THE WEEKLY FEED: The MX Kid going off-road

A HISTORY LESSON: Mike Kiedrowski’s Secret Ride

Back in the early 2000s Mike Kiedrowski took Tom and Mike Webb along on his ‘Secret Ride’ trail. Mike had honed his skills and his preference for vertical ascents and descents took him to areas that few dirt bikes had witnessed. For the mere mortal the fun factor was about zero.

Mike Kiedrowski has a resume in the motocross world that among the best to ever race. He won his first championship for Honda in 1989, went green in ’91 and won his second 125 championship. The next year he beat Honda’s Jeff Stanton in the 500cc championship and followed it with a 250 National title in 1993. This put MK in some lofty air as he was only second racer to ever with titles in three categories. Mike dotted his motocross career with 4 Motocross des Nations trips, with Team USA winning three of them.

Mike Webb talked MK into returning to the racing world, but in the off-road arena for Suzuki. Mike won several WORCS championships racing a heavily built DRZ400 and campaigned in the GNCC world for several years.

But when you ask MK how his off-road racing impacted his life he said that for the first time riding was fun. It had always been a job and with Rodney Smith and Mike Webb always looking for any excuse to get out and ‘play’, Kiedrowski quickly evolved into a well-rounded racer who loved to get out and hammer it with the boys.

MK, big smiles on the trail while he abused his riding buddies.

This is actually the top of a brutal climb that sauntered up a narrow rocky canyon. It took MK several attempts to conquer, imagine what the humans felt like!

Mike Webb starting down one of MK’s ‘fun’ zones. He and MK spent a lot of time playing….sorry…testing!

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ARVE

NEWS

Suzuki Yanks the plug on Europe, JGR saves the American Program

While it seems that Stephan Everts MXGP program was just starting to jell, Suzuki has yanked the cork and sent their riders searching for new employment. Hunter Lawrence bolted and signed a multi-year deal with Geico Honda. Not he American front JGR saved the day when they absorbed the Suzuki program into their well funded and properly managed framework. Word on the street is that JGR is picking up the majority of the tab (paying for Works parts from Suzuki) though to be honest, they’ve always built the majority of their own performance mods.

DAVI MILLSAPS SIGNS WITH YAMAHA AND BREAKS HIS ELBOW

This sucks. Davi Millsaps had just signed a contract to race for factory Yamaha, and then in a training crash he gets wounded. He’ll hopefully only miss the MEC in Vegas.

GEAR BAG

ACERBIS UPPER FORK GUARDS

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MATRIX JACKET
$139.95
Full on breathable and waterproof riding jacket developed to cope
with the wildest environments but it’s equally comfortable off the bike

10,000 DPI.MVP fabric is breathable and waterproof to maintain the balance of heat management whilst keeping you dry
Two external chest pockets that double as ventilation and one internal chest pocket with cable routing for earphones
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SOCIAL MEDICINE

Jim Hale was an AME 125 champ in the 70s and spent his early racing years as a west valley specialist. Indian Dunes and Valley Cycle Park were his stomping grounds, though he also hit the night shows at Ascot and Irwindale. Jim spent a good amount of time racing for Kolbe Honda and at this time he was a road rep for O’Neal Distributing. Jim went on to start AXO and Mechanix Wear and he did pretty good with these companies. Thanks Mark Kiel, another gem!

We lost a desert and Baja legend in Mike Patrick. God Speed.

Mike came 6th on a Triumph in the 650cc Expert Class of the Green Horn Enduro. This was the oldest run in the west. This was in May 1963. The Pasadena Motorcycle Club started the Enduro. It celebrated its 20th anniversary in May 21-22 1966. It was a 400-mile National Championship. Mike was also placed 2nd in the 1966 400-mile AMA National Championship, or Green Horn Enduro. The winner was Dick Chase, also on a Norton, or G15CS “N”. Mike raced Yamaha’s for seven years and he raced cars for sixteen years, in the desert. Mike was also in the desert racing section of that great movie “On any Sunday” He explained that, yes he was in the “On Any Sunday” before they cut the film a lot, but they did not want a Japanese bike to win, so they cut most of it out. “I saw the first uncut movie and it was better than the one that they finally put on the market”, he stated. Mike Patrick was District 37, Number One plate holder in the desert for 1968 and 1969. Mike then had to go to little bikes and he got the Number One Plate in 1970, on a Yamaha. It was nothing like the big iron of the Norton Mike said. Mike is also on the Wall of Fame page of the District 37 web site. Mike is truly a remarkable man, with an amazing career as a desert racer. He must be considered one of the all time greats in terms of desert racers. Thanks to District 37 for this info on Mike.