A while ago we checked in with you to see who was going to the big TV events in the USA. Cathy responded and said she was going to Portland for the Dew Tour stop there. We arranged a press pass for her to get a bit closer to the action. Here's part one of her report:

Dew Day 1: Media Day
We arrived at the Rose Garden at about 12pm and found our way to the Media Room and got our credentials and the press packet. Inside the Press Packet as all the media releases from the past tour stop as

Ryan Nyquist, 26, from Los Gatos, Calif., clinched his win in BMX Park Finals with a run that included a suicide no-hander to barspin backflip. Nyquist edged Scotty Cranmer of Jackson, N.J., with a score of 92.75. Cranmer scored a 92.50, while Ryan Guettler, the Vans® Invitational BMX Dirt winner, finished third with a 92.00.

“With athletes like these in the competition I couldn’t just sit back, I had to go for it,â€? Nyquist said. “It was a rough start to the season, I’m happy to finally have my first win on the Tour.â€?

BMX PARK Final Results

ORDER LAST FIRST HOMETOWN RUN 1 RUN 2 RESULT
1 Nyquist Ryan Los Gatos, CA 92.75 84.75 92.75
2 Cranmer Scotty Jackson, NJ 92.50 86.75 92.50
3 Guettler Ryan Brisbane, AUS 92.00 81.75 92.00

August 18, 2005 - Portland, OR - Ryan Guettler, 22, from Brisbane, AUS, took the overall lead in points at the Rose Garden Friday evening with his second consecutive first place finish in BMX Dirt Finals. He currently has 237 points in the overall Dew Action Sports Tour standings. Guettler also finished first at the second stop of the Dew Action Sports Tour, the Right Guard Open.

Guettler’s best run of the evening included a 360 off the start ramp, followed by a front flip and a tailwhip 360. His final score, an average of his best two of three runs, was a 94.13.

The two-time BMX Dirt winner was pleased with his victory at the Vans® Invitational. “I’m just all nerves right now; I’m so excited to pull out this win,â€? said Guettler.

We're receiving these official press releases at FATBMX about the Dew tour. We're posting those while we're waiting for the report from our FATBMX contributor Cathy that you can expect after the weekend.

August 18, 2005 - Portland, OR - Jamie Bestwick, 34, from Nottingham, GBR, wowed the crowd at the Rose Quarter’s Memorial Coliseum Thursday evening with a run featuring an arsenal of tricks during BMX Vert Finals. Bestwick executed some of the most technical tricks BMX has ever seen to take first place at his second appearance on the Dew Action Sports Tour. He also finished in first place at the Tour’s Right Guard Open last month. Bestwick currently sits in second place in the Dew Action Sports Tour points standings with 200 total points.

It was Bestwick’s first of two runs that stole the show and scored a 92.50. That run was highlighted by impressive downside tailwhip flair into a 540.

Al Dimino sent in a report about the Animal jam that happened last weekend and promotes his own jam at the same time. We're fine with that.

I was at the animal jam yesterday in NYC and it was packed with riders. A great turn out and show of support for bmx and animalbikes. I rode the banks for a while and then headed out to Brooklyns owls head park to try to beat the heat. A 95 degree day was causing us to break a sweat just standing. I was with my good friend Ricky Ratt Vigil from so-cal who is visiting for the summer and being his first time in the big apple we toured the big apple and showed him some sites. Rick enjoyed being at the jam and riding owls head park for sure.

With Achim Kujawski organizing the Verthaus jam in Germany and Simon Tabron doing the Spin Like Hell vert weekend in England, it was time for Peter Geys to invite the vert riders for a weekend of halfpipe riding. The weekend was named Garden Of Vert as Peter's ramp is sitting in his backyard. The garden was prepped to the max and Peter had made sure that there was something for everyone. He rented an air castle for the kids and made sure the beer was flowing all weekend. Respect to Peter and his crew for the set-up, it was amazing.

Friday evening saw the HARO High Air contest. 6 riders entered from 5 different countries. German Tim Eichert was riding with a collarbone that was not healed completely (5 weeks) and was just cruising the ramp getting a solid 4 feet with the lowest part of the bike. Sander Nieuwenhuis from Holland went higher with every run he did. He started off in the 4 foot range but ended up going 6 feet plus when the session ended for 5th. 4th place was for a very stylish brakeless rider from Switzerland who listens to the name of Jean-Marie Baertsch.

The garden is groomed to perfection, the beer is flowing and the ramp is ready to be ridden. Everthing seems to be working out for the backyard halfpipe contest at Peter Geys' in Overpelt, Belgium. The FATBMX crew will be present all weekend so expect some updates if we can handle the Jupiler beer.

Tonight will see the HARO high air contest with riders from Finland, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland and Germany. Tomorrow will be the actual European Vert Cup contest and Sunday will be the DC best trick contest. There are parties planned in the garden every night so there is no reason not to come over.

Check out the pics of the set-up and we hope to drink a Jupiler or two with you this weekend.

For more information and directions, visit www.gardenofvert.com.

BdJ

The Dirt contest at the FISE was one of the better ones so far. It was pitch dark at night but there was little wind. The extra lamps that were connected at the last minute made for a good view for the riders and the spectators. When the crowd has been drinking for a few hours, they really like to make some noise. The vibe was good when the pros lined up for a straight final with 3 jumps counting out of 4.

Alejandro Caro from Columbia was a late entry to the event but he made his presence count. Telling from the Columbian KOD report he made for FATBMX, the level over there is sky high. Alejandro took care of business straight away with a great first run on the two biggest sets. His jumps included tailwhips, flips, barspins, 360-s and combinations of all of them. He was a clear winner of the Dirt contest and a happy man with the cash.

During the NokiaFISE flatland finals I was either working at the internet cafe, in the hotel pool or chilling at the beach. I was sure missing the presence of the Flatland Ninja to make a report for FATBMX.com.

The contest took place at the same asphalt spot as previous years and the grandstands were full with people appreciating flatland BMX.

This time we are going to make a photo + results report of the flatland class. You should have been there yourself anyway.

BdJ

Pro Flatland results:

It must be great for magazine editors to look at the web and read about what happened over the weekend. The websites write the reports with a trick list and an opinion that maybe the magazine editors follow. The web pics might remind the magazine editors about the hotter tricks that took place or gives them an indication of who did what.

Well, this FISE report is rather late for website standards. This probably means that some of the editors did not have the back up stories they usually have to help write the report. Oh damn! Let's make a photo report out of it where each photo tells a thousand words. that will do.

I'm thinking about doing the same thing with the street contest. I'll post the results and put some pics up. You guys can see who made the finals and if you study the photos you will notice that the street course had a completely new design. When the obstacles look small in the pictures it's not because of the lenses used. They were on the small side but riders like Joe Riley and Alex Valentino busted big airs anyway.

The vert contest at the FISE has never really been the best ever. When it was indoors (Zenith) and the ramp was good (Vertical) it made for a better contest but lately it has been the less than perfect FISE ramp in windy conditions. The ramp this year was not layered in skatelite as promised but in 5 mm plywood. With the World Cup Skateboard contest scheduled for after the BMX vert comp, the skaters were fearing every crash the BMX-ers would make. A peg would go straight through the ramp and it happened three times. Rolling over a hole with a 20" wheel is less dangerous than with a skatewheel so the BMX vert contest could go on.

With prize money on the line for 7 people the vert class did see some not so regular faces. Place 5 - 8 was filled with riders who usually take it to the street but with some pocket money available for some 4 foot airs and some grinds, they went ahead and entered the comp.

What a good event we had in Cali, being the 4th edition of the King of dirt, the show was even better than the years before, the level is sky high, every time it is harder to get on the podium and there is never a sure winner, which gives it more expectation.

The rookie class was really hard, there was a mid size double next to the last set of the pro section and the riders managed to do some crazy transfers and we could see the “novice� riders do whips, 360s, all kind of flips, I think 60% of the riders of this class had the skills to ride in expert, so maybe next year we will see them stepping things up.

In expert class anyone could win it, you can notice that these guys have been riding hard, and we saw it with all the different type of tricks they did; flip X-ups, truck drivers and whips on every set, that means that for next year the pro class will get bigger.

Mirra Returns With A Vengeance; Shakes of opening-night slam for Gold in Park

LOS ANGELES - If there were any after effects from Dave Mirra's opening-night slam at X Games 11, they weren't evident in Saturday afternoon's BMX Freestyle Park finals.

The Miracle Boy has only left the X Games without a gold medal around his neck twice in his previous 10 appearances. Make that twice in 11 appearances after he delivered a knockout punch to his competition on his first run with a score of 89.33 that was highlighted by a Backflip Tailwhip over the spine and a Double Tailwhip and claimed his 14th career gold - 19th medal overall.

Gold did not pay off..

Another year for the X Games here in Los Angeles...as I head out on the busy freeways of Southern California to see the Finals of BMX Vert....which was promising, considering Mirra needed to make up for last year. This is something he had in mind when you could spot Mirra from a mile away with his 24K Gold Plated bike!!! For the old skool buffs out there, they might recall Woody's 24k gold Trickstar from back in the day, but this was Mirra's way of saying that he wanted it bad...

LOS ANGELES - Just call it the Camp Woodward sweep...

Because in Thursday night's X Games 11 BMX Freestyle Vert final the trio of Jamie Bestwick, Chad Kagy and Kevin Robinson showed that there is more to a sleepy town in State College, Pa. than its college football team.

Bestwick earned his third gold in Vert - he and Dave Mirra have swept the past nine Vert finals - and Kagy and Robinson, his training partners from the Woodward Camp, finished second and third, respectively.

The long-awaited showdown between Mirra, BMX's Miracle Man, and Bestwick never materialized, however, as a Mirra crash during run No. 1 forced him and his gold-plated bike to withdraw from the competition and put off the quest for his 19th X Games medal to another day.