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Mother's Day Cop Out
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Posted by rdtusmc Wed May 17, 2006 06:23:25 PDT
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It’s that time of year again when our motorcycle club The Badgers, hosted their 37^th annual Mother’ Day Cop-Out desert race near Ridgecrest May 13 &14.  The Badgers is a family-oriented group of riders formed in 1969 by some Los Angeles Police Department dirt bike riders with a passion for desert racing.  Thus the dual meanings of our club name….get it, Badge/Badgers; and the Cop-Out.  We schedule our own Mother’s Day activities with our own moms on the previous weekend. 

 

 

One formerly had to be in the field of law enforcement or public safety to be a member, but as of late the prerequisites have been stringently tightened to include most anyone with a pulse and the means to pay membership dues.  There are still a number of local Bakersfield Police Department, Fire Department and Correctional Officers and their families who are members.        

 

 

The course is laid out in two loops that entrants race on over two days.  It consists of A and B courses each about 13 miles in length.  Several checkpoints are set up along the course that each rider must pass through and be recorded by their individual number plate on the front of the bike.  Two or three loops are completed by each rider.    

 

 

The riders are divided into classes according to age, skill level, and engine size.  The Bureau of Land Management has jurisdiction over the areas we ride, which are designated as open riding areas for off highway vehicles (OHVs).   

 

 

The checkpoints of the race involve riders barreling through a location, kept secret until the last minute, and having their race numbers recorded.  This discourages cutting the course and helps to track riders who may be injured that made it through one checkpoint, but had a non-scheduled get-off before the next.  Or they simply may be lost or have mechanical problems with their bike.  Oh, and there is a class for quads and sidecars.

 

 

The course is carefully planned out and marked with day-glo ribbon and wooden stakes with day-glo arrows that show the way.  After the race all of that paraphernalia is stripped back down by our club members so that you’d never know there were 700+ riders that rode through on the course for multiple laps.

 

 

This is a very motivating race for me every year, even though we have to work the race and don’t get to actually ride.  Riders from age 12 and up, women, average Joes and even guys in a class of over-60-year-olds having fun on a course ranging from 1^st gear, very technical portions of the course, to 100 mph (for some of the pros) areas of wide open, full throttle spots.

 

 

I mean here are men in their 60s and 70s riding dirt bikes on a desert race at an age when many of their counterparts are checking into retirement homes and skilled nursing facilities.  It’s incredible for those who can do it. 

 

 

 

The air temperature both days was dang close to the century mark and most riders wore water carriers like Camelbacks to stay hydrated.  Another group worthy of many thanks is Rescue 3.  It’s an all volunteer group of paramedics stationed in Barstow who work our races and provide first-responder medical care when needed.  We do give them some financial help with a donations box at our race sign up area.  They are lifesavers….literally.  Liberty Ambulance also has a unit on location during every race.     

           

The kid’s race on Saturday had a great turnout of under-12 riders with all participants getting trophies on the little half-mile course with club members stationed along the way for help if needed.  Happy Trails!

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

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