Comments on: Bike Parkour

Bike Parkour

By The Grace of God — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 13:42:52 -0800

Bike Parkour. Exactly what it says on the tin.

By: aheckler

aheckler — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 13:45:10 -0800

For those of you who are bound to ask what the soundtrack is, it's "The Funeral" by Band of Horses.

By: box

box — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 13:51:22 -0800

Since trials predates parkour, maybe it would be better to call parkour 'foot trials,' or perhaps 'extreme walking' or something.

By: UbuRoivas

UbuRoivas — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 13:52:22 -0800

Is there some kind of unemployment crisis in Edinburgh? Just wondering.

By: milarepa

milarepa — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 13:53:32 -0800

For those of you who are bound to ask what the soundtrack is, it's "The Funeral " by Band of Horses. For some reason, most likely a telling psychological one, I inserted the word "fuckers" into this comment as I read it for the first time, as in "For those of you fuckers who are bound to ask what the soundtrack is, it's "The Funeral " by Band of Horses." Problems, I might have them.

By: padraigin

padraigin — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 13:53:46 -0800

I thought it was beautiful. Like ballet. I'd have to be fourteen to try to do it, but not to appreciate it.

By: friendlyjuan

friendlyjuan — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 13:53:49 -0800

That was pretty incredible, especially the part where he wedged the bike between the wall and the bike rack. Thanks for posting.

By: Tomorrowful

Tomorrowful — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 13:54:04 -0800

Could definitely use some better editing and a better soundtrack choice. Still: Pretty damn impressive.

By: aheckler

aheckler — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 13:56:35 -0800

For some reason, most likely a telling psychological one, I inserted the word "fuckers" into this comment I think it's because my usernmame has the suggestive "ck" in it, so that you unconsciously read "heckler" as "fucker" without realizing what you did. You probably still have problems though.

By: Skorgu

Skorgu — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:00:14 -0800

Put. The fisheye. Down. I hate because I love. Or something

By: Pantengliopoli

Pantengliopoli — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:00:19 -0800

I'd have to be fourteen to drop off a two story building onto a sidewalk on my bicycle... but god damn that's some cool stuff. Trials riding is always impressive and I love the creative "urban riding".

By: filthy light thief

filthy light thief — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:01:21 -0800

Between this post, Riding the Wall of Death, competitive pole dancing, and a society of "natural" ultra-marathoners, I feel exceedingly stationary and boring. All the same, thanks! But ditto the editing gripe - why do stunt videographers love the fish eye lens so very much?

By: Mister_A

Mister_A — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:01:42 -0800

Among the many things I can't believe he did, I can't believe how effortlessly he tail-whipped that big bike.

By: Burhanistan

Burhanistan — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:02:21 -0800

That brought me out of my jaded, seen-it-all blasé attitude and had many jaw-drops where there would usually be a silent meh. "Sick" is a good word.

By: dog food sugar

dog food sugar — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:02:21 -0800

Wow I really liked this. Thanks! The drops at the end made me gasp a bit. I'd be one of those people peering off the ledge wondering did I really just see that guy ride his bike off there.

By: fire&wings

fire&wings — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:04:40 -0800

The music was too emo, needs more Andrew WK. That said, pretty damn impressive.

By: unSane

unSane — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:06:25 -0800

Stunningly good trials riding. Finally someone to give Ryan Leech a run for his money.

By: ardgedee

ardgedee — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:07:31 -0800

> I'd have to be fourteen to drop off a two story building onto a sidewalk on my bicycle... ...without breaking every bone in my body ... > ... but god damn that's some cool stuff. Trials riding is always impressive and I love the creative "urban riding". Heh. I kid. Even at fourteen I'd probably faceplant from fifteen meters up and break every bone in my body anyway. This guy's an artist.

By: Ramo

Ramo — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:09:47 -0800

So impressive, the back flip especially. Thing is, he makes it look too easy!

By: dirtdirt

dirtdirt — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:10:03 -0800

Yeah, I'm sure there must be a newer word that describes that, because all the ones I find myself reaching for (Ill? Sick? Bent? Uh, fly?) are too elderly to be quite right. Really cool.

By: ZakDaddy

ZakDaddy — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:10:22 -0800

Holy wow, that was amazing.

By: UbuRoivas

UbuRoivas — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:11:30 -0800

snarking aside, that was pretty fucking impressive. i'm scared to think how many bumps & bruises & broken bones & bikes it would've taken to achieve that. also, the soundtrack was perfect, but maybe that's because it happens to be my favourite Band of Horses song.

By: Thorzdad

Thorzdad — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:12:26 -0800

Dude was impressive. Loved the music. That was one sturdy bike, too. Dude really thrashed it.

By: CheshireCat

CheshireCat — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:13:00 -0800

I can't remember the last video I saw that elicited this level of nervous stunned laughter for someone's safety as they performed. Absolutely amazing.

By: elwoodwiles

elwoodwiles — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:14:02 -0800

Awesome. Simply awesome. I wasted my youth on 1080.

By: bitmage

bitmage — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:17:19 -0800

Oh man. I'm so glad I didn't see this video when I was eight. I would have killed myself trying to emulate some of those stunts.

By: jessamyn

jessamyn — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:18:23 -0800

[comments removed - early thread shitting considered harmful and possibly the work of teenagers.]

By: Roach

Roach — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:20:30 -0800

Thanks for the cleanup, jessamyn. This was a great post and didn't need that stuff. Great post, incredible riding, great music. Three thumbs up!

By: cortex

cortex — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:21:08 -0800

Yeah, I saw this earlier today and was just knocked right the fuck out by it. Really stunning stuff. This guy bikes better than I walk.

By: You Should See the Other Guy

You Should See the Other Guy — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:22:34 -0800

Excellent rider but he should get the people who made this video to shoot his next one. Camera work to match his riding skill level.

By: netbros

netbros — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:23:08 -0800

Filmed over the period of a few months in and around Edinburgh... Cool stuff Grace. Nice find. I suspect the schadenfreude money shots are the ones we don't see though. More than a few bruises were collected to produce that finished video no doubt.

By: abc123xyzinfinity

abc123xyzinfinity — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:25:10 -0800

I have to disagree with the critiques about the "editing" (is that the same thing as the "direction" in this context?) I thought the shots were all appropriately dramatic, with some interesting follow-thru after the tricks were pulled off. If I had to guess why fish-eye is so popular, I would say that it speeds up the action and makes the rider look like he or she is moving faster than they actually are.

By: By The Grace of God

By The Grace of God — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:25:29 -0800

Here ya go, netbros.

By: abc123xyzinfinity

abc123xyzinfinity — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:33:18 -0800

Excellent rider but he should get the people who made this video to shoot his next one. Ok I just watched that video and I understand how the camerawork and editing are more sophisticated (is it also film?), but I don't think that approach lends itself to showing off the tricks. I found the original post to be much more interesting and engaging, because there wasn't a layer of production values gloss coating the entire thing. The fancy video just tries too hard, and I just want to see the tricks. If you spend too much time thinking about the shots themselves, it feels like missing the point. Or maybe just going in another direction entirely?

By: mrt

mrt — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:34:11 -0800

This is what us California kids used to do in the 1970s before skateboards got all cool. By "this" I mean bunnyhops and that tail-flick move into garbage cans.

By: srboisvert

srboisvert — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:37:47 -0800

Eventually, the rubber bones of youth are replaced with the calcified breakable bones of adulthood. Then all you get to do is marvel at the freedom of youth and know that sometime soon those kids have a shitload of real pain coming their way and there is no way you can tell them that they will hear.

By: Lacking Subtlety

Lacking Subtlety — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:38:28 -0800

Great stuff. A really talented guy and I'm surprised I haven't seen him yet. Great video too. But as for the whole "parkour" comment... I don't know, my friends and I have been pretty much calling this "freestyle bmx" since we were about 8. As has the rest of the world. Apologies for the snark.

By: defenestration

defenestration — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:38:58 -0800

Absolutely amazing. Thanks for posting.

By: geos

geos — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:53:45 -0800

eponysterical? how many hospital visits were made in the course of the making of this video?

By: quin

quin — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:54:30 -0800

I have an observation; if you are capable of effortlessly leaping your full sized bike on top of a wall and then balancing it as you ride on top of a iron fence, 1.) you have astonishing balance 2.) you are more athletic than I ever have been or will be, and 3.) because of 1 and 2, I am filled with envy and sort of hate you. Still, very cool stuff.

By: TedW

TedW — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 15:08:40 -0800

...I am filled with envy and sort of hate you. Don't worry, you can always trump him by having kids; I hope he is wearing a cup during some of those stunts. Very cool, though. You can also do the same things with a motorcycle.

By: filthy light thief

filthy light thief — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 15:08:41 -0800

... soon those kids have a shitload of real pain coming their way and there is no way you can tell them that they will hear. I don't think I want to tell them. If nothing else, for the vicarious living I can do in these few minutes, and for the fact they look like they're having a LOT of fun. You can be old and broken for the rest of your life, but freedom from the fear of consequences (or the amazing belief in your own abilities, or whatever it is that propels these people ahead) only lasts so long, though it looks like Danny MacAskill is past his teens.

By: Sys Rq

Sys Rq — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 15:15:31 -0800

Wow. What's great about parkour, though, is the idea of one continuous line. Learn the skills, apply them anywhere. Freerunning. It seems almost useful--worth learning. This, on the other hand, is all bit-by-bit, one trick at a time, work it out just to capture it on video. Most of the tricks just seem like showy hotdogging without much practical use. The bit where he gets his buddy to hoist the bike onto that awning? Probably could've cut that. Now, if the tricks were all strung together in one long take, or even edited together to look like they were real-time, then I'd be blown away. As-is, though, I'm merely very impressed.

By: docpops

docpops — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 15:19:22 -0800

Speaking as someone in their forties with the balance of a palsied penguin, that was mind-blowingly fun to watch. Thanks.

By: bl1nk

bl1nk — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 15:46:37 -0800

as some folks mentioned Ryan Leech, here's an excerpt of him riding in Prague from The Collective's video for Seasons

By: maxwelton

maxwelton — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 15:48:32 -0800

I started at "meh" but ended with a mindgasm, so thanks.

By: musicinmybrain

musicinmybrain — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 15:53:56 -0800

Yeah, this is incredible. If I could do those things, I would do them all day, every day, until I broke my face. Granted, that might not be long.

By: ooga_booga

ooga_booga — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 16:05:03 -0800

The fact that it's edited and not one long, continuous ride is probably my only issue with it and being associated with parkour. It's pretty awesome riding though, and despite it being a bunch of tricks shown together, I liked the little touches where the rider is shown putting stuff back or slightly tweaking the environment. It looks to me like his bike has a regular freewheel so why is it that he sometimes backpedals? It looks more purposeful than for balancing purposes.

By: twoleftfeet

twoleftfeet — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 16:07:51 -0800

They way they showed him during the first minute - attempting the stunt and failing - made me cringe (seriously) at about 1:10 in, because I was expecting the ultimate FAIL, and you know that would hurt in the worst way.

By: delmoi

delmoi — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 16:08:31 -0800

When i was a kid this kind of thing was called "BMXing" I'm not really sure if "Bike Parkour" is really a good term.

By: Sys Rq

Sys Rq — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 16:11:47 -0800

BMX stands for Bicycle Motocross. That ain't BMX. It's not even a BMX bike.

By: box

box — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 16:21:20 -0800

The backpedaling is, most often, intended to get one's feet in the right position for the next move. Here's some more information about techniques.

By: Glee

Glee — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 16:22:15 -0800

I skated for about a decade (until my body couldn't keep up with my desire for too-technical-for-me highspeed fliptricks and my bones/fingers/knees started twisting and breaking like they shan't). We used to hate BMX dirtbags with their halfpipe-destroying metal toys and bullshit flatland fappery. These guys however: total dolls. That opening bigass ollie (is that what bikers call it too?) up the wall in the beginning was sweet. The tree McTwists...DUDE DID FUCKING TREE MCTWISTS HE IS GOD...was pretty cool too. Only tiny gripe: the bigger air tricks were all straight 180s and 360s. Mighty fine tricks, but it'd've been cool to see those guys mix in some tailwhips, tweaks, etc.

By: stumcg

stumcg — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 16:43:17 -0800

Wild. Even more so as it's my hometown and I recognize all the places he's doing those tricks. Great post BtGoG.

By: zsazsa

zsazsa — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 17:29:55 -0800

It looks to me like his bike has a regular freewheel so why is it that he sometimes backpedals? Remember that a freewheel only freewheels if the bike goes forwards. If the bike is traveling backwards, the pedals must go backwards.

By: graventy

graventy — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 17:42:34 -0800

Speaking as someone with a lot of parkour experience (I've been playing Mirror's Edge lately) I know how much practice goes into this kind of thing. I am simultaneously impressed by how cool he looks and how many injuries he suffered in the making of the video. That fence at the beginning? *shudder*

By: jimmythefish

jimmythefish — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 18:04:40 -0800

Oh man I love this stuff. It's art and sport and dance and urbanism and anti-urbanism and mainstream and counterculture all rolled up into one. I'm moved by this stuff in ways that I'm sure people are moved by ballet. Fisheye, well, as a photographer I have one myself and it's as much about field of view as it is about a type of distortion - and every type of lens distorts when it captures 2-dimensional images. I think it was used very well.

By: pts

pts — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 18:07:40 -0800

Yeah, I've seen bikes like this around. Bigger than BMX bikes, but smaller than what I tend to think of as mountain bikes. Neat little bikes. Um but anyway. I was impressed in the first half of the video but then they crank it up and he does the thing on the tree. No, not the first thing. The other thing. You know the one. And then I was pretty much stunned the rest of the time. I mean. What. I saw a guy doing the same style of riding one day while I was having lunch at the local college quad. I was sitting on a concrete wall maybe 4 feet high, and the dude just cold hops up from the ground to the top of the wall it maybe three feet from me, holds a wheelie for 20 feet along the edge of the wall, then pops off, lands on one wheel, and perfectly controlled, cruises away. I couldn't believe what I'd just seen. And there was nobody to tell. Reminds me very much of observed motorcycle trials. But with more flipping. Astounding.

By: the painkiller

the painkiller — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 18:23:13 -0800

i can't help but wonder how many frames/wheels/knees/ankles/wrists this guy goes through in a season. i mean, i'm sure he's got some sponsorships at this point, but still. he must have amassed quite an awesome pile of dead bikes and bike parts.

By: jquinby

jquinby — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 18:54:27 -0800

Holy shit, that was cool.

By: jimmythefish

jimmythefish — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 18:56:18 -0800

i can't help but wonder how many frames/wheels/knees/ankles/wrists this guy goes through in a season. There might be something wrong with me, but I read this as 'how many females/wheels/knees/ankles/wrists this guy goes through in a season'. I'm sure it was just the juxtaposition of frames/wheels but there still might be something wrong with me.

By: Mike D

Mike D — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 20:10:26 -0800

Nice job editing out the sound of his tires exploding on EVERY SINGLE FREAKIN' LANDING!!!

By: rageagainsttherobots

rageagainsttherobots — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 20:28:46 -0800

This blew my mind.

By: unSane

unSane — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 20:42:29 -0800

He's almost certainly running tubeless tires which don't explode, just kinda burp out some vomit if you land too hard.

By: Smedleyman

Smedleyman — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 20:45:51 -0800

I like parkour, don't think I could pull this off though. ...however if I could I wouldn't try to look like I was hot dogging it if people were around watching. I would try to appear completely out of control of the bike while going on top of those shops yelling "Help me! Someone help me I can't stop!" and scream all the way through a backflip and then step off the bike in disbelief "My God! I almost got killed! I don't know what just happened!" And accept sympathy of course. You'd have to walk the bike home. If you just get back on and take off no one's going to buy it. Not that it would be easy. I tried a little of that with parkour. Sort of a drunken boxing thing "whoops, didn't mean to trick off that rail so amazingly..." That uh....yeah, didn't work out for me too well. On the other hand, no one knew that I had meant to appear to slip, but actually slipped, so y'know, sympathy. The secret shame of which I will take to my grave.

By: mexican

mexican — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 21:07:33 -0800

a few people have mentioned this already, but what this guy is doing is called trials, or street trials. we know this because he's riding a trials bike. similar styles or riding that use different types of bikes are bmx street, and urban mountain biking. there's a good deal of overlap in terms of the elements of each style, but the demarcation point is usually the type of bike being ridden. on back pedaling, if your bike has a regular freewheel, you have to pedal backwards when you're riding backwards. this usually makes balance harder. if you don't want to have to pedal backwards when riding backwards you need either coaster brake or a free coaster. and the flair (back flip with a half twist) off the tree? badass

By: AsYouKnow Bob

AsYouKnow Bob — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 21:07:35 -0800

That was jaw-droppingly amazing. Now I hope he stays off my lawn. And my fence . . . and my tree... (etc.).

By: chinston

chinston — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 21:07:45 -0800

Unreal. Thanks.

By: UbuRoivas

UbuRoivas — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 21:09:12 -0800

tubeless tires which don't explode, just kinda burp out some vomit if you land too hard. Pretty much just like the rider, I assume.

By: dirigibleman

dirigibleman — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 21:14:32 -0800

Never in my life have I ever wanted to be 15 years younger than I am right now than, uh, right now, I guess.

By: the duck by the oboe

the duck by the oboe — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 22:05:35 -0800

Very cool. Also, damn I wish I still lived in Edinburgh.

By: billyfleetwood

billyfleetwood — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 23:05:28 -0800

There's one thing I know for from my days of skatboarding. Getting this good at this type of thing requires about 20% raw talent, 60% obsessive practice, and the last 20% comes from missingthe partof your brain that says "I hurt myself doing that, I'm not going to do that again". That part of my brain is very well developed, which makes me really good at riding bikes and skateboards in a straight line on a flat surface, which I like to think of as my own special type of "trick".

By: ooga_booga

ooga_booga — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 23:59:25 -0800

Cheers, box! That link's pretty informative - I will now sit here, read the page, and pretend that I'm actually going to even *think* of trying any of it.

By: ooga_booga

ooga_booga — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 00:01:54 -0800

And zsazsa points out what should have been bleeding obvious to me. How could I have forgotten! Thanks!

By: From Bklyn

From Bklyn — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 00:15:09 -0800

Fucking crazy. I think almost all of the things he did, I never would even think of doing with a bicycle: acoss a fence? UP a tree? I'm not sure if I should show this to my kid or not...

By: The Monkey

The Monkey — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 00:51:10 -0800

Brilliant work. Inspirational, but I know I'd just end up standing by a newly acquired bike staring at the thing I wanted to try jumping on, then shake my head and ride it home. (Slowly and carefully.)

By: progosk

progosk — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 01:17:43 -0800

Interesting to watch this with some more context; thanks for the R Leech link - lets you appreciate MacAskill's superior aerials&flow. (Here's a previous 2 hour ride of his; here's his team; oh, and: they do call it trials.)

By: Señor Pantalones

Señor Pantalones — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 01:36:31 -0800

ok enough about parkour... this is a style of riding called trials and is essentially a style born out of bmx + motorcross + mountain biking + obstacle courses. Here's a good place to start if you want more info. Look up Hans Rey for more insanity in different terrain (like on the edges of cliffs). super cool stuff...the only problem is the bikes are pretty damn expensive to just get one for fun.

By: OmieWise

OmieWise — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 05:02:50 -0800

This is fabulous. Thanks.

By: Happy Dave

Happy Dave — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 05:09:03 -0800

Ah, gobsmacking visual trick eyecandy and crippling homesickness all wrapped in a handy package. This was even more gobsmacking for me because I know about 90% of those streets, steps and walls intimately, so I know exactly how high and far some of those drops were. God I miss Edinburgh.

By: UbuRoivas

UbuRoivas — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 05:38:32 -0800

eponironical!

By: caution live frogs

caution live frogs — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 06:09:53 -0800

Damn. I hurt myself badly enough just riding trails. After looking through the video and some of the related ones on YouTube, on top of wondering how one develops the sense of balance to do this sort of thing, I also wonder why the hell not one of them thinks it might be a good idea to wear a helmet...

By: handee

handee — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 07:13:55 -0800

Here's the same rider Danny MacAskill in Leeds tricking around campus and town. I was introduced to it by the guy who taught bike maintenance here on campus, he'd a video on his phone of the session. About 10 seconds see those big steps? Well they're right outside my lab and they're fscking huge.

By: kingbenny

kingbenny — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 07:27:48 -0800

Say what you will, I thought that song was perfectly chosen for the video. Andrew W.K.? Come on.

By: Eideteker

Eideteker — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 07:46:49 -0800

I agree that this is more like trials than parkour. Parkour is "the art of displacement"; it's about getting from point A to point B quickly and in ways you wouldn't normally think about. This is just (no disrespect) a compilation of tricks. But they're awesome tricks, many of them!

By: krinklyfig

krinklyfig — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 10:29:48 -0800

My step brother broke his neck doing this. He mostly healed, but he lost a lot of movement in his upper body. At first the doctor thought he'd be permanently paralyzed from the neck down. But he was pretty good and even got paid to do shows as promotion. Honestly, couldn't see him living his life any other way, though it's not making things easy now.

By: the painkiller

the painkiller — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 11:23:27 -0800

help me, i can't stop watching this.... that thing he does between the wall and bike rack at about 3:13 keeps BLOWING MY MIND

By: tehloki

tehloki — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 11:51:00 -0800

Extreme walking except with instead of feet a bike

By: Severian

Severian — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 21:48:36 -0800

Being a bike geek I have to wonder which model of tires he's using on this bike. That and the plank-to-the-wheel straightening technique is pure gold! When this guy goes over a longer length of chain than Ryan Leech did for the first The Collective movie, then I'll agree that he gives Ryan a run for his money.

By: alicesshoe

alicesshoe — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 08:26:32 -0800

Big up for that By The Grace. A hella tin that too, don't look like sardines neither. Wonderfully done, call it mtn bike parkour or whatever, I call it Freakin' Amazin'. Great choice of tune [singer's voice sounds a lot like that of the Shins] and a smooth video. Nicely done. That kind of riding took hours of training. One slip on that fence and your nut sack has had it. Loved the shot where he jumps the stairs in the tunnel and then figures appear, back lit looking down...cool. Lots of cool there. Just amazing balance. I'm happy to still be slalom skiing and playing in net [ice hockey]. The coolest tricks I saw on a slalom ski, is a guy Stapo40, doing 360 Tick-tock's, wake 180 Front to back, backwards deep water starts [yep, head in the water starts] and beach backwards starts! I emailed the guy, he said he did chop the end off the skii a tad, but still... amazing to see. Now, that flip off the tree....WOW. Did I say it's freakin' amazin'? 'cause it really is. Sweet.

By: Happy Dave

Happy Dave — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 09:38:57 -0800

Having gone viral, he's quitting his job at a bike shop and trying to become a full time trials rider.

By: alicesshoe

alicesshoe — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 12:38:04 -0800

Good news Happy Dave. Here's the stunt driving troupe he performs with, The clan's site.