They fly forty feet into the air, riding modified motorbikes, daring to do crazy tricks, all for our enjoyment!
They are Freestyle Motocross (FMX), and they will entertain during the first night of the Inter-State Fair in Coffeyville!
Fans will enjoy seeing cliff hangers, heel clickers, nac nacs, the lazy boy, the Superman back flip, the kiss of death, and more tricks and stunts that the FMX riders will do!
The ten riders who will be in Coffeyville are X-Game and Nitro Circuit competitors, including Nate Adams, one of the top FMX riders in the world. The 2002 FMX World Champion, Adams will bring his talent to the Inter-State Fair.
The event in Coffeyville is a competition among the riders. They will compete for the best trick and the best whip, with the crowd judging by applause. The riders “can get the crowd involved, pumped up, and be the winner,” said, Marc Burnett, organizer of the Freestyle Motocross Tour that will come to Coffeyville.
A professional off-road racer, Burnett has been touring the nation with the FMX show for the past twenty-some years, and he’s still impressed with the tricks that the bikers come up with. “The new guys coming out are doing crazy stunts,” he said. “Anything that is upright, you’ll see upside down. Every year, it gets crazier and crazier.”
In Coffeyville, Adams will be riding an electric bike, which is environmentally friendly. The bike rides as well as a gas-powered bike but requires the rider to make a few modifications. “It has more instant power,” Burnett said, “and it comes out at the beginning really hard. Adams doesn’t need as much runway and doesn’t have to worry about the bike dying in the air.”
There’s no room for error, Burnett said, for the FMX bikers in Coffeyville. Their jumps are 75 feet in distance, forty feet in height, and the bikers are landing on a steel landing platform. “You crash on that,” Burnett said, “and you’re not walking away. It’s a hard hit.”
And there’s nothing like seeing it in person, he said. “People see it on TV, but to see it live, you can’t compare the two. The speed, the noise ,the whole atmosphere.” He looks forward to the Inter-State Fair. “It’s going to be crazy. We’ll be putting on a good show for the fans. We want them to have a good time.”
FMX at the Inter-State Fair is August 14, beginning at 7:30 pm. Gates open at 6 pm. Tickets are $15 for general admission, $25 for Chutes B and C seats, and $30 for Chutes A. Tickets can be purchased online at www.FairAndRodeo.com, at the Coffeyville Area Chamber of Commerce, and at the gate. A complete schedule of fair events can be found online. For more information, visit the website or call the Coffeyville Area Chamber of Commerce at 620.251.2550.
