Former Cortez resident Steve Howe rode to first place for the upper extremity category in the Eighth Annual Extremity Games and third place overall at Midwest Baja Acres Motocross Park of Millington, Michigan.
Howe was born without a right hand and rides a motorcross bike specially made to operate with one hand.
Howe was quoted on the Vitalmx website. “I ended up getting the holeshot in the first and second moto ... kinda put my head down, charged away, and didn’t look back.” The holeshot is how the racer takes off out of the starting gate.
Race promoter and celebrity Carey Hart was a teammate of Howe’s, and now, one of his sponsors. Hart’s father worked with Howe’s father to develop the motorcycle that Steve could operate with one hand.
Fellow racer Doug Henry credited the Extremity Games with helping with his recovery.
“It gives people with a disability the ability to go back to doing something they love”, said Henry. “When I was in the hospital and I got to see someone that was paralyzed—riding a motorcycle — I knew that there was hope.”
Howe graduated from Montezuma-Cortez High School where he met his wife, the former Karyn Noland. They now live in Menifee, Calif.
Extremity Games is organized by Athletes with Disabilities Network (ADN), whose mission is to promote a better quality of life by creating opportunities for people with physical disabilities.
