Who said there wasn’t a Hook and Ladder Enduro this year? Just because the article is a little late doesn’t mean it didn’t happen! And it was as good or better than in years past.
Again this year we had over 500 participants in six classes. We set up two courses: one for the go fast motorcycle crowd and one easier course for the families. One of the things we noticed this year was all the new side by side cars or Razors. Seems like SOD or DROP must be good because everyone seemed to have one!
The start line looked like the 405 freeway at rush hour. There were cars everywhere. The only hiccup came when the local authorities told us at the last minute that we could only use named California City streets to run our course on. Some very nice helmet plaques came out, a few T-shirts, and a donation to the local Desert Incident Response Team (D.I.R.T) and the race was on!
The only other issue that arose was the lowland gorilla that escaped from the local Cal City zoo. He/she was spotted at the top of the hill climb at the very start of the “A” course. He/she was reported to be helping/hindering /humping the riders as they attempted to gain the summit. There were unsubstantiated rumors that he/she was seen at Teter’s Trailer later in the day eating free hotdogs by the fistful. Speaking of Teter’s Trailer we want to thank all those responsible for making it happen again this year including Greg and Suzi Stone, John and Karen Nowell, Shelly McKowen, Steve Berkery and daughter Megan, Steve Sutliff, and of course Judy Teter. If I missed someone sorry, and thanks for your help.
Craig White, Mike Raden and Brad Grossman set up both courses during the week preceding the event. Over 50 miles on two courses were marked, flagged, staked, arrowed, chalked and painted. That was just so they could find their way home from the bar! John Tohill and his erection team did a great job with the start and finish line structures. Rumor has it next year we will have new and improved start/finish lines?
We want to thank all of our sponsor who donated generously for our silent auction and raffle. Over half of our money collected comes from the silent auction ($5k) and raffle ($6k). Thank all of you for buying the tickets and bidding at the auction. Speaking of buying tickets – Tim Wuerfel decided, at the last minute, he should buy a couple of tickets. Bought the last few tickets remaining on the roll and he won the $800 Stand Up Paddleboard! Better late than never, eh Tim?
We want to thank Mike Kiedrowski, two-time world motocross champion, for handing out the trophies. We also had with us for the first time Ryan Arciero and family. Ryan represents three generations of on/off road racing. He is currently driving the #19 Herbst trophy truck in the SCORE and Best of the Desert series. Shortly after our event he won the Vintage Division in the NORRA Mexican 1000, a four-day, 1300 mile race in Baja Mexico. We would also like to thank Brad Cameron of Renthal. He has donated all the sprockets we use for the trophies. So this year we presented him with a thank you plaque made out of what else? A Renthal sprocket.
Thanks again to all of you who made this another successful year. Hope to see you next year on Saturday, March 21, 2015.
By Bruce Galien, LAFD retired
Click here to view more photos from this great event!
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2014 Hook and Ladder Enduro WINNERS
CLASS ONE “A” 52:00 min.
1. 2X Wade White 52:22 +22
2. 19X Dave Rowley 51:35 +25
3. 24X Chris Bennet 52:51 +51
CLASS ONE “B” 70:00 min.
1. 236X Jim Como 70:17 +17
2. 219X Jay Freeman 70:30 +30
3. 215X Mark Williams 70:40 +40
CLASS ONE “C” 80:00 min.
1. 422X Robert Vilabui 79:20 +40
2. 406X Rob Arciero 79:00 +60
3. 415X Robert Lytle 82:54 +2:54
DADS AND KIDS 60:00 min.
1. 503X Chris Carpenter 60:36 +36
2. 535X Callahan 61:07 +1:07
3. 546x Teto Soto 62:22 +2:22
POWDER PUFF 53:00 min.
1. 600x Krissy Raden 53:01 +01
2. 607x Faith Hall 53:29 +29
3. 632x Henry Munuoz 53:29 +29
PICNIC CLASS 90:00 min.
1. 743x Arnado family 90:28 +28
2. 775x Sanchez family 89:30 +30
3. 755x Lite family 90:44 +44
VINTAGE – #538 Vic Kim 75years old riding a 1987 M/C = 102 years.
YOUNGEST RIDER – 5 years old – Name unknown
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2014 HOOK AND LADDER SPONSOR LIST
Andy Gump
Arciero Racing
Baja Designs
Banzai Brothers Racing
Brad Cameron, Renthal
Brian Hishinuma
C & D Motosports
Chief Officers Association
EVS
Farmer John
Fickewirth Benefit Consultant
Fireman’s First Credit Union
Gold Lee, L.M.W.S. & Lee
Greg and Suzi Stone
Hewitt Financial Group
Hook and Ladder Winery
Huston Herman
Jason Knight, Fire Axe Inc.
Jason Torrey-Payne, Firehouse Financial
John and Karen Nowell
Kawasaki
Leatt
Malcom Smith Racing
Matt Lundgren – Rivalry Clothing
Maxima
Mechanics Wear
Miller, Kaplan, Arase
Pit Pro
PJI
Randy Hill, Kings Fish House
Robert Vowels
Rocky Mountain ATV / MC
Ryan Villapoto
SUP Atx –
The Outdoor Recreation Group
Toyota Racing
Travis Lamm, TuckerRocky & MSR
UFLAC
Val Surf
Worx Industrial Solutions Corp.
