General Notes, Puyallup Convoy, and Marv Foster's Baja Adventure

GENERAL NOTES: The corps of organizers for this year's activities included Gregg and Jan Floren (who were just everywhere!); Bob Whitman (food vendor arrangements, awards dinner, and auctioneer); Mike Kirchberger (Bike Show); Harry Taylor (Scrambles track layout and motorcross seminar); Stu Osborn (vendors); Ed Chesnut (service school and Observed Trials); Jay Lael (Observed Trials Seminar and main event); Paul Stannard (PABATCO chronicles organizer); John, Bill and Chris Patterson (Trail Ride); Al Pedro (local logistics and rentals); Chuck Swanson and Rick Mott (Parade); Thal Anderson (Scrambles); Patti Stannard (pre-event advance raffle sales). Jan Floren, Judy Canfield, Chris Cook, Janet Mandaville, Jenny Kirchberger, and Carol Anderson pitched in hours at registration and sales of raffle tickets.

The helpers were everywhere --- keeping things humming. A huge thank you to all named here and to all whose names we've neglected to mention. (We'll add others to whom thanks are owed as our memories are jogged!)

Please go to Hodaka Club page for a list of the many much appreciated sponsors ... as Gregg Floren says: "Without all the sponsors, Hodaka Days would be Hodaka DAY!"

Every year it gets better and better -- everyone agreed on that at the Scrambles awards ceremony on Sunday. One very noticeable thing has been the signage -- very complete so that people just did not have to wonder where and what was happening. And it's great to have those banners flying above Main Street. Athena businesses sporting "welcome" signs included Somewhere In Time and the Athena Grocery. The Doubletree Cafe had its special Hodaka Days menu out and the Sugar Shack extended its open hours. The school kids held a car wash on Saturday to benefit their All Stars trip. There was a bake sale at the 3rd Street park entrance and a few people held yard sales to take advantage of having extra visitors to town. A private enterprise flew helicopter sight-seeing trips from the school grounds.

Everyone was asked to sign in, whether directly participating or just dropping by for a portion of the action... in order to get an idea of how many were turning up and where they were from. And because when they signed in, they got a name tag and a goodie bag! By our guess-timate, about half to two-thirds of the people in evidence over the weekend actually signed in ... so if signers equalled nearly 200, that gives an idea of overall count. Organizers estimate -- from the flow of registrations and the numbers of waivers signed at Scrambles plus eye-balling the crowd (many of whom came only one day or for a specific event) -- that the attendance was down from last year about 15%. It seemed like the high gas prices kept away some of those from far-away places who usually turn up. Represented this year were Alberta (Canada), New South Wales (Australia), Utah, Rhode Island, Montana, Pennsylvania, California, Idaho, North Dakota, Oregon, Washington.

The Pacific Northwest was perhaps more heavily represented than usual. Washington folks came from Tri-Cities, Longview, Everett, Walla Walla, Tacoma, Spokane, Prosser, Issaquah, Vancouver, Port Orchards, Gig Harbor, Bothell, Shelton, Poulsbo, Seattle. Oregon towns represented included Florence, Beaverton, Weston, Athena, Adams, Aurora, Hillsboro, Milton-Freewater, Vale, Prairie City, Newberg, Forest Grove, Welches, Brownsville, Canby, Salem, Eugene, Pendleton, Portland, Hermiston, Turner, LaPine, Bend, Forest Grove, Molalla, Estacada, Gresham, and more. Montana towns included Fallon, Great Falls, Berger and Idaho folks came from Orofino, Post Falls, Lewiston, Kimberly, Fairfield. Californians were well represented -- from Fresno, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, California City, Palm Springs, Lodi, Delano, Mentone, Auburn, Acton, and San Ramon.

This year's primary food vendor was Rhonda's Oldtown Restaurant from Milton-Freewater. Consumer comments about the banquet were very positive, as were overheard comments about the German hot dogs, breakfast sandwiches, walk-around taco meals, and other selections. At the Scrambles on Sunday, the McEwen-Weston ice cream and snacks kiosk was also open for drinks, ice cream, and snacks. Monies earned at that kiosk will benefit high school programs such as the band's next trip to the UK. (Did you know that the local High School has an award-winning bagpipe band?)

The final tally isn't in, but preliminary count indicates that approximately $5400 was earned for the Athena Library Friends Association (ALFA) to support collecting and displaying Hodaka historical materials in the Local History archives. With the monies from 2007, the project can really get off the ground. The intent is to have both representatives from ALFA, Hodaka Club, and local Hodaka/PABATCO folks get together and assess how best to get the archives going -- priorities in the collection, processes and resources needed to scan/digitize/organize, most efficient ways to store and index so that public access is assured for interested visitors, etc. Once a plan has been formulated, it will be published for Hodaka Club online and/or in the club's newsletter.


RAFFLE GOODS


PUYALLUP CONVOY:

The photos that show the convoy's trip to Athena are all courtesy of Arnie Nufer and used with permission. Before the convoy left, Arnie posted this note at the Hodaka yahoo group. He has given permission to use his notes (slightly edited) here.

We are packed, fueled, and ready to roll. Two Ace 90's will leave Puyallup, WA. for a short 350 mile putt to Athena, and then ride 350 miles back home. Our goal will be Prosser on Thursday (June 19th) and into Athena on Friday. We will miss some things, but the trip will be over some beautiful passes and country side. White Pass being the first.

I'm 60 and 200 lbs, while Steve is 61, taller, and about 240 lbs. It should be quite the test for these vintage bikes and their vintage riders. We will be accompanied by Ralph and his Honda CB160 and Mike on his 175 Bultaco. It is a great mix of tiddlers.



THE TIDDLERS from left to right: Ralph Noble (Honda CB160), Herb Gaudreau (Sprinter Van driver; van not shown here, but in one of following photos), Arnie Nufer (Hodaka Ace 90), Dave Armstrong (Bultaco 175 Campera), and Steve Ready (Hodaka Ace 90).



First stop at Alder Lake near Elbe, WA.
Pallisades halfway up the west side of White Pass, WA.



Safely camped in Athena's city park.

The rest stop BEFORE Athena arrival
Homeward bound, first stop.



Mather Memorial Parkway.

More from Arnie's notes: We climbed to the top of Chinook Pass, at 5430 ft, on the way home. 35 mph in third gear at the very steep top section. It looked and felt like the Matterhorn at the top. Lots of ice and snow, which was a change from the T-shirt temperatures at the bottom.

We made it home with the Aces still screaming their little hearts out; 700 miles with the throttle pinned. It ranks as the best motorcycle trip of my life.


MARV FOSTER'S BAJA ADVENTURE:

After the awards dinner, raffle and auction, on Saturday evening, Marv Foster chatted for awhile and answered questions about the ride criss-crossing Baja on slightly modified Ace 90s that he and Frank Wheeler did in 1966. He trained for a couple months, he claims, wearing his full pack, before they started out from Lancaster, CA. He noted that the residents all across Baja were welcoming and hospitable, often offering lodging and food (including hot chocolate made with goats milk). Marv also remembers seeing some shriveled up hanging carcasses that he couldn't really identify out back of someone's home right before they were offered another meal -- they ate what was offered anyway, and found it very tasty.

For a young man in his mid-20s from Yakima, it was quite an adventure -- navigating through Los Angeles, seeing salt mines, watching 2-propeller Cessnas fly in with mining parts, catching "turista" and curing it with tequila, visiting hinterland ranches where cattle were herded on horseback, riding on long beaches and through old streambeds nowhere near the road, and managing to communicate on limited Spanish.

Everywhere he could, he posted stickers -- Hodaka Esta Aqui. Frank often performed wheelies which residents found very entertaining.

About a quarter of way into trip, he crashed his bike in a big washout area and bent the front forks. They rode to a farm, found a piece of iron and a 10-pound hammer, and pounded and pounded and pounded until they had it "sort of fixed." When they obtained gas at ranches, they poured it through chamois cloth into their tanks to get the impurities and the water out.


The most hazardous problems -- particularly for Frank -- were the frequent flat tires, usually caused by large cactus thorns.

In Mazatlan, they met up with Henry Koepke, and Marv recalls a fair amount of time spent in cabarets.

Marv recalls a usual speed of 50-55 mph, riding 3/4 throttle. With the rough roads and tracks, their hands vibrated the throttle to full, however, without their realizing it. At one point, he found he could get more oomph from the bike and perhaps save on gas by sliding in behind trucks, about 10 or 12 feet back. The disadvantage was the increased amount of blowing sand ... which eventually caused an eye infection. Then the task became coping with local doctors who couldn't speak English and a pharmacy where boxes labeled with medicine names were empty and a runner had to be sent to get actual meds from a central warehouse.

All in all, the trip covered 3800 miles in 4 weeks. Marv wrote an extensive article "Baja and Back" for Cycle World, which is posted at the Strictly Hodaka website in the articles section. CLICK HERE to link to first page of that article.


Hodaka Days 2008 Links to other photo and commentary pages.

All material copyright 2008 by JHM Associates. Please contact jhmassoc @ oregontrail.net (without the spaces) for any photo files as the originals are usually better than those configured for website upload. Thanks.