RIDING AT MDP BLOCK
By Brendan Lutes
If you’re a regular reader of TransWorld Motocross, then you already know that we are in full-blown shooting mode for Kickstart 4: The Final Chapter. Last week, we headed to the notorious MDP Block in Temecula, California, to shoot with Jeremy “Twitch” Stenberg, Robbie Maddison, Jimmy Fiztpatrick, Wes Agee, and others. If you’re wondering what is so special about the MDP Block, though, it’s that not only do Maddo and Twitch live on the street, but the Deft Family headquarters are also there and OG freestyle rider Larry Linkogle also has his new Death Squad Compound, complete with a massive quarter pipe and multiple jumps, hidden just doors down. All told, there are three separate riding compounds—Maddo’s, Deft Family, and Link’s.
The day started with a little session at Maddo’s pad. We must say, his set up is rad. How many other compounds have an elevated patio for easy viewing?
In case you weren’t aware of it, Maddo and Twitch are in the midst of an epic prank war. The most recent prank? Maddo had an airplane tow a banner over the Lake Elsinore National that read, “Men, for a good time call Twitch…” with his now disconnected phone number at the end. On this day, Maddo put a little food coloring to good use in Twitch’s new Fox helmet liner. The result was an interesting blue and red pattern on Twitch’s freshly shaved head.
It’s difficult to see here, but this was the moment that Twitch discovered his liner had been messed with… Twitch’s response: “Just wait. You’re leaving for a few weeks. I have plenty of time to retaliate.”
This jump goes right over Maddo’s driveway, and the guys were getting flat off it.
Stenberg has started to test the new Filtrate goggles that are set for a February 2013 debut.
After taking a quick break, everyone rode down the street to Link’s compound. Here, Maddo pulls off a perfect 360 over one of the many jumps. Maddo has only been back on the bike for a little while—he got hurt at X Games this year—but his bag of tricks is still extensive.
Jimmy Fitzpatrick also came out to have some fun. He just recently made the switch to the bigger 450cc four-stroke, but by the look of his trick extension, you wouldn’t know.
Wes Agee is Red Bull’s newest addition to the FMX team, and he is easily one of the gnarliest riders in the sport right now. All of his tricks are insanely extended and he isn’t scared of hitting dirt jumps. On this day, he was going huge on the quarter pipe at Link’s.
At the end of the day, Maddo took a quick dip in his newly finished swimming pool. He even pulled a flip off his slide. “I love this pool,” Maddo said. “After a long hot day of riding, there’s nothing better than jumping in the pool to cool off.”
