Los Angeles herald., 1908-08-09
BALDY ROAD is
IN POOR SHAPE
KISSEL AND WHITE WILL BE
PUT TO SEVERE TEST
A MORE VARIED ROAD COULD
NOT BE FOUND
Mountain Road Is Narrow and Full of
Rocks-Cars Will Barely Have
Room to Get to the
Summit
BY FREDERIC PABsT

Should a man start on a. tour of in
vestigation to pick out a 100-mile stretch
of road which would offer more varied
conditions than that from Los Angeles
to the summit of north Badly he would
have most difficult task before him.
In fact it is very doubtful if a search
throughout the entire state of Cali
fornia would bring success.
The writer made a trip over the road
in a Kissel Kar with Leon T. Shelter
last week and found conditions worse
than they have been before. OF course
some road work will be done, but even
then it will remain the most unique
racecourse in the entire world. There
is every kind of road imaginable in this
100-mile run over which the Kissel and
the White will race for side bet of
$1,000 September 20.
Leaving Los Angeles the cars strike
the San Fernando road. There are
times some years when this road is
really good, but this is not one of those
times. The San Fernando road is very
rough and there can be little speeding
in comfort. The stretch along the rail-
road track between Burbank and Fer
nando is cut up from teaming. OF
course in the race the cars will be pre-
pared for such going and will make
good speed despite the road conditions.
A short distance beyond Fernando the
racers will have their first hill work.
And this is no child's size hill. Any
driver who has taken a machine over
Newhall will remember 1t. 1t Is one OF
the steepest grades in California and
one of the worst in the country over
which automobiles are expected to go.
Once over the hill there is a drop into
a valley with a couple of small towns
through which the cars twist and turn.
Incidental to the rough roads there are
numerous sandy washes to be bucked.
Soon after the turn from the main road
at Saugus the drivers will need all
their cleverness for sliding around
sharp turns and negotiating the mar
row road at top speed. For miles a car
twists about, fording a creek here and
bucking heavy sand there. If a wagon
or another vehicle gets in the narrow
sandy path there is nothing for the
machine behind to do but wait until
the road is clear ahead. A trial to pass
in the soft sand means hub deep in
loose sand which provides no traction
whatever. Such conditions continue
for many miles with occasional stretches
of hard rough road.
Between Lang and Ravenna the
brush and willows grow over the road
and the motorists will get many an
ugly slap in the face if they are not
careful.
There are some bad holes in which a
car is likely to get stuck if care is not
taken in the driving. Two places in
particular have sharp rises just after
a creek is forded and a car must rush
these places to be sure of getting safely
to the other side.
Beyond Acton the sand and creeks
disappear. There is fair road over a
rolling country, and this will be an op
portunity for the rival drivers to show
that their cars will do in the way of
speed. This road is down hill for most
of the way to Palmdale, and car can
hit 1t up for most of the distance with
occasional slowups for turns and the
towns of Vincent and Alpine.
The racers will turn onto the desert
road about half mile south of the town
of Palmdale. Then for twenty miles
a desert road with hard surfaces in
some places and soft sandy soil in
others stretches out before the confess
tants A high rate of speed can be
made on this road, but it will be more
or less dangerous driving on account of
the condition of the soil.
The finish of the race is about eight
miles up the mountain from Shoe
makers ranch. In that distance there
is rise of 5000 feet, and for mile after
mile it is necessary to use the inter-
mediate gear, and for part of the run