Hotfootin’ to Blackfoot

It’s been such a busy year for the Monster Energy FreestyleMX.com Worldwide Tour presented by SMP Clothing that it wasn’t hard to believe this was our first contest of the year.  That’s right, we finally got both tour buses on the same side of the country long enough to make a long awaited return to Blackfoot, Idaho and the Eastern Idaho State Fair. Now I know what you are thinking, “Idaho? Big contest and long awaited?”  Yes, yes and yes.

Eastern Idaho loves dirt bikes and they really love FMX.  We have been there ten times in eleven years and after missing last year, the ticket pre-sale was up 200% for 2012!  This stop sees a few TV interviews, tons of radio and print as well- these people get it!  Blackfoot has also seen some of the most treacherous weather in past years threatening to cancel shows, but it has not happened yet-and this year the conditions were perfect.

We invited a few new faces to the contest this year like Garrett Ahlf and Jeff Griffin from Bako, Hart and Huntingtons Lance Coury and One Industries Bryce Hudson.  Of course many of the crowds usual favorites made it up for the gig too and as evidenced by the 2.5 hour autograph line at the end of the night-the fans were stoked.

The night got kicked off with our first five riders of ten trying to get into the five man final which saw Bryce Hudson and Famous Stars and Straps rider Rich Kearns advance.  Garrett who was sidelined just a few months ago with spine compression fractures just missed out along with Cainville ripper Sean Nielson and the Troy Lee Designs John “Junkyard Dog” Distler.  The judges were tough and had to be with so much talent on the bill.  One mistake put a rider out of contention as they were compared on technical skill as much as showmanship and style.

The second round of qualifiers eliminated Lance Coury and Jeff Griffin-both of whom had the least amount of time to learn the ramps this year.  Advancing was the newest Metal Mulisha member Kenny Bell (who wowed fans with the Suicide Belly Roll), SCS Unlimited’s Keith Sayers from nearby Butte, Montana and the Monster Energy new guy Matt Buyten.

The Monster Energy Best Whip competition kind of surprised as everyone expected Lance Coury to do really well but he was bested by Rich Kearns, who didn’t get the whip he really wanted.  The young gun Bryce Hudson popped a Turn Down getting the front wheel pointed past 90 degrees which impressed everyone including the fans which picked him as the winner.  That is not easy to do on a mobile set up!  We also brought back what I thought was the most fun and entertaining event of the night-Moto Pig presented by SMP Clothing.  It started out with five riders doing some awesome old-school Goon tricks and everyone in the place was cracking up.  It got down to the NVHC crew of Bell and Buyten who started calling tricks on the fly with Bell finally pulling out a win after five rounds!

Onto the Final.  Kearns came out firing with a really technical run and did not put a wheel wrong the entire time which was just too much for Bell, Sayers or Hudson to match (even though everyone of those guys got high marks from the judges).  It was down to the last rider, 7 time X-Games Step Up gold medalist Matt Buyten to try and unseat the Connecticut native.  By technicality- Kearns narrowly had the edge by a tenth or two in points- but the crowd picked Buyten who showed a little more style in his run.  These two guys really know how to get everything from their tricks-be it a Seat Grab, Bar Trick or those combined with a Backflip, but where Rich is textbook and perfect, Matt rides like the Devil may care and has a real moto-type style.  It’s aggression with ease if I could explain it.  But I can’t so you have to come see him ride!  Check out the schedule to find out where he will be next and keep up to date with any additions or changes on our Facebook at ‘Freestylemx.com’

Big thanks to the fantastic crowd that came out, you made the event we were all waiting for that much better and we cannot wait to be back in 2013!

Thomas Pages stole the win and the show in Munich with tricks like the Special Flip ( which isn’t a flip at all), the Volt and a 540 Bike Varial-oh and no conventional flips at all!  It marks the first time a rider has won an X-Fighters event without one single flip in the history of the event.  He had to go all out to beat Dani Torres who debuted the Ox-excutioner Flip that night.  Click on the link for some bad ass highlights!

Monster Energy FreestyleMX.com presented by SMP Clothing Road Update

Been super busy out on the road lately!  In the month of July we hit 20 cities for 26 shows in 31 days-that is ripping for the longest running and busiest FMX tour on the planet and we drank plenty of Monster Energy to get us through.

I left off last time with us leaving Indian River, MI and while we were there, our other tour bus (we have two) was in Carlisle, PA with Metal Mulisha’s Kenny Bell, Garrett Ahlf and Matt Buyten who was fresh of second place at X-Games Step Up.  They were on a three day trip to the Carlisle Car Show and even though they encountered some fierce weather, they had a great time once they met up with some Midget Wrestlers.  I only saw the pictures, but it looks like they had a great time with Bell and Buyten even getting stick figure tattoos from the wrestlers themselves.  Not gonna lie, sounds like a good time!  That bus swung out for a long drive to Wyoming where the three once again proved why they are some of the best in the business for and awesome crowd there before another long drive to Bangor, Maine for the fair.

Our bus has been all over the Midwest driving past miles of dried out corn.  First we shot south to Missouri for some Wal-Mart and Speedway shows, then back north to Minnesota where the man tried to get us cross-rutted prior to our three shows up there.  We hit Shakopee Raceway to a nearly sold out crowd then straight over to a brand new Mills Fleet-Farm for two days of demos.  Back south again to Dodge City, Kansas where we were once again treated like kings by Western Beverage at Dodge City Days.  A quick tour of their warehouse found Monster Energy stacked thirty feet high, six feet deep and over 100 feet long!  The beer collection had us in awe as there was over an acre of suds 40 feet high in a 60 degree mega fridge.  John Distler, Rich Kearns and Bryce Hudson have been tearing it up and are riding well together.

We had to motor over to the St. Louis area for three days straight of shows in three locations.  First was Bommars Bar and Grill where we were wined and dined and a Great-Grandma who might have had one too many Monster Bombs touched me where Grannies probably shouldn’t-awkward!  Next night was opening for Summerland Tour with 90’s bands like the Gin Blossoms, Sugar Ray and Everclear and we got to hang out backstage for a bit after that.  Another Wal-Mart and back on the road which leads us to today where we are doing laundry enroute to the Milwaukee area for a couple shows.  Check the calendar for dates and times or just go to our FaceBook page at Freestylemx.com for more info.

Gotta dry and finish with the Wi-Fi-see ya!

Been a pretty hectic tour this month for both buses on the Monster Energy FreestyleMX.com Worldwide Tour presented by SMP Clothing with 26 stops in 20 cities in only 31 days!  That means lots of hard work, lots of different faces but the same weather all the time.  Same weather?  Wind and rain have followed both buses this month and it may make the drought plagued locals happy, but has given us a few ulcers!

If you are new to FMX, rain is always a deal killer.  The steel ramps get wet and slick making it impossible to jump the complete distance and it soaks the run-up and shut down areas preventing the riders from starting and stopping safely.  Luckily, we only missed a couple demos from the wet stuff, but the road crew has to work that much harder to get everything ready.  Wind- that brings a whole new set of problems.

A head or tail wind is doable to a point when you have some of the best riders in the world riding for you.  These guys are jumping a 75 foot industry standard gap and need to hit the ramp at about 30 mph give or take. When it starts to blow, the jumpers need to adjust their speed a little bit and that is tough to do with no speedometers or radar guns in place-it’s done by feel and experience which is something lesser riders tend to fail to deal with.  Crosswinds are ridiculous.  A ten knot cross can push a 240 pound dirtbike seven to eight feet sideways as they fly through the air and the lander is about 16 feet wide.  Do the math, gasp and continue reading!  We have had wind at EVERY SINGLE STOP this month to deal with and I really want to thank our riders for sacking up, being safe gladiators of the sky and putting in the shows.  John Distler now in his 14^th year as a FMX pro said “If we looked out, saw this wind and there were no fans out there, we wouldn’t even get off the bus.”  That is why the Monster Energy crew is the best in the business!

Since I last checked in we have been to Columbus Speedway in Ohio where we did our best to convert the track to a Monster Energy venue from another brand that rhymes with “cramp”.  The crowd was huge and autographs took nearly an hour to do!  We packed up and headed straight to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and got clearance from the tower to do two days worth of aerial antics.  Pretty sure it was the best thing the service members had seen since the Air Force Thunderbird Aerobatic crew was in town.  The night prior we were hit by a micro-burst at the venue which pushed our 1000 pound take off ramp 25 feet across the parking lot!  Inside the bus we all pretty much thought we were goner’s as the 40 foot Tornado Magnet rocked violently side to side and made some sickening noises!  We made it with minimal damage to the unit, but a telephone pole was snapped in half 100 yards away and the vent top on the bus was lost for good.

Next the crew trekked on up to Indian River, Michigan for three days of shows.  Indian River is the hometown of Monster Energy owner Mark Hall, so we knew we had to really be on our toes and kick some serious ass.  Wind and rain followed us here too- but the road crew made sure the riders had everything they needed to show the fans a good time.  Gotta give mad props to Indian River and it’s people.  We were treated like rock stars by everyone there and the crowds were louder and had more energy than anywhere we had been so far.  If you need a place to go on vacation-check this place out.  Beautiful rivers and lakes, lots of trees and awesome people are why this place is my new favorite place on the planet. A very, very special thanks go out to Indian River Sports Center for getting parts for the riders bikes, treating us to dinners, boat rides and being ambassadors to their community.  BC Pizza kept the crew fed all week long too with awesome food and thanks for the breakfast!  The Summer Store had all the toys for river and lake fun and supplied the entire crew with Native sunglasses for free while Dairy Mart provided the ice cream and milkshakes for desserts.  No one wanted to leave, but we had to move on down the road to Lake Delton, Wisconsin.

We got here the day before yesterday for two days of shows at Monk’s at the Wilderness sports bar and grill.  Yesterday we braved more rain and wind in front of lots of vacationers to the Wisconsin Dells (home of like ten people and 100 water parks-lol) and as I write this today- I am seeing small children getting yarded by the wind and flying by the bus windows!  We have some shows here today, and even though the winds are too high for anyone to safely jump, we are going to wait it out.  We never give up until it’s dark!

Next stops are at the end of the week in Shakopee Minnesota at the speedway on Friday night, then two days at Mills Fleet and Farm in Carver, MN.  Make sure you come on by and say hi to the crew and who knows, you may get stoked out with some Monster Energy gear!

-Cory Stem

The Monster Energy FreestyleMX.com Tour has been rolling hard and fast across America again this summer with tour buses in two parts of the country.  The first has been on the west side in Reno, Nevada for the High Desert Racing Association series where they did three shows in three days in three different locations. Metal Mulisha’s Kenny Bell, Garrett Ahlf and Lance Coury did the duties there riding at the high altitudes in the desert.  A “day” usually means washing the bus, driving to the venue, a three hour set up, a few demos, then a three hour tear down.  It makes for long hours but it’s worth it when we see the smiling faces and hear the roar of the crowd at the shows.  Luckily we are fully stocked with Monster Energy Rehab drinks to fill us back up with electrolytes and real juice.

The other tour bus has spent the last week in the states of Missouri and Kansas, criss-crossing back and forth doing a show almost every day of the week in a different city every day.  Of course, if you have stepped outside just about anywhere in the country it has been super hot and we had our riders doing back flips in 111 degree temps and gusty winds-but when you hire the best they always step up to the plate and perform like it’s just another day.  We started out in Overland Park/Mission, Kansas with John Distler, Dustin Miller and Bryce Hudson taking to the air for a couple of days.  For July 4th John Distler shot back to Yuma, Arizona and the other tour bus to backflip his KTM ATV for our annual Paradise Casino show while Derek Cook filled in for him in Missouri.  Distler jetted back along with Rich Kearns for shows at Fort Leonard Wood, MO, Kansas City and back down to Wichita Kansas.

Both Monster Energy buses get a rest for a day or two (rest is driving, washing and cleaning!) and get restocked with Mosnter Energy before the midwest group drives north to Milwaukee then Ohio and on up to the Michigan-Canadian border! There is no stopping the Monster Energy FreestyleMX.com tour proving once again that it’s the busiest, longest running and BEST traveling Freestyle show on the planet. Keep checking the schedule here on make sure to visit us on Facebook at “freestylemx.com” to see what our fans have been posting to our page and stay on top of our hectic schedule!

-Cory Stem

X Games LA 2012 is set to start tonight and almost all of it will be on TV spanning four channels and some events will also be airing on the web too.  For a full schedule of all events and what channels- check the link RIGHT HERE.  We went ahead and listed the dates and times of the Moto events we all care about here for you.  Tune in and cheer on your favorites and challenge our readers with your predictions on FaceBook daily!

Thursday the 28th of June features Freestyle MX in an international showdown where Nate Adams on his Monster Energy backed Yamaha takes on seemingly the entire X-Fighters field.  He is coming off of shoulder surgery from early this year and everyone will be looking to see if he is truly ready for competition.  Time is 9-11 pm ET on ESPN2

Adams going for Gold again! Markus Paulsen/ESPN Images

On June 29th (Friday if you aren’t familiar with the order of days) has three Moto events: Best Whip, Best Trick and Step Up competitions.  Best Whip is text vote-so get yoru fingers warmed up for showing 9-12pm ET on ESPN.  Matt Buyten, a regular on the Monster Energy FreestyleMX.com Tour is shooting for Gold number eight this year!

Saturday brings us Speed and Style and Womens Moto-X.  We have learned here to not even place bets on Speed and Style as it is sooooo complex and hard to pick.  I am once again pulling for my bud-Buyten!  Time for these is 8-12pm  ET on ESPN.  Don’t forget the Hot Wheels Double Loop dare is the same day between 1 and 3 pm ET on ABC.

Sunday is a day of unrest for Rally X and Enduro X which air 3-5 pm on ESPN and 9-12 pm ET on ESPN2 respectively.  This will wrap up the Moto stuff  and don’t forget to check out the BMX and Skate events throughout the weekend too!