Dear Dean Magazine: September 2023
Dear Dean Magazine: Issue 21 | September 2023 By Myron J. Clifton | Subscribe free online www.deardeanpublishing.com/subscribe
Dear Dean Magazine: Issue 21 | September 2023 By Myron J. Clifton | Subscribe free online www.deardeanpublishing.com/subscribe
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F E A T U R E D B O O K<br />
Motorcycling in California's<br />
Central Valley<br />
The heart of California's Central Valley--from Lodi, Stockton, and Tracy through Modesto, Oakdale, and<br />
Turlock--embraced motorcycling from the beginning of the sport and lifestyle. Eleven riders from the region<br />
are in the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) Hall of Fame, spanning every decade from the 1900s.<br />
The popularity of bicycling in the 1890s led to early motorcycle shops, riders, and champion racers<br />
in the 1900-1910s.<br />
Area motorcycle club recreational rides and field meets started in 1914. Central Valley police departments<br />
were among the first to develop motorcycle traffic units in the 1920s, before the California Highway Patrol.<br />
Early racing venues such as repurposed bicycle velodromes, college stadiums, and horse tracks were<br />
expanded when the Lodi Cycle Bowl was developed in the 1950s; it gave newcomers such as Modesto's<br />
Kenny Roberts and Stockton's Alex Jorgensen, Chris Carr, and Fred Merkel--all now AMA Hall of Famers--a<br />
track at which to compete weekly.<br />
DEAR DEAN MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER <strong>2023</strong> | p.21