Way way back ..

Don't know what made me think of it but the other day I was thinking about the time I decided it would be a good idea to try a back flip. All I can say is damn you RAD! It was pretty close to when that movie came out, I remember watching that and thinking wow this movie is SOOO awesome. If you have watched it, and you too remember it as being such an awesome movie then I have two things to say.
1) The bike parts are still pretty awesome, outdated but still slick.
2) Don't stare directly into the 80s. Other then the bike parts the movie is pretty horrible. But I guess that was pretty much the typical 80s movie at the time. Horrible music ( minus Send me an Angel ) and fashion. I don't know where "those" people were but I love the prom scene and the twins where they're wearing the hard V suits. money.

Ok sorry, back to the back flip. Well if you've seen RAD then you know that the BF was THE trick in the movie and at the time. You did a back flip and you pretty much dripped awesome.

So there I am in my back alley on my Columbia Muscle Frame bike. What you don't remember it? Oh it was a fine steed, made of the highest quality Cast Iron and filled with lead to increase it's ride quality. That damn thing was a tank, but it was an upgrade from my Huffy Desperado with banana seat. I know what you are thinking, damn this guy and all his dream bikes. I know I know.. I was a playa at 8 to 12 years old.

So me and two friends out in the alley did what most kids did. We built ramps. And by built I mean we found some bricks/cinder blocks and a hunk of wood and built our triangle of fun. No transition and of course no nails or screws to hold it together. I mean who needs all that. So we are uber cool jumping our danger ramp over and over for hours on end. Amazing how fun that seemed. I think the coolest trick I might have sort of pulled off was a one footer but can't remember. It was mostly tailwhips of the weakest sort but hey, you try a tailwhip with a bike filled with lead and see how you do! As the "session" goes on my friend Bill tells me that I'm getting super high! And now looking back I don't know what super high really could have been off a two foot high triangle but at the time I was stoked. Also I don't know if he was just screwing with me but he did seem genuine and with that said "man you could probably do a back flip". Why did he have to say that. I mean really. That might have been the beginning of the little voice.... "you're the man".

So I took a few more normal runs pulling up as hard as I could which got me "you are really high now". I don't know why I thought "real" high was the only requirement for pulling a flip. I mean it doesn't require skill, knowledge of what you are doing, a real bike and a real ramp? Nope, not at 12, you just go high and snap. BACK FLIP.

So I go way way back. I want a lot of speed. Real high plus real fast sounds like the right equalization to equal back flip right? So off I go, pedaling with everything I have. I hit the triangle of death and launch pulling up and leaning back as hard as I can. For a oh so brief moment I feel as though I'm RAD. But that moment ended so fast it was like it hadn't even happened. To my credit I did get it to start rotating. Of course it was no where near a full rotation, all it did was make my impending doom that much more hurtful. Real high does seem to be a requirement but I was not real high. I was 12 year old goof high and that pretty much equals pain. Not really sure where I was but the bars were level with the ground all be it upside down. The wheel didn't have enough space to come under me as I was only 12 year old high so that really only equaled face plant. I of course wasn't wearing a helmet or any other type of protection other then a t shirt and jeans. I can't truly recall what happened after the initial impact but thankful my bike must have launched itself back up and over my spinning broken form. Unlucky for me the alley is made of concrete which isn't forgiving and it's kind of V shaped so water can run down and out of the alley. Or in this case settle in the middle where I lay bleeding and unconscious, now soaked in some wonderful fetid water. I was dripping something all right but it sure wasn't awesome.

Next thing I know my Mom is half carrying half dragging my butt into the house. Bill ran into my house and got my Mom which was nice.. with what I'm sure he saw I'm surprised he didn't run home. Amazingly I didn't break anything. Nothing. I don't know how that happened but I more then made up for it with the amount of skin I tore off my face, shoulder, left arm, hip and legs. I was pretty much stunned the rest of the night.

But in true 12 year old form the next morning I got up and went out back to check the damage to the Muscle Frame. Other then the bars being scratched it was in perfect shape. See and you thought filling it with Lead was a bad idea. That night we were jumped the triangle of dead again, I mean why wouldn't you? Wasn't like it almost killed me or anything. I did receive praise from my friends for the try. Which I can't say the same for the kid that night who had the misfortune of having the hunk of wood slip off the cinder blocks as he hit the lip. He got no praise at all, which is surprising as he actually did pull out a flip.