hidden in this area. Each part had a number and could be redeemed for a merchandise prize at any dealer’s shop. Most valuable prize was the huge “Head Hunters” trophy, spotted 40 feet up in a tree by sharpeyed Roland D. Poirier.

When the group returned to the Pic-A-Lil Inn, a drawing was held to determine winners of fine merchandise prizes awarded by various distributors. •