The NEW Knight Rider!

Well, my little buddy Georgie Fechter from Masters of Dirt in Austria called me and mentioned that he was putting together a car to drive the rally and asked if I wanted to drive some of it.  Before i even found out it was KITT, I said yes I would drive some if my schedule allowed it.  Then he mentioned that he was going to do it in one of the original Knight Rider cars, I told myself I HAD to do it.  unfortunately I was only able to drive 1 day due to my crazy schedule, b ut let me tell you, I made the most of it.  The MOD crew allowed me to drive the 2nd days leg from LA to San Diego.  I showed up in Hollywood the night before I got to drive and coincidentally ran into the MOD/Fuel Girls crew just 200ft from the 101 and Hollywood Blvd split, where KIT decided to take a siesta.  I was treated to helping push the 1982 Trans Am almost 2.5 miles to the rendezvous point near all the tourist crap.  I figured the next day would be a hell of an adventure and I wasn't disappointed!  The first drive to checkpoint 1 was cake from Hollywood to Huntington Beach, but once we left the beach it was a mad dash south to the next checkpoint in Carlsbad, CA about 70 miles away.  I found myself sitting behind KIT doing around 120 in the middle of at least 15-20 luxurious sportscars.  It was insane to say the least.  by the time we wheeled into Downtown San Diego, KIT was on his last strut.  I think the HOFF has been replaced by the REN-Diesel! (yes I just gave myself a nickname, hahaha)  I cant wait to do it again next year!  And hopefully for at least a couple more days.

drive on...rr

Hooked on Making Vids

New Video.... I'm hooked!

seriously, I can't get enough of my GoPro.  I have so much footage already that I don't know where to start.  So, naturally i went back to my favorite gig of the Summer.  It was a lot of trial, error and straight up time to make it to 59' 2" on that darn 1/4pipe .... And about exactly the same amount of mental effort went into editing this video up.  I know its a bit cheeseball, but I'm happy with it.  Let me know what you think!..

rr

 http://www.vimeo.com/1614790

One Crazy Summer!

No time to start chatting, but I was messing around on a flight the other day and made this little poster up.  I figure its a good stall tactic!  I think the term "One Crazy Summer" sums it up. Also, take a gander at this link to see the progress of the GoPro Hero cam.  I'm having so much fun with the thing! http://www.vimeo.com/1518764

RR

rr

OVERWHELMED

Wow....... Thats really all I can say right now.  It's been a week and a half since the Red Bull Experiment and it seems like I haven't found a second to rest (besides my 20 hours of travel to and from Madrid for the Red Bull X-Fighters).  X-Games is in a week and a half and I am entered in 3 events; Best Whip, Step-Up and Speed & Style.  I have been working my butt off.  Thanks to my mechanic Andy Dalton, aka Drinky B, things are going way smoother than previous episodes of me multitasking myself into insanity.  

I guess I'm still on cloud nine a bit from the experiment on July 11th.  The night went 100% perfect as far as the ride went.  I do wish my little guys could have been there, but it wasn't in the cards I guess.....  The coolest thing to me besides going way past my projected goal, was that it actually went exactly like I had envisioned time and time over again in my head.  

I have to make sure and say thanks to Red Bull for making this a reality and all of the crew that did a killer and reliable job on Set-up.  From Dane Herron industries, Freeride Technology, Jack Murphy Productions, the 20k+ fans and locals that I hope are now fans and even to the cute little Red Bull girlies running around breaking hearts and pumping up the product.  Thank for your support and hard work to make things go off absolutely perfect.

RR

Obama Supports Renner

Throttle Entertainment vid

Red Bull You Tube Vid

GoPro Hero Cam!!!!!! 

Preppin up for the BIG SHOW!

Well, I'm only 3 nights out from what will possibly be one of the biggest nights of my career.

I guess I'm getting a little nervous now.  I've been to the venue and scoped out the build.  I'm totally blown away at how massive this ramp looks on the Santa Monica Pier!  This is totally right up Red Bulls alley when it comes to uniqueness and superior commitment to a project.  I'm in awe that all of this is based around me.  

All in all though, I am super exited to make history Friday night.  

I've attached a personal teaser video that I though yallz might enjoy.  It's from my 2nd to last practice session.  FYI, the last practice session went even better!

Big thanks to the entire squad for making this Experiment happen, especially with such a short notice!

Wish me some luck already!

rr

Into Africa

It's been a wild Summer so far.  Between the preparation for the Red Bull Experiment on July 11th and X-Fighters Texas (which has come and gone with a so/so performance on my part), I decided to stick to my word and head down to South Africa for the biggest FMX show ever brought to the original "Dirty South".  Besides getting sick and having to ride a sub-par bike, i was pumped on the Masters of Dirt show and the people of South Africa.

My good friend Jason "Party" Moriarty led the show as well as the babysitting club for all of us foreigners.  As you can probably see by the pics, the Safari was the highlight!  By some coincidence, we lucked out and got a private tour by the "Lion Park" park Ranger.  I'm pretty darn busy catching up since the trip, so I can't go on and on, but hopefully the pics help tell the story.

Until next time.. RR Out!

Putting in the work.

It's a good feeling to put in some hard work and long hours.  Honestly, in all of my years of FMX, I haven't really applied myself to much of a training program.  As of the last couple weeks, I can no longer say that.  I have been on my bike(s) putting in a lot of time and effort for this Summer.  The cat has been out of the bag for a while now as to the fact that I am retiring from FMX comps and my goal is to go out on a good note.  To me, that doest mean by winning, just by putting in a solid ride and Entertaining the fans like I always have tried to do.  

The Summer has arrived quick.  And with this busy and hectic schedule, I suppose it will come and go really fast.  Even when the Fall comes around, I have a pretty busy itinerary.  Thats not a bad thing I guess.  Minus the fact that I miss some quality time with my Kids, it is always good to have some job security, especially in this day and age.  its crazy out there.  I hope one day my little guys realize that.

So I'll wrap it up I guess.  I've got an early morning and a hectic few days ahead of me before I head to Texas for the first ever Red Bull X-Fighters in the USA!  look out Summer, here I come!

rr

Newsletter

It's been a wild couple of weeks.

Howdy folks, sorry to have been slipping a bit on the bloggage.  Since the bogus call at the MotoX championships, i have taken a little breather from the ramps and jumps in order to get a second wind and get fired up for what I hope to be my best Summer yet.

May 3rd was a cool day for me as i got the opportunity to wrench for my son Nate at the KTM KJSC race during the Las Vegas Supercross.  Even though he was a bit intimidated, Nate really did an awesome job in the race and passed a few kids to take 10th.  I was so proud of the little guy.  He really did amazing, especially for never riding.  I have been around the KJSC rig many times but never really realized how awesome of a job the entire crew does.  much respect and thanks from the Renner camp!

Well. after Vegas SX, things got pretty wild..... Well, wild is probably not the best word to describe my last few days.  Insane may be a bit better.  How about Psychotic?.... I'm not exactly sure how to describe a trip with the Nitro Circus crew these days.  Obviously, that is what I am getting to, as i just returned home from an out of hand few days in the middle of one of the worlds most beautiful lakes, Lake Powell, which borders Utah and Arizona.  To make a long story short, let me say that you will not be disapointed when Thrillbillies Doublewide comes out later this year.  I can't even begin to describe the things I witnessed in my days at the lake. TP truly is a MadMan possessed and now has a complete army of possessed accomplices running around and participating right by his side.  I chose to bail early to ensure no physical harm!

Chugging along and getting hosed along the way

Hey Yallz'. I have to be quick cause I'm strapped for time, but I wanted to check in and let everyone know that I made it back safe from the GRO tour and Pinned it straight to the Moto-X Championships in San Diego to put in some lackluster rides and take home a 2nd in Speed + Style as well as a bogus and in my opinion, incomplete 2nd in the Step Up comp.

The Great Ride Open season 2 ended up turning out quite alright even with Mother Nature trying to torture us at every stop.  I'm confident the folks @ OneEyedBird Productions will put together an amazing 6 episodes from the trip!  It was a great time, but I can't help but feel like I enjoyed the 1st seasons trip better.  The weather was the main factor regulating our good times and goofiness around the fire.  However, we made the best of it and had a killer time.  Keep your eyes and ears pen for it on Fuel later this year!

After only spending 1 day home regrouping, I headed to San Diego for the 1st Moto-X World Championships.  What a unique experience to say the least.  My boy Dane Herron and crew built a spectacle of a course/track that had to be seen to believed.  My weekend went so so.

Here is a post I put up on FreestyleMTX.com regarding my situation at the Moto-X Championships in San Diego this past weekend where I really go the short end of the stick during the final moments of the Step-Up comp:

I lost on a freegin COIN TOSS. Plain and Simple.  I respect the fact that we are given the opportunity to have the event and all, but if it is BS, what's the point?  I was actually really pumped that it was thinning down the way it did. i would have much rather gotten beat buy Matt than RC. I like and respect all of those guys i'm riding with,..... Props to him for getting over the bar, but I would not have wanted to take the win like that and I feel like being a person who believes in fair competition and also a person not intimidated by corporate BS, If if our roles were reversed, I would have not accepted the win until the other guy got his fair shake (maybe I am just stubborn like that).....I am not mad at Matt, but I am furious with ESPN and the organizers. I did not get beat. I got shafted. I am 110% confident that i could have cleared that height easily with 5 more feet of run in ant the poles being held back like he did. I didn't even get the opp. That event is my livelihood and to them they just wanted us off of the course asap...Corporate BS.

RC was going high, but he got out of control and wadded up, so if anyone thinks he should have won, suck it. i could have pinned it harder, looped out and cleared the bar only to sketch out on the sub-par landing. It was a competition, get over it. It sucks that he couldn't do his second jump and sucks even worse that he got busted up.

I cannot wait for Summer X. If I'm invited.

Great Ride Open 60% done....:(

Well, so far so good on the filming of the second season of Red Bull and Fuel TV's hit series, "The Great Ride Open".  I have once again been put on the road with a swell crew of peeps in search of the next perfect day of riding.  Drake McElroy, Tommy Clowers, rookie Lance Coury and Myself along with some cameos from Jeff Tilton, Tarah Geiger and Myles Richmond are the riders involved with this seasons filming.  Choosing to hit some less popular spots this year has for sure been an adventure in itself.  We started the tour with Gordon's Well (South of Glamis), then shot up to Dumont Dunes for a wild wind filled experience.  After the dunes, the caravan blew right past vegas in route to Caineville, Utah for some guaranteed thrills on our third and most popular stop.  After some great riding at Caineville, we ripped over to a new spot and were shown an amazing new playground in the foothills near Grand Junction, Colorado.  I don't have any riding pics to post, but hopefully you'll dig the shots I took during my downtime! I'll do a recap next week along with some action shots (i hope)!

Pura Vida Mang

I just got back from the circus... Nitro Circus that is!  This stop was a real drag let me tell ya, we were "forced" to head down to Costa Rica.  Yeah, paradise it was a difficult choice to make the trek to Paradise.  I don't even know where to start, but I'll try.

Red Bull mastermind and friend Hayes Wheeless teamed up with TP and the Nitro Circus leaders Greg Godfrey and Jeremy Rawle with a wild plan for some unique and beautiful locations for the next installment of the "Travis and the Nitro Circus" series.  I can't share all the details in order maintain some surprise and anticipation for the release, but i have to say that I am confident that the next vid will not disappoint.  Travis, Jolene, Jim, Kenny, Andy Bell, Godfrey, Tenacious J (Tenacio on this trip), Base Jumper "Plamer" and myself, as well as my boys/videographers Donny and Party Marty, were treated like superstars by the Red Bull crew all week.  We had an amazing time chilling with the entire Red Bull Costa Staff.  It actually made leaving a bit sad for all of us.

Jim DeChamp was the star of the trip.  Like I said, I can't elaborate, but Jim managed to survive the week after a few brushes with near disaster.  (just a hint, never let Jim borrow your Rhino, especially in front of 20k Supercross fans an a fully blown SX track)!

As for myself, I really didn't accomplish as much as I was hoping, but I got in a few great rides in the rain Forest and met some really cool people! Big thanks again, to the Entire Red Bull Costa Rica Staff and Hayes' Red Bull latin America crew!

Ok, I am slammed trying to get ready for the next Season of 'The Great Ride Open', so I'm ghost.   Late!

RR

Uh oh, another little hobby, I got a camera.

Just what I needed, another toy.  Yup, I got a camera, nothing super gnar, but a descent little Canon.  I figured it would be rad to try and document stuff a bit better than I have been through my life and even more so in the amazing days and years of my boys' lives.

I've luckily learned some of the tricks of the trades through some of my photographer buddies so I think I am doing ok.  But seriously though, I have gotten a lot more respect this first week for them because it is pretty tough to get those money shots.  I feel like it could get pretty addicting, so I'm planning to keep the battery charged so that I can score more shots for the blog updates.

I put up shots of my kids, the RR ranch and a few shots of my KTM teammates from Supermoto, Kurt Nicoll, Troy Herfoss and Chris Fillmore.

Lemme know what ya think!

rr