Mr. Roland Hill, Jr.'s field of broccoli was one week away from harvest when someone on an off-road motorcycle tore through it like a chain saw, destroying a third of the Hamilton Parish crop.

A similar attack happened in Somerset two weeks ago.

And in Warwick, riders of unlicensed motocross bikes are endangering horses and riders behind Spicelands Riding Centre.

"Something should be done about these bikes,'' said Mr. Hill of J & J Produce. "They are powerful machines, and in the wrong hands, they are dangerous weapons.'' Mr. Hill said neighbours heard the motocross bike that chewed up his one-acre field in broad daylight last Friday. Although he gave a statement to St.

George's Police yesterday, he held out little hope that the offender would be caught.

"Farms are not scrambling tracks,'' he said. With chronic thefts and other problems, it was hard enough to make a living at farming without dealing with vandalism as well.

Mr. Hill, 36, estimated damage to his broccoli crop at $500 to $700 and said it was not insured. "This wasn't an act of God, but the act of an idiot,'' he said.

The bikes are specially-designed for off-road riding and cannot be licenced for use on the roads.

"The farmers have talked and we think that these bikes are brought to this Island for one purpose -- for scrambling. We think they should be confined to one area -- not to be roaming the countryside destroying arable land and people's property.'' But Ras Mykkal, president of the Bermuda Auto-Cycle Union, said such a move would punish considerate cyclists while not addressing the problem.

About 30 riders who belong to the union race at Coney Island on weekends, six months of the year.

"I do not believe that any members of the Bermuda Auto-Cycle Union are responsible,'' he said. "But whether it was one of our members or not, they deserve to be prosecuted.'' Mr. Mykkal believes "weekend warriors'' who have stolen or purchased motocross bikes are responsible for the problems. "They want to ride for recreation, but they don't want to be in competition.'' And there is no place in Bermuda for such riding to legally occur -- a void that Mr. Mykkal hopes can be filled when the US Bases are returned to Bermuda.

There appeared to be wide agreement in Bermuda that noisy sports like cycle riding should be concentrated in one controlled area, he said.

Mrs. Judy Canale, manager of Spicelands Riding Centre, said off-road cycles on the unpaved section of the railway trail had been creating problems for the last ten years.

"The old railway trail borders our property and we must go along it a little way and cross it to get onto another path,'' Mrs. Canale said. Her greatest fear is that one day "there's going to be an accident''.

She hoped for a solution, but was not optimistic.

"The people who are causing the problems are not looking for a legitimate place to scramble,'' she said. "They have no regard for anybody, and to try to find a solution that's nice for them, I don't think would work.''