Southwest Sierra — #50

The Honda All-Terrain Cycle 90

Getting to School ~ In looking back at our time at the Mott Cabin, my family would often reflect upon the fact that even though we were financially poorer than we’d ever been, we were very happy. Happy to be in the woods! Other than getting sick of powdered milk, we counted ourselves very fortunate to live where we did. Wintertime transportation was always an adventure.

The precursor to today’s Quad (fat wheeled all-terrain bike with four tires) was a Honda three-wheeler called an ATC 90. These were a new thing in 1975 when Mom’s sister Eileen and her second husband Jeff bought themselves a pair for Christmas. They lived in Southern California and promptly towed them to Alleghany, then drove them out to the Mott Cabin where we were snowed in. Honda claimed that the ATCs could go on snow, mud and even water if you overinflated the tires! They did prove to be the most versatile transportation option, especially when the road was a combination of mud and snow which was common. Going over dirt and mud was hard on the snowmobile. Aunt Eileen and Jeff generously left the bikes behind for us to use when they returned to Southern California a few weeks later.

I don’t remember how it was decided who would go to school when we could get out (between storms). Dena Hall remembers mostly riding a snowmobile and occasionally a three-wheeler. My main memory of traveling to school from the Mott Cabin is with the two ATC90s. Dad rode with 5-year-old Jason sitting in front of him while Steven (age 7) and I rode the other bike. Steven and I were too small to be able to steer and reach the foot operated gear shift alone. One of us would steer and the back rider would have to lean over to reach down and shift by hand! We followed Dad who would point either up or down telling us when to shift (up or down corresponding with the direction of his index finger). Steven and I took turns, either steering or shifting, with steering being the preferred position.

When we reached Alleghany, one bike would be left on Hell's Half Acre Road while we were in school. Dad would ride all the way home and come back to get us when school got out. So Dad was putting in 24 miles a day while we kids did 12. Most of the time it was a blast! We loved the 6-mile trip to school and 6 miles home, but ATC90s had a thumb throttle made for an adult thumb. I remember our thumbs getting so sore that we had to reach over the handle with our fingers to hold the throttle. I also have superficial frostbite which never goes away (the only symptom is fingers that are hypersensitive to cold).

Occasionally, during the winter road closure, Alleghany School teachers Scott and Teri Humble would offer to take a few kids for a week or two. They lived in the apartment attached to the School Gym that was later converted to the 16 to 1 Mine Office. Dena, Donyale and I were the oldest and we stayed with the Humbles the most frequently. Dena remembers herself and Donyale staying there once without me for several weeks. The Humbles hadn’t started their family yet. Their cats Boots and Mascara were treated like kids. We loved getting to stay with them and being their “children”. They had real feather beds from Europe and cooked the most delicious meals! Sometimes the stay would go longer than anybody expected due to bad weather and everyone’s patience might start to wear thin, but Scott and Teri were always kind and generous even when they needed to be stern. I count myself fortunate to have been their student and occasional surrogate kid.

About the author: Rae Bell (aka Pauline) grew up in the Ruby Mine area. She currently resides in Alleghany proper and can be reached at

raebell44@gmail.com or PO Box 919, Alleghany, CA 95910.