FreestyleMX

Stories from the Road – The Pacific Northwest

All I gotta say is “Whoa!” when it comes to the last week or so on tour with the Boost Mobile Freestylemx.com Worldwide Tour presented by Monster Energy.  I took three days off and went home to the family while the a couple riders and drivers from tour spent the time in Medford, OR where Jesse and Tommy Thunder grew up.  We all had great times but it was time to get back to business when we met back up in Eugene for the Lane County Fair. 

 On tap were three demos a day for six days straight and for a first time event it went pretty well.  It was windy everyday and if I said it once, I said it a billion times- the Freestylemx.com tour does not hire woosies.  John Distler, Jim McNeil, Niki Danielson and James Carter all showed up every day ready to work and pulled off some amazing tricks in 15 mph winds between gusts. Smaller tours with lesser riders would not have gotten two demos in all week- we missed one of eighteen!  James really stepped up and learned a lot getting to session daily with the three pros.  His Shaolin Bar Hops are huge and his Holy Grabs are even bigger.  The “Big Sexy” John Distler had a great week going until he threw a Kiss of Death too far and hit the deck hard.  Picture a guy falling about 30 feet to the ground at 35 mph and stopping pretty much cold!  John got up and walked away with some scrapes from the pavement and four broken ribs.  We got the big guy through the ER and set him up in the Hilton for the next day and a half until he felt decent enough to fly home.  He’ll be back by Blackfoot on the ninth of September.  All you reading this should bear witness to the work John’s safety gear did for him.  Buy good gear and wear it all the time!  $500 in gear is way better than a few weeks off the bike due to injury. 

 Jim McNeil got rad on the ramps with huge flip tricks and a nice under flip he is working on for ramp to ramp jumping. It was great to spend some time with him because Jim is one funny dude.  Not a clown or anything like that- he just drops a one liner (almost by accident) and drops you to the floor laughing- good stuff on the road.  Niki Danielson got his groove on too riding with ease and confidence.  He even pulled a new trick during one of the demos- the Heel Clicker to Can Can flip.  His words, “I did the Clicker and thought ‘I have more time’ so I did the Can too.”  I tell everyone who doesn’t know that these guys are wired a little different than most of us and what they do doesn’t always make sense when they ride.  Nice work from all the guys and big thanks to KVAL 13, the local TV station that sponsored us and gave us weather updates. They shot some video that is on the way- keep checking the site for pics too.  Also big thanks to the people who ran the fair like Rick, Rachel and Cory for all their help- we look forward to coming back.

 

After six days in Eugene it was time to meet up with the other Boost Bus and truck on up to Washington via the Columbia River Gorge.  What a nice drive and the scenery is like almost nothing else in the country (and trust us- we have seen ALL of it) and I really wish I had figured out my new camera and its settings so I could snap some nice ones. 

 We pulled into the fairgrounds in Kennewick, WA for the Benton Franklin County Fair around 11am and started getting ready for the nights contest.  Ten riders would join us on the dirt arena floor for a night of mayhem and machine that night.  Nick Dunne- the new kid on tour- got the crowd flowing with his signature Captain Morgan trick.  Nick is definitely a part of the crew now and is waiting for the next new guy to join up so he isn’t so “new”.  Young Gun James Carter (who has the love and adoration of every woman from 18 to 88) has started to get his whips dialed on the ramps.  Ramp whips are a lot harder for most riders than natural terrain ones- and the price for failure is pretty high.  Keith Sayers filled in last minute for Distler (thanks a ton and congrats to you and Danielle on your marriage!)  and though he felt a little at odds with the ramps he put on a great show for so little practice- watch for him in the future, he has a great chance of going big soon.  Derek Burlew ran smooth as always and almost won Best Whip.  He was beat by the “Cowboy” Kenny Bartram who was riding with a sore wrist tweaked in practice.   Brody Wilson came out firing in the qualifier and made his way pretty easily into the final alongside McNeil, Danielson, Matt Buyten and JJ Romans.

 JJ made the finals by being the most entertaining in addition to putting out a solid run and did it again for the fans during the final.  He was followed in the final by Matt Buyten who is newly single and on the prowl-GRRRRRR tiger!  His run was fun as he attacked our new layout we tried with crisscross ramps.  Brody was in good form but is eager to get home to test out his new foam pit. He sits third in the Euro series and wants to move up the ladder with some more flip tricks.  Jim McNeil threw out a sweet Under Flip (another tricky ramp to ramp move as you come in sideways and don’t have dirt to help you bring it back on the lander) to try for the win but was bested by Niki Danielson who came out missing most of practice with a flat tire.  Niki once again showed his confidence and won the show outright according to the fans who judged the show.  The after party was off the chain and although I would love to provide all the details- this is a family oriented site right?- I will just say that of all the pro athletes I have seen let loose- FMX riders take the cake, eat it, puke it up and do it again.  Work hard, play hard is their motto and they all earned their play in Kennewick. 

 

Well- I get another five days off before the next and last leg of ‘The Slog’ for me which may be a long one!  We kick it off in Essex Junction, VT on 9-1 and then it’s Groveton, NH and a Boost Mobile demo for NASCAR fans in Atlanta all in six days.  The drivers got their work cut out for them and I am looking forward to meeting all the fans in some familiar places from last year.  Keep checking us out here and you can follow us on Facebook too.  I’m under Cory Stem and many of the riders are my electronic friends and you could be too!  See you at the next show!

 -Cory Stem