BEST AVAILABLE COPY Paae 22. Whitby Free Press, Wednesday, June 23, 1993 Enduro, scramble BLAIR SHARPLESS blasts up a hI on his Suzuki race bike. The Brooklin resident is Canadian champ in enduros and hare scramles.Photo by Mark Reesor. Whibhy Free Press Federation aîms to change image- of off-road drîvîong The Ontario Federation of Trail Riders (OFTR), a Whitby- based organization, wants to show that off-road dri*ingis,,safe. Bernice Anthony, secretary for the federation that .iashad its main headquarters in Whitby since October of 1991', says the OYVI is a non-competitive organization trying to findý legal trails for off-road> motorcycles, ail-terrain vehicles (ATV9), and mountain bikes. The OFTR la iooking.for trails that are safe for famiiy use, and works te ensure that tralis continue te be available for the The federation has more than 350 members in Ontario, and 18 trying te develop chapters aIl over the province se that trails are avai1ale everywhere. Anthony say that trail riders may have had a bad reputation in h e past because the bikes are noisy and people maythink that the sport ia unsafe. "We are trying te change that» she says. The OFTR 18 always on the lookout for trails, particuiarly those compatible with the riders' needs. Because some trails are used by horseback riders, moterized vehicie ridera and mountain bike ridera can't realiy use them. The noise from the machines frightens the animais, whereas mountain bikes are quiet, and take the animais by surprise, scaring them. «We want them te be riding where they won't be interfering with other people," says Anthony. The OFTR is trying te work with some snowmiobiie groups theip deveiop and share trails that are compatible for ail the riders. Membership in the federation is available te those who are interested in non-competitive riding, and who can iegally ride. It's a goed way te relieve stress, says Anthony. Anthony says that while the OFr R. wants safe eff-road riding, they don't want te Unclioeu ridera. A membership ia the feration costs $25 ($30 for a family mebrhip), and the group aise has a corporate rate, $100. With a membership, a rider receives four issues'of the Canadian publication, 'OfT Road News!' 1 ~They aise receive a mionthly newsletter with information on ridable trails, organized ride, steries on past rides, and more. Anthony a ys anyene interested in becoming a member or wantni orinfrmation can write te the Ontario Federation Of ra-lidm, - 61-'Dundas St. W. Suite 240M, Wbltbyt Ontario, LIN 8R8. champion l.oves to race Sharpless' fevourite races, endure and hare scrambies, don't have the high p refile of super- cross races which are often held in arenas and draw tens of thou- sands of people, but théy're net anï yeasiér. nduros are similar te car ralliés, saya Sharpiess. Bikes have te be street légal, although riders only use the roads te get te difféent sections of woods, where the real racing takes place. "Théré's a checkpoint at the start of the woods and the check- point at thé end, and they see how fast yeu are through that section." Ridera have neyer seén the woods sections before, se it's net just spe@d but "your abiiity te read the terrain cquickly and make fast decisiens' t hat wins races, Sharpiésa says. Hare scramblés are even tougher. Ridera start ail in a line, just hike a motocross, "and you go for threé heurs through the woods.» The courses are generaily any- where from fivé te 15 kilometres long, and the races "are a lot more démanding physically because you have nô break. [n the endures you pull inte your gas stops aUog t he route and they give you a 10-minute laye. ver. Travelling along the roada gives y ou a rest, tee.» Both endures and hare scram- bles are held reguiariy through- eut southera Ontarie, and Sharplessalase competes regu- 1ar1 in the U.S., where he'sbeen aing the 250 clasa. He aise occasionally rides in motocross races, although net as often as he uséd te. "I think im just old enough now that 1 have fear. The moto- cross has gene te a lot of jumping -- double jumps and stuif like that. I like it better when rm on the ground. "I've aiways been botter at events that are long; like in a motocross, if you give me a haif- heur, I'ii do better than these 15-minute things." Sharpiesa says it didn't take him long te realizé hé was better at the longer events. "The first endure 1 rode, whén I was 16, 1 won the junior class and ended up second overail. I almost beat a I the tep guys, s0 I decidéd rm prétty good at this and this is what M'Ilstick te.» Young riders hoping ýte emu- late Sharpiess can get tîps fromn him firsthand at Oshawa Cern- pétition Motercycle Club (OCMC) events. Sharpless is a member of the club that holda a motocros evéry Tuesday night et its track seuth of Claremont. It aise has proporty in the Raglan area where it ruas hare- scrambles. Ridera fromn beginners te expert are welcorne. Thé club meets every second Wednesday (next meeting is June 30) at the Annandale Coun- try Club in Ajax. accident. A décision by thé new Ontario Insurance Rate Review Board te reward safé drivers by actualiy réducing their premiums will be an additional incéntive, if approved. Who has thé moat te learn about preventing accidents? A haîf-hour drive anywhere la thé province should convincé you that we aIl have something te learn. I've spent many years résearching moter véhiclé collision;, reviéwing thousends of incividual accident reporta and participating la numereus technical conférences, yét thé more I leara, thé more I réalize there la te learn. Certainly, inexperienced(génerally younger) drivers have a lot te gain. Younger drivers usualiy havé botter vision, botter hearing and qulcker réflexes, but théy are atili involved la many more accidents than their older couniterparts. Why? Simpiy put, inexperienced drivers lack expeýrience. They ofton fail te recognizé a potentially dangerous situation and when théy do, they may net know thé proper corrective action te take. Consequently, évea with théir superior physicai kdIlis, they are, ail tee fréquently, unabié te take appropriate action -- ia time. More expériénced drivers aise have something te gain in terma of using their expérience te its boat edvantage. Aging la such a graduai procesa, we may fail te notice thé subtle changes la our vision, hearing and réflexes. We continue te drive the same Way we always did, relying on our iightening-quick réflexes te avoid a collision. Unfortunately at 30 km/h, boing just one second tee, slow menas that you will come te a stop about 8m (25 ft.) after you hit thé car in front of you. Why don't wé lcnow more about accident prevention? Driving la a very personai activity. Whiie we readiiy acoept, even seek eut and pay for advice on how te lese weight, invest our moaey and imprS-ie out lae life. heaven forbid that anyoae shouid ettempt te tell us how te do soenething as persenal as drive our car. Traditioneily, our attitude lias been thet formaI driver éducation la oniy nécessary, if at ail, during thé short time immediatel y beore our drivdes icense test. After that, ail «training, is gaiaed through on-the-road experience. Thé costa of learning on the read from eour mistakes rethér than réading about thé mistakes of others (la thé safety cf our own home) are enormus Accidents cen be prevented. Drive safeiy. By Mark Reeser Crashing through the weods at breakneck speeda on on off-road motercyclé is in Blair Sharpes bloed. Thé Broeklîn residént's father was a Canadian champion endure rider who aise excelléd in trials and road race évents -- "lie did juat about everything,» says the younger Sharpicas, who is follewing- in his father's tracks. He's the Canadian endure and hare acremblé champion for thé second year in a rew, and, te date, has a total of 15 national titiés te his crédit. He's been ia world champion- ship races in Europe 12 times winning one goid, five silver anc three bronze medais in his nine finishes. Then there's thé Baja 1000 in Mexico. S13harpless has entered the gueiing 1,000-mile race "ca coupi e of timés"; his Iteop finish was third. Sharpiesa, who works for the Toronto fire départînent, truly loves te race. Although h e has "a pretty good deal" with Suzuki, which supplies him with bikes and parts, and with other spon- sers who give him their products, hie says he'd be racing even without race spensorship "because I love it se much.» Sponsors ensure racing "deesa't cost me an y meney and if I do reelly well 1 can end up with a littié bit of money at thé end of thé year.» DýRI VING; SAFELY with RANDY RANDY MdcLEAN lB A PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER WHO SPECIAUZES IN TRAFFIO SAFETY. Mr. McLean has reviewed thousands of individuai motor vehicle accident reports and his close working relationships with police agencies, goverruiiefts, safety Rallatons, industiy and the public,, have given hlm a true overview of trafflc safety issues, problemus and solutions ln Canada. Accidents shouldn't be called accidents One of the most common thoughts after a collision la, ,It wgsn't my fault, but if oniy I had ..Regardless of fault, the involved drivers, cyclists or pedestrians usually had an oppert.unity te prevent the accident. In fact, accidents sheuidn't be called ' accidents' at ail, as this implies ne one had any contre1 ovér the event. Year after yéar, police reports indicate that the mcst prévalent cause of metor vehicle accidents is driver errer. Preventing accidents requires much more than knowing how te drive. Last yéar there were more than 200,000 accidents in Ontario, many nvelivng good drivers, good cyclists and good pedestrians. It is a myth that 'accidents' oniy happen te bad drivers. Anyoné whe has ever spilled a cup of coffee, burned their toast or stubbed their tee can be invoived in an accident. One simple mistake -- an instant's inattention -- is ail it takes. In fact, the potentiai for a moter vehicié accident is compounded, since other motoriats can spili your coffee, burn your toast or stub your tee for you. Why shouid you be concerned about prevénting accidents? One good reason is meney. Accidents are expensive. If yeu think your automobile insurance rates are high now, ask you agent what they will be if you're iavoived in an