Cycle Round Up

CYCLE ROUND UP

JOSEPH C. PARKHURST

WE WERE ALL SADDENED this month by a great personal loss, that of Bennie Sims, husband of Carol Sims, Managing Editor of CYCLE WORLD, while racing to his brief moment of glory at a halfmile dirt track event in Tulare, California. Two pictures on this page show Bennie at his very best, one masterfully sliding the Matchless during practice, the other finishing the last heat race of his short career as a professional motorcycle racer, alongside of National Champion Dick Mann and just behind California’s meteoric Elliott Schultz. Bennie was in winning form when he died, the only way he, and probably a great many of us, would want it.

He was born in Paducah, Texas, was 32, and is survived by two brothers, Billy and Bobby, his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Lester Sims of Seward, Alaska, and of course Carol, who continues as CYCLE WORLD’S invaluable staff member and columnist with her “Racing Review.” A task that has not been made any easier by her loss.

Bennie wanted only one thing; to build his own motorcycle, a Matchless G-80, and race it. He did these things with a careful, studied approach, requesting assistance only when he seriously felt it was required. He started racing just five years ago, and finished his first race in third place after falling off six times! Most of his racing was in and around Vallejo and San Diego, Calif., and in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He road raced at Dodge City and in Denver, and was building a Honda to have a go at AFM events here in California. Bennie had only been an AMA expert since 1962, when he earned the privilege at Ascot Park on another Matchless he built.

During mid-season 1962 he was injured while ranking fifth in Ascot point standings (highest running first year expert) and was out for the rest of the season. Since that time, until completing his new Matchless a few weeks ago, he had only scattered rides. One of those was an Ascot TT on his standard Honda 305cc Super Hawk where he beat several hot 40 and 55 inchers and qualified for the semimain event, much to the stunned surprise of many. He also scrambled the Honda, and won, at a few Southern California sporting scrambles 350cc events. Bennie was a racer.

Bennie’s last races were run wearing a CYCLE WORLD jumper; we were sponsoring a member of our own family. He often loaned precious assistance in many road tests, burning up Riverside Raceway and the Long Beach Drag Strip in a courageous, expert manner when mem bers of the regular test staff lacked either of these valuable assets.

The pain of his loss is not an easy thing with which to live for our Carol, or the rest of us; we can all only carry on and rationalize with each other that Bennie was doing precisely what he want ed to do, and was succeeding, only to be stopped by a cruel twist of fate. None of us can expect more of life.

GOOD PUBLICITY

I recently received a copy of the Fam ily Section of the St. Petersburg, Florida, Times, containing a lengthy feature on a few of the prominent citizens of that city who ride motorcycles and scooters. The article appeared through the efforts of Mr. and Mrs. Barney Barclay, Norton motor cycle dealers in St. Petersburg, and was comprised of interviews with several peo ple conducted by Nancy Osgood of the Times staff. Miss Osgood even went so far as to take a ride as a passenger on a mo r scooter, and enjoyed it as well.

( lite significantly, the story was a front pag feature and was illustrated with a full color picture of Mr. and Mrs. Ray Hempstead, the noted southern states com petition rider, and their dog riding a Norton. Hempstead was interviewed as well in the feature and had several worthwhile things to say. Our thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Barclay for a wonderful effort on behalf of us all.

CYCLES GO TO SCHOOL

Miss Ruth K. Stroh, second grade teacher in Cockeysville, Maryland, sent us the marvelous photograph of the black board in one of her classes during a lesson

on travel and recreation. Miss Stroh's pupils had shown an interest in motor cycles, hence the fascinating message. We would be hard pressed to find something we enjoyed seeing more.