1950 Texas State Enduro / Don Marshall - 1-Page Vintage Motorcycle Article

Description

1950 Texas State Enduro / Don Marshall - 1-Page Vintage Motorcycle Article
Original, vintage magazine article
Page Size: Approx. 9" x 12" (22 cm x 29 cm)
Condition: Good
TEXAS STATE ENDURO
THE morning of November the 5th at
Austin, Texas, was just the kind of
morning all Enduro riders dream of. A
clear sky, and just frosty enough to
make you hunger for that off-the-road
“rough stuff” to warm you up.
Drawing for rider position had been
held the night before at the Kapitol
Kats Club House and all was in readi-
ness for the start. As early as 5 a.m.
the bark (muffled) of warming-up mo-
tors began. The first pair of riders were
checked out promptly at 6:30 a.m. There-
after, two riders left at one-minute in-
tervals until one hundred eleven were on
their merry way, every man-jack of
them sure that he would be the eventual
winner.
We were not long in getting out of
town and into the hilly, cedarbrake
country that surrounds our State Capi-
tol—not too rough—just rocky, hilly
cow trails, the very thing we needed to
ward off the early morning chill. A few
miles further down the trail we find a
Traffic Director separating the men from
the girls, men to the left, girls to the
right. Better try to get a few minutes
ahead of schedule, must be something
up front besides cow trails. We had
hardly got the job to rolling good again,
when there it was—a device for further
separating the riders. This time the
boys were being separated from the
men. A long, natural stairway of rocks
leading right up the side of a mountain
was really making itself felt. Actually,
this section was a little too rough, as a
good many machines developed rather
serious oil leaks when crank cases and
transmission cases came into violent
contact with the rocks. As an indication
of the effectiveness of this section—
forty-two riders either failed to reach
the first check or were disqualified for
being over an hour late at that point.
And so it went. On through the morning
with dry creek beds, abandoned wagon
trails, water crossings, etc., each taking
its toll of riders, either man or machine
giving up the ghost.
At the noon check we were met by
Bob Sheppard, chief timer, who figured
the scores up to that point as we checked
in. (More about Bob and his checking
system later.) This was the end of the
girls’ run (137 miles) and those who
had completed it were all smiles and
anxious to get their cards checked.
The afternoon section proved even
more interesting than the morning sec-
tion, what with the addition of eighteen
miles of bottomless sand and what
seemed like an endless ride down a
power line right of way where I’m sure
the poles were set and the wire strung
from a helicopter, for surely no foot
had ever before touched that ground.
Then back into Austin for that, by now,
much hoped for last check. We were a
tired but happy bunch and every one of
us had a perfectly good explanation as
to why we didn’t win.
The Kapitol Kats M/C and Mr. Bill
Oatman are to be commended for the
splendid job they did on this year’s run.
All marking of this course was done at
night. I would like to suggest this
method of marking to other clubs, for
only one rider, so far as I know, became
lost, and as Skinny is getting along in
years, I’m not sure but what that was
intentional.
The checking system used was quite
unique, and I believe other promoters
will be interested. Each checker was
furnished with a portable mechanical
time clock, such as are used for keep-
ing job time. Each rider was furnished a
check card which he carried with him.
The clocks, the property of Bob Shep-
pard, did not vary from the master
clock over one minute in twenty-four
hours. A rider coming into a check sim-
ply handed his check card to the checker
who inserted it into the clock, which
printed the time on the card and at the
same time made a copy which the
checker retained. Even if a rider lost
his card, his score could still be com-
puted from the checkers’ copy made at
each check. The proof of the system, of
course, was at the end of the run. When
disqualifying time for the last rider ar-
rived—the final results were announced.
In other words—the minute the run was
over winners were known. Quite a con-
trast to some runs I have seen where
nothing was official until hours and
hours after every one wished he were
home in bed. Anyone interested in using
this system, or in getting more informa-
tion, may contact Bob Sheppard, c/o-
McKinzie Bros. M/C Sales, 4428 High-
way No. 9, Corpus Christi, Texas.
Men’s Division
1—
Don Marshall, San Antonio, Tex_____Matchless
2—
Oren Garrett, Tyler, Tex.............Triumph
3—
M. Z. Saunders, Corpus Christi. Tex.....Harley
4—
Tom Price, Corpus Christi, Tex_______-A.J.S.
5—
Tom Davis, Ft. Worth, Tex__________Triumph
Girls’ Division
1—
Nora Munger, Dallas, Tex............Indian V.T.
2—
Ruth Hale, Dallas, Tex______—Indian V.T.
3—
Francis Kirkley, Corpus Christi, Tex....Harley
4—
Gene Moore, Galveston, Tex...-------...Harley
5—
Marie Schumann, San Antonio.....Indian V.T.
Teams
1— Red’s Rough Necks..........Corpus Christi, Tex.
2— Jimmie’s Indians..___-..........-__.Dallas, Tex.
3— Dalio’s Demons................Ft. Worth, Tex..
Don Marshall, Texas Enduro Champion, is presented the Steer Horn Trophy by Jack O'Leary,
Texas Indian dealer.
Norma Munger, high point girl rider in
Texas State Enduro.
12329-5101-02