The Deanster
Well-known member
Old farts (like me I guess, -ish maybe.. Oh hell, like me :afm199 ),
Please share your stories of off road motorcycle riding and Motorsports in the Bay Area back in the day.
I'll start..
When I was growing up in Half Moon Bay in the 70' my friends and I would ride all up and down the coast on the cliffs and beach and in the redwood forests in the hills. I would get up early and ride out to the beach and back before school.
This was before the jogging craze and there were hardly any people around at all except weekends. We didn't "tear up the land", we stayed on the dirt trails that were there from probably before mankind arrived. They paved some of our dirt trails on the cliffs for "multi-use". Those were our trails, dammit!
When I lived in a trailer park outside Alviso at my Mom's in the 80's I would sneak out past the dumps and out onto the levees on my little Honda 90 and cruise around enjoying the bay and birds out behind Moffett Field. There was a cool Little water crossing where one levee sank. I could usually make it through without getting my butt wet. Now it's literally a federal offense if you try that.
The southern Bay Area and Alviso have a long history of motor sports. According to the San Jose News, Aug 27, 1934, Alviso was the official site of "San Jose's newest sporting enterprise- flat track cycle racing", see below.
Until 1989, the Santa Clara Police Activities League operated a popular motocross track on the west side of Alviso in Santa Clara.
Baylands Raceway in Fremont operated motocross and flat tracks at its bay side location along with drag racing. You could literally hear the dragsters miles across the Bay.
There was an Alviso Speedway until 1963. The clay track was built in 1954 and was under the Western Auto Racing format. NASCAR's San Jose Speedway was its biggest rival.
The mud flats and levees throughout the South Bay, East Bay and Peninsula were used for recreational motorcycle riding and racing for many years.
I heard that there was a motocross club track in Hayward and all of Point Richmond was a dirt bike park of some kind.
From southbayriders:
In 83-87 I had a buddy that lived in a trailer park @ 237 & 1st. We used to ride our dirt bikes all over. As far north as the edge of Hwy 84. There was some really cool stuff out in those mud flats.
Those were the days. (riding along the Bay) Before Marine World, Oracle and all the houses, there was Pete's Harbor. Always good for a sammich after a day riding
I road Sunnyvale PAL MX track back then and they were CMC races Continental motosport club" in the early 70s corner of Crossman & Caribbean and now is the Sunnyvale dump I would get board and ride the levee to 237 and get on the freeway with my 1974 Cr125 Elsinore:thumbup to the Santa Clara PAL track and then ride for couple hours and ride back to Sunnyvale PAL were my parents would pick me and take me home. That is were i learned to ride at :crash
Santa Clara P.A.L. track (police activities league) Closed down in 1989. I used to ride and race there regularly. Palm/3com or whatever it's called now sits on top of where the track was. I am told there was another track near there before that one, but it was before my time.
The wind can't be any worse in Alviso than it was at the Altamont Raceway MX track. That place was frightening while in the air.
San Jose News, Aug 27, 1934
Please share your stories of off road motorcycle riding and Motorsports in the Bay Area back in the day.
I'll start..
When I was growing up in Half Moon Bay in the 70' my friends and I would ride all up and down the coast on the cliffs and beach and in the redwood forests in the hills. I would get up early and ride out to the beach and back before school.
This was before the jogging craze and there were hardly any people around at all except weekends. We didn't "tear up the land", we stayed on the dirt trails that were there from probably before mankind arrived. They paved some of our dirt trails on the cliffs for "multi-use". Those were our trails, dammit!
When I lived in a trailer park outside Alviso at my Mom's in the 80's I would sneak out past the dumps and out onto the levees on my little Honda 90 and cruise around enjoying the bay and birds out behind Moffett Field. There was a cool Little water crossing where one levee sank. I could usually make it through without getting my butt wet. Now it's literally a federal offense if you try that.
The southern Bay Area and Alviso have a long history of motor sports. According to the San Jose News, Aug 27, 1934, Alviso was the official site of "San Jose's newest sporting enterprise- flat track cycle racing", see below.
Until 1989, the Santa Clara Police Activities League operated a popular motocross track on the west side of Alviso in Santa Clara.
Baylands Raceway in Fremont operated motocross and flat tracks at its bay side location along with drag racing. You could literally hear the dragsters miles across the Bay.
There was an Alviso Speedway until 1963. The clay track was built in 1954 and was under the Western Auto Racing format. NASCAR's San Jose Speedway was its biggest rival.
The mud flats and levees throughout the South Bay, East Bay and Peninsula were used for recreational motorcycle riding and racing for many years.
I heard that there was a motocross club track in Hayward and all of Point Richmond was a dirt bike park of some kind.
From southbayriders:
In 83-87 I had a buddy that lived in a trailer park @ 237 & 1st. We used to ride our dirt bikes all over. As far north as the edge of Hwy 84. There was some really cool stuff out in those mud flats.
Those were the days. (riding along the Bay) Before Marine World, Oracle and all the houses, there was Pete's Harbor. Always good for a sammich after a day riding
I road Sunnyvale PAL MX track back then and they were CMC races Continental motosport club" in the early 70s corner of Crossman & Caribbean and now is the Sunnyvale dump
I would get board and ride the levee to 237 and get on the freeway with my 1974 Cr125 Elsinore:thumbup to the Santa Clara PAL track and then ride for couple hours and ride back to Sunnyvale PAL were my parents would pick me and take me home. That is were i learned to ride at :crashSanta Clara P.A.L. track (police activities league) Closed down in 1989. I used to ride and race there regularly. Palm/3com or whatever it's called now sits on top of where the track was. I am told there was another track near there before that one, but it was before my time.
The wind can't be any worse in Alviso than it was at the Altamont Raceway MX track. That place was frightening while in the air.
San Jose News, Aug 27, 1934
