2015 Blogs and Pics

Ocala, FL

The Ocala Pumpkin Run Sets the scene for our next adventure. We teamed up with Rob Nollie and the BMX trickstars and put on an awsome show at the 5th anniversary of the Ocala Pumpkin Run. The weather was beautiful all weekend and the crowds were amped. Carl Richey joined us in the fun, and he brought his freind and Photographer Collin Speckner to capture some of the action. We would like to thank Collin for taking some awsome shots over the weekend including this great shot of the Sick Shooter. We all rode awsome and had a great time. Big Thanks to GOD for keeping us all safe and we are looking forward to coming back next year!!

hCrawford County, WI

I drove through the night to get over to the Crawford County Fair for our friday night performance but it rained all day long.  We arrived at 9 am and as soon as we parked the truck and trailer in its spot it started raining, and it continued to pour all day long. We hung around for a while and decided to reschedule for next year. A huge thanks to Amanda and the whole crew for working with us on the rain cancellation and for inviting us back! We are looking forward to it!

Louisville, KY

We arrived in Louisville on Thursday morning after a long drive through the night and met up with our old pals Woody the BMX Pros Trick team. We teamed up for an indoor arena show to take place of a concert that had gotten canceled. Practice went well and everyone rode excellent in the show. We signed some autographs, packed the ramps up and called it a night! The next morning we arrived early to set the ramps up in our normal spot and get some practice in before our first scheduled show at 12:30. Thankfully they gave us more room this year for our riding area and we were able to get the ramps back to 68 ft gap.  

The weather was fantastic for duration of the event, there were a few days we dealt with a bit of wind but overall it was good. We got a lot of go pro footage and took some screen shots off of there, and there were also many different photographers that sent in photos. We would like to thank all the people that took pictures and video for us during the event. Our freind Vance got the awsome shot below of me doing a no handed flip with a Southwest airplane coming in for a landing behind me! Its an awsome shot! There will be more videos and pics to come! We knocked out a bunch of shows and had a great time meeting the fans. I had a show scheduled in Wisconsin and the last weekend of the fair so Cody Cavanaugh came down and filled in for me and I headed through the night to the Crawford County Fair. I arrived at the fairgrounds at 9 am and as soon as I pulled in it started raining. It rained all day and after a few meetings with the fairboard we decided to cancel and reschedule for next year. We can't thank GOD enough for getting us through all the shows and driving back and forth across the country saftely! On to the next show!!

Bristol, TN

It rained all day Tuesday and into the evening in Bristol Tennessee. We were scheduled to do a practice on the front stretch of the Bristol Motor Speedway Tuesday evening but the rain kept that from happening. To make matters worse it was Nascar week and there was nowhere on the entire property where there was enough room to set up the ramps and get practice in. So we had to improvise... as you see above we found an abandoned amaco gas station and set the ramps up and we got the gap out to 75 ft before any police arrived!! I'd like to thank Weetle and Mr.T for helping me set the ramps and get a safe practice in before I had to go jump 75 ft at Bristol on national television. Everything went smooth at the poach spot and we got packed up and headed to the venue. 

When we arrived back at the Speedway we met up with Keith Sayers and Nick Dunne the other two riders to go over the game plan of getting the ramps in and out of the track. We loaded Keiths 6 ft wide ramp up onto Travis's landing and got up to our spot by the gate. It was raining right up until about an hour before our showtime but they had the track drying trucks out on the track and Travis was drying the takeoff ramp with a blower. We had a twenty  minute window to get out onto the track and do our thing and then get out. The call was made to go and we all took off down the entry way into the track. Set up went great, Travis did a small interview and we got the jumps started. Nick hit the ramp first and I followed him the second hit and greased it. We got right into it with some seat grabs and started flipping. All three of us were nailing flips and tricks and finished it off with a couple three man flip trick trains!! If you were watching the driver interviews you could see us landing behind Kyle Bush in his interview. We made it through safe and got the ramps packed and out of there. We drove straight throught the night to get up to Louisville, Kentucky for the Kentucky State Fair. Huge Thanks to GOD for getting us through this one, it was a little scary.

Nashville, GA

Our next stop on this summers schedule brings us down to the Florida/Georgia line to a little town called Nashville. We arrived very late on Thursday evening to get into our hotel and get some rest. The next morning Cody showed up around 10 am and we all got the ramps set and got ready for practice. Cody started practice a little early because the news crew arrived to get some shots for the local news. Josh followed shortly behind him while Mark and I were still getting ready. A couple jumps in Joshs' quad quit, and we couldn't figure out why. We had to postpone practice for a bit while Josh drove to a local dealership to do some diagnostics and get his quad back up and running. A couple hours later we were still waiting, Josh had come back with a relay but it didn't work so he had to drive back to the dealership and get a new battery. He came back just before the show but still wasn't able to get it going correctly.  We called some local mechanics and they came to help him get it going again but he wasn't able to do the Friday night show with us. He did however get it going about halfway through the show, just in time to do the FMX vs FMX race, which he won! There were a couple mini bike races and some monster truck wheelies then back to FMX. The boys came out and killed it and the crowds were going crazy!!

The next day we arrived early to help Josh get a good practice in and get ready for Saturday evenings show. Everything went well through practice and Josh was ready to join us for the nights festivities. We got the show started with some basics and a couple mini bike races, then came monster truck wheelies again. We took a short intermission then came out blazing in the second half. Everyone rode great and we all had a great time. We thank the GOOD LORD ABOVE for keeping us safe and thanks to WI-FMX for having us out for this one!

Souix Falls, SD

I drove out to Souix Falls, South Dakota to meet up with Mike Kieper and cover a PRCA Rodeo for Cody Cavanaugh at WI-FMX. Cody dropped the ramps off at the venue on his trip back from his previous show the week before. The crews were still putting up fence around the arena at 2pm when we were supposed to start practice so things were already pushed back. We got  everything set up in the arena and got ready for practice by 4pm but as soon as Mike started his bike the throttle was sticking. We worked on it for thirty minutes or so  and couldn't figure it out but we were running out of time to have practice done. Thats when I decided I would start practice by myself worst case scenario we could have a one rider show. Luckily when I was a couple moves back Mike came tearing out on to the arena floor and his bike was running good. We jammed out a quick practice just in time for the Rodeo crowds to start pouring in.

The stands were packed full and some of the evenings events included bronc riding, steer wrestling, barrel racing, and bull riding. Our part of the show was scheduled for immediatley after intermission so it gave us time to get the ramps set. Mike and I came out with a bang! We were ripping up the arena busting can cans and superman seatgrabs. We ended the show with a couple flip trains and called it good. It was a hard fought battle against the sand in the arena but we stayed safe and got it done! We got things packed up and drove into the night up to Aberdeen, SD where Cody was meeting up with Mike to do a Monday, Tuesday Rodeo show. I headed home to get ready for my next adventure. We would like to thank Cody Cavanaugh again from WI-FMX for hiring us to cover this show, we had a great time. A huge thanks to GOD for keeping us safe!!!!!!!

Dodge City, KS

WI-FMX called us to fill a spot at the 39th annual Dodge City Round up, so we packed up and drove eighteen hours west. Five days of rodeo and freestyle mx were planned for Dodge City Days and the forcast was excellent! Cody and Josh arrived before me to get the ramps set and do a small teaser on opening night. I arrived late tuesday night did some meet n greets and called it a day.  We had a good practice session wednesday and everyone was excited for the first show. I was originally supposed to just straight ride at this show but Doc saw me do a couple flips in practice and we negotiated a deal for me to do them in the show also.  

Set up was a little crazy but we got things worked out. The fans were going crazy and all the riders had a great time. Each day the crowds got bigger and the shows got better!  Saturday and sunday nights crowds were both standing room only and very energetic. We all jammed out our best tricks and we recieved a standing ovation. Big thanks to Doc Trotter and the whole gang at the Dodge City Round up for their kindness and hospitality, we all enjoyed it and hope to come again next year.  Thanks to GOD for keeping us safe! GOD BLESS.

Richland Center, WI

Beautiful Richland Center WIsconsin sets the stage for our next thrilling adventure. The 2015 Churnin DIrt Nationals, with some of the most powerful pulling trucks in the country its hard to beat the action going on this weekend. Our rider list includes Konrad Burrell and Mark Merrix AKA Weetle and I (Ed Rossi). Mark had a little vehicle trouble on the way so Konrad was nice enough to drive back three hours from where he just came to go back and rescue him so he could make it to the show. That meant that I had to set up the landing and takeoff ramps by myself. The guys arrived around 5 pm as I was just finishing up setting the landing and takeoff so we got geared up and jammed out a practice set. We got the ramps backed up to a 70 ft gap and took a break just before our first show. 

The show went awsome everyone was nailing their tricks and the crowd was pumped! After the show was over and we were headed back to the pit area Mark went back down the straight away in front of the grandstands doing a wheelie. Then Konrad goes past me following Mark doing a wheelie. Then Mark proceedes to turn around and jump off the side of the landing right into Konrad as he is coming by. Thank GOD no one was hurt but Marks triple clamps were shattered into pieces. Konrad also bent  and broke the shifter on his bike. 

We spent most of the day calling around to dealerships trying to find a shifter for Konrad  and a set of triple clamps for Mark's bike with no luck. We had a few local guys show up later in the afternoon with a shifter for Konrad so his bike was good but Mark was out for the weekend.

Evhart, MI

Our next adventure with Zero Gravity takes us across Lake Michigan to a place called Eagle Village in Hersey, Michigan. Eagle Village is a faith based youth healing center, for more information on the services they provide go to eaglevillage.org. I picked up Evan the announcer from his house in the U.P. of Michigan and we procedded to meet up with the team later that night. The next morning we had breakfast with some of the kids and headed over to the Evhart Industrial Park to set up the ramps. It was vey windy and there was a storm scheduled to come through around eleven am. There were a few modifications to be made to the landing before it could be set so we teamed up and knocked that stuff out. After everything was in its place we headed back to Eagle Village to eat lunch.

The storms moved through the area while we were at lunch and when we arrived back at the venue things were looking good for showtime. There was still a pretty strong cross wind during out practice session but we battled through and got it done! People started arriving from the local community to watch the show and by 4pm we were alll set to go. The show went off without a hitch, the street bike guys were laying down some sweet stunts and the freestyle show was spectacular. We signed many autographs and talked with some kids, all in all it was a great show. Over 80 people gave their lives to Christ that day and and we are thankful to GOD for giving us this opportunity and keeping us safe. A big thanks to Tim and Debbie over at Zerogravityyouthoutreach.com for inviting us to be a part of it!! 

Bristol, IN

Directly after the Friday night show in Dallas County, Iowa I headed eastbound and down I-80 towards Bristol, Indiana where Zero Gravity Youth Outreach Ministry was holding an event on Saturday at 4 pm. I finished the trip with just a couple hours of sleep but I was very excited about the show and got geared up right away to knock out a practice session. Mark Merrix had already arrived the night before and geared up to practice with me, and so did Robbie King. There was a small parade through town just before our 4 o'clock performance which in turn helped bring more people to the show. The bleachers were packed full and tons of screaming fans were lining the barracades for a better view! We kicked things off with some street bike stunts to get things rolling, then worked our way into FMX. The show only allowed for 8 minutes of riding time and we wanted to squeeze as many jumps in as we could for the crowd. Next we slow the tempo down a bit with the quad pile. Thats where Tim rides wheelies with up to nine guys!! Thats right nine guys on one fourwheeler! Its crazy how much weight that thing can support. 

There is a brief sermon that follows the quad pile where we ask people to dedicate their lives to CHRIST. That is the main reason for ZeroGravityOutreach.org ! To give glory to GOD! Usually one of the guys gives their testimony or Tim will do a short sermon then we come in swinging with the Grand Finale where all the bikes go at the same time. Things get a little hectic but we all work together and got it done. We would like to thank Bristol Methodist Church for all their hospitality, we all had a great time and hope to come back again next year! Also a huge thanks to GOD for keeping us safe!!!! GOD BLESS

Dallas County, IA

Our next stop on of this summer schedule brings us to Dallas county fair near Des Moines, Iowa. WI-FMX and Division BMX teaming up again for a Friday night grandstand performance. We arrived thursday evening to set up ramps and get settled into the hotel. Practice began around 2pm, we got the ramps set out to gap and everyone made it through safely. The Division crew showed up around 5pm and got a small set in before the crowds started filing in. The show started off with the National Anthem followed by intros of a few of the new kids that are joining Division BMX. The Freestyle riders came out next with a few warm up jumps and small wheelie session just to get the crowd warmed up. 

The two teams went back and forth with some basic tricks building up to intermission. Directly after intermission is our human foam pit skit where we get some volunteers to lay on the ground and someone bunny hops over them on a BMX bike. It's a great way to kick off the second action packed part of the show. All the riders came out swinging in the second half of the show. The BMX guys were throwing down huge with some tailwhip 360's and decades. The FMX crew was on point nailing huge tricks like the sick shooter and some sweet backflip trains! We finished it all off in the grand finale with side by side trains and flips with the BMX crew. The show was a huge hit and there was talk of bringing back an even bigger show to this fair next year! We would like to thank the Dallas County Fair Board for their hospitality while we were at the event and for having us. Also a huge thanks to GOD for Keeping us safe!!!!! GOD BLESS!

New Brunswick, NJ

I recieved a call from our freinds over at Manuever Motosports that sent me over to New Jersey for 11 days of fun at a youth sports festival. My truck was just being finished up having the new motor put in it the day I was leaving, so this would be the maiden voyage! I drove through the night as far as I could and finished up the drive the next day. It was very windy when I arrived wednesday so we got the ramps set and waited to practice till the next day. 

It was very windy most of the day but right before the first scheduled showtime we managed to get a quick practice session in. The first weekend of shows went off without a hitch, the crowds were sizeable and we got it done,  even though we were battling some pretty tough winds. Monday and Tuesday were both cancled due to the rain. Wednesday came along and we got back into the swing of things. There were many rain warnings but nothing seemed to come of them and we finished off the festival only missing two days due to weather. A huge thanks to GOD for keeping us safe through this one, we had a great time and hope to do it again next year!

Augusta, GA

Evanstown Centre Park sets the scene for Thunder Over Augusta one of our favorite shows. Team FMX was in full effect this last weekend for a Soldier Tribute festival held in Augusta, Georgia. Cody Cavanaugh accompanied Weetle and I down to Georgia to pick up the landing ramp from Durhamtown Plantation, do some bike maintenance, and some practice. We arrived in Augusta Friday afternoon to set up and get a practice session in. Travis Willis from Team FMX came down to announce the show and he also brought his motorcycle to get in a little practice. He hasn't been on a bike in a while and he came back out swinging. We got the ramps stretched out to full show gap and called it good.  

     The next morning we arrived at the venue with enough time to get all the sound equipment set up, hang some banners, and get in a good stretch. People were already lining the fences to get a good spot for the show and the weather was perfect! We started off with a soldier tribute and then worked into some basics to get the crowd warmed up. The kids were screaming their heads off and the parents were to!  Mark was riding awsome, busting big cliff hangers and Cody was on point with his Captain Morgan and Lazyboy's, I followed up with a few flip variations and the whole place was rockin. For the last shows the guys from the fireworks crew added in a little flair with some awsome explosions and fireworks during the backflips. The entire day was a huge success, we got meet and greet with some soldiers, thank them for their service, and take some pics. All in all it was a great time and we can't wait to come back again next year. Big thanks to Donnie and Shane Thompson from Windsor Fine Jewlers for sponsoring the show and Huge thanks to GOD for keeping us safe again!!!! God Bless.

Swainsboro, GA

The 70th annual Pine Tree Festival held in downtown Swainsboro went off without a hitch. Josh Mertens and I drove down to Georgia and picked up our good freind Mark Merrix on the way.  We arrived friday evening to get a look at the area where we would set up for Saturday's events and also got checked into our rooms at the Flat Creek lodge.  If you are an avid hunter or fishermen this is the resort for you! They have 1800 acres of hunting land and multiple large stocked ponds for fishing. The van driver drove us out to out own personal cabin on the lake and we got our own golf carts to tool around on. Its to bad we only got to stay for one night!

Up early on Saturday we headed over to main street to get the ramps set up and practice. The parade was scheduled for 10:30 am so we didn't have much time to get things done. We finished just as the opening ceremonies were getting started, got the ramp pushed off the street and the parade came through. Just after the parade finished we got the ramps set back in place and got ready for the first performance at 12:30. There were huge crowds in attendance and we went out and gave it our all! The kids were screaming as well as the adults and everyone had a great time. We signed some autographs and talked with some fans and by 5pm we were packed up and ready to head back home. We had a great time in Swainsboro and hope to head back to the Pine Tree Festival again next year. Big thanks to Lynn Brinson and Wade Johnson of the Downtown development authority of Swainsboro for having us out to perform! And most of all Thank GOD for keeping us safe!!

Indiantown, FL

Our first show of the year for Travis Willis at Teamfmx.com and it was a long haul! Fifteen hundred miles and twenty five hours later we were in Indiantown Florida. We arrived around 3am Friday morning barely awake, we got the key to our room and finally got some sleep. The next day I met up with Hilary McKeich from the Indiantown Chamber of Commerce and she brought me down to look at the set up area. Mark and I got the ramps set up by mid afternoon, but a storm had moved in fast and it rained most of the night. It was a little breezy, but the sun was out on the day of the event and of course the sandy soil in Florida had soaked up all the rain and it was ready to ride by noon. The shows were scheduled for 1:30 and 3:30pm so we got suited up and knocked out practice. The first show went awsome, there was a nice sized crowd on hand and a lot of kids hanging on the fence to get a glimpse of the action. There were some killer bands in between our shows and the weather was great. Everything went awsome in the second show also, Mark and I finished up with a couple sweet trains and called it a day!

After getting some rest at the hotel we grabbed a quick breakfast and headed home Sunday morning. We drove all day till around 6pm we got just south of Atlanta, Georgia and there was a loud knocking sound that started in the motor of my truck. We pulled over and called my mechanic who advised me to idle down to the next exit, get a hotel for the night, and get it into a shop first thing in the morning to find out what happened to get it fixed and back on the road. I google searched diesel shops and WRB Diesel in Locust Grove, GA was the only one available so I brought it down to them. They pulled the valve cover and oil pan to find the source of the noise. Instead of the noise they found big chunks of metal! Thank GOD for good freinds and family!! Cody Cavanuagh and Josh Mertens from WI-FMX came to the rescue and drove through the night to come and pick up my truck, Mark, and I. My Grandpa was awsome enough to borrow us his gooseneck trailer to haul my truck back and another good freind of mine Geoff Gaskin from wideopencrew.com hauled my landing away to safe keeping. Thanks again to Bill and Hilary McKeich and the Indiantown Chamber of Commerce for giving us this opportunity. Hopefully the Beast will be back up and running in no time and once again all the glory to GOD for getting us home safe!!!

Green Bay, WI

Its good to be doing a show near home with some good freinds. Sick Air FMX was in full effect at this years Monster XL tour at the Brown County Arena. The rider line up included Justin Harris, Mike Keiper, Cody Cavanaugh, Scott Murray, and myself (Ed Rossi). I met up with Scott and the other riders at the arena and proceeded to groom the landing and take off run-ins for practice. Everyone worked together to get the ramps set up and we had a good practice session. This years show included two ramps side by side to one landing ramp. This is definetly one of my favorite show formats because we get to bust tricks simultaneously next to each other while we fly through the air! The Friday night show was a sold out crowd and we killed it!

Saturday starts off with the pit party at 11am for the matinee show and another sold out crowd. The boys were throwing down some of their biggest tricks, Justin was airing out huge KOD's, Cody and Mike were doing side by side seat grabs and Scot and I finished up with some flip trains. Saturday night brought another sold out arena and we all gave it our best. With monster truck freestyle being off the hook and  bigfoot launching off the huge FMX landing, we had the fans out of their seats by the end of the night. Everyone survived and we all had a great time! Big thanks to The GOOD LORD ABOVE for keeping us all safe, and also much appreciation to Scott at sickairfmx.com for inviting us to be part of the show again!

Midland, TX

The next stop on our tour brings us to The Horseshoe Arena in Midland, Texas. The show was scheduled to have one backflipper,(Cody Cavanaugh) and two straight riders, (Scot Murray and I). Friday night was a sold out show and the crowd was really getting into it! The promoter decided to pay a little extra and have all three of us do flips on Saturday and Sunday. This is the first show that all three of us got to do flips together and we were all pumped for it! The shows went awsome, and everyone had a great time. Scot put a small video together from footage he got off his phone. A huge thanks Crash Masters towing for putting this show on and also to GOD for keeping us all safe.

Hildalgo, TX

Literaly a half mile from the border of the Mexico and the United States sets the scene for our next adventure. We met up with our friend Scot Murray from SickAirfmx.com in a small town called Hildalgo, Texas that hosts 5 monster jam shows in one weekend. Another good freind of ours Terry Russell who travelled from Jefferson City, Missouri was also in the house this weekend and I believe this is the first time we have all gotten to do a show together. Practice went well and the weekends first show was set for friday evening with the pit party starting at 6pm. Scots son Eli was available for autographs and pictures as well. 

The shows went off without a hitch, everyone rode really well and we all had a great time! Saturday night we made it out just in time to catch a little supercross action with the monster jam dirt crew. We got to know those guys a bit and learned that the loader operator Justin is actually the owner of Joliet Mx track in Joliet, ILL just a few hours from where I grew up! Check them out at jolietmx.com. I was pumped to meet and hang out with the guys and I even got to run the skid steer helping to clear out the dirt after the show was over. A big thanks to Cody Cavanaugh for hooking us up with this show and couldn't be happier with the way things turned out. Thank GOD for keeping us safe and we will be back next week with some more updates!

Birmingham, AL

We arrived in Birmingham thursday evening with enough time to get the ramp put together and unload the bikes and quads. Charles was scheduled to get to the hotel later that night and he was bringing down my other YZ for me to ride in the show for the following weekend in Hildalgo, TX. The weekends monster jam events included quad freestyle and mini bike races. All together we had a 6' wide takeoff ramp, 3 quads, 3 big bikes, and 3 mini bikes. Our good freind Micah from Division BMX arranged for some local mini bike riders to meet at the arena before the show on friday. The ramps were set and the guys were ready to start practice around 2pm. Josh overjumped a tiny bit on the second move, skidded into the wall and bent his front right A-arm so he was out for friday nights show. I immediatley started calling around to local dealerships to find parts to fix his front end. Charles and Cody finished out the practice session and we found the part we needed and had it overnighted for $100 extra dollars then we met up with the mini bike riders and had a riders meeting. The race was between Team Florida(orange) and Team Alabama (red). Team Alabama came out with the win on friday night, and the rest of the show went awsome and we headed back to the hotel. 

The next morning we waited at the hotel for the package until 10 am but it never came. We left our number with the hotel staff and told them to call if it showed up. We got set up for the pit party and signed some autographs. Both shows saturday went well except for josh's part never showing up and me running my leg over and twisting my ankle in the mini bike race. Team Alabama took the win again. We survived and are thankful to GOD for keeping us safe! And a big thanks to WI-FMX.com for bringing us along for this one.

Union Point, GA

Teaming up with WI-FMX.com we got the new year started of on the right foot with a trip down to Durhamtown Plantation for some much needed practice. The FMX course had been torn down to build an arenacross type track and there was a new landing built for us to ride on. Cody, Josh, and I got the ramps set up and did a little grooming to the new landing, it was still really wet when we arrived so we spent some time grooming on the supercross track MX1 in between our riding sessions. Josh and Cody were scheduled to ride a show the following weekend in Birmingham, AL and Cody was booked as the quad flipper. We got the ramp backed up to full gap and all procedded to get dialed in. The temperatures were very low and got lower as the week went on. We rode the freshly groomed track and I blew up the motor in my 2010 yz, Cody busted a few flips and we called it good.