Waldheim's got no time to ride
Cal City man heads state off-road group
This story appeared in the Antelope Valley Press on Monday, March 28, 2005.

By JAMES C. LOUGHRIE
Valley Press Staff Writer
CALIFORNIA CITY - Ed Waldheim moved to California City so he could pull out of his garage and hit the open trails of the desert.

But Waldheim, president of the California Off-Road Vehicle Association, spends so much time traveling to meetings regarding off-road vehicles that he rarely has time to ride his own.

For Waldheim, who has been president of the statewide off-road vehicle association for the last 13 years, an average day puts him in any California city where people ride vehicles on off-highway trails. But he makes no complaint about the work, he said, because with the explosion in housing encroaching on desert riding spaces, education is the key.

"There's a lot of work to do in the desert communities here and near San Bernardino," he said.

California City is the prime example of a growing desert community dealing with off-road vehicle issues. On any given Friday evening, a motorcade of trailers with dirt bikes and four- and three-wheel off-road vehicles makes its way into the town for off-road riding at nearby sites.

Waldheim moved into his house, which he had been renting out, to ride more frequently. The shrinking amount of nearby land due to housing, he said, "has brought its challenges."

Since he began advocating for off-road vehicle users, Waldheim has stressed that riders must be good neighbors. ...........


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