Nitro Circus plans Farmington visit, previews Events Center tour stop

RIO RANCHO — Grab onto your handlebars, New Mexico.

Ahead of their “Off The Trails” World Tour stop in Rio Rancho on Nov. 30, Nitro Circus will be performing free BMX stunt shows in the Farmington area.

In partnership with Genuine Dickies, the shows will take place in several Walmart parking lots in the area from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 30.

Show MC Micah Kranz insists the “Free Freakin’ Show” is not just another street performance, with the BMX showcase including super ramps that are over three stories tall.

“It is the biggest jump you’ll ever see a bicycle hit, and that’s what’s cool about it,” Kranz said. “People are just going in for their normal groceries, and then they see some guy doing double back flips in the corner of the parking lot, and by showtime, the place is packed.”

Saturday’s parking lot preview is the lead-up to Nitro’s tour, where they will open in Australia before heading to North America. Being held at the Events Center, Nitro Circus makes sure to use up every square inch of its nightly arena.

“We’ve got dirt bikes jumping 75 feet. Sometimes they jump five or six stories into the air,” said show MC Micah Kranz said. “We’ve had a lot of trouble with indoor arenas where we hit the ceiling on the ladder. It’s really an awe-inspiring performance, to say the least.”

Nitro Circus got its start when FMX legend Travis Pastrana created a video series of stunts and tricks back in the late 1990s. The video series’ success quickly turned into a live tour around 2010, and the circus has been rolling on ever since.

While the tour hits bigger cities such as San Diego and Vancouver, Kranz says a smaller town, such as Rio Rancho, often makes for a better environment.

“I think they (Rio Rancho residents) appreciate it more. I like going to these types of venues. I like to go to Rio Rancho, because the kids who are there love it,” Kranz said. “They appreciate that someone’s going out of their way to get to them, whereas you go to these big cities; they’ve seen it 100 times. It’s hard to get their attention.”

While Nitro Circus has performed at venues in New Mexico, such as University Stadium in Albuquerque, the “Off The Rails” tour promises to bring a different caliber of show for their first time in the City of Vision.

“No one has bigger show ramps. When we build our ramps, Rio Rancho will be the mecca of action sports in the entire world, because nowhere else on earth is there going to be a ramp that sends riders to that high of a point,” Kranz said. “So it’s kind of neat that every place we set up, we set another world record.”

Tickets are still available at rioranchoeventscenter.com for the history-making night Nov. 30.

“If you want to see something you’ve never seen before, this is the only show in the world that’s going to offer something like that,” Kranz said.