It was Cal Lambert on his Excelsior who first laid a tire track over the top of old Capistrano. He went an average of 327 feet on his new “Power Plus” Indian motorcycle earning a first prize of $50. Myron Warner, of the Herald motorcycle shop in Santa Ana was the winner. There were 26 motorcycles competing in this first up-the-hill event. Cleared of weeds and obstructions, the 500-foot hill had a 40 to 50 percent grade incline with a maximum of 72 percent near the top. The foot of the hill was located roughly at the junction of Camino Capistrano and Doheny Park Road. The steep Capistrano Hill was considered insurmountable. With a crowd of about 2,500 people, the inaugural hill-climb competition began Sunday, Apas a contest sponsored by the Orange County motorcycle dealers of San Juan Capistrano. Courtesy photoīy 1915, motorcycle hill climbing was a popular sport in Southern Orange County.

By Carlos Olvera An aerial view of the crowd collected for the Motorcycle Hill climb at the junction of Camino Capistrano and Doheny Park Road, circa 1917.

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