Typically, when a time traveler heads into the past or future, they know exactly where they are going. In the 1982 adventure "Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann," however, the dirt-bike riding hero has no idea that he has gone back to the 19th Century.

Fred Ward, who later starred as action hero Remo Williams, plays Lyle Swann, one of the best dirt bike riders in the country. While participating in the Baja 1000, a race through Mexico's Baja California Peninsula, Swann goes off course and drives right into the middle of a time travel experiment. Without realizing it, the racer ends up 105 years in the past.

While riding through the desert, Lyle, in his racing leathers and high-tech helmet, scare off some of the residents of a nearby village. The beautiful and fiery Claire Cygne (*Belinda Bauer*), on the other hand, is intrigued by the handsome stranger, who is like no other man in her village.

Swann also runs afoul of Porter Reese (*Peter Coyote*), who leads a small group of outlaws that terrorize the village. After Reese kidnaps Claire and steals Lyle's dirt bike, Swann faces off against the outlaw in the ultimate showdown.

Written and produced by Michael Nesmith, who had left the Monkees years earlier, "Timerider" is a decent adventure that didn't get much exposure until it arrived on cable and home video. Fred Ward does a nice job as Lyle Swann, a dedicated rider who has no clue that he has gone back in time.

Long before "Back to the Future" became a hit, Nesmith wrote some incredibly funny time travel gags for his film. While tracking down Porter Reese, for instance, Lyle uses cyalume glow sticks to light the way. When the villagers stare in amazement, he smiles and says they came from K-Mart. In a different scene, Lyle produces a highly detailed map of the area that he tells an amazed priest came from an Exxon Service Station.

An almost-forgotten gem, "Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann" has twists, turns and plenty of outdoor action.