HPV- Henry Valdez, aka Gumby to his CRE friends, suffered a terrible fall Friday night, htting his head at the restaurant. After surgery he is still in intensive care as of today 6/25

This is just terrible ! I don't know what hospital he is in yet. Leaving the family alone as they have plenty to deal with

All my best wishes and prayers Henry so you can get well soon and spin some more mulholland tales !

DITTO

Thanks for that info, Dave. If there are any updates, please keep us informed on the CRE group list. Henry always had a permanent smile on his face.

HENRY get well soon!

Oh crap. Gumby should bounce back however (he's made of clay, ya know).:eek:
After all, who else survived the trip from my house to Las Vegas in the "Gumby seat" (which is what we named the 40 part of the 60/40 seat after because it was the only seat left in the Whale boat) (OK, wagon to most people) and then found out that my mother liked to road race Red Rock canyon also, much to his amazement (and mine)

Henry, bounce back soon. We need the stories, and yours are treasured here. You have a lot of great friends here! We're all pulling for you.

We should all send our best thoughts and prayers for Henry. It's terrible to sustain a head injury and he needs our best wishes.
Get well soon Henry.

Daily News June 26 2007 Page 3.

One of your You Tube uploads made got the attention of the cops and media. Way to go!



http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1182872069.jpg

Much better news regarding HPV : The story got really garbled and we thought it was Henry- it was NOT! His father Henry Sr. was the one that fell to this tragedy.

Our prayers and condolences to the Valdez family at this time

That's the stupidest article I've seen about canyon racing. They make no distinction between the canyon Hwy and the city Dr. The YouTube video in question is completely benign in nature and doesn't show anything but somebody tailgating a bentley. It could be on any road, but happens to be Mul Dr.

I hate bad reporting. How about mentioning any of the tons of YouTube videos that actually show dangerous racing in the canyons? Back up your story with items other than interviews with local-yokels lumping everyone that spiritedly drives the canyon roads together with the wackos at 10/10ths. Where are actual verifiable incident reports? Spend about 5 minutes on Google or YouTube and you will have enough evidence to write a credible report.

I'm not here to justify anyone breaking the law. Just making a point about a pointless article giving the CHP carte blanche to write tickets to whomever drives around a certain area with the wrong vehicle at the wrong time.

Sorry for the rant, but hack jouralism really pisses me off. :mad:

There's the e-mail address of the journalist - go get 'em. I did once to a journalist that claimed that truck drivers (of which I have been one) were a danger to the mothers of yet unborn children. That's all they want is to get your responses.

Derek, Victor
I agree bad journalism is just bad press. What ever happened to "just the facts ma'am"? Every mainstream news company is out for their best interest and not the truth. It pisses me off that they rarely report any semblance of truth anymore. Everything gets twisted,turned and contorted..I always try to be neutral until I hear both sides then make my own judgment of what the facts present.

Reporters make things up. If its over 85 decibels its a race bike or race car. If it has wide tires its illegal. If it wear leathers he must have been racing. If three of more bikes are involved its a motorcycle gang. Granted we do get some truth like the guy who wiped out the Enzo on PCH but frankly the news is one sided spin. Yes some guys go through the canyons and get popped but it is always made out to worse than it really is. How many times have you driven by the Rock Store and 99.9% of the folks there are just enjoying a weekend minding their own.? Some crash and others do harm to others but those are rare occurrences. Its the news biz and that is what it is- a business.

If I see another news break of Paris Hilton tonight doing a catwalk exiting the Lynwood jail I am going to vomit!

She is going to get a response now. First question how long did she stay to observe? 1 hour, 1 minute or did she see a guy on a horse and pull over to chat ? I have seen her name before in the paper. She is just a staff writer and not a field reporter which explains a lot. They are known as fishermen in the paper business! That photo is a hoax. If those guys were at speed they would be leaned over and dragging knee's. I am going to call her hand on that one alone.

Lets see if she responds?




---- Original Message -----
From: Jeff Hail
To: sue.doyle@dailynews.com
Sent: Wednesday, June 27, 2007 12:10 AM
Subject: June 26, Article Page 3 -Crackdown on Mulholland Drive


Miss Doyle,
I am writing this in response to your article on the Crackdown on Mulholland Drive.

First of all I know you are only interested in getting responses. Your facts are clearly flawed and incorrect.

Actual racing ended about 20 years ago on Mulholland Highway. Yes there are some spirited rider's and drivers in the present that get caught speeding or exhibiting speed or involved in an accident but that is less than 1/1000 of a percent of the total motorists who drive this highway annually.

Operation Safe Canyon has been in effect for some time now and is not something new or recent. Check your facts. We all appreciate safe highways and the effort that our law enforcements people provide to motoring. 2 deaths and 60 crashes? How many of these were commuters who had just an accident on a twisty windy road? How many of these were documented racer's? My own research resulted in 3 deaths that "may" have been contributed to racing or unsafe speed in this exact area but does not support actual races occurring like some illegal sanctioned event. "May" not proven. I do not condone racing on public highways and racing strictly belongs on a race track. How many of these people are wrongly labeled or stereotyped racers for going 5-10-15 miles over the prima fascia? Everyone fudges the speed limit. You know it and I know it.

I am interested in your facts that this has become a recent effort by law enforcement to buckle down on racing? Obviously your reporting is not on the level.

Here is an article from 2-23-2006:
http://www.theacorn.com/news/2006/0223/Community/021.html

Here is another submitted on 12-15-2005:
http://graphic.pepperdine.edu/special/2005-12-15-drivers.htm
I can go back even farther if you want? 1979 ?

If you stop at the Rock Store which is a popular hangout for Motorcycle enthusiasts on any weekend in the Mulholland/ Topanga area you will immediately notice 99.9% or greater of riders are minding their own business and enjoying the weekend freedoms and not racing. This is a fact.

No one cares about video games. It is not relevant or real. Was this icing on your cake?
David Lynchs's movie? Come on you can do better than that can't you? That was 6 years ago. Grabbing at straws to butter and fatten your article?
A You Tube video made by one single person. What does that support? One person making a video doesn't mean that gangs of racers are terrorizing local residents. You make this sound as if Al Qaeda or some outlaw motorcycle gang has taken over this highway. Get real!
I am sure you would agree off the record this was meant only for the benefit of "news reporting and spin factor".

And last your cover photo. These appear to be just normal motorcycle riders to any experienced enthusiast. If they were racers they would have been leaned over and dragging knee's through the turn wouldn't you agree? How long did you spend in that area? Or didn't you? Was your article pieced together in haste from various information sources available?

I must say that bad reporting is a reflection of the times. You should be writing about the White House as your level of accuracy is consistent with the press nonsense that comes out of that place.

Sincerely,
Jeff Hail

Nice writing Jeff, you should be the reporter for Mulholland news.

I already sent her a reply yesterday myself.

Just as you have, I also included links to Miss Doyle that will hopefully give her more information that is relevant to her topic.

The future will be here tomorrow. I'm afraid that it is filled with higher gas prices, more people to the area that will bring a higher accident rate, and ultimately cameras that will spy on every dangerous spot on Mulholland and other roads that are used for sport driving. Someday we will be watched by cameras everywhere(for our own good theortically) to stop speeding and drive like good little boys and girls. Remember George Orwell's novel 1984?

What we need is a large piece of property where we can recreate parts of Mulholland Dr. and Angeles Forest Hwy. Then we can pay off duty police officers to chase us around with lights and sirens, have some actors play terrorized residents, have a helicopter overhead, lay down some spike strips and road blocks, and have it reported by the Daily News.

Don't laugh, stranger things have happened.

I am not laughing Chris. I like your idea on getting a piece of property, laying out a repro course and getting o/d's to play the cast and chase us. Now that would be fun. Its out there but I still like the concept. 1984 and the camera's? Agree- Its all true.

I patiently await news of any response. I was particularly interested in this paragraph from one of those articles:

"Online forums such as this one had been singled out by CHP and government officials as a new danger to canyon safety because they allow drivers to organize races and share information quickly."

Huh? It seems to me that warning enthusiasts about increased patrols does much to help "self police" the problem by redirecting potential victims of the beareaucracy away from the "Hot spots". I just pity the newbies who read these type of threads, go up there on a cruise to check out the action, and get busted for just being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Both those links to articles appear to rely heavily on quotes from internet forums rather than one-on-one interviews. I guess this is currently accepted way of "reporters" to get their internet doctorate degree on the subjects that they cover. Oh well :(

I scanned some 1980's race pics over the weekend so I'll attach something for your entertainment.

Pat


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1182962974.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1182963031.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1182963058.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1182963169.jpg

Are those pictures from Mulholland Dr./Hwy before all of the power lines and the overgrown scrub brush??? :rolleyes: :D

Nice one, Jeff!

Every once in a while I Google my name to see if any of my past transgressions have crept out into the public domain...

Now Dave is being REALLY nice here. Maybe it's because that's the way he is, or because he remembers that I was captain of my schools sharpshooting team. Either way, truth is, we were on pre-grid, I was behind his Beemer in my Mustang and they gave the signal to fire up. With the helmet and the noise I didn't notice that the thing decided to idle at about 2000. I put it in gear and it jumped forward and nails the Beemer. I can still picture perfectly in my mind, Dave looks in his mirror and then slowly turns around and looks at me out the back window. I give him my best "Jeez, I don't know how that could have happened" shrug and he just starts laughing.

I remember in one of the sessions I was catching up a Lotus Elan and was about 3 or 4 lengths back going into turn 9. Well, just before the apex he blows a hose and my windshield gets coated with coolant which mixes so well with the dust. I had to stick my head out the window to see where the track went and find pit in.

BTW, Dave, is the "evil cockroach" Ricky's old car?

Cheers,
Kurt (When it comes to driving, I'm a pretty good photographer) O.

Is that Steve Walkers 1976 Monza?
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1182976200.jpg

Looks like this with a different number. How many of those can still be around anymore?

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1182976377.jpg

The #19 car is Chris Cord's Dekon Monza (#1011) that he ran in IMSA for several years. Don't know how many Dekon Monza's are still around. It was a hot setup in IMSA before the 935s really came to the front.

Cheers,
Kurt O.