Lake Cachuma British Bike Rally 2017 June 2-5

With roots deep in vintage British motorcycling and at the urging of Johnny Brown, who secured the campground for the last three years, Eddie and Jodi Mulder continued the tradition of hosting the Lake Cachuma British Bike Rally at Live Oak Camp in Santa Ynez, Ca.   The picturesque setting for the Rally is a private 40-acre campground dotted with big oak trees and bordered by the flowing Santa Ynez river. Equipped with electricity, flush toilets, hot showers, a full kitchen and covered patio for group meals and the bike show, it's the perfect spot.  John and Donna Mulrean, from the British Connection, hosted the event for many years, bringing together the fans and riders of the three main British manufacturers, Triumph, BSA and Norton plus other British manufacturers, in one place.  The 2017 Lake Cachuma weekend continued the tradition with a stunning classic bike show, exciting field meet events, mapped rides to explore the area, watching the Kentucky Mile dirt track race, old race movies and lots of bench racing. Pure F.U.N.

The event began on Friday with attendees checking in upon arrival. Some drove, but many rode their classic British bikes hundreds of miles! North from San Diego and south from Rabers Parts Mart in San Jose, the campers found their camping spots, got settled and enjoyed a hot welcome dinner. The bonfire was lit to highlight the first evening and the 2017 rally was underway.

The caterer, Los Padres Outfitters, once again, aimed to please, providing real buckeroo style meals that kept everyone well fed. Even those that didn’t eat meat had plenty to eat.  Saturday night's meal was Tri tip and corn on the cob BBQ'd to perfection. String beans, salad and yummy brownies for dessert.  Following the meal, a special presentation took place honoring the many supporters of the Lake Cachuma event.  Longtime supporters, John and Susan Healy of Coventry Spares were missed but many other sponsors including Bob Raber, Jason of British Customs, Bill Getty of JRC Engineering, and Randy Zimmerman to name a few, were in attendance.  Cozmic Joe Filardi, a long time Rally member, artist and welder from Santa Ana, CA, worked for weeks creating amazing art work from old spare parts into metal, Tiki inspired trophies. Especially for Eddie, Cozmic Joe made a sleek desktop dirt track motorcycle solely from triumph motor and gear box parts. First class! In addition to Eddie presenting "thank you" plaques to everyone, Johnny Brown presented Eddie with the original gas tank off of his District 37 #1 winning 1961 Triumph  that had been buried in a shop for years.  Eddie wiped away his tears after that one! Cozmic had one more custom piece crafted from all British parts. A beautiful motorcycle given to Bill Getty, the event Grand Marshal from JRC Engineering.  This piece was approximately 2 feet in length, an absolutely outstanding piece of artwork created by Cozmic Joe. These are one of a kind and recipients are very honored to own one.

As is the custom, awards were also presented for the afternoon bike show that included classes for Triumph, BSA and “Other”, as well as Off-road, Street and “Other” Competition Classes, this years rally theme.  The two most coveted awards are given for Best of Show and People’s Choice.  The People’s Choice award is the only one given as a result of votes cast by the attendees of the show and the Best of Show is chosen number one by the judges.  This year’s Best of Show Award went to son and father duo, John and Roger Sides with their restored 1967 Rickman motorcycle originally purchased from Bud Ekins'. The People’s Choice went to Michael "Brez" Breslin with his 1959 Panther manufactured by Phelon and Moore in Cleckheaton Yorkshire. The machine was found in a woodshed in County Clare, Ireland March 2016 with no wiring, not running and covered in chicken poop.

The presentations ended with 200 people singing happy birthday to Kimmie Gould. A huge raffle was next for the massive table of prizes donated by Triumph of North America, Motion Pro, Raber’s Parts Mart, Coventry Spares, JRC, Baxter Cycles, Barnett Tool and Dye, British Customs and Triumph Classic Motorcycles.  Everyone was a big winner! Triumph of North America also provided two new Triumph demos- a Tiger dualsport and T100 Black Bonneville for anyone to take for a spin.  By the end of the weekend both had accumulated more than 2,000 miles of travel!

Familiar faces greeted new friends that came to join in the fun.  Doggies ruled the land and were a welcome addition. The farthest traveled attendees came all the way from England and one young man got a new nickname, Kona. What Eddie thought his real name, Connor, sounded like with his strong English accent.  That is one he can tell his fellow countrymen! The after-event parties were lively, consisting of some cool old wide screen motorcycle racing movies , courtesy of Geoff Patrick as well as the customary campfire and s’mores. 

Sunday morning following another fabulous meal the field events took place for the motorcycles on a course perfectly laid out and organized by Steve Ortiz of the So Cal BSA Owner’s Club.  Maybe the most competitive meet to date, the entertainment to those watching was outstanding.  By far the most popular of the field event activities is the slow race.  The bikes line up at the start, wait for the green flag and proceed to the finish in the slowest possible way without a foot touching the ground.  This year’s slow race champion was Geoff Patrick on a Triumph Cub, earning himself a crisp $100 bill. The winner of the Field Meet with 60 points was Kenny Thiebaud from Santa Margarita, Ca.  After lunch many folks ventured out enjoying the mapped out rides. On each of the rides, special markers were planted along the route. A rider could find and collect only one marker, then turn it in for one of Cozmic Joe’s hand crafted prizes. Those that stayed behind in camp were once again on the field meet course. This time rooting the kids on as they displayed their skill and agility challenging the course and each other. Great teamwork and fun was had by all!

After the group photo, a relaxing afternoon was followed by yet another outstanding meal and another award presentation for the field event champions.  Sunday evening's entertainment was a "Get to Know Your Host" Q&A between Cozmic Joe and Eddie Mulder during which time Eddie shared some of his lifetime experiences and passions as a stunt man, a racing competitor and as a youngster growing up.

At the end of the night some packed up to go home while others spent the final night sharing stories, chatting and enjoying another campfire.  Monday morning the last meal was served, goodbyes and thanks were shared and another memorable event was in the books.

Many thanks go out; to Jodi Mulder for her dedication in organizing and orchestrating and working with Eddie, Cozmic Joe with his outstanding artwork and scouting the trails, Bob Ferry for always pitching in and being there, Bill Getty-Grand Marshal and Bob Raber for judging the bike show, as well as Los Padres Outfitters, Steve Ortiz, Nick Mankey - media director and everyone else involved that make this weekend so special.  To the Sponsors, Coventry Spares, Rabers Parts Mart,  JRC Engineering, Barnett, Terry Otton and the Zimmerman’s at Specialty Fabrications, Inc, Triumph North America, Motion Pro, British Customs, Maxima Racing Oils and Banke Performance – thank you for your continued support.  To Johnny Brown, you are the best!

We hope to see everyone again and we encourage you to bring your friends, young and old to enjoy the 2018 Lake Cachuma British Bike Rally June 1-4.  A family, fun and relaxing weekend among friends.  Watch our Cachuma Lake and Eddie Mulder West Coast Dirt Track Series Facebook pages for updates, photos and video from the 2017 event and thank you to all that shared the weekend with us!

Field meet results:

1st Kenny Thiebaud (60 points; 2. John Sides (58 points); 3 Bill Getty/Terry Rachuey (57 points); 4 Charlie Caspary (50 points); 5 Geoff Patrick (46 points); 6 Jim Knapp (45 points)

Kids field meet results:

1. Hugo Goodfield (47 points); 2. Mick Breslin (43 points); 3. Graysen Vidmar (37 points); 4. Colton CVidmar (14 points)

Bike Show Results:

Triumph

1. Geoff Patrick (1958 T110); 2. Mike Breslin “Brez” (1969 Trident); 3 Dan Gehrs (1968 T120R)

BSA

1. Bill Findiesen (1969 A75R); 2. Barry Porter (1971 B50SS); 3. Tim Warlick (1961 BSA Goldstar)

Other

1. Mike Breslin “Brez” (P&M Panther); 2. Marla Getty (1974 Norton Interstate); 3. Mick Breslin (electric)

Off Road Competition

1. Karl Krohn (Triumph 650); 2. Mickey Alzola (Triumph); 3. Jessy Krohn (Triumph 500)

Street Compeition

1. John Callichio (Triumph supermoto); 2. Mike Haney (1975 Tr5T); 3. Tony Martin (1967 T120R)

Other Competition class

1. Bill reoman (Greeves); 2. Ted Hubbard (Yamaha TT500); 3. Charlie Caspary (Rickman Westlake)

People’s Choice – Mike Breslin “Brez” (1959 Panther-Phelon & Moore)

Best of Show - John and Roger Sides - Rickman