Ups And Downs

UPS AND DOWNS

ROUNDUP

UP: To the off-highway-vehicle users in Colorado, for putting up a heck of a fight. When U.S. Senator Tim Wirth of Colorado wrote a bill that would declare 650,000 additional acres of state land as wilderness areas (added to the more than 2.6 million existing wilderness acres that are off-limits to motorcyclists), the state’s motorcycle enthusiasts started doing homework. The result is an alternative bill written by the state’s other senator, Bill Armstrong. Armstrong’s bill is a more-balanced one, declaring 470,000 acres as wilderness, but also setting aside 122,000 acres for off-road-vehicle use. Both bills currently are in congress.

UP: To all the motorcyclists that participated in Earth Day 1990. Under the guidance of the American Motorcyclist Association, motorcycle riders organized a wide variety of projects, including trail clean-ups and maintenance programs. “We saw it as a chance for motorcyclists to help the image of motorcycling as well as improve the quality of their own lives.’’ said the AMA’s Eric Lundquist. Over 1500 information packets, describing how to organize an Earth Day event, were sent out to various clubs by the AMA.

DOWN: To Earth First!, again. The group of radical environmentalists that has sabotaged desert races and generally made a dangerous nuisance of itself is in the news again. The group is bucking even the Sierra Club^by officially refusing to recognize Earth Day because it says the salvation of planet Earth shouldn’t be “commercialized.’’ The club especially took offense at ABC’s Earth Day television special. That doesn’t say much for the group’s true priorities.

DOWN: To the student springbreakers who flooded into Palm Springs, California, for going a step too far with a good thing. After all, we know that motorcycles are a good thing. And we at Cycle World are of the firm opinion that string bikinis are a good thing. But even we have to admit that motorcycles and string bikinis together aren't a very good mix. The problem lies in the fact that an incredible number of California newspapers and TV stations ran pictures of semi-naked women on the passenger seats of motorcycles during spring break, generating the kind of publicity that motorcycling is better off without.

UP: To U.S. Senator Steve Symms and Representative Larry Craig of Idaho. They have sponsored a bill that would help secure funds to develop off-road riding areas throughout the country. The National Recreation Trails Act of 1990 would appropriate a small percentage of state and federal gasoline taxes for use on off-highway vehicle projects. Currently those funds are used on highway projects, despite the fact that off-highway vehicles pay gasoline tax, as well. The redistribution of those funds just makes good sense. That’s an encouraging precedent in governmental affairs.

UP: To U.S. Suzuki, for supplying a booklet called “Tips and Practice Guide for the Off-Highway Motorcyclist,’’ with every off-road motorcycle it sells. Aimed at the first-time, off-road rider, the booklet covers protective gear, bike preparation, laws and finding a place to ride. Then it gives a brief description of riding techniques required for braking, turning, hills, whoops, water, mud, sand, rocks, berms, ledges and banks. It also details how to lay out practice courses to help develop these off-road skills. All in all, a good effort.

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