At only 21 months old, Chad Pederson learned to ride dirt bike. He hasn’t looked back since.
Pederson rode with his dad and had over 10 years of riding under his belt when he entered his first race at 12-years-old. Within a year and a half, he had gained sponsorship from Yahama and was riding all over the upper-Midwest.
“At that point I started to get free bikes, parts and contingency prizes,” Pederson said. “If I won a race I actually made some money.”
Through 17 years of professional racing, Pederson worked his way up in the ranks in all forms of dirt bike racing.
In 1998, Pederson was the No.2 ranked arenacross racer in the nation.
Two years later, he retired and joined his father-in-law, Mike Parry, in the ownership of Godfather’s Pizza in Waseca. He still gets plenty of time out on the track, however, as he has two of them behind his home southeast of Waseca where he rides with his three daughters, Dallas, Cali, and Jayde, all of whom have also taken a shine to the sport.
Dallas, Pederson’s oldest daughter is now 14-years-old, but she entered her first race when she was six or seven. Pederson’s youngest daughter, Jayde, is seven and will be riding in her first race Tuesday at the Steele County Fair in Owatonna.
He spent August 4-9 in Hurricane Mills, TN, at country music legend Loretta Lynn’s ranch for a national motocross event in which he competed in the Junior 25+ and Vet 35+ races.
Through years on the track, Pederson has broken more bones than he cares to count. He’s suffered fractures in his shoulder, collar bone, legs, feet, and hands just to name of some of the injuries. Yet, he has not hesitated to get back on the bike or pass the love for the sport onto his family.
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