The MSF Basic Rider Course Part 2

It was Friday evening and I had left work early and arrived at the small office complex where the Motorcycle Safety Foundation Basic Riders Course was to be held. I had arrived at the small two story office building fifteen to twenty minutes before the class was to begin. It appeared that I was the first person there, so I stayed in my old Ford Explorer and waited for more people to arrive. The small office complex was located not to far from a major freeway on one of the main roads running north and south through the Mid-Cities. The building itself already looked old and worn and in need of maintenance and minor repairs. The Texas climate is hard on buildings and everything else for that matter.

I did not have to wait long before several other vehicles started to arrive. Pretty soon people started to get out and gather at the entrance to the stairs leading up to the second story office where the course was going to be held. I got out of my vehicle and joined them. It was a good mix of people. There were two young guys that drove in together in an old pickup truck that looked like typical construction workers from the clothes and work boots they were wearing. There were a couple of well to do business types. There was also some nerdier looking middle-class types. I would say ages ranged from the lower twenties to mid fifties.

An older gentleman carefully pulled up on an older model Honda Shadow, parked his bike and removed his helmet. He was weathered and tough looking and handled his bike like a pro. Since he was riding a bike it was easy to assume that this was our Instructor. He dismounted and came over and introduced himself. Indeed he was the teacher for the Motorcycle Safety Foundation Basic Rider Course we were there to take. We went up stairs to the room the course would be held in and got the class underway.

The Room was small but adequate with several small tables set up with chairs around them. The air conditioner did not appear to be working and it was hot and stuffy inside. At the front of the class was a TV with a VCR hooked up to it. Everyone introduced themselves and told about how much motorcycling experience they had. Experience ranged from none to multiple years. Some had off road dirt bike experience. We had to fill out paperwork and sign a risk waiver.

We all got our MSF Basic Rider Course material and Handbook to study. And with formalities over we watched the Video about motorcycling and safety. The Instructor paused the tape in several places so we could answer questions and have discussions about the material. We then went though our workbooks given to us filling in all the blanks and marking the correct answers. The material was not that hard to learn and it would cover everything needed to pass the motorcycle license test. We also learned the "T-CLOCS" Pre-Ride Checklist and tons of safety information. We had to pass the course test in the morning before we got to proceed with the riding part of the course.

Ride on,

Torch

READ MORE - The MSF Basic Rider Course Part 2

Circuit of Cadours-La Réole

At the time of the start of race-track, Cadours and more importantly its 600 inhabitants have demonstrated their capability to organize important events.
In 1948, the first race will be won by René Mauriès, from Albi, for this very first event, at the average speed of 121.97 km/h (75.79 mph) on this 4,015 m (2.5 mi) race track.


For the 1949 season, the first Grand-Prix of Cadours by the “France Automobile Club” in the Voiturette/Formula 2 category was in place.



This second Grand Prix, in 1950, will be bereaved by the accidental death of Raymond Sommer, and killed by the failure of the steering mechanism of his Cooper T12-Jap. The resulting crash was fatal.

 On September 9th 1951, the following year, before the start of the third «Grand Prix de Cadours», a monument sculpted by Lucien Passey, to the memory of Raymond Sommer was unveiled. This monument was funded by people’s money collection. A second identical monument was set in Mouzon, in the French Ardennes, the village where Sommer was born.
This second GP was a success, a bike race was in place with lot of known riders: Houel, Bret, Lafon, Collot and Roland Gauch, winner in 350 category. 

I known personaly Roland, today dead, he attended the first "Coyote Days" with his 350 Manx and his Gilera Saturno.
In 1955, most of the race car events were cancelled because of the Le Mans accident. Drastic safety measures were set in place. Most would led to too expensive investment. At this time several event died…. It became the beginning of the end of the «circuit de Cadours-Laréole» as for several other in France… and in Europe.
The 13 of July 1958, during a bike race, the australian Keith Campbell, world champion in 1957 on a 350 Moto Guzzi, crashed and dead, during the 500cc race at the age of 26. He won the same day the 350 race with a Norton Manx. Remerber also that Florian Camathias won the in side car race in 1958 on a BMW.
Cadours was a famous place in the 50's, for racing, Formula 2, Juan Manuel Fangio, Jean Behra, Maurice Trintignant, Louis Rosier and so on have ridden in the past.

Since 1980, the Cercle T, famous classic club from Toulouse organized the Raymond Sommer Trophy each year. Raymond Sommer was a gentelman car rider in the 50's.

So,Classic cars and bikes drivers were invited to ride as a demonstration, in memory of Raymond Sommer and Keith Campbell.

Let's see the pictures:

Mister de Naidai on the BSA 500 DBD 34 fitted with a Jawa grass track crank, the Alain Bondu's Vincent and Triumph GP, the hungarian Gyula Marsowsky G50 Matchless, one time 2nd in the1969 World Championship GP with a Linto (Agostini was first), and the Richard's Norton 650 SS.

READ MORE - Circuit of Cadours-La Réole