The History of SCMA
By Barbara Fox
Member # 10194 (since 1978), History Co-Chair focused on Content who would be so lost without Karen Butterfield, member # 33996 (since 2014), History Co-Chair focused on paper shuffling, editing and technology.
The Southern California Motorcycling Association (SCMA) was started in 1968 by motorcycle enthusiasts who were members of many local clubs in California. There were at least 20 affiliated clubs within the association.
It was rumored to have 10 or 11 thousand members in 1978 when this writer first joined.
An early mission statement was, in part, to promote family motorcycling to the public as wholesome family-oriented recreation and to enjoy noble comradeship among its riders. The all-volunteer organization presented local rides hosted by an affiliate club in Area A (from Los Angeles south to San Diego), Area B (from Los Angeles north to Kern County). A 1980 map shows an Area E that included Yuma, Arizona. General Meeting records indicate Area C including San Diego folded into Area A in the mid-80s.
In 1976 the historic Three Flags Classic ride on Labor Day weekend made its debut.
In 1984 SCMA offered the first USA Four Corners Tour.
Until the late 1980’s or early 1990’s, short weekend rides ended in a park, many times with a barbecue and skill ride contests. There were raffles of motorcycle items. Wives and kids could follow along in a car to join in all the fun.
Then event insurance became a reality. Society became litigious. Small parks began charging event fees and requiring reservations. The family-oriented weekend rides faded away.
SCMA had a storefront office on Pioneer Blvd in Norwalk, California, manned by volunteers during business hours. Riders could call during business hours or come in to visit if they were in the area. Monthly meetings were held there. The ride supplies were stored there. Though there no longer is an office, SCMA has retained the mailing address, PO Box 487, Norwalk, CA 90651. Members will be taken care of! Thanks to technology it’s easy to reach Board members and ride chairs at the contact numbers and addresses provided on the website. SCMA continued to endure changes in the economy, traffic, and lifestyles in general.
There was a 50 Year Anniversary celebration in 2018.
SCMA never was motorcycle brand specific. In the mid-2000’s the club emphasized that it was not supporting any specific issue. A new marketing phrase was coined: “Come and ride with us for the fun of it.”
By 2024, the SCMA realized that its history must be recorded or it will become lost. With advances in computers, cell phones and digitized records storage, SCMA has undertaken a huge task to organize, compile and present its known history once and for all, decade by decade. Beyond that we hope to develop separate sections by year and by ride for members to send in pictures of early documents, memorabilia, and perhaps a short essay to share a memory.
Please open each section of this brief history outline for a summary of sorts, as we embark on a new journey (under construction) but as always, “for the fun of it!”
It’s been quite a ride.
1968-1979
SCMA was started in 1968 by motorcyclists who just wanted to ride for recreation.
Membership was very large in the early years, perhaps for about 20 years.
To manage it all there were Areas defined by zip code with their own leadership representatives, Area A in Southern California and Area B in Northern California were the primary areas. Once a year the SCMA Jamboree was held at a county fairground in the central part of California, with vendors and affiliate clubs offering memberships in their area. There was a General Membership meeting held on Jamboree weekend, in accordance with SCMA Bylaws. SCMA had a storefront office in Norwalk, CA.
Besides one-day or two-day weekend rides hosted by affiliate clubs, SCMA had some holiday events: the Turkey Run in November, The Soup Run in January for membership sign-ups, who would go on a short ride paying an entry of one can of soup, then return and enjoy hot soup made by the volunteers.
The Sweetheart Ride was a short ride, also in the cold of February.
The Saint Patrick’s Day Ride in March was hosted by the Shamrocks Club.
There was a Toy Run in early December – Entry fee: a toy to be given to various designated charities.
The Three Flags Classic (TFC) ride was started in 1976 with a lottery method to select riders for a maximum list of 300. Little was it known how successful it would become and how long it would run into current times!
The Travelers’ Award Ride in different areas was started to boost interest in Three Flags. Riders who completed their card of 10 or 12 rides did not have to participate in the lottery drawing to go on Three Flags. The rest of the entrants had to send in their entry and wait to have their name drawn. Of course, every one paid their own rider fee for Three Flags.
Example of a TFC rider submission here:
The lottery drawing for Three Flags was held in January to determine who got to ride Three Flags in the following September, over Labor Day Weekend. It was held in the cafeteria of an elementary school in Norwalk and could be attended by any interested rider. The committee did everything on paper, pulling the entries, logging them, assigning rider numbers, writing and mailing each winner a letter that he was successfully drawn to ride. The early years were, indeed, labor intensive for a Three Flags committee!
There was a northern California riders’ association, too, operating in much the same way as SCMA. It was called SRRA, The Sierra Road Riders Association.
SRRA Anecdotes:
Many SRRA members came to Norwalk for the Three Flags drawing in January. I met Lyle Dringenberg, and Dee Baker who did the original Mexico border to Canadian border ride in 1915. I have two ballpoint pens that he passed out to us at the drawing. SRRA and SCMA members attended each other’s weekend rides when they could.
My husband Dannie and I met many of “the northerners” over the years. Then in about 2011, Dannie came home from a ride, saying that Rodney Chew was there. I instantly had a memory of him, his face, his hair, oh, he was familiar indeed. It wasn’t until about 2017 or 2018, after we’d ridden those six years with Rodney and felt like we’d known each other forever…that we realized we had! Rodney belonged to SRRA when he was a “kid” and learned to ride from Lyle Dringenberg up in the Bay Area. They came to SCMA rides. It’s true–we have known each other forever. Well, 30-plus years anyway, and counting.
Rodney Chew and Dannie Fox are both active in the SCMA leadership.
1980s
1984 saw another SCMA ride milestone, the first USA Four Corners Tour. Again, this ride took off for the history book, surpassing expectations.
The USA Four Corners Tour Finishers Banquet was in February each year following the previous riding season. Even that was heavily attended. It was held in a sizeable hotel with good banquet facilities, and near a major airport for people who wanted to fly in from all over the nation.
Another specialty ride by SCMA was The Alphabet Tour. For a finisher’s pin riders had to travel to cities in California to spell out something like, “SCMA ALPHABET TOUR,” and send a picture of each city limit sign with his bike. The phrases would change every year. One year it was road names, letter by letter, A to Z, with the bike in each picture with the road sign. Zzyzx Road in San Bernardino County near Baker, California must have had more traffic than usual that year.
Regional riders could enjoy one or two-day weekend rides and SCMA encouraged attendance at rides hosted by the affiliate clubs. Those rides could serve as an affiliate club’s meeting or just be for good conversation among motorcyclists. We do find good restaurants.
Is there anything better than a few good hours riding, eating and talking about motorcycles?
1990s
SCMA continued to adapt under the pressures of the changing times–the economy, traffic, life-styles, insurance, and legal requirements. Weekend rides began to diminish. Affiliate clubs began to dwindle. All of this caused some of our own economic strength to weaken. SCMA was still family-oriented but our longer distance rides became more popular.
The oldest of SCMA’s long distance rides, The Three Flags Classic (TFC) is still the most popular and the most well-attended. It uses the same basic rules as were set in 1976, but with even more regard to safety. Now the hours to make the checkpoints along the route have strict hours to make sure everyone gets a good night’s sleep along the way. The TFC start time has had the biggest adjustment. In the beginning riders would leave work, jump on their bikes, get through the southern border checkpoint, check-in for the ride and then visit until the start at midnight with a parade through Tijuana. Then riders were led by the Tijuana police to the border and they were on the way to Canada. You were responsible for making sure you stayed on the route and hit all the checkpoints and made it to the finish by 10:00 PM. It was like any other map tour. A dark line on the map marked the route, one page for each checkpoint and then the finish. There were no turn-by-turn directions. GPS guidance didn’t exist yet. Heated riding gear didn’t exist in the early years. Three Flags was 100% adventure, all the way.
The USA Four Corners Tour just grew and grew. The rules are basic. You photograph your bike at the post office of the most extreme corner town of the contiguous 48 states. You start at any corner and go to the next three. You don’t have to “close the box.” You have 21 days or less to do it. There is one rule that is the same for Three Flags and Four Corners: It Is Not A Race, there is no prize for being first.
2000s
Longer in-state self-tours were developed. We are verifying the dates they all started and eventually became “The California Adventures Series.”
The California Parks Adventure of 25 state parks, and the Mission Tour of the 21 missions in California were becoming favorites of SCMA riders. Variations have been presented, up into the 2020’s.
The Annual USA Four Corners Finishers Banquet became The Awards Banquet to include all who complete the many rides offered.
A Triple Crown Award was developed for riders who do a combination of three of the major rides. There are appreciation awards for the volunteers who work throughout the year, serving on the board, chairing committees and chairing rides. It’s true–the nicest thing a volunteer can hear is “thank you.”