Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126673
_ 4'4 th at , a nd so me peo pl e look a t it as wh en yo u' re hunting th em a nd o ne so me k ind o f cha m p io ns h i p . . . co mes o u t, th e ad rena line j ust starts (pa use ). But I would've really lik ed to flow in g ! Wh at 's even wor se is wh en h ave go tte n a gold medal. To be th e yo u 're si tt ing up in yo u r sta nd a nd o n ly U .S. rider to get a go ld wo u ld've yo u hear o ne wa lki ng up behind you had to have been a reall y good feelin g. - yo u kn ow i t has to be a deer - you "E nduros a re sti ll my ma in goa l, wa nt to turn around so bad a nd your si nce I' m bett er tot a ll y in th e woods heart is tic king a way, bu t if you do th an in a Qual if ier wh ere mo tocross he'll be gone . The ad rena line ge ts riding co unts , Eve ry su m me r I ri de as flo wing a lot mor e th an most p eo pl e much mo tocro ss as possi ble, but I th in k. need more practice th ere. We're as " We usu all y hu nt with rifles, but good on th e trail as a nyone in the th is yea r I'll be tr yi n g i t for th e firs t wo rld. In th e first specia l test in tim e with a bow a n d arrow. It 's no Wal es, my score was the fifth best of trouble to get a deer with a ri fle, but everyone the re, and tha t's th e best I' ve wi th a bo w it' ll be q u it e a cha llenge. ever done th ere." Wi th the ri fle you can be a lon g dis After havin g ta lked to Mike, it's tan ce away, but with the bo w you qu ite o bvious h e loves to benc h race. ha ve to ge t a lo t closer a nd you do n 't Yet the re is o ne su bject tha t will ge t a seco nd cha nce ." make hi s eyes ligh t u p im media tely Mike qu ickl y gave a 10l of credi t to hi s p arents, Ann an d Woodrow , fo r wh en yo u mention it - deer h unth is ha ving a ttai ne d th e goa l o f Naing. Pursu it of th e white-tai led deer is h is major fo rm of esca pe fro m th e tional Enduro Champion. "They've world of two-wheelers. been behind me completely. They weren 't able to go to the first event " I g rew up aro un d deer hun ting. s i nce it was in California , and they My dad has al ways hunted every year missed the one in Oklahoma. They and th at 's a bo ut the onl y th ing th at also d idn 't get to the Delaware would keep him fro m go in g' to so me Nat ional since my dad wasn't feeling of th e end u ros with me . Deer season well. But th ey went to every other would a lways o pen o n th e da y there one of the Nationals and they do a lot was a n end uro, so he 'd have to stay of driving. Nobody is buying their hom e. I lik e i t a lo t, but si nce I've gas or anything-they spend a ll of been up here I ha ven't been able to do the ir own money to get th ere. And as mu ch , so I'll go back home for a once they're there, th ey do the best for , week or so to get so me in. T his year me that they can. ' I'll have most o f th e m onth of Decem" W he n I come into a ga s sto p , all I ber down in Ge orgia to do it. need to do is whatever I need done " My dad o wn s a lot of land a nd I and they'll take care of the rest • just like bei ng o u t there in the wo ods ·a nd away'from e ve!):th in rcivilizatio n - , gassing .th e bike, Iubing the chain ' a na ':!ll: Yoi.t se eileera I the nrne, bui ' • "'dTtd'ever}'thingelse . If there is an aux- il iary gas stop, I ca n always count on th em to find it and be there - I don 't every worry abo u t i t. " It's also h elped me quite a bit havin g co mpeted in th e SE&TRA en d u ros whe n I sta rte d o u t - definitely a good wa y for anyone to sta r t. It 's lik e a m in i Nat ional circ u i t, since yo u go a ll o ver th e so u the as tern part of the co u nt ry and you have j us t a bo u t every type of terr ain that th ere is exce p t for desert . My most favorite pl ace of a ll is th e sa nd in So u th Ca ro lina. When we would h ave a real muddy ru n back th en , if I wou ld win the o ther g uys woul d us ua lly ge t closer to my score. Bu t at one of the sand runs I wou ld put more of a distance on them -you co ul d go fast o n th a t sand. "A not her place rhat I like to ride is up in Mich igan . Ever y yea r we h ead up fo r a tr ai l ride th at L eonard Keen (o wne r of Gl adwin Cycle in G ladwin, Mi chi gan ) puts o n. Ir's grea t to get up in th e wood s and get tot all y loose!" In juries are co m mon in most types of m otorcycl e co m pe ti tio n, but Mik e ha s had relati vel y few to impede hi s p rogress to th e to p of th e woods rid er co m m u n i ty. " You' re a lways ge tting min or injuri es to fin ger s, toes a n d a n kles, but th e most ser io us thing was kn ockin g my sh oulder o u t of joint. After that , it would p op o u t of joint real easy whil e I was ridin g, so I had it o pe ra ted o n to shorte n up th e mu scl es so th at it would stay in joint. It took quite a wh ile for it to heal , but , !Jo w ,i t leelsIine. Oth er tl)'\l\ Vvt,t) ~ve been pretty lu ck y. "The o n ly o the r th ing th at happen ed was tha t I tw eak ed m y a n kle p re tty good befor e the ISD E in '82. I rode wit h it a ll th rou gh th e ISD E an d in th e last few Nati o nal end uros. It didn 't heal u p co mplete ly unt il a fte r rh e seaso n was over wh en I h ad tim e to rela x." After h is competit ion career ult irn at el v co mes 10 a n end. Mike is not entirelv certai n wh at p ath he will take. H o wever, h e does kn ow whe re he wants to settle lat er in life. " O ne day I' m sure that I'll be back in Bu tler or so me p lace close-at leas t in Georgia . I' ve been thin ki ng a bout maybe coming up w it h a lin e of ridi ng gear later o n . or some o ther typ e of product lin e. It might be n ice to just have a cabin hack in the woods and get away from everyt hi ng." Befo re th ose days arr ive, you ca n res t ass ured th at Mike will co nti n ue to co nce ntrate hi s efforts o n win n ing. " I have read in Cycle News th at Kevin (H ines) sai d th at he was going to win th e Nat ional En d uro and Na tional H are Scra m bles titles next yea r , wh ich h e might do . But he 's going to hav e to work fo r i t- yo u don ' t just co llect the a wa rd a t th e end o f th e yea r. I think that he 's going to be so me good co m p eti tio n next year, a lo n g with a co u p le o f other guys. I'm g oing to do everyth ing just like I did it th is year as far a s training, and by en d ing thi s season by winning it makes it easier to start th e new seaso n . My a tt it ude is a lot better. If yo u' re winning it 's eas ier:!Q keep going in -that direction." ,_. ' .