Mike Cinqmars

Mike on Video...

MXworld.com: Is this a bad time?

Mike: No, I was just packing up for my trip.

MXworld.com: Yeah, I heard about that. Where are you going?

Mike: I'm going to Canada for two weeks.

MXworld.com: Canada?

Mike: Yep, filming for Terrafirma 5.

MXworld.com: Oh, OK. So there's actually something in Canada?

Mike: Yeah, I guess there is.

MXworld.com: So you are filming for Terrafirma, what else is going on?

Mike: Yeah, we're going to film for Terrafirma 5 and we're going to stay with Guy Perret. We're staying up there for two weeks, gonna get a lot of scenic stuff and hopefully some big air.

MXworld.com: I think I saw him in Terrafirma 4, they featured him a little bit.

Mike: Yeah, so we're gonna go up there and finish up. There's some good stuff out there I guess.

MXworld.com: So that big-assed hill they show in Terrafirma 4, are you gonna go out there and get some air off of it?

Mike: I hope so, we're going to check it out and see how it is. It looked pretty good in the first one so we'll see how it is.

MXworld.com It kinda a wild video.

Mike: Yeah, it's a really good video, probably one of the best ones out.

MXworld.com: Oh yeah, I don't doubt that at all. I started with the first one and have been keeping up with them since.

Mike: I've got em all.

Mike on Music...
MXworld.com: I think because of my musical tastes, I think that the last couple have sucked kinda sucked musically.

Mike: Yeah the music is OK, they just need to punch it up a little bit.

MXworld.com: Some of that stuff is way too sedate for me to listen to.

Mike: Yeah.

MXworld.com: I think that's kinda way I like to first one for the sound anyway because you have Pennywise on there and Lucy's Fur Coat.

Mike: Yeah.

MXworld.com: I don't know what they were playing in that spot where they were showing McGrath, it was pretty crappy.

Mike: The rap stuff?

MXworld.com: Yeah.

Mike: You don't like rap?

MXworld.com: No, not at all.

Mike: Oh, I like it.

MXworld.com: Really? Oh...ahhh...yeah I love rap.

Mike: No, everyone has their own tastes and that's cool. I like the rap stuff. I like all kinds of music, but I like rap a lot.

MXworld.com: Really? I was gonna ask you what kind of music you listen to when you kick back.

Mike: Yeah, rap. It has a good slow beat to it and you just kinda get into the rhythm I guess.

MXworld.com: I just have a hard time when I'm riding, trying to get motivated by thinking about rap.

Mike: When I want to get motivated I listen to some kinda hard core stuff, but when I'm just hanging out with my buddies we put on some rap.

MXworld.com: Yeah, uh, I guess I can buy that. I have to stutter over it a little bit because I'm at a loss.

Mike: Yeah, everyone's got their own deal, so don't worry about it.

Mike on Sponsors...

MXworld.com: It's amazing, I looked at RenegadeRacing.com and I saw the list of film credits for you. I'm just at a loss, it seems like you've been in every video that's ever been made.

Mike: Yeah, I'm trying to get that way. Trying to get all my sponsors some recognition. They help me out, so I definitely want to help them out. They pitch in, so I have to pitch in.

MXworld.com: That's a good outlook. A lot of people blow that off and tend to forget who their sponsors are.

Mike: Yeah, without them I wouldn't be making a living at what I'm doing and having fun.

Mike on Stuff...
MXworld.com: I'm going ask you this and it's probably going to sound stupid.

Mike: Don't worry about it.

MXworld.com: It's partly because I haven't seen a whole lot of press on you. I think the first time I recall seeing you do a jump was on Terrafirma 4 and it was just insane. I can't even describe that opening jump.

MXworld.com: So your deal is doing videos and jump contests.

Mike: Yeah, doing jump contests. I've actually been getting a lot of press lately.

MXworld.com: I shouldn't have said it that way, it sounds bad cuz it makes it sound like I have never heard of you before but I have. There's this big misconception that the only person doing air is somebody like Seth or Metzger.

Mike: We're all working for that.

MXworld.com: I think before they just didn't draw attention to you, but now you are getting more and more focus. I've seen you in print ads and videos.

Mike: Well actually this is only been my second full year of doing this stuff.

MXworld.com: Really.

Mike: So I'm still the new kid on the block coming in. It takes awhile for the magazines to get to know you.

Mike on Jumping...
MXworld.com: I don't know how to describe it, but my jaw just dropped when I saw you do that jump at the beginning of Terrafirma 4.

Mike: Oh, the big up the mountain thing?

MXworld.com: Yeah.

Mike: That was in Lake Elsinore.

MXworld.com: How far is that?

Mike: I think it was maybe 160, I'm not sure. It was a good one though.

MXworld.com: Yeah and on top of that the amount of air you had to get beyond. You watch Knievel jump 160 foot and he might be able to jump over you if you laid down. What you did was just vertical and nothing but distance on top of that.

Mike: Yeah.

MXworld.com: It was definitely cool.

Mike: Well Knievel makes all his jumps look like shit anyway.

MXworld.com: He could do a 360 over a 250 foot jump and I'd still laugh at him cuz his friggin no hander was so lame.

Mike: Yeah, he just looks lame to.

MXworld.com: His riding style is terrible, I can't believe he still has a back.

Mike: Yeah, I know. (laughs) I don't even want to talk about it.

Mike on Sponsors...2
MXworld.com: So what do you have on the horizon? Are you still pretty much going to be doing the video stuff?

Mike: Yeah, I just hooked up with Shift and I'm working out a deal with those guys. Hopefully with a 3 year deal that will set me up until 2001. I just got a new clothing sponsor for street clothes.

MXworld.com: Who's that?

Mike: Hectic clothing. It's a new clothing that just came out. They are cool guys to.

MXworld.com: So things are working out pretty well for you.

Mike: Yeah things are starting to come together and working out good for me.

MXworld.com: It's not a surprise, you definitely have a great riding style. No fear, I'm sure that terms been worked to death but there doesn't seem to be any fear involved there. You've got all the ingredients to make it.

Mike: Glad to hear that.

MXworld.com: A you have a little bit more of a sense of humor than some people I've talked to.

MXworld.com: I walked up to Stanton 2 months ago and he was standing in front of the semi and it was just him and I standing there. I looked at him and said hi to him. Have you ever seen a deer in your headlights?

Mike: Yeah.

MXworld.com: That's the way he looked. There was no sign of life there, he just looked at me. I grew up near where he lived, we're the same age and we've ridden at the same tracks together and he just looked at me like he didn't have a clue where I was at. Somebody explained to me that he is a really great guy, but he's focused.

Mike: Focused on what?

MXworld.com: Exactly. That's what I was trying to figure out. Focused must be the new buzzword for stupid.

Mike on the fans...
Mike: I like getting involved with people. During the autograph sessions people are coming up and talking to you and they are not afraid. People shouldn't be afraid to come up and talk to you and ask you about anything. Questions are there and they should be there to be answered.

Mike: Some kids, you see them off in the distance and they're staring at you and thinking "Should I go up to him and ask him?" Those are the kind of kids that you've got to go up to and shake their hands and it turns on a light in their head and they think "Whoa, I should go talk to those guys."

MXworld.com: You've got to admit that it is intimidating.

Mike: I remember when I was nothing in motocross and I was racing all the time and I would go to the Supercross and see McGrath and those guys and they were just like gods. I know exactly how those kids were cuz I was there.

MXworld.com: I'm still there, I'm at a loss every day.

Mike: It's definitely a good feeling when kids are looking up to you. It gives you a new outlook on life.

MXworld.com: I do understand that.

Mike: Yeah, it's great.

Mike on the Aaron...
MXworld.com: I'd get my ass kicked if I didn't ask this, but what do you think of Aaron Katzenmeyer?

Mike: Who?

MXworld.com: I'm messing with you man.

Mike: Oh, the kid that Emery sponsors.

MXworld.com: Yeah

Mike: He's a cool kid.

MXworld.com: He's a big fan of yours. He's a friend of mine and he has pictures of you on his site and he talks about you all the time.

Mike: He's a cool kid.

MXworld.com: He said, "Why don't you ask him what he thinks about Aaron" and I said "Yeah, I'll ask him." He'll shit when I put this in here.

Mike: He's definitely a cool kid.

Mike thanks his sponsors.
I'd like to thank Shift, Fox, AFAM, Links Chains, Moto XXX for building my track, Arnette sunglasses, Etnies shoes, Hectic clothes, my mom and dad for being behind me 100%, Pro Circuit is helping me out with my motor and suspension, Motul oils have been hooking me up, Straight Edge helmet graphics. Don't forget to mention Emery, he's like a big brother.

Stayed tuned for part 2...

More of Mike Cinqmars talking about sponsors, jumping, free riding, fun, Emery and more on Aaron K.

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Mike Cinqmars Biography
MAGAZINE Credits:
Dirt Rider Magazine
April 1997
Feb 1997
Jan 1997

MX Racer Magazine
Summer 1997

MX Action Magazine
Nov 1997
Dec 1997

SMP Catalog
Cover 1998

Wide Open Magazine
Feb 1998

Dirt Bike Magazine
April 1998

VIDEO Credits:
CHROME 1996
RECHROMED
Organ Donors
Throttle Junkies
My Way by Arnette
Moto XXX 2
Moto XXX 3
Terra Firma 4
5th Gear Pinned
Shift-Fresno Smooth
Arnett My Way
Vidiotos Annamins
Crusty Demons #4 (Filming)
Terra Firma #5 (Filming)

TELEVISION/Video Credits:
Mammoth Border X on FOX TV Feb 1997
Toyota truck commercial (Riding stunts)
Thousand Mile Jump by Planet X TV filmed in Mexico
Panasonic commercial

A long hard day at Mikey land...
Mike: Hey, what's up?
MXworld.com: Nothing, what's be going on.
Mike: Oh, nothing.
MXworld.com: So you made it back from Canada in one piece?
Mike: Yeah
MXworld.com: So how was it?
Mike: Just a second...I had to go to another phone because it was kinda loud in there. I've got some friends over and we're playin some pool and stuff.
MXworld.com: I haven't been able to do that in a long time.
Mike: Yeah, we've hung out and spent all day swimming.
MXworld.com: That's the kinda stuff I'd like to be able to do with my spare time.
Mike: What kind of work do you do?
MXworld.com: I'm a lead programmer. I always have to stumble over that, that's what I do all day is write programs for friggin computers.
Mike: Really? Cool.
MXworld.com: Sometimes it is. It pays OK, but it's a pain in the ass somedays when the want you to work.

Interviews and stuff...
Mike: I read the interview.
MXworld.com: Oh, you did? How did you like it?
Mike: It's pretty cool. Emery read it to me because I don't have access to a computer. It was pretty much everything we talked about.
MXworld.com: Well, yeah. I left some stuff out that we talked about. We talked about some stuff that I didn't think should be public knowledge.
Mike: Yeah, that's cool.
MXworld.com: I kept lookin to see if you stopped by the site because you said there might be a chance.
Mike: When I was in Canada, no one had a computer. I was like "fuck man, I wanna check this thing out."
MXworld.com: That's amazing. Gee, people in Canada not having computers...
Mike: The guy I was staying with didn't have a computer, so I didn't get to check it out. But when I got home, I hit Emery up and he showed it to me.
MXworld.com: I got a lot nice comments about it to.
Mike: Really? Cool.
MXworld.com: I kinda dug it too. It's weird, I've been getting email saying that I know how to interview people. But I don't know shit about interviewing, I just talk.
Mike: That's cool.
MXworld.com: So maybe there's a future for me in that.

On the road again...
MXworld.com: How did everything go in Canada?
Mike: It went really good. There was a lot of cool tree riding, off road riding. We did off roading for a couple days. We got some guy building some jumps out there. So we got to hit some jumps after we did the forest riding.
MXworld.com: Cool.
Mike: But the forest riding was pretty cool, we had fun doing it.
MXworld.com: That's amazing, because usually that stuff sucks.
Mike: This riding was crazy, you had to be on your toes. You be going and haulin ass through trees and all of the sudden. there would be a big assed-log in the middle of the trail and you'd have to slow down or pre-jump over it. It was pretty technical.
At this point, I bored mikey to tears with a story of my own, but I'll save you from that hell...
Mike: It was pretty cool.
MXworld.com: It sorta looked like it in Terrafirma 4, was it like that?
Mike: It was all trees, it was a little more technical. It was pretty good, I had fun.
MXworld.com: I don't mind doing that if there are some sections where you can open it back up again.
Mike: There definitely was. There were some open areas, green grass and no tracks or anything yet.
MXworld.com: Did you get to do that big-assed hill?
Mike: Yeah, there were a couple of them, you'll see (in Terrafirma 5). We went to a couple big ones. They kinda had me sketched out a little, but I did it.
MXworld.com: So, no major crashes?
Mike: No, well there's one. I did this one, it shot me super high and sheared off my right footpeg. After that I crapped, it jacked up my ankle and wrist so I let it heal a couple days and I went back out there and did it again.
MXworld.com: I made the comment before that I have never seen you crash, but it does happen apparently.
Mike: Yeah, but other than that, the whole trip was pretty good. We spent a couple weeks up there and did 8 days of filming. It was a pretty wide open schedule, we had to be on the ball.

Jump contests and the Warped Tour
Mike: I'm leaving again Thursday to go up to Utah and do a jump contest and then come back. Salt Lake City.
MXworld.com: Emery said to ask you about some jump contest and giving away your gear...
Mike: Oh, after the jump contest (in Idaho) I gave away all my gear and boots.
MXworld.com: Really?
Mike: Yeah, there were a pile of fans and they were asking for stuff so I said what the hell. Pants, jerseys, boots, gloves, goggles - the whole works.
MXworld.com: You'll have to warn me next time you are around, I need some new boots.
Mike: (laughs) It was good, they were happy about it.
MXworld.com: Are you doing anything with the Warped Tour?
Mike: No, I'm doing nothing with that. I was supposed to go on it, but I figured I could stay home and make more money that I could going on that. I made more money going to Canada than I would have made on the whole Warped Tour.
MXworld.com: I was wondering about that, they are coming to Houston and Austin next month. I don't know most of the bands that are playing there.
Mike: Yeah, there are a bunch of new ones.
MXworld.com: I only know NOFX and Reverend Horton Heat. I was thinking about going to see the free style stuff.
Mike: Mickey Dymond and those other guys are gonna be there.
MXworld.com: I can't even remeber the last time I saw Mickey Dymond ride.
Mike: He called the other day and he said the jump show they are putting on is getting more attention than the bands and stuff. I guess it is going really good and the fans are liking it.
MXworld.com: That (the jump contest) would be the reason for me to go. I'm a huge NOFX fan and I want to see the Reverend Horton Heat, but you put the jumping in there and that seals it.
Mike: I guess in a couple shows they've been setting up the stage and jumping over that when the bands are playing.
MXworld.com: Cool.
Mike: He said it was going pretty good. I guess they had one close call, a guy went through a ramp or something like that.

Important social issues and stuff
(OK, I stole that from Married with Children, so sue me....)
MXworld.com: What else is new?
Mike: Not a whole lot. I took the Seadoo in today to get the starting switch fixed so I can head up to the lake and get some Seadooing in. I'm waitin for those guys to call back. Hopefully I can get a day out before I go to Utah to do this jump contest.
MXworld.com: So how have you been doing at these contests?
Mike: Pretty good. There's only been one actual super good contest. I qualified into that one, that was the one on TV.
MXworld.com: The Vegas one?
Mike: I crashed when I qualify into the main.
MXworld.com: I finally got to see that one the other night, because my cable company doesn't get ESPN2. I can get 16 spanish speaking channels, but not ESPN2, like I want to watch a spanish soap opera...
Mike: Yeah, but some of those shows have some pretty hot chicks.
MXworld.com: If you have a satelitte, some of those soap operas show skin.
Mike: Yeah, my dad is pretty good with the channel changer. He's always got the skin flicks going.
MXworld.com: I could see me doing that here to if I had any channels worth watching.
Mike: He's got the HBO skin flicks goin and the B-movies.

Me, Da Site, Aaron and stuff.
Mike: So you've been getting a lot of hits?
MXworld.com: Yeah, when I tell people that I have alot of track information, tips, nobody comes. Then I say I have an interview with Mike and people come out for that.
Mike: That's cool.
MXworld.com: I get email from people saying they dug the interview.
Mike: Cool, glad to hear that.
MXworld.com: I like that too and it is kinda cool to talk to you.
Mike: Yeah, I like talking to different people and hear what they have to say.
MXworld.com: Some people aren't too much fun to talk to. Some people you think would be fun, but then you talk to them and you think "Never mind."
Mike: What other questions do you have for me?
MXworld.com: Oh man, I am completely unprepared. Why don't you ask me a question and I'll ask it back.
Mike: Nope, I'm all outta questions. I'm worn out, spent too much time by the pool.
MXworld.com: You keep saying that shit, I sat there and worked all day and screwed with all sorts of computer problems.
Mike: Is it pretty hard to program stuff like that?
MXworld.com: Some people think it is.
Mike: You've gotta know what you are doing?
MXworld.com: Everybody's born with a skill and mine is and always has been programming and it takes nothing for me to do it. Then I have worked with people that have to stress to get it done. It's something that I've liked for a long time. I'm 32, I hate saying that, but I'm 32 and I have been doing it for 18 years.
Mike: Really.
MXworld.com: I didn't push the projector, but I was the fuckin computer geek in school. I wasn't in band or anything like that, I was the one reading psychology books and programming journals during study hall.
Mike: That's cool, so it's finally paying off.
MXworld.com: Yeah, it's to the point that I can do what I want to do, most of the time, get a decent vacation and I make a crapload more than my dad ever did. That makes it nice.
MXworld.com: I'm going to take some vacation and go up to Michigan and I'm going to stop and talk to Aaron Katzenmeyer. He's cool, we talk all the time. He sent me some email the other day saying he did a heelclicker, so he's going to send me some pictures.
Mike: Did he like the interview?
MXworld.com: He loved it, there is something he wanted me to ask you and he said you'd know what it means. But I forgot what it was. He loved it (the interview), you're the man as far as he is concerned and he pours over it. He made me take the tape I recorded and record it on the PC so he could listen to it at home. He said he played it a thousand times.

Music, fine wine and friends that annoy the hell outta you.
Mike: Anything you want to ask, that's fine by me.
MXworld.com: You still listen to that fucking rap? (Click here to see what Lagwagon has to say about rap and I agree)
Mike: I just got the new Beastie Boys album. It's pretty good, I watched one of their videos today. I think it was called intergalactic and the video is pretty damn cool. It's got this robot that is break dancing and he kicks the shit out of another robot.
MXworld.com: I'll have to check that out.
Mike: (said quietly) quit fucking around dumb ass. My friend just walked over and was fucking with me. He's like "what the fuck are you doing interviewing on the phone?" It's funny, I get so much shit from these guys.
MXworld.com: So you're just one of the guys and they come in there and fuck with you.
Mike: They don't see me like everyone else does, that what's cool. That's why I like hanging out with these guys. I'm just another person to them and that's what's cool.
MXworld.com: See, if you lived near me and we were hangin out, I'd call you a dickhead.
Mike: (laughs) That's what they do "Hey, what the fuck are you doing dickhead?" That's the way it has to be, you don't want to hang out with people that think you are a god.
MXworld.com: That would suck after awhile. I could see it being fun for awhile if it was chicks.
Mike: Oh, fuck yeah, if it was chicks. No problem.
MXworld.com: It would suck having guys think you are a superhero.
Mike: Yeah, sometimes they bring over chicks and throw on a video and they'll all be talking about me and I'm like "just turn the fucker off." I hate that. People turn on the video to talk about me, I'm just a person. I like it sometimes, but after awhile it gets old.
MXworld.com: I don't see that happening to me anytime soon, so I'll take your word for it.
MXworld.com: Do your friends ever do that crap to pick up chicks?
Mike: The other day, a couple girls came over and they had it on but I don't think they were using it for that. They kept looking at it and looking at me. I'm like alright I think I'm gonna jump in the pool now.
MXworld.com: Like "this is kinda weird."
Mike: Yeah. That and the girls weren't too good looking, so I was outta there.
MXworld.com: That's the best reason in the world to leave. I'd like to talk to you, but see ya.
Mike: Yep, I'm outta here.
MXworld.com: You grow a new face and I'll be back.

And stuff
MXworld.com: So what else is going on?
Mike: Oh, not a whole lot. Just hanging out, riding and that's about it.
MXworld.com: Do you ever get bored and do some racing?
Mike: Every once in a while I'll go to the track, do some motos and then leave, but other than that I don't go to the tracks because it's kinda boring. Unless there's some cool jumps on the track and I like to go and jump the jumps. I don't go to the tracks that much.
Topic Change
MXworld.com: I'm trying to think what video it was, the dude was just sitting there in a puffy assed chair in the middle of nowhere.
Mike: Oh yeah, that was Metzger.
MXworld.com: Does he take them out with him?
Mike: No, it was just a chair sitting out there.
MXworld.com: Yeah, I was looking at him and he was sitting in this chair eating a slim jim.
Mike: It was beef jerkey.
MXworld.com: I was thinking "what is this chair doing in the middle of nowhere." Then I thought he must be onto something, I've sat at the track before and been completely pissed that I have this little folding lawn chair. I'm going to have to get a lazee boy, throw it in the back of the truck. Maybe get one of those window air conditioners, set it on the bed of the truck. Cold air blowing out and a six pack chilling.
Mike: Only a 6er?
MXworld.com: You know, that would be for before the first practice.
Mike: And another one for when you get home.
MXworld.com: Yeah, you wouldn't want to have more than 12 during a practice.
Mike: Fuck that.
MXworld.com: That's cool about my pants, I call em the six pack pants. I've got those royal and black ones and they've got some big-assed pockets.
Mike: Oh, I don't know I've never drank before. (long pause and then he laughs)
MXworld.com: You almost had me on that. You never drink.
Mike: I never drink and I ride.
MXworld.com: Neither do I, I'm just joking. I had a friend that used to drink before he rode, but he said he did it so he would be comfortable.
Mike: That's nuts.
MXworld.com: Yeah, that was Chad.
Mike: I guess it would loosen you up.
MXworld.com: Yeah, but I would never do something like that. He was the first guy I ever saw do a nothing and that was 8 or 9 years ago. He said, look watch me jump this no hands, no feet and I said "yeah right" and he did. But he was the kind of guy that would jump first and find what was on the other side later, that's why he ended up with 2 broken wrists.

I'm outta here.
Mike: These guys are over here talking shit. I can hear them talking to these girls they brought out.
MXworld.com: Smack em.
Mike: Yeah, they're talking shit about me being on the phone all day.
MXworld.com: Are the chicks worth while?
Mike: Oh yeah, they're pretty much Grade A.
MXworld.com: Quality.
Mike: Oh yeah.
MXworld.com: Yeah, yesterday I was up on the 7th floor working on a PC and I never get up there that often so I didn't realise they were these good looking girls up there. And there's this one chick that is hot and I'm looking at her and she knows it.
Mike: When the summertime comes, it just brings them. Yeah, they just are coming out.
MXworld.com: I've gotta check out that area, because around here I never see that much.
Mike: Really? You need to come out here to California, there are ladies galore.
MXworld.com: That's what got me turned on to Laguna Beach. I'd never been on a highway before where the traffic is going two miles an hour because there are girls in bikinis all over the place.
Mike: You've gotta stop talkin about that stuff, I'm gonna have to go take a shower.
We talked a little more when the interview came to an abrupt and deserving break :)
Mike: (quietly) Who's bra is that? Who's bra is that? Shit.
MXworld.com: Don't be sayin that.
Mike: Fuck, these guys got bras on, fuck.
MXworld.com: I'm gonna have to hang out with you guys when I come to California.
Mike: Uh, hey John. I'm gonna have to go now. They having bras hanging on them, so I'll have to get back to you.
MXworld.com: OK, I'll talk to you later man.
Mike: See ya.

Another ending to another strange interview, but fun none the less. If you made it this far, you disregarded every warning I gave you, but I hope you enjoyed it. I wondered how much of this I would print and there were parts I left out, but I think it is important to see that Mikey is a person just like you and me and maybe the conversation isn't always on topic, but it is fun with a capital F. Stay tuned to another interview with Mike Cinqmars and while you are still reading this, if in fact you are, drop by Renegade Racing and say hi to Emery.

Mikey sets it up...
MXworld.com: So I hear you did pretty well in Utah.
Mike: I did real good. There was another guy there that was real good, Jason Partridge.
MXworld.com: That name sounds familiar, was he at Vegas?
Mike: Yeah, he's a race guy.
MXworld.com: He races Pro?
Mike: Yeah, he races. He's a good jumper though. He's a real good jumper.
MXworld.com: So how was the track?
Mike: It was pretty good, it had a lot of cool jumps on it. There was a really big step up and a big double that was 110 foot.
MXworld.com: Was it a track or was it built for the contest?
Mike: No it wasn't a track, it was jumps that was set up like free style.
MXworld.com: So how did you end up doing?
Mike: I won the thing. It was me and Jason and we had a jump off deal, but we didn't do a jump off. We went out there tandem, I went out first and we did all those jumps and pulled off. We split the purse money.
MXworld.com: I knew you won, I just wanted to hear you say it. :)
Mike: It was cool.
MXworld.com: So how did it feel to win?
Mike: It was good, it gave me more confidence.

Mikey's bag of tricks...
MXworld.com: What kind of tricks do you do?
Mike: Oh, all of them. The new one I was doing was a cliff hanger.
MXworld.com: No. You were doing that?
Mike: Yeah, it was bad.
MXworld.com: I don't even want to think about it. That's sick.
Mike: It was the best one, it was cool.
MXworld.com: Did you get any good pictures?
Mike: I guess there were some photographers from Wide Open.
MXworld.com: So what tricks did you do?
Mike: All the ones I usually do. Candy bars, saran wraps all that shit.
MXworld.com: So if you are out there doing cliff hangers, doesn't that make you one of three people in the world?
Mike: No, there's only one other person doing that. Travis Pastrana, that's it. Once you do it, it's cool. But working up to it is sketchy.
MXworld.com: How did you know you were going to be able to do it?
Mike: I kept working on it, got up enough nerve and just did it. After that it just stuck.
MXworld.com: How do you get back on the bike?
Mike: Well, when you see the landing you just come down.
MXworld.com: That's the problem with you guys, you all make it sound so easy.

The longest day (and a half)
Mike: Because of the drive up we didn't get there until 5:30 in the morning. We left my house at 7:00 and we stopped in Vegas. Got in Utah at 5:30, went to bed, woke up at 10:00 and drove to the event. I was sitting there and I didn't want to get geared up. Everybody else was getting geared up, so I thought I should get ready to go out. I took a couple laps and just rolled over it (the course) and I pulled over and just sat there for 30 minutes and just watched everybody. And I thought "I don't want to ride." and I was getting bummed. So I said "Oh well" and started hitting a couple jumps. I pulled off and still wasn't feeling to swell. Right when the event came around, I started doing all the jumps, doing all the tricks and I started feeling better and better. Then once I hit the big double I was feeling good.

Going, going, gone.
MXworld.com: I told Aaron I'm going to do a not-not.
Mike: A nac-nac?
MXworld.com: No, a not-not.
Mike: What's that?
MXworld.com: It's just like a nac-nac, but you keep both feet on the pegs. I do them all the time, but you've gotta shake your head from side to side and say "No way in hell."
Mike: (laughs and changes the subject) I'm hopefully getting ready to do another trip to France.
MXworld.com: For Terrafirma?
Mike: Yeah. If it wasn't for this, I wouldn't get to do all the traveling and seeing the world. I might just be stuck at home, sitting on my ass working at who knows where.
MXworld.com: Sounds like you've got the best deal in the world. Good luck.
Mike: Thanks, and I'll let you know if we are going to France.