History of Enduro racing in the Pines.

Trailhead00

Trailhead00

Explorer
Mar 9, 2005
375
1
49
Haddonfield, NJ
I know some other members are motorcycle enthusiats on here. I thought this was a very interesting look into an often forgotten (or not talked about) past of the Pine Barrens. I just got into racing hare scramble events and found this motorcycle club in NJ that has been putting on enduros for years in the pines. Names like the Curly Fern or the Sandy Lane enduro ring a bell? The Meteor Motorcycle club has been doing this since the 1930's I believe. Well here is a link to check out some old pics. They also have a great history page. Thought I would pass this along and to show "another side" of the pines. By the way I am not connected with or a member of this club.

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/bigbhodog1954/album/576460762310822535
 
Thanks for posting that Trailhead! I once was riding out in the woods and met the president of the ocean county competition riders (another enduro group) Rocky I think his name was. He invited me to go riding with a bunch of those guys and encouraged me to join up. I remember visiting their website and Meteor and being entertained and interested in the history of the sport in the pine barrens. I have ridden the enduro trails avidly, but never took the next step and joined a club. I used to race motocross back in HS and have since leaned toward just recreational riding. Interestingly, the pine barrens caught on with the sport very early on.

It is definitely a big part (and yeah, often overlooked) of pine barrens history/culture. Some of the older riders I know have shown me pics of Chatsworth with the whole middle of town filled with enduro riders. Real enduro riders are a whole different breed than the typical out of towner, or High School kid just looking for a cheap thrill. Almost all that I have known are very responsible and respectful of the woods.

Jeff
 
woodjin said:
Real enduro riders are a whole different breed than the typical out of towner, or High School kid just looking for a cheap thrill. Almost all that I have known are very responsible and respectful of the woods.
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very well said Jeff.. I am an lover of the pine barrens, an environmentally concerned individual and yes, an enduro rider.. it is possible.. I am a member of SJER and I actually just met Rocky yesterday (out in lebanon - it will forever be called that by me) .. what a cool old guy.. I was riding in the SJER dual sport ride.. it's all about responsible shared usage by all groups..
 
My buddy Bill Schemel, age 81, rode during those time periods and is still active with the South Jersey Enduro Riders.
I sent him the link to this post.
Perhaps he can add to it.
Scott
 
Meteor M.C. & S.J.E.R.

Wow,thank's for the post.Started riding cycles in 1946.Joined Meteor M.C. and rode my first Enduro on a 1934 -74' ci.Harley in 1947.In 1949 rode my first Sandy Lane Enduro on a 1942 -45 cu.-in Harley.Started at the Barrington airport-250 mi.event.Did not know how to ride sand.Learned fast after many spills.Finished 4th in my class.Was secretary for Meteor for 13 years.Paul Brumfield and I were the trail boss's for a few years.This all happened before the State bought the Wharton Estate.In 1960 or so four of us had a falling out with Brumfield.We formed a new club."South Jersey Enduro Riders".That club is going strong today.I made "A" rider in 1950 .Won first in my class in the East Coast Enduro Assn.1979
Scott thanks for the info .Pictures are great .I knew a lot of the old timers,Played Motorcycle polo with some of them.Brings back a ton of memories.I have albums of pictures.Rode to the year 1985.Knees gave out...had 2 total knee replacements.That ended my Enduro career.Thanks for the memories.
 
Wow...memories Sandy Lane...

My father and his friends all belonged to Bushkill Vallery MC in Easton, PA and alot of them used to ride the sandy lane enduro in the 40's and 50's...and the Jack Pine too.

I grew up listening to their stories. Our club did TT Scrambles and Hill Climbs...still do (2) hillclimbs a year just outside Hellertown, PA [AKA Freemansburg and Steel City] www.bikehillclimb.com is our website

I learrned to ride motorcycle on a 1953 Harley 156; an italian built 2 stroke that launched a lot of 'privateer' scrambler/enduro/trials riders requiring an investment in a selection of sprockets to make the gearing match the trail...of course it was a surrvivor that was still running in 1967...I know that that bike rode in Sandy Lane...
 
I remember all the bikes at Chatsworth. They were still doing it in the 70's, and spent the complete weekend all around the firehouse area.

Bill, there is an interesting book on the Barrington Airport that is now available. A Boy Scout has placed a sign at the former location with an air sock. Nice!


Guy
 
Barrington Airport.

Tee Gate.Do you know who sells that book.Know about the sign.When I belonged to Meteor M.C.,We rented a hanger and used it for our club house.
 
Y-BUC-BILL said:
Tee Gate.Do you know who sells that book.Know about the sign.When I belonged to Meteor M.C.,We rented a hanger and used it for our club house.
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Bill,

It is a booklet not a book as I first said. A nice one. Here is the cover.

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/teegate/bar01.jpg

And here is how to get it.

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/teegate/bar02.jpg

They were selling them in the local stores in that area when it came out, and you most likely can get it directly by just stopping into Boro Hall in Barrington.

Guy
 
Bill, very interesting recollections of yours!! How rough did those early enduros get? Did it get real tight and muddy like today? Also, did you guys have knobby tires at all, or were you able to modify your tires? Really interesting stuff.

Jeff
 
woodjin said:
Bill, very interesting recollections of yours!! How rough did those early enduros get? Did it get real tight and muddy like today? Also, did you guys have knobby tires at all, or were you able to modify your tires? Really interesting stuff.

Jeff
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I think they were tougher than those of today (from what i've heard) and that doesn't even acct for the less advanced bikes they rode.. did they even have hard guards back then ?
 
Those early Harleys were all hardtails.
I couldn't imagine a 250 mile event on a hardtail.
I remember how happy I was when I traded my 1976 Yam 400 with 4" of rear travel for a 1978 400 with 7" of travel. Now most off road bikes have at least a foot of travel front and back.
 
When I went to high school in Pemberton (68-72), we often went out to Chatsworth area and watched them go through boggy spots. I remember the names sandy lane and curly fern enduro, though they could have run any time in the early 70's too. There would be a general consensus on which areas would be fun to watch, and we spectators would go out there. It was usually a bog that got churned up into a muddy sphagnous mess by the time the third rider went through. They roped the area to keep the spectators away, and here would come a guy all dusty and filthy out of the scrub pine and into the mud. The change seemed to shock some of them and they had to fight hard to keep the front wheel from jerking all the way to the side. Steam from the hot engine would rise into the air and the hot mud and that would make quite an earthy smell. Some of the guys had blood on their faces from the scrub oak whipping the hell out of them over the last 8 miles or so. Quite an exciting sight. I remember the name Chippy Pepper from Chatsworth as doing pretty well.

I used to have a bright orange tee shirt that had..."South Jersey Enduro Riders" on it.
 
Old Enduros

When I first started riding Enduro's,you rode a Harley or an Indian.There were no Jap bikes.If you owned a Triumph,BSA,AJS,or a Matchless,it was a street bike and had to be modified.My first Enduro was on a 1934 74 cu.in.Harley.I bought a 1942 45 cu.in. Harley.The Army used this cycle during WW 11.I bought a skid plate from a surplus store.Cale Davidson sold me a German Army knobby rear tire.The enduro's in those days were loooong.At least 225 miles or more.Not tight like today's events.Miles of deep sugar sand.The secret to riding that sand was to turn on the gas.You got on the top of the sand and you could cruise at 50-60 miles per hour.If not you would eat sand all day long.Today the events are tough and mostly under 100 miles in length.
 
Y-BUC-BILL said:
When I first started riding Enduro's,you rode a Harley or an Indian.There were no Jap bikes.If you owned a Triumph,BSA,AJS,or a Matchless,it was a street bike and had to be modified.My first Enduro was on a 1934 74 cu.in.Harley.I bought a 1942 45 cu.in. Harley.The Army used this cycle during WW 11.I bought a skid plate from a surplus store.Cale Davidson sold me a German Army knobby rear tire.The enduro's in those days were loooong.At least 225 miles or more.Not tight like today's events.Miles of deep sugar sand.The secret to riding that sand was to turn on the gas.You got on the top of the sand and you could cruise at 50-60 miles per hour.If not you would eat sand all day long.Today the events are tough and mostly under 100 miles in length.
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Neat!! I used to have a 600cc enduro that was real heavy and taking on the sugar sand was the same deal...staying on the gas and taking it fast. I used to feel like the sand was water and the whoop-de-doos were like waves.

One thing I have always done with any dual sport bike I've had is immeditely switch the tires out for full on knobbies. Hitting the sand with stock dual sport tires or, God forbid, street tires, seemed like suicide! I'd take a front wheel knobbie over a rear knobbie any day.

I once was on Carranza road a little NW of Friendship and I found this guy on a big Harley stopped along the side and looking miserable. He flagged me down (I was on an xr 600 at the time) and he was real desperate, he thought he could take carranza as a short cut from 206 to Wading pines campground. But he didn't count on the sand and had to go so slow that his bike was over heating! He didn't turn back because he figured that "the road had to turn to pavement again sometime".

It was a good thing he ran into me because he didn't know he could veer left at friendship to hit 563, he would have been heading straight down to hawkins bridge. Of course, that would have brought him pretty close to wading pines but, Can you imagine. And he thought the sand on carranza was bad, he would have died. Anyway I gave him some water and got him headed the right way. Anyway, that was the only Harley I have ever seen in the pines.

Bill, any other recollections of those old enduros would be great! Do you remember any of the old routes?

Jeff
 
Excellent topic! I'm a 20+year member of Meteor and have been around enduros since the early 70's as a kid. Good to hear the recollections of the harley days. I remember the Medford Farms enduro also starting somewhere between redlion circle and atsion lake...I think.
 
Y-BUC-BILL said:
When I first started riding Enduro's,you rode a Harley or an Indian.There were no Jap bikes.If you owned a Triumph,BSA,AJS,or a Matchless,it was a street bike and had to be modified.My first Enduro was on a 1934 74 cu.in.Harley.I bought a 1942 45 cu.in. Harley.The Army used this cycle during WW 11.I bought a skid plate from a surplus store.Cale Davidson sold me a German Army knobby rear tire.The enduro's in those days were loooong.At least 225 miles or more.Not tight like today's events.Miles of deep sugar sand.The secret to riding that sand was to turn on the gas.You got on the top of the sand and you could cruise at 50-60 miles per hour.If not you would eat sand all day long.Today the events are tough and mostly under 100 miles in length.
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All racing was adaped from road bikes in the 50's & 60's. I remember the first Yamaha attempting to run the Hillclimb circuit. Sounded good on the start line, like a chain saw on mega-steroids, till he dumpped the clutch ahd hit the hill...stalled out at 200 feet...the hill ws JUST starting to get steep...

I used to be fun looking at the racing machines and determining what the original frame and engine were...
 
Im also a 20+ year member of the Meteor club. My first enduro was in 85. It was the Speedsville National in NY. I still remember the 5 hour ride home, still wearing my gear, passed out in the passenger seat of my dads regular cab Nissan pickup. Anybody remember O.T.H.E.R. or Over The Hill Enduro Riders? Bamber Lakes Enduro? If I remember correctly, it was held in Lacey Township. Im still riding them today, only missed 1 so far this year.
 
ZZ3GMC said:
Bamber Lakes Enduro? If I remember correctly, it was held in Lacey Township.
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I moved to Bamber in 1982 ZZ, and I remember vividly the trails cut by the enduro. I was told the state put a stop to it as it is a wildlife management area. I don't see that they do any harm at all as long as they are well-managed, infrequent, and that they avoid sensitive areas (snakes, orchids, etc.).
 
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