Harvey Mushman

From the California desert to the streets of Elsinore.

  Harvey hit the dirt like he was off to war.

Thomas Crown’s affairs meant nothing on the trail,

  Put him on a Triumph, and he would make it wail.

Some airmen dug a tunnel in The Great Escape,

  Hilts hopped on a cycle and made the Nazis gape.

Six straight days of racing proved what he could do,

  He would get a medal or break his bike in two.

He didn’t need the fame; he had enough of that,

  Put him on a Husky, and you could watch it scat.   

He often played a tough guy on the silver screen,

  But when he raced the desert, all his lines were clean.

Vin Tanner packed a gun, the Seven fought and won,

  But when the race was done, Mush would  limelight shun.

When he rode as Mushman, he proved himself each time,

  Who cares for fame and fortune when you’re covered up with grime?

He was the King of Cool to fans from all around,

  But he reigned supreme when his knobbies bit the ground.

LDT May 23, ‘26

Steve McQueen was an accomplished off-road motorcycle racer. He frequently raced the California desert. In 1964, he was a member of the US team in the grueling International Six Days Trial held in East Germany. He did most of the motorcycle stunts in The Great Escape, but left the border fence jump to his riding buddy, Bud Ekins. He was featured in the iconic 1971 motorcycle film, On Any Sunday, where he raced the Elsinore Grand Prix under the pseudonym, Harvey Mushman.

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