Cycles South
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Don Marshall
Vaughn Everly
Bobby Garcia
Don Marshall
Karin Von Der Heide
Ann Vanderslice
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Seeking a change in their tedious daily life of drinking and chasing women, three young Denver men, Don Marshall, Vaughn Everly and Bobby Garcia, decide to take a motorcycle road trip to regain their sense of freedom and adventure. Departing with only $300 each, the bikers immediately leave the main road to drive cross-country, through rivers and up into the Rocky Mountains, occasionally jostled off their bikes by the bumpy terrain. In the evenings, they make camp and build a fire to cook the fish they caught. Their adventures are not without some accidents. New to motorbikes, Bobby one day damages his on a steep cliff ridge and only narrowly escapes a fatal fall with Vaughn and Don's help. Riding on railroad tracks the next day, Don nearly wrecks his bike on a trestle bridge, but the others save him and his bike from falling into the river far below. The three then flee the tracks, just avoiding a train speeding toward them. Continuing up aspen-covered countryside, the group reaches 13,000 feet where the weather turns cold. From there, they drive into the New Mexican desert, where towering stone mesas rise from the barren earth. After giving a hitchhiking hippie a ride home to his commune in the ruins of a seventeenth-century Spanish village, the bikers attract the attention of several commune women and decide to stay for a few weeks there, helping with farm chores and enjoying the women's company. During their stay, Vaughn and Don, high on drugs, perform daredevil jumps on the sand dunes nearby. Their next stop is the Taos Ski Valley, where Bobby, an expert skier, leads the way down the slopes. Continuing south, the group stops at a motocross competition and then rent bigger bikes for their trip into Central America. Crossing the Mexican border at Juarez, the men stop at a bar where several prostitutes approach them, but their tight budget prohibits any temptation. Believing they have found the beach, the bikers take a fork in the road, only to discover fifteen miles later that it dead ends at a Mexican bull ranch, where the friendly owners invite them to spend the night. The next day, Don and Vaughn try their hand at bullfighting. Continuing to the Sea of Cortez, the men skin-dive for snapper, lobster and grouper and enjoy peaceful nights camping on the beach. The next day they rent water skis and, use their bikes to pull the skier along the beach at Guaymas. Moving on to San Blaase, the men try surfing but decide after a few wipeouts to leave the sport to those with more experience. Having only spent $60 each so far, the men celebrate their "second childhood" with firecrackers on the beach that evening and roast a sea turtle in banana leaves for dinner. The next day, Vaughn and Don enter a motorcycle race in which Vaughn wins second place, but Don is forced to go to the hospital for stitches after he crashes in the race. The bikers then cross the borders at Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, and finally decide to leave the freeway for a dirt road to the beach, but their short cut leads them into swampy marshlands where they are forced to stop after their bikes sink in the mud. After the bikes dry out, the group finally reaches the beach, where they snorkel for lobster and have another feast. The next day they cross back onto the Pan Am highway, which becomes just a dirt road in Costa Rica. Reaching Panama soon after, the bikers sightsee at the Panama Canal but are discouraged by the large number of American military personnel. Following a few days with Panamanian women, the bikers decide to end their four-month journey and load their bikes on a boat to head for home.
Director
Don Marshall
Cast
Vaughn Everly
Bobby Garcia
Don Marshall
Karin Von Der Heide
Ann Vanderslice
Kirsten Strand
Ulysses S. Grant
Harold Freeman
Bob De Buck
Jim Fortuna
Mabel Gonzales
Esther Griego
Vangie Jacobs
Birdie Dominguez
Lucy O'blennes
Flora Wilcox
Don Pancho Hernandez Diaz
Juan Hernandez Diaz
Crew
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
Although there is a copyright statement onscreen, the film was not registered for copyright at the time of its release. It was copyrighted on May 3, 1978 under the number PA-41-619. Don Marshall provides constant voice-over narration throughout the film, naming locations, identifying people the bikers meet and telling humorous anecdotes about their travels. According to the film's press material, Marshall planned to produce a series of motorcycle adventure films in Europe and the United States; however, Cycles South was the first and only film that Marshall produced and directed.
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States 1971
Released in United States 1971
